| | Kathleen Yruegas | 8 months ago, I was working as a financial aid officer at a small school and I was bored out of my mind. Career growth was small and I knew I wanted to do something that challenged me and elevated my current level of living. Through a lot of research and talking to alumni, I settled on Turing School. I started in June 2018 in the Back End Engineering program and just graduated a few weeks ago (January 2019). The down and dirty is Turing was the most difficult, yet rewarding thing I have ever done.
The work load is intense. I spent the better of 50-70 hours per week working on projects and studying. Stress levels were high, work-life balance was very very hard to maintain and most of us really didn't have much of a life outside of Turing. We were in it together though and the support amoung my classmates and the staff was amazing. The friends I made over those 7 months will be my friends forever, no doubt! I have a family and kids and juggling those responsibilites with school was very very difficult. But holy crap I learned so much!!! More than I thought I was capable of! I didn't have a background in software, just some exploring here and there, but I can now create full web apps! I surpassed all expectations I had of myself and Turing surpassed all expectations I had of the school. The community is amazing, there is tons of support and resources if someone is needing technical help, emotional help, job search help, etc. The mentor and alumni community is strong and they are almost always willing to help however they can.
From my graduating cohort of 16 people in the Back End program, one of us had a job offer at graduation. Many have had multiple interviews and are progressing in the job search. Turing has great support in this area and if you do the things they tell you, you will be successful! I have since gotten a job offer and have almost doubled my income as compared to pre-Turing. I have a career now that I am proud of and know will allow me to achieve a better life for myself and my family.
If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat. Those 7 months were emotionally strenuous, stress levels were crazy, I cried many a time, but Turing helps you push through, dig in, and learn how to code. The program is extremely immersive as it needs to be to teach you so much in such a short period of time. The in-person structure was key for me. Having that community and accountability was the reason for my success. We did individual and group projects which allowed us to learn more from our peers and to build our collaborative skills as well. (Read: great for employement!!!)
I could go on forever about why Turing was so great, but if you really want to see what it's like, talk to an alumni, attend a Try Turing event, or attend some sort of information event.
I would absolutely recommend Turing, but one who might attend should be aware of the time commitment. If you have questions, you can find any Turing alumni on LinkedIn and they will most likely be happy to talk to you about the program! |
| | Dan Alvarez | When I applied at Turing, I was working for the state and in restaurants. I was never paid enough, always living paycheck to paycheck, and often I felt I worked for under qualified or incompetant managers. Initially, I had no strong desire to be a developer, however I knew I was a hard worker who had worked bad jobs and was unhappy. My thought process going into software development was, if I did not like coding then I would still be unhappy, but at least I would be paid well. When I was getting into code I was debating between Galvanize and Turing. My brother (who is a CS degree holder and software developer) was pushing me to learn code and was pushing me to Galvanize as he had heard of it before. Turing had a class that started earlier, and so I made the most fortuitous decision of my life and went to Turing.
I can only speak to my own experiences as coding bootcamps are different to everyone. Some people have a hard time with the fast pace nature of bootcamps, some people thrive. I loved every second of Turing. Even the times I got so frustrated I had to go for a walk and not talk to anyone. I found that I really enjoyed the logic that went into coding. I loved all the problem solving. I also loved that no matter how clever or quick I was at solving a problem, there was always a better, 'cleaner' way of writing my solution, or even a completely different solution. It really reignited my passion for learning. Although I had originally got into coding for a better career, I found myself going to bed thinking about code and wanting to talk about it to everyone. I finally found something I was passionate about! However that was only the beginning!
The thing that makes Turing standout from all other bootcamps or even most colleges, is the culture development, professional development and the fact the school is a NONPROFIT! The culture development taught at Turing opened my eyes to things I never had thought about before. I am a 30+ year old Latino American, and here is a boot-camp teaching me about micro-aggressions, diversity issues in tech, and pronoun preferences. I had always thought myself an open minded individual, and yet Turing was showing me so much more. Turing's approach was that old social norms sometimes offend people today, taking 10 seconds to say something differently may be the difference between coming off as an asshole vs someone with basic human respect.
There is also a mentor program where Turing sets you up with a mentor who is already working in the tech industry and is there for advice and help with the process. Not to mention the random people Turing will pair you with in whatever endeavors you decide to take on. On multiple occasions Turing has put me in direct contact with professionals in the tech industry who happen to be a friend of the school. And these people are willing to help students even though it means giving up their free time (and knowing me, probably giving up their patience).
For professional development, Turing actually takes time away from coding lessons to have resume prep, cold outreach prep, interview prep, technical interview prep, code challenge prep and, more importantly, sessions to have students write down what they are looking for in a job. I had never done this before, I was always of the mindset that I needed a job for money and that I should not expect anything else from them. Turing taught me to think about what is important to me at my job. Things like benefits, PTO, salary were things I already prioritized, but to think about 'does the office have a window?', 'is there heat and a/c?', 'are there free snacks or coffee provided in the office?', etc... These other subjects had never occurred to me.
A huge part to think about is that Turing is a nonprofit, which means the more students attend, the more money is poured back into the school, whether that be facility salaries, equipment, getting speakers to come and give talks, setting up networking events for the students, etc.. Turing is not concerned with making sure your check cashes, they are concerned with whether or not you are a good fit for coding and especially Turing.
I completely understand most people's hesitation to boot camps, as they are costly both in time and money and currently they are not looked on as favorably as a 4 year school. However Turing teaches you more than what you need to know to be a good coder and a good person. I finally get paid above a livable wage. I actually enjoy what I do! I am more aware of the demographics at my company especially in management and have joined a diversity council to help the company with initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion. I mentor students who go through Turing currently, I was able to help get one of my mentees hired onto my team. In short, I have never experienced anything like Turing, and it changed my life for the better. |
| | Ryan Harrington | Turing was more rigorous than my four years of college combined. The difference I've experienced leaving college with a business major vs leaving Turing is when you walk into interviews you can prove that you can do the job or you can translate what you know to perform the job required. That is what I love most about Turing. I will never have to walk into an interview and say things like "I'm a natural leader", "I'm a real go-getter", or any other lines that embarrass me just to type. Walking into interviews with many projects that display you can perform the job, on a tight deadline, working with others or independently, and then prove you can solve difficult problems on the fly in a code challenge, is a far superior way to walk into an interview.
If you choose to go this route, be prepared to work very hard, learn constantly, be confused, sandwich successes with many mistakes, work with others, ask questions, grow professionally, and build cool things. Attending Turing will open doors you never considered possible. No one attends Turing alone. You will have tremendous support from outstanding staff, your peers, and an extensive alumni network who all want to see you succeed. Turing has my highest recommendation. |
| | Josh Thompson | I graduated from college in 2011 with a major in Political Science and a minor in "International Studies", whatever that is.
I have never, ever used the "skills" I gained in college. No one has ever asked to look at my resume, or asked me about my college education.
The skills I gained in Turing, on the other hand, are extremely relevant. I'm now a software developer, and I'm about 1.5 years into my first job.
I suspect my entire working career will fall into two categories:
Pre-Turing
Post-Turing
I'm feeling really good about my post-Turing career. I enjoy the work I do every day, and I'm well paid. I have significant growth opportunity in my career, and I have a healthy work-life balance. I can spend time with my wife and family, friends, etc.
I appreciate what Turing does every day, and contribute time (and money!) to their efforts. I mentor students, I donate to the school, I refer many friends to Turing. To date, FOUR of my friends have gone through the program, and all are equally thrilled with it.
After I finished Turing, I paid off the $15k I owed for Turing, and the $15k I had left in student loans, in less than a year. Now all the extra income just goes straight to savings.
I wrote up a bit about my experience here: https://josh.works/turing-retrospective
I think Turing is a great use of time and money. I strongly suggest you do the work of setting yourself up for success at Turing, across financial and emotional domains. Take out a loan if necessary, but don't try to work a job while in Turing.
Plan on putting your regular life on hold while at Turing. Work hard to get through the prework, and then some. Work hard, and sleep at least eight hours a day. When you're done, do what they say to get a job, and you'll get a job. Your life will be changed. |
| | Mason | To preface, I was installing commercial washers and dryers right before starting Turing, I left that job to start the program. I was very unprepared and had done very little before coding before my first day of class. However, I quickly found that by committing enough time and energy I could learn anything. The staff was incredibly helpful in directing the learning and the classmates really made the difference. There is a bond that is formed with your cohort that is hard to describe, they are your grounding throughout the process and essential to any individuals success. I got a job after an extended job search (solely my fault) and it has been truly life changing. I now make more than double what I previously did and I couldn't be happier with the direction my life is now heading. I have only Turing to thank for the new skills and tools I now have at my fingertips. |
| | Mike Schutte | I had the luxury of going through Turing as a white guy with a master's degree and a history of being affirmed in the STEM field. I highlight this to say that my perspective on the challenge of Turing is pretty pure to the work and curriculum itself and not to larger systemic or identity pressures and stressors from things like race, class, gender, education, etc.
That being said, Turing is *really* hard. It really is non stop work for seven months for at least 60 hours a day (and a mellow day at that). The Turing difference is that you develop insane endurance for problem solving and spending all day thinking like a programmer.
I went through the back-end program covering Ruby and Ruby on Rails, but the curriculum and instructors pave a road for students that leads them to a place of very generalizable knowledge that applies to many contexts in software development (almost two years out from graduation, I work on a completely different stack).
Turing helped me completely alter my life trajectory in terms of opportunity and fulfillment. If you want to see what coding is like or if you even like it, don't apply yet. It's not a kiddie pool! If you are serious about wanting to become a professional software developer, it is the only slam-dunk option in my mind. |
