Actualize

After months and months of researching for coding bootcamps, reading reviews online (reddit, on here, etc.) I could not decide on one based on how polarizing the reviews were for almost every major bootcamp out there. But after being on Course Report one day and somehow landing on Actualize, I was highly impressed by the reviews from previous students and TAs. After researching Actualize more and interviewing with them, I decided to commit. I signed up for the full time bootcamp and it was a great decision! The format of the bootcamp kind of moves a bit fast in the beginning (especially as someone with very low previous coding knowledge), but with the resources they provide it helps you accommodate quite quickly. The office hours, the practice during class, the one on ones with your instructor, all begin helping you feel more comfortable with coding each day as you move forward through the bootcamp. 

I know there are sooo many different bootcamps out there with different formats, curriculums, etc., but this one worked for me and would definitely recommend it to anyone out there ready to get their feet wet with web development and coding. My instructor and TAs helped us form good coding habits all bootcamp long for our success moving forward. You definitely will not learn everything you need to learn in 12 weeks about full stack web development, but it was enough structure and motivation for me to individually continue moving forward. You get the resources to continue learning, practice coding, and begin searching for careers in software development after the 12 weeks. They will help you find a job to if you are truly committed! 

I just finished this Bootcamp today, and I definitely recommend it. Everything about it was exactly what I was looking for, and reviews I read for the course were very accurate, which is what lead me to pick this course in the first place. If you have read older reviews about Actualize, I can vouch for what most of them say.  It was fun, informative, challenging, and all the other things everyone else has said. Joey was my instructor, and he was great. Surprisingly, it was his first time teaching an Actualize class, but he was born for the role.

I had a fantastic experience with Actualize. I came into the course with next to zero coding knowledge and learned far more than I expected, every day. It became so much fun to learn new languages and algorithms I genuinely didn't want to stop at the end of each day. By the end of the course I was more than confident I could take on professional roles and pickup new methods and systems with relative ease. The capstone project was so much fun! The teacher (who absolutely loved to make the worst jokes possible - but usually the good worst jokes) always reminded us of how far we'd come in such a short time, and created a environment of comfort where we could talk to him, the TAs, and the other students without feeling judged. We were all in the same boat, even if we all felt like others were light years ahead (they weren't). In addition to the massive amount of coding I learned, the entire cohort itself was a wonderful learning experience. The career advisors are extremely helpful, you can really see how much they want you to succeed as an individual, I'm so glad I ended up choosing Actualize over the other several dozen bootcamps I checked out.

I picked this bootcamp based off of reviews on this site, the schedule they had available, and conversations with friends. I didn't do as much research beforehand as I probably should have, and I feel lucky that I had made a good decision.

Actualize's teaching philosophy is teaching us how to learn. They won't go over every possible technology simply because it isn't necessary. Instead, we dived deep into developing an understanding of how our code is interpreted by the system, how the mechanisms work beneath the surface, and best conventions to use. I feel confident that I can apply what I learned in this class to any coding environment going forward, whether it's backend or frontend technologies, or even if it's in a language I know or not.

I'd recommend Actualize to anyone who is serious about pursuing a career in software development. 

I found Actualize because a client of mine said a couple of co-workers went through it and they learned a ton. I liked that they offered a mid-day option and it was affordable for the amount of instruction and job assistance offered post-course. The course was unique because it had 5 weeks of pre-work which was self-led that gave you enough background knowledge to begin the 12 week live instruction portion. I felt that even with minimal coding experience before the 5 weeks of pre-work, this gave me enough experience that I could understand what was happening when the live instruction started. I also loved the instructors that I came into contact with. I had Dani as a lead instructor and she was awesome. Very caring, knowledgeable, relatable, very willing to help, and prepared us for the real world of web development. I would definitely recommend Actualize to anyone thinking about changing career paths. It helps build upon your current skill set and prepares you to enter the workforce as a web developer.

I was initially pointed to this bootcamp by a family friend and former graduate, and I was not disappointed. I am confident that I have everything I need to get a job in web development and to pursue other interests that weren't covered, like game design. While the curriculum is grueling, so long as you are willing to put in the work your instructor will not leave you behind. There is also the fact that you will have a support system for finding a job after you graduate, and you will have this system up until and even after you get your first programming job. Overall, it's a very welcoming environment and allows for success no matter where you're coming from.