Codesmith

As a recent graduate of one of our nations leading liberal arts colleges, I can honestly say that codesmith, and not my undergraduate education, was the most invigorating and fulfilling learning experience of my life. Four things (listed in no particular order) make Codesmith great:

Staff/Team members:

Codesmith's CEO, Will Sentance, heavily emphasizes the importance of building a warm and supportive learning community. The entire staff reflects this attitude. I moved from Chicago to enroll in Codesmith, and was initially worried about having a small support network in LA. My fears dissipated day one at family dinner, a weekly group dinner where everyone in the Codesmith community (alumni included!) are welcome to dine together and shoutout other community members for their successes and kind actions.

The engineering and teaching staff often stay beyond work hours because they enjoy helping Codesmith residents. The engineering staff have a strong and unified pedagogical approach - they subtly guide residents towards asking the right questions, but avoid directly providing residents with a specific approach to a problem. While this teaching style can be frustrating at times, it taught me to ask the right questions and is ultimately responsible for the tremendous growth I experienced in 12 weeks.

The core staff, who work on hiring support (I'll focus on this later), organize events and meetups, addmissions, and a variety of other behind-the-scenes work, are always happy to take time out of their day to talk with Codesmith residents about how they are doing both academically and emotionally. After all, such an intense program can be draining at times, and the support of the staff is instrumental in making sure every resident completes the program ready to be hired as a mid-senior level engineer.

Peers

Codesmith is highly selective. As a result, I was surrounded by smart and dedicated engineers with a diverse set of backgrounds. Codesmith doesn't only look for technical prowess, though. They are careful only to admit compassionate and thoughtful communicators - people that will be strong team members. After all, the majority of work in Codesmith is done in pairs or small groups. This exposed me to a variety of approaches to problem solving. I learned faster as a result of my peers, and gained invaluable experience as part of an engineering team. My fellow residents would often organize informal lectures or study groups outside of class time to help bring everyone up to speed in subjects they excelled in. 

Curriculum / Production project

The first four weeks of the program introduce all of the core material necessary to become a fullstack javascript developer. This whirlwind month is made possible by cohesive curriculum that forces residents to solve complex problems. The real power of the codesmith experience, though, lies in the last 8 weeks, which are focused primarily on group projects. During the last 6 weeks, I worked in a team of 4 to develop production level server debugging software that kicks postman's butt. I went from knowing a few lines of javascript to publishing an open source developer tool on npm in 12 weeks. In the last week of the program, I also gave a talk at the SoCal Node meetup about child processes in node, and field questions on the subject from seasoned developers. 

Hiring support

The Codesmith core staff have weekly checkins with alumni to ensure they are making good progress in their job searches. All students go through multiple drafts of their resumes, which are reviewed by Will's scrupulous eye. Residents go through rounds of practice whiteboarding sessions and interviews with both staff and other reseidents. And in the last week of the program, each resident has the opportunity to kick off their job search by interviewing with multiple hiring partners. Additionally, Codesmith has a hiring support team member, Eric, who is dedicated to providing students with interview and application strategies and giving residents advice in negotiating better packages once they have received job offers.

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I was accepted to both Codesmith and Hack Reactor (LA). Hack Reactor certainly appears to be a strong program. Yet Codesmith's emphasis on creating a community of engineers and learners, the incredible quality of open source projects produced by Codesmith residents, and the teaching style of the engineering staff made Codesmith the clear option for me.

An intense program that will challenge and push you mentally and even emotionally at times. Fast-paced but balanced with a fun atmosphere, you will grow in many ways. Check out Hard Parts to get a sense of the community and to see if it could be a good fit. Talk to a range of current students and graduates.

I am very grateful for the people I met during my time there. The best coding bootcamp experience I've ever had. Other things I miss: the patio for watching sunsets and bagels for days.

I'm going to have to keep this short, as I really need to get going to work this morning - to my full-time job as a full-stack software engineer.   Codesmith, like most things in life, will give back as much as you put into it.  I firmly believe it's the best program you can go to, but obviously I haven't been to any other immersive programs.  However, there are a few things I can say for certain (with as much objectivity as possible):

1) The campus is great. The space is open, and the amount of smart, driven (yet kind) people walking around and working together elevates your own abilities.  If you have a chance to attend a Thursday, JavaScript The Hard Parts session, I highly recommend you do so to catch the vibe.

2) The quality of the production (final) projects are better than any I've seen out of other programs.  This is important, because if you are career-changer like me, this will be your most prominent item on your resume.  My team's production project web-dsp was demo'd on the mainstage at the Google I/O developer conference (and they found us, we didn't contact anyone).  Another team's project, Reactide, was a #1 trending Github repository for weeks. 

3) They care about your outcome.  The job search process is no fun for anyone, especially if rejection stings.  There's support along the way even after the program is done, and the final weeks of the program are really geared towards making sure you have the tools you need to succeed. 

On a subjective level, I feel like I've made lifelong friends with people from the process, which is obviously invaluable.  And I had a good bit of fun while really expanding my scope of knowledge and ability each day of the program.  If you're able to get in to Codesmith, just do it! 

You can learn coding from anywhere, from online to books to in the classroom, but what differentiates Codesmith from the others is its people. When you go to a Codesmith class, you are given individual attention, when you ask a question, no question is too stupid, no age is an issue and no experience is an issue.

Every class I have attended the instructors spent at least 15 minutes helping students understand concepts that were being reviewed, and not just asking “does everyone understand,” but rather asking confused looking people to explain what they don’t understand then clarifying. Even technologies the instructors unfamiliar with, they would say, “Let’s look this up” and then looked up the technologies for the class and their own knowledge, showing that they are always learning too. The focus on understanding more and filling in gaps of knowledge rather than just memorization and getting though the material was what stood out for me.

The instructors at Codesmith earnestly care about you learning and you see that when you go to one of the classes or workshops, I know from experience because I took part in JavaScript the Hard Parts: Codesmith Prep, and absolutely loved it. The classes are never boring as the format goes:

Interactive > Power point > Interactive > Power point > Research > Interactive > Short Power Point > Interactive

Where Interactive can be anything from a problem to a presentation to a pop quiz to a quest speaker to a Q&A. Also questions can be asked by the instructors at any time so the classes keeps you on your toes.

In total, JavaScript is intimidating even if you already know how to program as I did, but with the help of instructors who know what they are doing, and a fun curriculum, it makes all the difference in your learning. 

Having experienced JSHP several times before, during, and after my Codesmith experience, I know that it can be extremely valuable for coders at every level from novice to advance. I would say that JSHP is the most valuable for the intermediate to advance developer who has had a lot of experience using javascript for algorithms or practical applications like dynamic websites or small apps. For many, JSHP will be the first deep dive under the hood of how javascript works, exploring higher order functions, callbacks, and clojures. I believe OOP will be offered soon as well if it hasn't been already. The workshops are mostly lead by Will Sentance, Codesmith's CEO who leads much of the Codesmith core curriculum along side other experiened engineers. JSHP is definitely a jewel in the LA tech scene. For the price of $0, you get access to a pretty awesome community, free education, and usually a few beers if you like. I can't reccommend it enough, you have to check it out!

One of the best decisions I ever made in my life is going to Codesmith. Back in 2016, I actually got accepted into all the top 3 boot camps in CA: Hack Reactor at SF, App Academy and Codesmith. I didn't even consider others because all the other boot camps including Hack Reactor at LA (but in reality MarketSquare) are nowhere near those top boot camps. 

App Academy could be as cheap as $5k if you don’t get a job. For me, not getting a job was never an option anyway.

Did I choose Codesmith because I think I would fail at Hack Reactor or App Academy? No, definitely not. Becoming a software engineer is a choice that I made and I knew that if I worked hard enough then no matter where I started from, I would become successful. 

I knew at Codesmith I would have to work hard. But if you want to become a software engineer and don't want to work hard, that is impossible. Everyone at Codesmith, even the brightest (ESPECIALLY the brightest) worked super hard every night. To me and my cohort mate, 11 pm was too early to go home. (Definitely not for the parking police).

However, if you want your job search to be a much nicer experience, Codesmith has a strong support team who will go all the way just to make sure that all of your correspondences are written beautifully. Thank Haley, Hira and all the staff who have been making my job search process much easier.

Why did I choose Codesmith? 

1. A graduate from Codesmith LA with an average of 100k compared to a 100k in San Francisco is very different. San Francisco has a higher cost of living.
2. Codesmith costs less than other two.
3. Codesmith projects have reached new height. Check out Reactide with 7k stars on GitHub or webDSP. Guess where those projects were made.
4. Codesmith class sizes are much smaller than the other two. Look at Hack Reactor's video and see if every student has a seat. On top of that, there isn’t enough support from the staff after graduation.
5. Codesmith really cares more about student success than other programs, and will do whatever they can to help you. I was an out-of-state student who wanted to change my life. Codesmithhelped me and continues to help me so much that I truly believe that there is no other program who would even consider doing the same thing.
6. You can figure this one out yourself after coming to CodesmithThursday night for JavaScript: The Hard Parts. Seriously, talk to Victoria or Will or anyone of us who came out of Codesmith. I do believe it will change your life forever. 

Let's talk about transforming yourself. You very well may be at the initial steps I was only a few short months ago. What's in consideration is an arena of challenge, unfamiliarity, and creativity.

I wince from the urge to say the word 'given' when referring to Codesmith. It isn't a word that is necessarily bad. Yet it draws unnecessary focus and doesn't reflect what you ultimately gain from such an experience. Nonetheless I will start with what Codesmith does in fact "provide".

1) An intensive multidimensional curriculum

2) Exceptional professional advice

3) Career support and networking

The underlying brilliance of Codesmith however is missed in this simple list. Codesmith more so than any other verb cultivates marvelous things in the individuals who attend the program. This is of course because the Codesmith environment and community is ingrained with an altruistic spirit to propel others.

If you were in search of a big reveal in to why Codesmith is a superb choice - this is it. In the field of accelerated learning Codesmith reaches the greatest of heights by living the words "We are all excellent, and we will grow to be more excellent." It is a beautiful thing.

Codesmith brings its residents in as family. This is an enormous backbone of support you may never see outside of your very own family. As it must, the program unleashes the gamut of web and software development obstacles. This is never an exciting part when I am talking about Codesmith. I am of the believe that the spoken material can be learned quite isolated with only the right handful of books. Torturous yet possible. What develops as you grind unit by unit is ability of course. As you take in your surroundings you realize the community is at your finger tips. When you stumble then stumble and your ready to not take another thrust up you are brought up by your cohort mates. Finally, when you have seen so much of the process that looking back you see the pattern of challenge, resilience, and accomplishment you realize a tremendous confidence.

Codesmith is a great whirlwind. I have probably not given justice to what I truly believe it is. Though what I know it is not is a magic door to success. Be prepared to join something that deserves your all if you attend Codesmith. It is a place that you should make the most of and that will be so many levels past the industry curriculum.  

Two things really stuck with after graduating from Codesmith – 1) the process is sometimes much more important than the end result, and 2) having a caring community makes any challenge seem possible. 

Codesmith chooses to teach through doing rather than through lecture – which may seem frustrating at first, especially if you’re more used to the academic life, but yields amazing results as long as you stick with it.  By being forced to dig through the documentation and online resources (you basically become a Google master) to find what you’re looking for, you end up having a deeper understanding of the material than if you had just listened to a lecture.  You also pick up a lot of other information along the way.  What might’ve been an assignment on React might somehow lead to learning how to utilize a browser’s local cache.  The beauty in it is that it all is somehow connected, so every bit you pick up might be useful in the future. 

But, just because Codesmith teaches by doing, doesn’t mean that you’re on your own.  Throughout most of the program, you’ll be paired up with another cohort mate as the two of you work your way through each unit.  There are also Fellows (former graduates) who will help guide you when you’re truly stuck.  At first I was a little skeptical of being guided by those who just finished the program a few weeks ago, but I quickly grew to appreciate them, not only because of the vast knowledge they provided, but also because of the empathy they were able to provide, having gone through the program themselves.  Which brings me to my second point – the community.    

The community here is why I chose Codesmith over all the other programs of similar nature.  I remember going to one of the Javascript the Hard Parts meetup (which you should definitely check out) and having some members of the current cohort at that time guide us through the problem sets we were doing.  Not only did they take time out of their busy schedule to walk us through the fundamentals, they were never demeaning or short tempered with us when we needed more than one explanation.  It was then that I thought to myself, these are the kind of people that Codesmith admits, and that’s the kind of learning environment that fosters healthy growth.  My feelings towards that only got stronger as I went through the program with my own cohort mates.  Never would I have imagined that I would get along with such a diverse group of people.  We struggled together, we succeeded together, we cried together, we grew together.  During this process, you’ll find out that sometimes the best way to learn something and grow as a person is not to charge ahead and consume as much knowledge as you can, but instead to slow down and help those around you understand.  I’ll be honest, there were times where I was on the brink of tears because the material was just not making sense.  If I were by myself, I would have probably called it quits a long time ago.  But, the best part about being at Codesmith is that your cohorts mates, along with the staff there, won’t let you do that.  They won’t let you fall into a slump of self-defeat and depression.  They’ll stay with you – after hours and on weekends – trying all kind of methods until you can grasp the material.  Because they all know what it feels like to not understand and to feel like you’re the only one who doesn’t seem to get it.  That’s why I chose Codesmith over all the others. 

TL;DR – you’ll struggle, you’ll think you aren’t smart enough, you’ll get angry and frustrated.  But stick it through, and remember that your cohort mates and the Codesmith staff are always there for you.  In a blink of an eye, you’ll find yourself helping someone else with something that you struggled with just a few weeks ago, and you’ll see the fear lift from their eyes.  And that…that is a great feeling.

From the moment you think about applying to Codesmith you are welcomed with open arms into the community through the opportunity to attend many of their free weekly meetups. These provide a chance to extend your solo learning by diving into how Javascript actually works and beginning to code with others.

The Codesmith process is not for everyone - which is why it has longer hours than other programs but offers a more extensive curriculum, a final project phase where some student projects have received 4000+ stars on Github, and a culture that fosters teamwork and a striving for excellence.

From day one you are thrown into a world of problem solving. Guided by top teachers you are introduced to new concepts and then work through a well thought out curriculum in 2 day sprints. The sprints always seemed to hit the middle ground of difficulty with most students having just enough time to refactor their code and walk through it with fellow students. At any point in time (even staying past their work hours till 11pm most nights) Codesmith staff is available to guide you to the solution through the Socratic method. Instead of just giving you an answer the staff engages you in a back and forth conversation until you feel the slight warmth of a lightbulb above your head.

You'll do these sprints by pair programming with another student in your class and this is where you learn the soft skills that will allow you to excel in the workplace. Former bartenders work with ex investment bankers, students fresh out of college with an engineering degree code alongside former salespeople - this is how you grow your empathy, technical and personal communication skills and openness to others' ways of thinking. 

All bootcamps will promise you the world, Codesmith included. It's up to you as an individual to take advantage of what is being offered to you. After careful consideration I decided Codesmith had the most to offer me. As a result I went from beginning to learn how to code on my own in September, joining the November cohort and receiving a job offer three weeks after graduation.

If you had asked me if I thought I would have been programming professional a year ago the answer would be no. Yet here I am thanks to the Codesmith ethos and the people it brings together. When looking to join a bootcamp understand that who you will be going to class with every day is just as important as the class itself. If you talk to anyone at Codesmith you'll immediately understand why the application process is more rigorous than other schools. As they tell you about the long nights they spent building developer tools or learning about data structures you'll see the grin on their face as they reminisce about the experience.

About Me

I found my love for programming while studying at UCLA. I had taken a few classes in C++ but I kept telling myself that it was too late to change my major. During my senior year, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to deploy a website that is still hosted by UCLA, but I still kept telling myself that it was too late. I tried searching for an entry-level programming job coming out of college, but without a CS degree, it seemed nearly impossible. And so, I decided to chase my other dream and become a sushi chef. Fast forward a year later and I find myself itching to code.

My Realization

I attended Javascript The Hard Parts for the first time in December 2016 and little did I know, it would leave such a lasting impact on me. The first lesson I attended was on Javascript Closures. Will Sentance, the CEO of Codesmith blew me away with his passion and desire to share his knowledge. I knew that at that moment, I had to get into Codesmith. I really wanted to be part of this engineering community.

The 13-Week Immersive

Codesmith was a tough 13 weeks but if you have the grit and determination to push through it, you're gonna have one hell of a good time. Not only does Codesmith build a strong HTML, CSS, and Javascript foundation, but the program also offers popular frameworks such as Angular and React. You get to dive into building SQL and NoSQL databases and you learn the power of single-threaded Node Servers. But most important of all, you meet some really great people. The Codesmith staff is super supportive, even after you graduate! And your chortmates will keep you motivated.

Life after Codesmith

Finding a job is never easy. But two weeks out of the program and I am now employed at a company that I'm super excited to be at. People may tell you that it's impossible to come out of a bootcamp and get hired as a software engineer making 6 figures... well they're right. But Codesmith is NOT a bootcamp. Codesmith is an engineering residency. It's a place where aspiring engineers can grow into seasoned software developers.

If you're considering a bootcamp, do yourself a favor and don't mistake Codesmith for one. For the money, good bootcamps take in new comers, hobbyists, and amateurs and do wonders in preparing them for entry level junior roles. By contrast, Codesmith does this for free. If you want a junior role, start coming to Codesmith where they've cultivated a community created by and for engineers. Regular discussions and workshops expounding on topics from fundamentals to advanced software engineering topics are offered free of charge on a weekly basis. Free of charge. Several times a week. Every week. For free. Meet other like-minded people passionate about engineering. Learn from them and you can teach yourself how to code and probably get a job if you're keen.

If you want to take the next step in your career as a software engineer, as I did, prepare rigorously for the Codesmith admission process and submit an application. Prepare to fail the interview, study, and apply again. Even through failure, you've improved yourself ten-fold. But if you've truly dedicated yourself and committed to becoming the type of engineer who can solve any problem, you might get a chance of a life time.

The Codesmith approach borrows from a pedagogical model practiced by the world's best institutions, reconfiguring that model to meet modern educational needs. It takes a fraction of the time a traditional computer science program needs to prepare you. Although it's also not an equivalent, the approach awards you valuable, hands-on knowledge in place of theory. Part of the program is dedicated to bringing you up to speed with the most current technologies in the javascript ecosystem. We're talking MVC/MVVC, TDD, and RESTful architectures in addition to modern frontend frameworks like React (check out the website for more details) . Don't expect a lot of hand holding here. By design, you are meant to grow by hitting blocks in knowledge, which tests your ability to grow as an engineer. All the while, the instructors keep a close watch, taking care to intervene only when necessary. 

The majority of the time at Codesmith is dedicated to building. Developer tools, client-facing applications, javascript libraries---take your pick. You take the knowledge you've gained up untill that point and create something for the community. The open-source projects built at Codesmith are regularly featured on hacker news and the like. In fact, a recent cohort's project was featured on the main stage at Google I/O (check out WebDSP). What 'bootcamp' can say that? The answer is none. Only a program like Codesmith can put out projects of this level of quality.

To offer my own experience, which is shared by many, I was a self-taught programmer with a non-technical background (accounting and non-profit administration). In terms of academic performance, I was about average, something I take pride in given the level of ability among my peers, which included experienced engineers, recent cs graduates, and some 'non-technical' folks like me. In terms of projects, my team developed an application commissioned by a real company for its userbase. Afterward, I was lucky enough to earn a fellowship, where I had the opportunity to contribute as an engineer and mentor others. When my fellowship ended, I prepared myself to begin a full-fledged job search which I thought would last up to an additional three months. But instead, I received my first offer from a Codesmith hiring partner exactly one day after and I'm now happily employed as a full stack engineer earning a competitive salary.

Simply put, the program works and I changed my life by deciding to come here. Just do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. See you there.