Codesmith

I’m not sure I can do justice to the amazing people at CodeSmith but I’ll try my best.  I remember reading the awesome reviews about the CodeSmith program while I was in living abroad several years ago and I wished that I had the opportunity to be a part of all the awesomeness that was described. Fast forward to today and I can say that the I had a chance to get a small taste of the real thing and it is richer and more impactful than I could ever imagine.  I cannot say enough about the quality of the people - the teachers are caring, smart, and go above and beyond to help students.  The students, prospective students, and staff that I met at JS the hard parts were intelligent, kind, and really nice to be around.  The people at CodeSmith have done an excellent job of attracting the kind of people who you could imagine having life-long friendships with.  What you’ll find are people from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences.  One of the instructor at JS the hard parts was once homeless, another was a DJ, and another was a college dropout (and I’ve learned since that he was accepted at Google).  To me, this is a place of second chances.  In my technical interview, I wasn't asked about my previous work experience or my college degree or my age.  It seemed like the tests and questions were only to gauge  my motivation and  merit and I appreciated not having to talk about the bad decisions that I have made in my past.  

  So I didn’t pass my first technical interview because I didn’t prepare well enough for the communication component. I was given resources to help me prepare for a retest (you’re given 3 opportunities to pass) but because retaking the test meant missing the cohort that I was applying to, I had to give up a small dream I had of joining the immersive program altogether(I have a wife and child so I couldn’t wait). I’ve since found work at a small startup doing some application development and machine learning.  Yet, I do feel a sense of missing out on what I could have been and how much better I would be as a software engineer in the long term.    I have read so many books and watched so many tutorials over the years to be able to hazily understand Javascript but it took only a few hours at CodeSmith to finally truly understand callbacks,  classes, prototypes, functional programming, and other javascript concepts.  I can easily see how someone who has finished CodeSmith’s program can qualify for mid and senior level positions because they really do teach on a deep level in a way that helps you extend what you know and apply it to solve different kinds of problems.  If you are lucky enough to ever have the opportunity to study at CodeSmith, I would encourage you to do so. I wish I could. 

My first experience with Codesmith was with CSX and the weekly L.A. workshops, Intro to Javascript and Hard Parts. At the time, I was brand new to coding, my only experience being Code Academy's "Intro to Javascript" course which I had completed in the previous weeks. 

It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to apply for the three month immersive program. But as much as I had learned attending Hard Parts and working through CSX, I knew I wasn't at the level I needed to be to pass the technical interview. 

So I signed up for CS Prep. The experience was great, and it definitely prepared me for the technical exam. Our instructor Shane was brand new, and there were a couple times when his inexperience was apparent. But overall, he was an excellent instructor - very familiar with the material, attentive and helpful, encouraging, etc. 

I definitely recommend CS Prep if you plan on applying for the immersive program. 

I took CS Prep from June 22nd - July 9th with the hope of getting into the Codesmith Software Engineering Immersive Program; with its money-back guarantee + tuition rollover, applying seemed like a no-brainer. After getting in, I very quickly realized the curriculum was a lot more difficult than any curriculum (mostly Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp) that I had encountered before. CS Prep did a great job of providing information on a lot of difficult concepts that these courses often skip entirely/gloss over, while still managing to make it accessible for a JS beginner such as myself. Also, the curriculum focused heavily on developing skills such as technical communication, pair programming, and problem-solving, all of which are super important for the immersive technical interview.

For me, the best part of CS Prep had to be the course instructor, Shane. Shane’s energy, enthusiasm for both teaching and JavaScript, and his dedication to the success of his students were what made the course such an amazing experience for me. Shane always had a great attitude in class that helped keep us all engaged, and was super easy to talk to when it came to asking questions, both relating to the coursework and outside stuff.

I ended up interviewing and getting into the immersive program soon after CS Prep ended, mostly because of how prepared the program made me feel for the interview. CS Prep's emphasis on developing better technical communication, problem solving skills, and pair programming ended up being a major help during the technical interview. While the actual coursework for the program is difficult, it’s possible to grow into a much stronger developer if you keep up with the work. Overall, I would completely recommend CS Prep to anyone who is hoping to further developed their JS skills and/or is considering applying to the immersive program.

I recently completed a cohort of CS Prep with Shane Taylor. It was an excellent experience for me - I had just come off the back of having failed the Immersive technical interview twice and needed to brush up on Javascript fundamentals, get more pair programming experience, and fill in the gaps in my technical communication vocabulary. Shane and CS Prep provided all this and more. Shane is a more-than-capable teacher and a very kind and empathetic person. Part of the course included recording videos of ourselves coding - and his feedback on our videos was thoughtful, rigorous and detailed. I would highly recommend CS Prep to anyone who has not yet passed their immersive technical interview!

I just finished CS Prep, a two-week online program offered by Codemith. I recommend CS Prep to those searching for a pre-cursor to a full-time bootcamp. 

CS Prep cohorts consist of 10 three-hour classes. Each class follows an efficient structure - first 30 mins are for individual coding practice; following 2 hours are for a lecture led by the main instructor; the final 30 mins are for pair programming.

The lectures are engaging and allow for active student participation. Most core topics are covered.

The pair programming sessions are invaluable. Students pair up and practice coding challenges together. Students alternate roles between challenges - one student verbalizes their thought process for solving a given problem, while the other student writes code to match the instructions. The routine reinforces comprehension and improves student's ability to logic through directives from others.  

Zero complaints. Two thumbs up. Drew

I went through Codesmith immersive program from December -> March 2019.  It was a very stressful decision for me, I left my pregnant wife and 2 year old in Montana and moved to Venice for the 3 months I was in codesmith.  I needed to make sure that it was worth my time and money.  I did extensive research (just like you are doing now because you're reading this review) and narrowed it down to a few.  I was looking for THE BEST program period.  It could have been anywhere in the country and price wasn't a huge factor.  I just needed the knowledge as quickly as possible.  The curriculum, community of people and staff took my skills to where they needed to be.  6 weeks after I graduated I landed a mid-level software engineering job at a very well known company with a total comp package of ~180k.  And almost all of my cohort-mates had a very similar result at the time of writing this review.  Keep in mind...I worked my ass off.  But the hard work was contagious in the cohort and everyday I was excited to dive deeper and push myself and everyone around me.  That's what Codesmith does best.  By the end of the 3 months I was a sobbing mess, leaving people that have become lifelong friends after our time at Codesmith.  Checkout easy parts/hard parts online or in person and it will give you a good idea of the curriculum.  The x factor that codesmith has is the community that it breeds, job search prep and hiring support.  If you work hard to get into codesmith, are able to put your ego aside go through this program working your hardest everyday, follow their advice on applying for jobs => You will succeed. Period.

Having done a TON of research on ALL the bootcamps, I feel very confident that 1) the Codesmith residency is the best 'bootcamp' availabile, and 2) I made the correct decision in choosing Codesmith (I applied and got into all the major alternatives). Here are the main reasons:

1) It's the hardest to get into. A lot of the program is pair-programming and projects. You have to struggle and build, and if you don't have smart, capable people around you, you won't get as much out of it,

2) The curriculum is geared towards projects. Not just 'build a commerce website', but projects that are impressive, applicable to developers, and look good on resumes,

3) Phil - the main instructor in New York, and Will - the founder - are both natural teachers and speakers that keep you engaged and help make complicated concepts digestable and relatable. But maybe even more importantly, they're both genuinely invested in you and your development and success. 

4) The culture - it's a fun place to be, and if you're going to be spending 80 hours a week somewhere, that's pretty important.

 

I just want to mention how phenomenal Codesmith was during my time there. 

Codesmith was my second bootcamp and it was an absolutely different experience compared to my first. The reason I'm writing this review is because I feel that Codesmith is a bootcamp that doesn't get the exposure it deserves in terms of their absolute dedication to software engineering excellence.

During my time as a resident, I had the pleasure of working on a major production project with three other engineers, one who graduated from Harvard in Data Science, specializing in Python and SQL databases, another who was the lead marketing manager for a technology startup, and the third had 10 years professional work experience as a DevOps engineer. Needless to say it was a different feeling here in terms of the type of residents/students coming to study here.

I was "partly" surprised about how patient all of my other cohort-mates/colleagues were, especially coming from their prestigious backgrounds. But the reason I say "partly" is because this is what makes the Codesmith community amazing. The community at Codesmith is as much about the culture as it is about the level of engineering. And that was something that made this bootcamp experience much more memorable and worth every penny and minute!!

The production project for me was the most rewarding piece because we built a developer tool to test the interoperability between a developer's different microservices. If someone was to tell me that I would have been technically able to build this before the program, I would have said they're crazy. But not only did I feel technically able to take on bigger challenges like this, I felt emotionally empowered too. 

Lastly, I just want to say everything, from top to bottom was amazing. Who would of thought someone like me, who started to learn how to code less than a year ago would be able to say I am a Codesmith graduate and a newly hired Software Engineer within the same week of graduating the program.

I recently participated in the JavaScript for Beginners course offered by Codesmith.  I had no prior experience in coding and was looking for a productive way to gently introduce myself into the field of software engineering.  The instructors (Will, Phillip, and Kyle) were all very helpful and patient, allowing students to ask questions and providing one-on-one help when necessary.  As students we were encouraged to develop healthy engineering habits and professional, technical communication skills to help maximize productivity in team environments.  Codesmith’s JavaScript for Beginners was an excellent course that provided me with some of the fundamental building blocks of JavaScript as well as introduced me to a supportive, safe learning environment and a wealth of resources.

I was very nervous about starting Codesmith. I enrolled in the CS Prep program and despite the fact that I enjoyed that, I was apprehensive about dedicating 12 weeks of my life, 6 days a week to this program. I would do it all again. I started the program insecure about my ability to be a software engineer, but now I have the tools to succeed in this industry. 

What makes the Codesmith curriculum so powerful and different from other programs? First: the people. Seriously. The instructors, the fellows, the staff, the people they select for the cohorts. Everyone is so supportive. In your moments of deepest doubt, they are there to support you and lift you up. I never once felt ashamed about asking for more help. It's really a special place. Second: the production project. Forget the Snake game. Forget the Chrome extension. That is done in week two. Codesmith does something special and the second half of the program is focused on diving deep into a technology and creating a developer tool around this technology. My team and I dove in deep on Chaos Engineering; something I had not even heard of before Codesmith. This project gave me so much confidence going out in to the job market and has given me a plethora of topics and technologies to talk about in interviews. 

If you're even questioning Codesmith versus another program STOP QUESTIONING. You won't find a better place than Codesmith. Seriously. Do it. You'll thank yourself. 

This review is only for CS PREP.

CS Prep is a great way to get your feet wet with the fundamentals of advanced topics such as High-Order Functions/Callbacks, Recursion, Closure, Big O Notation, and etc.. Before CS Prep, I was stuck on the HOF section of CSX and did not know a single thing about the advanced topics I mentioned. After completing CSX, I was able to finish CSX and pass technical interviews for multiple top tier coding bootcamps on the first try!

Disclaimer: I have not taken the Codesmith technical interview yet (scheduled to take soon). I took tech interviews for other bootcamps in order to gain practice for the immersive program that I plan on joining: Codesmith. However, I would not have been able to have the confidence or the skills required to pass the technical interviews without taking CS Prep.

Overall, I loved my experience with CS Prep. I enjoyed learning from the instructors Ryan & Shane. Ryan & Shane are both so passionate about teaching and coding that their enthusiasm permeates throughout the whole course. I learned so much not only from the instructors but also from highly motivated students. 

 

Prior to Codesmith, I knew I wanted to further my skills as a software engineer, but didn't know which bootcamp to go with. These are a few of the reasons I chose to go with Codesmith.

1. Better outcomes

The fact that most of their grads get jobs as mid to senior level developers after graduating and their superior salary results definitely appealed to me. The website says the average for NY Codesmith grads is 112K but the current average is something like 130-135 now. Codesmith really sets you up for success and gives you the confidence that these salaries are achievable. To give some context, I graduated about 6 weeks ago and received my first 2 offers 2 weeks ago for mid-level software engineering positions and have another on-site interview with a FAANG company.

2. Rigorous interviewing process

I actually first interviewed with Hack Reactor and I got in through an extremely easy interviewing process. However, I didn't think much of it since I didn't find any part of their program particularly unique or attractive. Additionally, the Hack Reactor interviewer told me that I solved the problems he asked me faster than any of the candidates that he's ever interviewed, and I was surprised by this. I was looking for an environment in which I'd be surrounded by smart and knowledgeable individuals so I could learn more and I was definitely not looking to be the best problem solver in the room.

When I went through Codesmith's interview process, I could tell right away that they were looking for more than someone who know the basics of Javascript and can solve a simple algorithm problem. They asked questions about programming concepts that most other bootcamps wouldn’t ask and they wanted to see if you are a good technical and cultural fit for their program. Moreover, their final production projects were a lot more impressive than the ones I saw at other bootcamps/residencies. I figured that this was the best residency if I wanted to push myself.

3. Hiring support/staff/community

I got a good sense of what the community was like during the couple of times I attended their Hard Parts meetups so I highly recommend checking that out if you are thinking of choosing Codesmith. Furthermore, the hiring support after graduating was amazing. You get mock interview support to practice for the real interviews and bi-weekly check ins to see how you’re doing and potentially give you feedback on how to improve. Shout out to Will and Phil, who were actually my references for one of the companies I was interviewing for, and as a result I received an offer from the company! Also, shout out to Eric, who is there to help you get an offer and after you receive an offer, he literally holds your hand every step of the way of the negotiating process so that you get a much better offer than what you were already satisfied with.

Overall, the entire community is great and Codesmith really provides you with the technical skills, communication skills, talented people and confidence to excel in this industry. Highly recommend!