Codesmith

In short, I credit Codesmith with my pivoting from a non-tech role to a software position. It isn't perfect, nor is the curriculum as exhaustive as I would have liked, but the selection of material is solid and the post-graduation support was stellar.... Read More If you're willing to work beyond what they provide you, Codesmith can be an excellent resource.

I attended the remote full time program. Day-to-day activities were built around working through introductory modules (basically partially-premade code with an explanatory blurb and pointers to documentation) with one or two other students, followed by discussion and going over a working example. Activity is relentless, which is 1) good news for learning and 2) exhausting. The latter half of the program is centered around work on an 'Open Source Product' (ostensibly actively maintained and of a high technical caliber; in practice, maybe a little more of a proof-of-concept exhibition, depending) with a 4-5 person team. There's really a lovely sense of community that builds from going through all this with the rest of your cohort, and that sense (and enthusiasm) is what manages to hold the whole thing together.

Instructors tended to be sourced from the pool of previous students. As a result, we couldn't always rely on confident answers or responses coming from deep expertise. The program's emphasis on keeping with a current and relevant curriculum does, however, mean there are plenty of strong anchors for students to begin researching on their own and with others. After all, this is the skill Codesmith seeks to instill; once on the job, it's up to the engineer to find the answer, be it through familiar documentation, Google, or trial and error.

No three month program, no matter how intensive, is going to bring anyone up to the level of an undergraduate degree. Instead, Codesmith is focused on providing its students with the hands-on skills and gumption typical CS students might lack. I'm appreciative of how much the curriculum pointed us to industry standards. It may not be enough for, say, lower-level programming, but it's certainly enough to get projects off the ground and eventually up to a quality people will pay attention to. The curriculum is also focused on making sure its students are able to speak about their work in a compelling and informed way, which turns out to a be a crucial part of standing out when looking for a job. The goal is to output the kind of people you'd like to work with, and that goes a long way.

What makes me feel the most positively about the experience is the support provided for alumni. Codesmith invests in its network and offers it up to you (to the level that you're willing to engage). The program will set you up with other motivated alumni for accountability meetings, provide you with resume and interview guidance, and host networking events--all of which is provided indefinitely after graduation. Once you've left Codesmith's hyper-structured days, the job search seems exhausting and ten times as difficult in comparison. The extra support is a godsend.

As with most things, you get out of it what you put in. Bootcamp attendance is not a guarantee of employment, and it's still possible to struggle with the material once the 3 months end. Unsurprisingly, the strongest graduates were those who had studied previously--I recommend doing the same so that students can get the most out of the process of building a project and self teaching.

Given the worsening market conditions, I've heard many tales of 6+ (or even 12+) month job searches (mine was 7). Sometimes the job search is unlucky or outright hostile. But Codesmith continues to produce working software engineers and keep its alumni network running. I'm glad I made the decision to attend.

Being at the age of 36, I've made three best decisions in my life so far - and Codesmith was one of them.
On summer 2018 the restaurant where I was working as a bartender got caught on fire (true story). I was devastated because I really enjoyed working... Read More there, but at the same time I knew it was time for the change. I've been working in the restaurant industry for 4 years at that point, and knew it wasn't my career path. With that, having absolutely no background in IT, being an immigrant with English as a second language, I decided to become a programmer.
One of my favorite questions during the interview - "Why coding?". If I'm the one to answer, I tell the story from my childhood. In early 90s, my mom set a program to limit our computer time up to 2 hours. Me and my brother cracked it in one day. We played games for the whole day, and then reset the timer back to 2 hours before she was coming back home from work pretending we didn't even turn it on. Another true funny story that my mom still doesn't know :)
Once I decided I'd learn how to code, I did my research and limited it to the three best coding bootcamps in NYC. I started to prepare, and if you're just in the beginning of this journey, I FEEL YOU. Don't give up, it'll all makes sense soon, I promise! Only after 3 months since I wrote my first "Hello, World" I actually got goosebumps and thought: "Ah... so this is IT". This is when I knew I felt in love with coding.
I got into all three bootcamps, but that was just to test myself as I always knew it was Codesmith where I wanted to learn. They had the best outcomes, the best teachers (I attended their workshops), amazing vibes in that cute sunny Downtown office, and overall I just felt it would be a match.
I started in April, and graduated in July'19. That. Was. Hard. If you want to succeed, you gotta drop your normal life and give your full focus to the course. One of the most important things - you gotta trust the process. I can tell you about my hesitations and panic all night long. I actually couldn't believe I'd get a job, like, seriously. But there is a way how, and people at Codesmith know it. Just trust the process - you're not the first one.
In a month after graduation I had a part-time job. 2 months later I landed a full-time offer which exceeded my highest expectations. I've been working at the huge financial company for 4 years, growing, developing and using Codesmith advices on a daily basis. My love to coding was finally mutual, and I felt very grateful every day.
In the end of 2023 due to relocation I was in the job market again - now on the West Coast - and even though you probably heard it's tough right now and all, I was able to land three great offers. I felt the crisis too, it's no joke, but I simply followed what CS taught me - yet again - and it paid off. I'm now a Staff Software Engineer at a pretty cool software engineering company, and can't be happier in life.

When I joined Codesmith, I was looking to make a big change in my life - I was working in social work and deeply dissatisfied with the amount of return I was seeing in my career. I was scared to pursue coding, because I didn't think I was smart enough... Read More and thought it would probably be too hard.

While it was hard, the support and guidance I found in the Codesmith community was what helped me achieve my goals. From the moment I attended one of their free classes on a weeknight until after graduation, I felt welcomed and excited to be part of a community that clearly felt so passionately about the success of the students. My hard work and investment was rewarded by the instructors and fellows who were just as invested in me. After graduating, I managed to find a job within a month. When I was laid off from that job, Codesmith was there to support me in finding a new role (which I found two weeks later). I went from not having written a line of JavaScript to employed as a software engineer in under a year.

My story isn't everyone's, but I know it wouldn't have been possible without Codesmith, their support, and their curriculum. I felt capable and ready to enter the workforce after graduating because I was provided with a deep understanding of how code works under the hood and I was able to communicate my choices and ideas professionally.

(Full disclosure: I was incentivized by an offer of free merchandise to provide this review, but my words are 100% truthful and 100% my own)

What i really like about CodeSmith
- good community
- up to date curriculum
- slack community is awesome
- everyone is trying to get better

Something to keep in mind for anyone looking to get into coding/switch careers. Codesmith is definitely a shortcut... Read More in that process. They give you a path to follow and it works. But also you have to put in the work as a student. your effort will be what determines your success in the job finding stage, Codesmith will help you out in terms of what to put on your resume how to navigate the interview process etc.... but applying and looking for jobs is also on you.

I came from a background of electronic music production, some experience with JavaScript, SQL, and aside from that, a largely non-technical background. After working hard and doing pretty much nothing but coding in my spare time preparing to get into... Read More Codesmith throughout 2018, I joined in the October 2018 cohort.

I graduated from Codesmith in Jan. 2019 at the Los Angeles campus. In my experience, during the time leading up to joining Codesmith
➡ actually being in Codesmith ➡ post-grad career support, Codesmith was an all-around top notch program, and has continued to be a solid community to be a part of. Three months after graduating, I was able to land a mid-level engineer role at $125k base, $160k TC. Since then, I've worked for a few companies in tech / healthcare, and have been able to rise from mid-level engineer ➡ sr. engineer ➡ engineering manager ➡ sr. engineering manager.

I did some extensive research before deciding on Codesmith. They accept engineers roughly around Jr. Engineer level, and prep them to go on to become mid - sr level engineers. imo, some of the best parts of Codesmith are not just in learning specific technologies/patterns (Data Structures & Algos, JS, React, Node, SQL, noSQL, etc.), but more so in "learning how to learn", by giving you a high-level overview lesson, then throwing you into the deep end and challenging you to learn to swim, lesson after lesson, just as you'll have to do again and again after you graduate, throughout your career as a software engineer.

Their hiring prep / career support has been another key part of the program for me. Codesmith's hiring program guided me in knowing how to approach a comp negotiation, and what I could / should be asking for in the first place, when it comes to negotiating a software engineer role. I had no idea about any of this before attending CS, and this knowledge has proven to be instrumental in helping me to negotiate new offers / promotions over the past few years. I've continued to work with Eric, the lead career advisor at Codesmith a number of times since I graduated, to help me negotiate promotions / navigate new offers. Eric is one of the most effective tech/business communicators I've ever known - he's also helped me in navigating venture financing / equity when it comes to joining a startup as an early engineer. Having Eric as a career advisor/mentor has been invaluable throughout my career trajectory as an engineer.

I'd recommend Codesmith as a top notch coding bootcamp for anyone looking for a more advanced program that will deliver if you rise to the challenge. It does take a good amount more self-study before you can be admitted, as you have to be around jr. engineer level to get in, but in my experience, I can say it was well-worth it.

Before attending codesmith, I was teaching music and landscaping part-time. I had previously done a bit of self-learning around programming, with free materials available online. After attending the 9-month PTRI program, I took on a paid 3-month mentorship... Read More position with codesmith. During that time I landed a full-time contracting role with IBM, which kickstarted my software engineering career and increased my income six fold.

Codesmith is not a silver bullet. You get out of it what you put into it. But it provides powerful support and a community of people going through the same hell as you and who motivate and grow alongside you, and the value of that is incalculable.

It's a non-stop deluge of information and you're exhausted every step of the way. I put in tons of extra hours studying and working on projects, trying to make the best product I can, and that effort paid off in the knowledge I took away from it.

Codesmith took me from a owning a cut-flower farm to working as a Software Engineer inside of 6 months. It is an intense, rigorous program that prepares you technically and academically to work in the field. The focus is empathetic and engaged learning... Read More and pushing you to research and work independently. You come out of Codesmith with some great technical training, but much more, you come out with the tools you need to keep learning. You will spend your whole career adding to your training, but Codesmith can help you get your foot in the door.

Could not recommend Codesmith highly enough. There is no way I would have been able to be as successful in interviews and at my current job so quickly without going through the program. In addition to a vast amount of technical knowledge, you learn how... Read More to collaborate with engineers of all backgrounds and experience levels, which is crucial, especially working in lead and management-level positions. You get out of the program what you put into it, so it's not a "sit back and relax" type of situation, but those in the cohort who went all-in saw major results post-graduation. One con is that they pitch you being able to waltz into senior-level roles making 140k+ with no prior experience. This may have been true pre-covid, but is very rare in today's market. The average salary of our graduating class is significantly lower than it was a few years ago. That being said, everyone in my cohort who is working seems to be very happy and comfortable with their positions, their leveling, and what they're making.

My experience with Codesmith, having graduated from both their immersive program and the CS Prep course, has been absolutely remarkable. The immersive program delved deep into full-stack JavaScript and essential computer science principles, providing... Read More me with a solid foundation for a career in software engineering. The hands-on projects, rigorous curriculum, and supportive community not only enhanced my technical skills but also instilled in me the confidence to tackle real-world challenges. Additionally, the CS Prep course was instrumental in laying down the groundwork for my journey into the immersive program, offering a structured introduction to JavaScript and core coding fundamentals. Thanks to Codesmith's exceptional education and career support, I successfully secured a fulfilling role in software engineering and continue to benefit from their lifelong career guidance. Codesmith's commitment to excellence in software engineering education truly sets them apart, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of their thriving community.

When it comes to changing careers and finding a job in the current market, it’s going to be difficult no matter which bootcamp you attend. Finding a job is always a difficult hurdle when changing careers into such a competitive field. All of that said,... Read More I can’t imagine a better value for your money when it comes to coding bootcamps. The course lectures are pretty good, but that is not what really stands out about this company. What really stands out is the forced collaboration with other like-minded engineers, and learning how to pair-program and work through challenges with other people. In my opinion, this is where the true value of this program lies. To be forced to work through cleverly-designed challenge units and projects with another aspiring engineer is an experience that is more valuable than any lecture could be. This forces you through the inevitable struggles of understanding how to set up proper dev environments, how to debug pesky Git flows and merge conflicts, how to teach a topic you feel strong in, how to learn a topic you feel weaker in, how to empathetically communicate and provide valuable feedback, how to gracefully receive constructive feedback… these are all extremely valuable ‘soft skills’ that Codesmith offers, on top of the official curriculum that they advertise. I became close friends with many brilliant people, and attending Codesmith was an experience like nothing I’ve ever done before. I definitely recommend this program to others looking for a positive, productive, and supportive environment to develop your engineering skills and learn most of the things you need to become a successful mid-level developer.