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Reviewer Name Review Body
Christy La Guardia I attended ACL part-time (nights & weekends) for 4 months, then full-time for 3 months. Their skilled and experienced instructors are incredibly effective in teaching the most in-demand coding skills, as well as what's current in Portland job market. Besides learning NodeJS, Express, React, Redux, MongoDB (and more), I learned how to **think** like a programmer and solve problems like a professional. Also, ACL is committed to diversity and involvement in the tech community, and this is reflected in the school culture. It's a wonderful place to learn, be challenged and evolve into a professional developer. Some more pros: awesome workspace in an informal and unintimidating environment, small class sizes with lots of 1:1 mentoring, relevant and specific career advice & assistance, final projects that kickstart your portfolio, rubbing shoulders & becoming friends with future/current members of the tech community.
Kate In 2017 I decided that I wanted a complete career change and I was looking to the tech field for that. I had a biotech background but no real web tech knowledge. I needed to go back to school and I wanted to take the short but intense route. I began looking into different bootcamps in/near Portland. I knew that I wasn't going to do well with a school that just offered online teachings. I'm a hands-on learner and I wanted personal interaction. This, alone, narrowed the candidates for me. Then I needed to consider the curriculum. Well, I wanted to learn a language and learn it well, as opposed to learning a little bit about several languages. From everything that I'd heard about coding, it mattered more to "master" a language than to simply "familiarize" oneself with many languages. This is because the basic bones of most languages are similar and the knowledge is highly transferrable. This made a lot of sense and, again, narrowed my options. When I looked into Alchemy Code Lab, it was associated with a tried-and-true code academy from Seattle. One with great reviews. Alchemy Code Lab seemed to pump out very successful graduates who often entered their first job at a level higher than a junior dev. How was this possible? Come to find out, their curriculum offers more depth and material than other bootcamps and the material is also always current or ahead of the trends. Lastly, the actual physical environment of the academy is quite inviting - friendly people, natural light, modern, spacious, and a plethora of drinks and snacks rewarding all the deep thought that happens there. It also impressed me that so many alum liked to revisit their old 'digs'. I immediately enrolled in the program (literally). I quickly became part of a family of like AND different minded people. I was fortunate to have 2 amazing teachers throughout my studies. Both are not only extremely knowledgable about the tech world/scene, constantly keeping abreast of the topics themselves, but they are also both quite accessible to help guide, teach, and answer questions outside of lectures. This was what I needed. I won't lie, this bootcamp is not for the weak or lazy. It's tough, grueling even. But the proof is in the pudding and what you come out knowing will blow your mind. If that wasn't enough, the school also takes seriously their commitment to helping you find a job. They have an in-house career-services sector. They also bring in outside coaches to offer guidance on salary negotiation, resume writing, job searches, etc. And recently, they introduced a mentor-program for their graduates. This program allows graduates to work on real client apps and get paid while doing it. I'm incredibly impressed and grateful to have found ACL.