| | | PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The first half of the program is ~7 weeks of intense study and work. When I say intense, I mean REALLY intense. Frameworks are piled on to you one after another, and there is no way to fully understand everything you are being shown. Class is from 9-6, six days a week, with nightly projects that lasted me until 1am. Usually I’d spend at least half of Sunday reviewing concepts. There is one main instructor and guest lectures. There are usually 3-4 mentors each day from 9am-midnight who you can go to for help. These mentors are students who are in the second half of the program.
The second half is ~7 weeks you work on large group projects. Most of your day is dedicated to building portfolio pieces. This is where the intense cramming from the first 7 weeks coalesces into useful ability. There’s little code instruction during this half, but there are guest workshops things like React and on polishing your online presence, preparing for interviews, and applying to jobs. You also learn a lot from your classmates during this period as well. Also, you will mentor students who are in the first half of the program 1 day a week, which is actually a nice break from work and a well needed ego boost.
MY EXPERIENCE:
What makes Coding House stand out to me is that it’s very small and flexible. It also has a lower cost than most other bootcamps in the Bay Area, which is one of the main reasons I went with it. Full disclosure, I had a very good outcome and I landed a 100k++ job here in the bay after about 5 weeks of dedicated searching and interviewing.
Here are some key differences from what I believe other bootcamps are like.
1) You live and work in the same building, and all tasks of daily living are handled for you (food, cleaning), so you can spend a lot more time focusing on code. This is a huge benefit!
2) It’s a small institution that is constantly evolving, so it’s hard to reliably say exactly what the curriculum will be like, what the food will be like, what your classmates will be like, etc.
3) Being so small and flexible can work out in your favor. Nick, the founder, can make arrangements for you to help you land an awesome job.
4) They could do a better job screening students. A few people in my cohort should not have be left in, so some of your classmates will drop. Maybe *you* will drop. This is really improving over time, since Coding House is getting a better applicant pool.
5) There are some holes in the program (in particular they don’t teach CS concepts, and there’s no dedicated recruiter) so it’s up to you to take care of these things yourself.
The more you bring coming here, the better off you’ll be. If you have a degree in a technical field, or CS experience, you’ll probably do very well. If you haven’t prepared or you’re not a confident coder, then you’re going to have a hard time.
Coding House is fit for you if you are self-motivated and proactive about doing what you need to do to become a programmer. You have to accept that your fate is in your own hands. |
