| | Anonymous | This program flies by and requires a significant commitment of time and energy. You will need to make sacrifices to successfully complete the program. I would advise against working during this program as it does take a great deal of time and energy. The work you put into this program is what you will get out. Taking the extra steps to network share your resume and work will have a large impact on your success. This program is not meant to hold your hand through the process, you will need to learn how to ask questions and for help. The highlight of the program is their ability to teach you how to learn and problem solve in areas that you have no knowledge in.
The program does have check points to ensure you are meeting their expectations and give you a baseline of where you should be. The key for each of these check points is keep pushing through and learning what you need to know if this problem comes at you again. The programs curriculum of building out application for actual clients helps students gain a better understanding of the complexities that exist outside of the lines of code.
The network of Prime Digital Academy is very large and the mentor program extends their reach even further. I personally have had many conversations stating Prime Digital Academy's students are highly sought after they have hired a few. This network's understand where you are coming from and the knowledge you have been given allows for the proper training and on boarding.
Job support is a little hands off, they are not going to help you apply to jobs. They will help you prepare for that process and give you guidelines you should follow. You are always welcome to stop in, work, and trouble shoot through this process. They have weekly meetings after graduation that covers topics in applying for positions and working through the process.
Prime is a second family into an unknown world of tech supporting one another through this transition from where you are coming from. |
| | Dana Hazen | Before Prime Digital Academy I was working as an Administrative Assistant in the Facilities department of a Minneapolis company, keeping things running, completing work requests, and showing vendors around our 1 million square foot campus. After realizing that there was no upward mobility in that position I looked at jobs that I have always been interested in doing. I love technology and I have always loved doing technical jobs, I just did not go to school for it (I have a Technical Theater Bachelor of Arts) and I didn't really want to wade through at least 4 years of night school to get another redundant degree. I had heard of Prime Digital Academy pretty much when they started up a few years ago and I decided now was the time to try it out. I was accepted into the 5th Web Development class at Prime Digital Academy, the Zeta Cohort. It was an 18 week (now 20-week) program of intense learning from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday with evening work and weekend projects, but it was worth the time, money, and mental effort it took to get through the program. I have more than doubled my salary before I went through Prime and I fully believe I am now paid what I deserve to be paid. The teachers and support staff are great and welcoming and truly want you to succeed. If you get into Prime after the initial interviews, you belong there and they know that you can do it; even if you forget and get lost periodically throughout the program. They will be there to support you and help you push through those roadblocks and help you on way to success. The last week or so of the program is an in-depth look at how to find the job you want now that you have this training. One thing I love about Prime is now over 500 people have graduated from both the Web Development and UX programs and work at 300+ different companies so you have a huge built in network just with other students that have gone through the program. I would fully recommend Prime Digital Academy to anyone thinking of doing Web Development/Programming or UI/UX work. You will tell everyone who will listen about your experience before, during, and after Prime as the entire experience and new career will completely change your life! |
| | Anonymous | Prime's full-stack developer program exposes you to the front-end and the back-end aspects of web development. You learn how to consume data from an API storing information in a database and retrieving information to display on the front-end.
Overall, this experience was a positive one. You build your network and learn how to work in the development world. You get to build a full-stack application both on your own and with a group of your peers. This was so much work but satisfying to be a part of.
The curriculum is so focused on frameworks/libraries that it lacks the detail to really expand your basic level skills in any area, HTML/CSS, JS, server, or database. If you enjoy one area over another, dig deep on your own time to really level up those individual skills. That being said, knowing how to work with a framework/library and how to navigate documentation is a big part of being a qualified developer.
Job support for current students felt a bit unorganized. There is a big interview day and it seemed like the employers came knowing they did not have full time positions available, even though it was communicated to the students that interview day was for full time hiring only. That being said, there is endless support from the staff while you are a student and once you graduate. That support cannot be matched.
I would recommend Prime to anyone with the proper expectation that a junior level developer is the position you will be qualified for once you graduate. |
| | Anonymous | Prime Digital Academy took me from 0 to being a fully functioning Full Stack Web Developer in 20 weeks. It seemed crazy at the beginning, but by the end I had projects I had built by myself as well as in a group that showcased all the of skills I had learned along the way. The course is intensive and rewarding.
I preferred the in-class style they provide as the content is challenging and the instructors and support staff are a vital part of the learning process. Having the hands-on in person experience was crucial for overcoming the harder concepts and helping me learn to think like a developer.
Prime pushes you to learn how to be a programmer so that when you run into new languages or environments you have the tools needed to adapt and learn. The biggest thing I walked away with was that I learned how to teach myself and understand new concepts or challenges in programming.
I landed my job right out of Prime thanks to Prime organizing a clear path to employment. They helped me shape my resume, cover letter, my technical interview skills, and how to showcase what I had learned. During the career day at Prime I got many follow up interviews and one of which yielded me a job 2 weeks after I graduated.
Prime changed not only my career path, but also my sense that if I put my mind and energy to something I can do it.
10/10 would recommend Prime! |
| | Anonymous | Prime Digital Academy gives students all the tools they need to succeed as newly minted software developers - for the students who are willing to put in the work, anyway.
I had a wonderful experience at Prime. Great facility, faculty and staff who absolutely care about their students and their success, fantastic ties to the local business community. I learned everything I needed to equip myself for an entry level development job, which I quickly outgrew as my skills and capabilities continued to develop. My career has been rebooted into something I'm excited about every day, with a much brighter future than I've ever had.
There is one caveat, though: I worked harder than I've worked at anything else in my life for the entire duration of the program. I put in extra hours to learn adjacent concepts to what was being taught in the class, I did basically nothing but work on the projects when the time came. I had no social life, and my wonderful wife had to pick up a lot of slack at home for me to be able to focus like that.
I'm far from the only one who has taken that approach to Prime. By far, though, those who put in the work have had much better outcomes post-Prime than others who maybe didn't throw themselves quite so wholeheartedly into the program.
If you're ready to work hard and focus on building your skills and knowledge, Prime is a great choice. |
