BrainStation
BrainStation is a global digital skills training and workforce transformation provider that offers bootcamps and courses in data, design, development, digital marketing, product, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and leadership both online and at state-of-the-art campuses in New York, London, Miami, Toronto, and Vancouver. Established in 2012, BrainStation has worked with over 500 instructors from the most innovative brands to develop cutting-edge, real-world digital education. Whether students are looking for career transformation or professional development, BrainStation has a learning option, with full-time diploma programs, part-time certificate courses, and specialized skills training.
BrainStation’s courses and bootcamps offer a collaborative, project-based learning experience, with regularly updated curriculum to ensure professionals gain the most relevant skills in their field. The class structure combines engaging, live instruction with interactive sessions and a hands-on, project-based curriculum. BrainStation also provides a variety of flexible learning options, including a proprietary online classroom and learning environment. This environment lets students attend live lectures, collaborate with fellow professionals, and receive immediate, real-time feedback from instructors – from anywhere in the world.
BrainStation has trained more than 30,000 alumni in over 100 countries across the world. BrainStation’s bootcamps offer personalized career services, including career coaching to help learners meet their career goals. Networking and career-oriented events are also available at BrainStation.
2,293 BrainStation Reviews
AnonymousCustomer Success Manager • TorontoNov 27, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/ACompletely Unprepared and Lost Instructors.
Signed up as a part of my company's effort in learning more about Google Analytics. The company spent roughly $2.5K to send 7-8 people to the 7-hour course on Sunday.
In the first 30 minutes, it was clear that both instructors have not prepared at all to host the session :
- No structure
- Reading from slides
- No structured approach to explaning material
- Lack of rehearsal for the class
In about an hour, I realized t...
Signed up as a part of my company's effort in learning more about Google Analytics. The company spent roughly $2.5K to send 7-8 people to the 7-hour course on Sunday.
In the first 30 minutes, it was clear that both instructors have not prepared at all to host the session :
- No structure
- Reading from slides
- No structured approach to explaning material
- Lack of rehearsal for the class
In about an hour, I realized that we are already a section behind and instructors did not think of sticking to the agenda up until the moment it was lunch time and we were nowhere near the expected point in agenda.
There was a huge gap between the audience and instructors, no interactions and on occasions when "students" would ask questions, answers were never 100% satisfying - as if we are paying someone who is only "good enough" to teach us.
My advice : before thinking of signing up for one of these 1-day bootcamps, I definitely recommend searching for available online materials ( especially if this is a Google Analytics/Ad Words/Digital Marketing) as this will be a more structured approach to learning rather than sitting in a classroom where instructors aren't 100% or even 75% confident about the topics covered.
Most common words used during the session :
- I think this is how its done
- I'm not too sure because I'm not a developer
- I think that's what it used to be
- Not sure why they do it that way
- Need to look it up during the break
Question to Outbrain : HOW DO YOU SELECT INSTRUCTORS?
Do you ever look past their resume and have any other ways to see how fit are they to host sessions that cost 300$ per head?
BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 05, 2018
Hi there,
Thanks for providing your feedback on the Google Analytics Workshop. To answer your question on how we select instructors, our Education Experience team hires professionals and industry leaders from some of the most innovative organizations in the world.
We only select professionals with real-world experience in the field they will be teaching, to ensure that our students are receiving relevant insights from someone who understands the industry. Additionally, we welcome instructor feedback from our students, and provide anonymous feedback opportunities periodically throughout our courses.
We actually no longer offer the workshop that you attended, and have launched a brand new Google Analytics Training Course this fall.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your experience further, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly to our team at contact@brainstation.io.- AnonymousFull-Time Web Development Program • TorontoNov 23, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Frustrating Experience
I did the web development immersive program. The group started off on the wrong note as there were way too many students, the ratio we were promised was incorrect.
There was a lot of great topics covered in the lectures, but it was presented too quickly for most, and once you fell behind you stayed behind. Brainstation offered little to no support for anyone who was struggling. I had reached out for assistance on several occasions to multiple instructors and w...
I did the web development immersive program. The group started off on the wrong note as there were way too many students, the ratio we were promised was incorrect.
There was a lot of great topics covered in the lectures, but it was presented too quickly for most, and once you fell behind you stayed behind. Brainstation offered little to no support for anyone who was struggling. I had reached out for assistance on several occasions to multiple instructors and was ignored or put off for the most part. The one time I was spoken to it was in an aggressive manner, it was strongly suggested that I was the problem, not the program.
There were many times that the group was promised something that was never delivered. The portal we were getting our lessons from was a work in progress, often you could not access the lessons and they kept modifying the website. It felt like we were the test rats for the new platform. Everything felt very disorganized, and the cohorts took second place to any corporate event that took place in the space.
BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 05, 2018
Hi there,
We appreciate your feedback and are sorry that you felt that you weren’t supported enough during the program. At BrainStation we encourage students to book one-on-one time with Instructors, work with their peers and ask questions to ensure they are getting the best learning experience possible.
Our Student Experience team offers a career support program to full-time graduates looking to pursue a role in web development, which includes mock interviews, tech company tours, networking events and even resume-building workshops. This career support is ongoing, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at contact@brainstation.io for more information on the program. - AnonymousDeveloper • Graduate • Web Development Intensive - Wyncode • MiamiOct 01, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
After going through Wyncode, It definetly was not worth the 10k. After graduating I enrolled in a Udacity nanodegree course and graduated after 2 months. My current employeers were way more impressed with the work I did in my nanodegree program. The job support I received with Udacity actually helped me get my current position. It is strange that Udacity offers money back after 6 months if you are not hired but Wyncode won't do that. I would love to get that 10k back to be honest....
After going through Wyncode, It definetly was not worth the 10k. After graduating I enrolled in a Udacity nanodegree course and graduated after 2 months. My current employeers were way more impressed with the work I did in my nanodegree program. The job support I received with Udacity actually helped me get my current position. It is strange that Udacity offers money back after 6 months if you are not hired but Wyncode won't do that. I would love to get that 10k back to be honest. Waste of good money and time. I do not reccomend. its a good course but worth around $700 to be honest. I urge you to try something else.
Matt Campbell of BrainStation
Director of Admissions
Oct 06, 2016
Dear Wyncoder,Thank you for your feedback! Udacity is one of our out-of-state hiring partners and we're happy to tout three Wyncode graduates who have been hired there with one right after the program. In fact, those graduates have been instrumental in the creation of the Ruby nanodegree.We're happy that you were able to finish the nanodegree in two months, which is faster than the average completion of six months to a year. It's unfortunate that you feel the nine-week program did not attribute to your success with that curriculum.Also, we're confident that the web immersive is more than just a curriculum that teaches beginners how to build web applications. Wyncode is a community of individuals, including you, who are looking to broaden their opportunities while developing a new skill set and investing themselves in the burgeoning South Florida ecosystem.As far as job support, we've successfully placed graduates in over 80 companies with over 30 hiring more than one, five of which have hired more than five. Considering your experience as a Wyncode graduate, it makes sense that the Udacity nanodegree would make you a more exceptional candidate. We also encourage our graduates to continue learning beyond the web immersive and it's great to hear that you've done that.Best of luck in your current role and know that we're happy to have you part of the Wynfam!Thanks,Matt Campbell, Director of Admissions at Wyncode Academy - Anonymousstill looking • Full Stack Web Development - Wyncode • MiamiSep 27, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
The biggest lie was...
A lot of people chose Wyncode because of their 90% placement in 90 days. After their own audits we now know the truth behind that. Many people are still looking for work. Many people had to go back to their old lives and even move back to where they originally lived before moving here with the hopes of finding work.
Saying that Wyncoders graduate and go to work in Tech, isnt a stretch. But with that said, they are not coding. Lots of people graduating Wyncode are taking jobs with ...
A lot of people chose Wyncode because of their 90% placement in 90 days. After their own audits we now know the truth behind that. Many people are still looking for work. Many people had to go back to their old lives and even move back to where they originally lived before moving here with the hopes of finding work.
Saying that Wyncoders graduate and go to work in Tech, isnt a stretch. But with that said, they are not coding. Lots of people graduating Wyncode are taking jobs with companies doing things other than coding.
Wynwork (job placement) sessions are depressing. They ask you if you have any leads, then share them with everyone else, causing that company to get bombarded with applicants. That arent always qualified.
Miami tech doesnt really exist as much as they try and sell you. Its the same small group of people. To be honest they arent even that welcoming. If you dont beleive me just go to any "tech event" in Miami and say "hello" to the same 30 people you see at every event.
After looking for work for almost over 6 months, I can tell you that Ruby is not hiring here in Miami. They will tell you that so many companies use Ruby, that may be true. But they def. arent hire, and if they are. They arent hiring Jr. Devs.
With that being said almost no one is hiring Jr devs in Miami.
JavaScript, PHP, UX developers is where the work is.
There arent many negative reviews here because Miami is all about who you know, and people know that if you get blacklisted. Its pretty much over for you. There has actually been talk about class action lawsuit between quite a bit of previous Wyncoders from multilpe cohorts across multiple locations, because of the 90% job placement rating which was their biggest selling point. A lot of people took out loans and are paying them back and honestly havent even gotten a single interview after Wyncode.
Also, telling people that "getting the job is up to you, we give you everything you need to get the interview" is a really crappy way to make people think its their fault they cant find the work. When in reality there is no work.
Finally, if any of this sounds far fetched or just someone being bitter. Lets look at the facts, well over 250 people have graduated Wyncode and there are only 118 reviews. If everyone was satisfied with their experience they would have been happy to leave a review, or let alone resond to the audit questions.
Matt Campbell of BrainStation
Director of Admissions at Wyncode Academy
Oct 06, 2016
Dear Wyncoder,We’re sorry to hear that you’ve been having difficulties finding a role in Miami. The job hunt in any field is difficult but, we would like to make it better for you. We appreciate your feedback and would like to address some of the concerns you expressed.For a long time we wanted to make sure our stats were verified for the benefit of those enrolling in our program and you. So that's what we did this summer. Our recently released independently verified job report will show that 97% of job seeking graduates during 2014-2015 were placed 120+ days after graduation. 188 Wyncoders graduated during that time, and 168 graduates were considered job seeking, defined as actively looking for a role in the 90 days following graduation. Of the 163 graduates who obtained work after graduation, 137 graduates, or 84%, obtained a technical role. A technical role is defined as working as part of, or directly with, an engineering team. Our marketing will be updated to reflect these audited statistics.As far as the job market, Wyncode graduates have been hired at over 80 companies, with 30 hiring more than one. The majority of our hiring partners are in South Florida and we’ve had five companies hire five or more Wyncode graduates. We continue to host Wynterviews, which introduce Wyncoders to companies looking for hires. There is definitely demand for junior developers and is evidenced by the number of Wynterviews we host every cohort. Students have been hired out of these sessions in the past and it’s also valuable interview practice.The WynWork sessions are a means to support students as they continue their job search. The sessions are designed to provide tips, advice, and personal introductions and direct contact with hundreds of local hiring partners. Also, WynWork support is not only offered to help graduates with their first roles, but also their second and third after graduating from the program.Wyncode is licensed by the Florida Department of Education and as a result, we are not allowed to promise roles to anyone by law. The job search can be difficult, but as I mentioned, we offer support for students and do the best we can to help place them in tech roles after graduation. The web immersive program is designed to teach individuals the skills necessary to build web apps while also focusing on soft skills, including interview prep, resume prep, and providing connections with South Florida hiring partners. In our over two years of operation, we’ve done just that and our student outcomes are evidence of that.Wyncode has the most ratings out of any brick-and-mortar coding bootcamp in the country on Course Report. Considering your logic, none of the coding bootcamps on this site would be legitimate. We’re happy to see graduates leave reviews, positive or negative, because it provides prospective students an opportunity to see what our program has to offer.If you’re still having trouble finding roles in Miami, please feel free to reach out and we’ll do our best to support you.Thanks,
Matt Campbell, Director of Admissions at Wyncode Academy - AnonymousSystems Analyst • Applicant • Intro to Web Development • VancouverSep 19, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Horrible Experience
I signed up for the part-time class in NYC.
They cancelled the class 4 business days before the start date of the class.
Or as they put it "Unfortunately we've had to delay the start of our part-time courses, and we don't have an official start date posted yet."
I couldn't sign up with another institution due to the fact that all fall classes had passed their admission deadlines.
Didn't...
I signed up for the part-time class in NYC.
They cancelled the class 4 business days before the start date of the class.
Or as they put it "Unfortunately we've had to delay the start of our part-time courses, and we don't have an official start date posted yet."
I couldn't sign up with another institution due to the fact that all fall classes had passed their admission deadlines.
Didn't receive any type of accommodation for the inconvenience they caused (like a discount on a future course or something of that nature).
They provided me with a refund but the waste of time and effort, not to mention how unprofessional this was, forced me to write this review.
BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 06, 2018
Hi there,
We appreciate you leaving a review, and apologize that your class was cancelled. This is a very rare occurrence for us and not something that we take lightly. Unfortunately, there are rare instances when this is unavoidable, and our Learning Advisor team always provides a full refund to students, saves a spot in the next cohort if you would still like to take the class, and also offers a Learning Credit for future events, panel discussions, or workshops.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at contact@brainstation.io so that a member of our team can discuss your experience further. - AnonymousGraduate • Web Development Intensive - Wyncode • MiamiSep 15, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Not worth the 10k
Intro
First, let me say, that I met a lot of cool people who I still keep in touch with and who I had a lot of fun with. But like a previous reviewer stated, I did not sign up to make friends, I signed up to learn to code and acquire a set of skills that would make me employable. That however did not happen.
With that out of the way, one of my first issues with Wyncode is with integrity. It seems like they will say anything to get you to signup and give the...
Intro
First, let me say, that I met a lot of cool people who I still keep in touch with and who I had a lot of fun with. But like a previous reviewer stated, I did not sign up to make friends, I signed up to learn to code and acquire a set of skills that would make me employable. That however did not happen.
With that out of the way, one of my first issues with Wyncode is with integrity. It seems like they will say anything to get you to signup and give them 10k. 90% placement at 75k is terrible unethical marketing. Not even close to 50% for my cohort. That was their pitch when I signed up. I've actually considered taking legal action as I'm still stuck paying the loan. When I was on the fence, they pitched " hurry, only one spot left", so I did, only to see 2 students admitted after our start date. In the previous cohort they admitted a older gentleman who was unemployable and In our cohort they admitted a student who could not type. If they could pay they were in.
Curriculum:
I agree with a previous post, if you sign up for code school,($25) and if you read a book each in JS, Ruby, and RoR, ($75) you would have learned more then the curriculum and only for $100!!! I agree with homework issues stated below, many times you would learn something very dense, only to realize the hw is from yesterday's lecture.
Instructor:
We were basically lab rats with our instructor. They hired Damon, who while a great coder, was a poor instructor. He only taught two cohorts and was let go, so that tells you all you need to know. Meanwhile we are stuck footing the bill for this experiment.
Job assistance:
This is one of the worst parts of the whole program. You are basically on your own. Send emails and come to follow ups and talk about it. The wynterviews, are good, but I think they should probably be longer and allow you to show off a project or two. In my cohort alone, I would say 75% were not hired and/or no longer coding. I would also second the email bombarding from Wyncode was a turn off to potential employers, as I had an employer say this to me directly.
Summary
Save your money. Sign up for codeschool and code academy, read a couple of books, and you'll be fine. Definitely not worth it. I would also recommend some project based learning like code4startup or baserails. These were excellent. Also like someone mentioned before i would focus on Javascript more, it's barely taught at all at Wyncode.
Matt Campbell of BrainStation
Director of Admissions at Wyncode Academy
Sep 16, 2016
We’re very sorry to hear you feel the skills you learned at Wyncode haven’t landed you a job as a developer.A top Miami accounting firm recently completed an independent audit of the job placement outcomes for all students graduating in 2014 and 2015. This report will go live next week and will be accompanied by a web application displaying interactive graphs representing the audited statistics for the 168 job-seeking graduates during that period.The job report will show that 97% of job seeking graduates during that period were placed 120+ days after graduation. While we had 188 Wyncoders graduate during that time, only 168 graduates were considered job seeking, defined as actively looking for a role in the 90 days following graduation. Of the 163 graduates who obtained work after graduation, 137 graduates, or 84%, obtained a technical role. A technical role is defined as working as part of, or directly with, an engineering team. Our marketing will be updated to reflect these audited statistics.We do not promise that graduates will make a starting salary of $75,000 in South Florida. The statistic posted in our FAQ is a nationwide average, sourced from a recruiting firm that has since updated their site. While we have graduates working throughout U.S. and the world, most of them remain in the region. Our audited average salary statistic will be available in the report next week.Because we are licensed by the Florida Department of Education, if you are concerned about our marketing practices, you’re welcome to contact the Commission for Independent Education at 1-888-224-6684.Our admissions process starts with an interview and requires a code challenge. For the third quarter of 2016, only around 40% of the students we interviewed were accepted.We believe that an older person can learn to code, but we are also transparent during the admissions process about the challenges that they may face getting employment after the program.We also inform prospective students about what to expect from the program and, due to the rigor of the course, we do not admit students after the start date.The Wyncode curriculum is iterated continuously, and the extra week we’ve recently added to the course will allow us to go even deeper into all the topics you mention, including JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and SQL. We’ve also improved on our homework assignments, and are connecting our lectures, homework, and projects to clear objectives to ensure that students are progressing through the program effectively.We don’t claim that the topics we’re teaching aren’t available to learn online - cheaply, even for free. Wyncode’s value stems from a structured environment that provides a great foundation for a career in web technology. We teach best practices, we immerse you into a technology work culture, and we connect you to the South Florida tech ecosystem, introducing you to the influencers and hiring partners in this region.Damon Davison taught three cohorts for Wyncode. We’re proud of the work he did, but he decided to return to his previous gig as a developer. Our current head instructor in Fort Lauderdale, Auston Bunsen, is a senior developer, former CTO of two companies, and has taught three cohorts with tremendous success. He has also done significant work iterating our curriculum and processes as we look to improve going forward.We continue to host Wynterviews, which introduce Wyncoders to companies looking for hires. In addition, we now offer twice weekly WynWork sessions that allow all Wyncoders to get job placement help. We provide this service to all Wyncode alumni for free, and we will continue to do so for as long as we can. We’ll support not only your first job, but your second and third after graduating from the program. We’re extremely proud of the job support we offer, from tips and advice, to personal introductions and direct contact with hundreds of local hiring partners.If you are one of the two students in your cohort still seeking employment, we invite you to join us at the next WynWork session so that we may assist you as well. - AnonymousGraduate • Full Stack Web Development - Wyncode • MiamiSep 06, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Happy I went, still didn't learn enough to be confident as a designer or developer
For those newly in development, Wyncode helps support people to launch into new careers, especially if you're a south florida local. It was definitely a fun and memorable experience! Still though a price tag that costs an arm and a leg of $10,000 which was SOOOO MUCHH for me, I would probably expect similar education for $5K or something... in terms of actual content, didn't feel like a full-on developer or designer and so much to learn still so a bit bummed out for that but maybe I had to...
For those newly in development, Wyncode helps support people to launch into new careers, especially if you're a south florida local. It was definitely a fun and memorable experience! Still though a price tag that costs an arm and a leg of $10,000 which was SOOOO MUCHH for me, I would probably expect similar education for $5K or something... in terms of actual content, didn't feel like a full-on developer or designer and so much to learn still so a bit bummed out for that but maybe I had too high expectations and yeah wyncode did help me jumpstart everything still and yeah am happy I still got access to the network and for learning about the power and elegance of Ruby on Rails. Pitch day won't be forgotten! Nothing is perfect but take the leap if you're ready :) And if you're not or can't afford it..it will be difficult but you can pull through with right mentorship so yeah keep the hustle going and find local guides to help steer the way! Anything is possible for those committed!
- AnonymousDigital Marketing • TorontoAug 30, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Expensive & Disappointing
For the amount of money paid for this course, the quality of teaching was really underwhelming. Industry experts are awesome but that doesn't make them good educators. Brainstation needs to do a better job of training and equipping the industry experts to teach an effective class. I walked away feeling very disappointed and without a goog grasp of Digital Marketing, and I know many/most in my class felt the same. For the final presentations reps from the companies we were presenting on wer...
For the amount of money paid for this course, the quality of teaching was really underwhelming. Industry experts are awesome but that doesn't make them good educators. Brainstation needs to do a better job of training and equipping the industry experts to teach an effective class. I walked away feeling very disappointed and without a goog grasp of Digital Marketing, and I know many/most in my class felt the same. For the final presentations reps from the companies we were presenting on were supposed to be there but only 1 showed up. They announced a winner but didn't explain why the rest of us didn't win which would have been an idea learning opportunity that was missed. There's a lot of potential here but Braintstation really needs to step up it's game if it wants to be a leader in this space. There aren't really any substantial perks for alumni who have spent thousands of dollars for these courses. I definitely wouldn't recommend to a friend.
BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 11, 2018
Hi there,
We appreciate your feedback.
The reason that all of our instructors are industry professionals working in the field they are teaching is to ensure that our students are gaining the most relevant skills and real-world insights possible. All instructors are vetted and go through an extensive hiring process to ensure that they are the right fit for the subject matter and can bring a unique industry perspective to the classroom.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to contact@brainstation.io so that a member of our team can try to improve what appears to be a negative experience with our course. - AnonymousAcademic Operations & Digital Media Manager • Graduate • Product Management • TorontoAug 22, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Thinking Outside of the Box with Product Management
As someone who has just recently stepped into the world of product management, BrainStation's 10-week long part-time course kicked things into high gear for me. Starting from the basic fundamentals of what it is to work in the industry, I found very quickly that so much of what I had done and have been doing in my role as Academic Operations & Digital Media Manager at an e-learning start up was translatable.
The course content is well put together, practical and current with ...
As someone who has just recently stepped into the world of product management, BrainStation's 10-week long part-time course kicked things into high gear for me. Starting from the basic fundamentals of what it is to work in the industry, I found very quickly that so much of what I had done and have been doing in my role as Academic Operations & Digital Media Manager at an e-learning start up was translatable.
The course content is well put together, practical and current with a hands-on approach in mind. I'm holding these class resources dearly now as I venture into new projects at work, searching for ways to apply the material. For me, this was the best part of the entire 10-week course; the fact that I could turn around and use what I had been learning in the class the next day at work. The course covers a lot of ground and touches on all aspects of being a product manager from market research to user experience to pricing.
The instructors in the course were fantastic as well. Industry professionals who have the experience and stories to make the material incredibly relatable and contextual for the class. Their feedback, never-ending patience, and passion for the industry made the 10 weeks fly by!
- AnonymousMarketing Manager • Student • Product Management • TorontoAug 16, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Product Management - Summer 2016
The product management course at BrainStation is a must-take for anyone looking to transition into a more product-focused role. The small class size makes it easy for students to dive deeper into the material and have meaningful discussions with each other. I really appreciate how the students all come from diverse industries as well. The instructor is super approachable and spends time answering your questions, while providing relevant anectotes from his experience as a product manager.
The product management course at BrainStation is a must-take for anyone looking to transition into a more product-focused role. The small class size makes it easy for students to dive deeper into the material and have meaningful discussions with each other. I really appreciate how the students all come from diverse industries as well. The instructor is super approachable and spends time answering your questions, while providing relevant anectotes from his experience as a product manager.
The course content is also really impressive, although I wish we had more than 10 weeks to go over it all. There's a lot to absorb, so I recommend that after class, you take the time to review and really understand the concepts. The material touches upon all aspects of product management, and explains how different business functions interact with each another. As a marketer at a tech startup, it was crucial for me to understand how product marketing fits in the product manegement discipline.
Lastly, the final project allows students to build their own product from start to finish. Thinking critically about the features you're building and the problems you're solving for really trains you to think like a product manager. I'd recommend this class to anyone. - AnonymousGraduate • Full-Time Web Development Program • TorontoJun 03, 2016Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Web Development Immersive
The curriculum is a work in progress. Things we were supposed to learn were never covered and not replaced by anything else. We were promised files containing the solutions to many of the challenges, but many were never delivered. The deployment lessons we were promised near the end of the course still haven’t been added to the online portal.
Some of the challenges used starter code provided by other people from Konrad Group which didn’t work and actually prevented us from c...
The curriculum is a work in progress. Things we were supposed to learn were never covered and not replaced by anything else. We were promised files containing the solutions to many of the challenges, but many were never delivered. The deployment lessons we were promised near the end of the course still haven’t been added to the online portal.
Some of the challenges used starter code provided by other people from Konrad Group which didn’t work and actually prevented us from completing the challenges. Even the code written by our lead instructor Rares was frequently wrong because he didn’t take the time to check his work before giving it to us to work with. This is not the right way to teach! Spending hours trying to figure out where I went wrong only to eventually find out it was the source code (which we weren’t supposed to touch) that was wrong, was a colossal waste of time and incredibly discouraging. Rares just shrugs this off like the quality of the information we are given shouldn’t matter.
The lead instructor was mainly unavailable, across the street working for the parent company, taking meetings, or even teaching a different class while we did without. That’s double-dipping, and Brainstation should know better.
The TAs tried to be helpful, but it wasn’t enough. One had the attention span of a gnat, one was too busy babysitting the girls who were flirting with him (for hours on end), and the third didn’t have the training to be able to answer even the most basic questions. The teacher was rarely in the mood to answer questions. Waiting for 45mins+ for someone to be available to answer a question was the usual.
The pacing of the course is uneven. We raced through HTML, CSS and Javascript, then pretty much stopped dead while the teacher was teaching the other class. Each lesson was dictated at lighting speed so most of the students didn’t even try to keep up. We just had to teach ourselves via Google after our teacher or TA stopped talking. They have no presentation skills.
Most weeks there is a “guest speaker”. I put that in quotes because every single speaker worked for Konrad Group, so they weren’t really guests. One week they brought a female developer all the way from the Costa Rica office to talk about being a woman in tech. They couldn’t find a female developer in Toronto? Hmm. The single freelancing talk was taught by our lead instructor who told us he only worked freelance long enough to build up a portfolio and get a job. The company doesn’t know anyone who actually chooses to work freelance?
The website used to brag about the classroom being in the midst of industry professionals. It isn’t. It’s across the street in an old building they haven’t finished repairing yet. There is no heat, the floor shakes like the building is falling down, the plumbing isn’t hooked up right, and the brick walls are held up by wooden shims. But the design has won awards! LOL
There is zero job search support. Only a couple job ads were posted on the Slack channel before it became a ghost town. These were not for companies that Brainstation has any connection with, but just ads somebody saw. The interview preparation consisted of a slide deck prepared by Konrad Group for their own hiring purposes. We were promised a copy but never got it. There were mock interviews conducted by Konrad Group which consisted of, “Show me your project,” and “What is…” (simple questions of general programming knowledge which we hadn’t actually been taught). Useless.
Konrad Group/Brainstation exists in a bubble. They don’t bring in other companies to speak, they talk about themselves exclusively, and they don’t care if we get hired by anyone other than them (as TAs or interns, never as web devs).
The consensus among the grads from my cohort is that we were ripped off. An immersive course is better than nothing, and better than studying on your own, but for $8000, we did not get our money’s worth.
BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 11, 2018
Hi there,
We appreciate your feedback. There have been changes made to our full-time programs over the years. We are constantly iterating and improving content with the help of some of the most innovative organizations in the world, and our full-time Web Development program is now a designated diploma program designed to give students the real-world programming and development skills they need to be successful in the field.Our full-time diploma programs are immersive, challenging, and fast-paced to replicate the experience of working in a professional web development setting. Our educators and TA’s are there to offer support, extra help, guidance, and real-world insights to students - ultimately preparing them for a career in development.
The full-time programs do bring in guest speakers, but they come from a range of organizations–just last week there were three guest speakers brought in from IBM. The full-time programs try to bring in professionals from innovative technology companies, and many of these organizations host tech tours for the students as well.
Our career support program is a chance for full-time students to get help with resumes, cover letters, attend networking events, present their projects to hiring partners, and participate in mock-interviews. Career support is ongoing, so don’t hesitate to reach out to our student experience team at contact@brainstation.io to see how we can offer continued support. We would also like to hear from you to talk more about your experience and to help improve it. - PioGraduate • Full Stack Web Development - Wyncode • MiamiOct 20, 2018Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Incredible Experience
I started Wyncode in early August of this year. I can honestly say I've never learned so much from a school in such a short amount of time. Before starting the course, I had never had any programming experience. My background is in music and I was skeptical about how much could really be taught about a subject in just 10 weeks. This school is doing a great service by teaching these skills, and the instructors they have on staff are so articulate and thorough that they make the material eas...
I started Wyncode in early August of this year. I can honestly say I've never learned so much from a school in such a short amount of time. Before starting the course, I had never had any programming experience. My background is in music and I was skeptical about how much could really be taught about a subject in just 10 weeks. This school is doing a great service by teaching these skills, and the instructors they have on staff are so articulate and thorough that they make the material easy to learn. I would highly recommend that anyone who is interested in learning to code look into Wyncode and reach out to some of the staff, students, and alumni!
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