Codesmith

Bio:
I am a degreeless self-taught engineer who started in 2019 and landed a front end web developer role in 6 months.
About a year later, I was stuck in a company I wasn't happy with and was not growing as a marketable engineer.

I had two choices to make:
1. Go back to school and get a computer science degree. (Solid route, but takes a long time)
2. Attend a boot camp. (Pricey and does not guarantee a job)

Why did I choose CodeSmith over a CS degree?
1. 3 months vs 2 years time span. (I had some college credits to transfer in)
2. CIRR reports had overwhelming positive statistics for Codesmith graduates.
3. I also had been coding for over a year and a half so I had experience coming in.

Summary:
So now you're probably reading this review to convince you why you should attend Codesmith. Well, just do it.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

CodeSmith is not going to hold your hand and give you a golden ticket to a job. What CodeSmith will teach you is how to learn, how to solve problems, how to collaborate with engineers, and how to keep pushing forward with that stupid bug you've been wrestling with for days/weeks.
At the end of the day, CodeSmith is a FOR profit educational program much like your colleges down the road. You get what you make out of the program.
Pros:
- CodeSmith culture is amazing and collaborative
- Well structured full stack javascript curriculum with other niche topics sprinkled on top such as DevOps & Machine Learning with Python
- Data structures and algorithms unit
- CodeSmith projects are damn fun
- Great resume program

Cons:
- My cohort felt like a beta cohort as we were the 2nd cohort to be in a full remote learning environment. (Thanks Covid)
- Some units felt drawn out. (👀 DevOps)
- Some engineering fellows were downright amazing and others... meh not so much
- Some residents didn't really need to be there and I felt a major disconnect because of that. (AKA not looking for a job in the field just here to learn)
- Expensive

Advice:
At the end of the day, no program is perfect but CodeSmith is constantly iterating on their future cohorts to make them better.
With that being said, I learned a lot about myself in those 3 months, what I could do, what I couldn't do, and how I can become a better person/engineer.

I fully recommend CodeSmith to anyone who's interested or is reading this.

* If you attend the program, start networking and applying before the career lectures. This will help you practice interviews and get rid of your nerves. Thank me later.

Result:
Well if you're still reading this bravo and congrats! I'll answer the last question that's probably on your mind.
So... did you get a job? Duh. I applied to several jobs (probably 40-50) within a span of 1 month right before the program ended.
I received an offer 24 days after the program ended with a 66% salary increase. ✌️

Codesmith is an excellent program for anyone looking to start a career in software engineering. Codesmith’s outcomes (success of a program’s graduates in the job market) are unmatched by other bootcamps largely due to the following: curriculum, emphasis on communication skills, hiring program, and culture.
Curriculum: almost all the concepts Codesmith teaches are important for a job in software engineering. As a student, I learned both ends of the stack as well the basics of databases and deployment. This was very important, since software engineering entails more than just programming. 
Communication skills: students spend little time working alone and instead usually work in pairs or in groups. There are four group projects, with a four week production project being the longest of them. This four week project was very valuable as it simulated what an actual work environment looks like (ex: having daily standups, defining an MVP). 
Hiring program: Codesmith dedicates the last two weeks to working on resume, applications and interview prep. 
Culture: the work ethic at Codesmith is impressive. Students regularly worked from 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. Often close friendships were formed in the program. 
Overall, those were the strengths of the program. In terms of weaknesses, the program relied too heavily on fellows. Fellows are past students who stay on with the program to train the next cohort of students. While the fellows usually worked hard to prep for lectures they had to give, they lacked the depth of knowledge that comes with multiple years of real work experience. I choose to attend Codesmith over finishing my last two years at the University of Michigan. This meant I lost out on the prestige of a bachelors degree, and on a broader and more rigorous education in computing. You'll want to consider these factors when choosing between a bootcamp and a bachelors/masters degree.

Currently I'm working as a full stack engineer for GoSite and consider Codesmith an excellent decision in hindsight. If anyone reading this has any questions or needs advice, I’m happy to talk. My email is youngalexj00@gmail.com. 

 I'm writing this review about one week into my first full-time job ever as a mid-level SWE, where I've been learning something new basically every hour but without feeling overwhelmed or lost. I am comfortable asking questions to my boss and senior software engineers without feeling like a fraud and offering opinions in discussions and standups. Both of these things are because Codesmith helped me learn how to learn and how to do it with confidence.

Why + how Codesmith is able to accomplish its immersive program outcomes:

• You basically have to do the equivalent of a college-level introductory class before entering. I graduated with a computer science degree and Codesmith not only makes you learn valuable computer science fundamentals in order to pass their technical interviews, but also specific JavaScript concepts that I never learned throughout college. Remember this when you feel like the material is too hard and that you're not smart enough to understand it. You feel that way because the material is hard, and you're trying to teach yourself a new skill in the span of a few months instead of four years! You're attempting a huge challenge and you should feel proud of that choice instead.
• Codesmith prioritizes cultural fit and learning potential over technical knowledge. I know this because as someone who stayed on as an engineering fellow, I conducted technical interviews for applicants. Here are some important things to understand about the interview process:
  • When Codesmith rejects you, it is not because you aren't good enough to do the program. Codesmith's curriculum is extremely rigorous and fast-paced, and we don't want residents regretting their decision to spend $18k on a program where they feel completely overwhelmed. In asking applicants to re-interview, we are asking you them reinforce your knowledge and fully prepare themselves for the program, as mentioned in the first point.
  • What I cared about most in interviews was determining if the person would flourish in the program and would contribute to the supportive + collaborative community that Codesmith works hard to maintain, as opposed to their technical ability. This is also true when interviewing for SWE positions at actual companies (at least ones that would be pleasant to work at): they care more about hiring a competent engineer with good cultural fit and a baseline level of knowledge over hiring a genius that can't work on a team or doesn't care about the work outside of writing code, and this is reflected in Codesmith's interview process.
• Codesmith spends time teaching computer science fundamentals, which means data structures, algorithms, and time complexity. In order to progress as an engineer, you need a foundation to stand on and to understand what your code is doing when it is executed instead of just memorizing syntax that can become outdated on a whim. If the bootcamp you are considering does not touch on foundational CS concepts and seems to only be concerned with teaching you some specific "modern" technologies, it is a BIG red flag for the quality of education.
• Expanding on the previous point, Codesmith ultimately wants you to become an autonomous, opinionated engineer rather than an expert in some specific tech stack. Especially in web development, frameworks, libraries, and technologies go in and out of style on yearly basis and anything you learn at a bootcamp may be obsolete 2-5 years from now. What really matters is creating a solid foundation in computer science, code design patterns, and system design concepts that allow you to jump off a cliff into learning any new technology with a really sturdy parachute. This is why Codesmith's curriculum places a lot of emphasis on the WHY of what you are doing: why would you use React over Angular or Vue? How does Node.js handle asynchronous JS and why does that make it a good choice for applications that needs non-blocking event processing? These under-the-hood concepts and informed opinions are what makes Codesmith grads stand out and why they can aim for mid-level positions.
• The hiring program is almost worth the tuition by itself (I'll get to what really makes the tuition worth it next), as my new salary would easily cover it. The CIRR outcomes really speak for themselves so I won't talk about it too much, but the difference in comfort and confidence I felt when interviewing for junior positions right after college and when interviewing for mid and senior-level positions after finishing Codesmith was hundreds of miles apart. Codesmith gives you a very detailed and specific guide for handling every aspect of the SWE interview, as well as lasting career support post-graduation.
• Everything I've listed so far in terms of academic material is stuff that could be found online with some creative Googling (which Codesmith also emphasizes as an important skill). But if I could do this kind of studying on my own, I wouldn't have spent a year unemployed before doing the program. What I really paid for was the incredible community created by the staff and the careful interview process that chooses good engineers that are also good people. In the pressure cooker that is a three-month immersive program, you will need an emotional support system to lift you up when you're doubting your abilities and I definitely found that in my cohortmates and the instructors. When I became a fellow and stayed on another three months to teach, I saw three more cohorts repeat the process of leaning on each other for support and guidance, and shedding tears at final shoutouts when the process ended. The supportive community continues even after the cohort is over as you go into the job search, as all the alums I contacted for advice were friendly and encouraging.

Ultimately, even though I was initially skeptical of Codesmith and it's weirdly high outcomes, I now understand how it is able to accomplish them after having done the program myself. The remote setting did not diminish the value of the experience in any way. If Codesmith doesn't seem like the right fit for you, I would still strongly advise that any bootcamp you pick meets the criteria described above, as they ultimately lead to long-term success in the tech industry (and probably other industries too).

If you are like me, you are probably skeptical about bootcamps and their outcomes. 
I’m writing this review after accepting a mid-level software engineer position at a well-known company within 3 months of graduating. I also had to turn down several onsites and offers at other well-known companies. All this at the backdrop of a global pandemic and lockdown ( remote learning ). I say this not as a testament of my luck but through the lens of someone who has seen their cohort mates also receive dream offers ( who had no previous CS background ). 
Codesmith is tough, but worth it. 
Codesmith’s immersive program is tough, full stop. It will require work and dedication, but what I like about this program is that it gives you the direction to allocate your efforts in achieving that job-ready status. I have passed by other bootcamps and even seen some computer science graduates at top schools who have had trouble finding jobs 6-12 months out. Especially in this COVID lockdown environment. The harsh reality is that most if not all have worked extremely hard, but often not at the right efforts. 
Specifically, I found that Codesmith emphasizes certain things that most programs/colleges do not. Things like modern cloud technologies or CI/CD or expanding beyond the typical “MERN” stack, or the focus on technical communication and definitely the hiring portion. All of these and more culminate into a candidate that embodies a certain engineering ethos. 
It reminds me of the Tolstoy quote, “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in their own way”. There could be a million different reasons why someone is unsuccessful at career switching, but the focus should be on fostering specific characteristics that all successful candidates share. I found that Codesmith takes the guesswork out of what to focus on. 
So if you're curious/anxious at all about outcomes, I would compare different programs based on their audited results ( median salaries, % of graduates employed, etc ).

Codesmith has been, by far, the most rewarding experience of my life. Met amazing people who have become lifelong friends, and was able to leverage the hiring support to receive multiple FAANG offers in less than two months after graduating as a mid-level software engineer. The hiring support, including Uncle Eric, has been phenomenal - and far surpasses any type of hiring support or negotiation help you'll see at any other software immersive program or bootcamp in the country. You'll learn an immense amount in a very short time and the student projects are production level code, and are much more sophisticated, in-depth, and impressive than other 'student projects' coming out of any other program. It's a no-brainer to pick Codesmith.

After reviewing many coding schools and their outcomes, Codesmith seemed like the ivy league of bootcamps. Coming from a completely non technical background, I knew it would be hard to get in and even harder when I got there, but I hoped the outcome would be worth it. Bootcamps are definitely a quick way to get you on a different track, but not without extensive amounts of hard work. I studied JavaScript basics through Codesmith's CSX platform for about 2 months and took their 2 week CSPrep course before I was ready to interview. I failed my first technical interview but they gave me some feedback of what to work on and the next week I came back and passed my second interview with some more feedback on my weaker areas. I was able to get a scholarship for $2000 which helped, but the school is definitely still pricey.

The hours are very intensive and you have to know what you're signing up for. You are living and breathing code for 3 months straight and it can get mentally exhausting to constantly try to retain loads of new information. Sometimes you might want a break but you can't really have one. But with persistence, as a graduate I can say the hard work pays off. You truly learn what you need to know to secure that first software engineering job. 

My personal experience was a little bit rough. I signed up for the onsite immersive program and I felt like I could learn best in that environment. Due to Covid19, after the first week the entire program was forced to go remote. Remote learning was not necessarily for me. It was a lot harder for me to get my work done from my home environment with all the distractions. Codesmith also has a unique teaching style. For each unit, they will give a couple hours of lectures on some new concepts and then throw you into a 2 day project with a partner where you feel like you don't have the slightest idea of where to even start. There is a help desk that the Fellows answer but the teachers aren't really around much. It is definitely frustrating at times but having to learn things the hard way through Google and lots of errors does help you remember and understand what you are doing. I do wish the lectures were a little more related to the code we would be writing and not just overall big pictures. After struggling for 2 days and probably not finishing your project, they give an approach lecture on how to do it and it make it look like a breeze. It helps to reinforce and understand what you struggled with, but some things would just be useful to know beforehand to be able to progress further in each project. You will have a growing list of things to go back and review but probably won't have time to do it.

After 6 weeks of these 2 day units, the second portion of the program is focused on building your own projects and web apps. This is where you get to really apply what you learned and also learn so much more based on what your apps needs are. It was so rewarding to have completed that first project and see the end result of what I coded from start to finish. It shows you that you can actually make cool things! There is one solo project and the rest are done in groups. Most of your time is spent on one prodution project which will be the focus of your resume. You have the opportunity to learn a lot from your group members and help each other out. In the real world you will likely be working in teams so it was good to see the dynamic beforehand. 

The best part of Codesmith is the hiring support. They go through rounds of your resume and tear it apart (in the best way), they help you prepare answers to interview questions, and bring in people to practice mock interviews with. They have someone to help you negotiate your salary once you have an offer, and after you graduate there are meetings every week about the job search. You also have access to the alumni community and your own cohort mates for tips and references. The networking aspect is awesome. A few months after graduated I started my first job as a Software Engineer. The role isn't exactly what I wanted but now my foot is in the door, which was the whole point for me. I know after a year or so of experience under my belt I will be even better equipped as an experienced programmer to find the job I'm looking for. Overall, I wouldn't have been able to make this career change without going to Codesmith.

I had a really wonderful experience at Codesmith. My cohort was amazing and I felt very supported by the staff throughout the immersive. I ended up with my first offer 6 weeks into the job search and was able to sign an offer with a base salary within the range reported on CIRR. I feel that Codesmith provides you with all of the knowledge and experience you need to succeed as a software engineer, but it is an extremely challenging and intense program and you'll probably have to work harder than you've ever worked before to be successful in the immersive and subsequent job search (be prepared for several months of 12 hour workdays and no time off). I'd highly recommend Codesmith to anyone looking to level up their skillset and move into a midlevel software engineering position.

It was reading these very same online reviews where I first learned of Codesmith. After seeing their outcomes on CIRR and attending a handful of free JavaScript -- The Hard Parts workshops, I chose Codesmith over other programs for what seemed like the exceptionally detailed attention they paid to the quality of their teaching and hiring program.

My experience was consistent with that initial sense; it was clear that the entire team had thought critically about how people learn and how to teach most effectively. And no small part of that effectiveness was due to the culture that had been thoughtfully created, one of warmth and encouragement that always seemed to be saying "This is new and challenging work, but we're there for each other and we'll figure it out together."

It's a remarkable community that, long after graduating and beginning work as an engineer, I feel lucky to be a part of.

I entered into Codesmith's CS Prep program with basically 0 formal experience with coding. I had done some self-study, but found i needed more of a structure. Though the program is only 2 weeks long, it definitely covers a large basis needed to start your coding journey. That coupled with lots of pair programing, and an awesome group project at the end, I actually feel like I understand why people love coding so much. Definitely would recommend taking the CS Prep program for anyone who is still very new, and not sure about a bootcamp setting just yet. It's challenging, and you get some practical experience. 

Everything about my Codesmith experience was exceptional- from the instructors to my peers to the technology, I found Codesmith to be worth every penny.
Some Background: I learned Python when I was younger, but I came to Codesmith with a Bachelors of Music and a year in the music industry under my belt.  When COVID-19 became our new reality, I was searching for alternatives to performing, and learned JavaScript as I researched bootcamps.  After completing CS Prep and passing my technical interview, I entered the NY immersive program (held online, to maintain social distancing), which I completed a month ago, and signed a six-figure offer today.
Instructors: While researching immersive programs, I was disappointed to learn that most (if not all) bootcamps are taught primarily by prior students, in the form of ‘fellows’.  While your mileage may vary, in my Codesmith experience this turned out to be an unnecessary fear.  The fellows were bright, eager, kind, and helpful throughout my three months in the program, and served as references during my job hunt.  These folks are typically only kept on for three-month  contracts after graduation, so I cannot guarantee that your experience will be identical, but Codesmith fosters a can-do attitude in the community, so I am hopeful that you will have a similar experience.  (Note that some of the senior instructors are full-time employees and industry veterans, whom I also found to be great teachers)
Curriculum: The curriculum at Codesmith is primarily centered around React, Redux, Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL.  No other front-end frameworks are taught, and while MongoDB, AWS, and OAuth are touched upon throughout, the backend technologies other than Node are explored more shallowly.  Codesmith’s approach to curriculum can be summed up in a phrase they’ve coined: ‘hard learning’.  Enter my only gripe with my Codesmith experience- while the technologies they’ve chosen to focus on are excellent choices from a popularity-in-the-industry perspective, I do feel that Codesmith’s ‘heard learning’ approach sometimes leaves something to be desired.  In particular, as projects become the focus of your days, the ‘hard learning’ approach becomes a burden more than a boon, as your energy is primarily directed towards your projects and the curriculum begins to feel frustrating rather than constructive.  This is not to say that the experience is bad- rather, I simply found it to be a minor frustration that mars an otherwise enjoyable learning experience.  By the end of the program I felt that I had made great progress in the core curriculum, and that can be attributed largely to ‘hard learning’.
Projects: Perhaps the greatest part of Codesmith is the project portion of your junior phase and the production project portion of your senior phase.  In your junior phase, three projects punctuate the conclusion of the core curriculum, small affairs the last only a couple days each.  These are the perfect on-ramp to working in a team environment on ‘real’ software (at least, something a little more substantial than a tutorial).  The production project, however, is the crowning jewel of Codesmith.  Students are required to work in teams to develop an open-source developer tool or similar project, in order to give back to the community and nurture a deep expertise in one technical area.  By requiring these production projects to solve problems faced by developers every day, students acquire an intimate knowledge of a corner of the industry, experience that can be spoken to in job interviews with authority.  In contrast to other immersive programs, where final projects are often mock-applications, Codesmith’s approach ensures exposure to real problems you will encounter in your career (and it looks great on your resume, to boot).
Job Assistance: Codesmith’s hiring program is exhaustive, and stresses the realities of applying to engineering roles.  With lectures and workshops on interviewing, your ‘pitch’, negotiating, networking, resume development, and recruiters, the hiring program provides guidance on every step of your job search, and continues indefinitely post-graduation with weekly workshops for grads in the job hunt.  Mock interviews with grads help to ease you into the experience of technical interviews, and the daily emphasis on algorithms and data structures throughout your three months prepares you well for mid-level interviews.
Overall: Codesmith was life-changing for me, beyond a new career and a new job.  The people in my cohort were curious, intelligent, and bound by the common goal of bettering their lives.  I cherish many of the friendships I made at Codesmith, and I can’t wait to give back to the Codesmith community in the years to come.

Some context on me for reference:
I aim to transition into the tech field for software development/engineering; I am working full-time in a somewhat connected position within an unrelated field, so I am aiming for the part-time remote intensive (PTRI) for now given current situations with COVID.

 I enjoyed CS Prep and would recommend it to others. That said, this course requires foundational knowledge of JavaScript. Some exposure to functions/execution context, callbacks/higher-order functions, recursion, and closures will help you retain more information during the course as well. I found that this course doesn't teach those basics but rather provides a place to practice and flesh out thoughts/ideas with sample problems. Luckily, those basic/foundational materials are free on Codesmith's YouTube channel and are indeed helpful.

If you (like me) did not have that exposure to the concepts I mentioned previously, then you'll struggle but can catch up over time with enough work.

The best part about CS Prep was the pair programming and inherent networking within their Slack channel. The pairing was by far what helped me learn the best. 

Save yourself the time and energy I spent on researching bootcamps, and choose Codesmith. Before choosing Codesmith, I attended in person information sessions at every bootcamp available in NYC on Javascript, Python, Java, Ruby, Android, and iOS at Flatiron School, General Assembly, Fullstack Academy, Grace Hopper, Pursuit, Hack Reactor, and Galvanize. Codesmith stood out in the CIRR report with the highest salary post graduation because they elevate you to qualify for mid level to senior level jobs. Having viewed every Codesmith Meetup video tutorial, I found Codesmith to have superior teaching method using graphical explanations. I asked every bootcamp, "how many Data Structures and Algorithms questions do you cover", because that is the bread and butter of technical interviews. Most of them said zero, which explains why some graduates can't get job offers. CS Prep, the 2 week part time class, covers 2 easy level questions per night. The Immersive covers 1 easy or medium question per day. Since CS Prep is free (tuition rolls over) if you later join the Immersive 3 month full time or 9 month part time class, there's no reason not to take it. Lastly, Chris was my CS Prep instructor, and he is incredibly knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and patient. In 2 weeks, he significantly improved my understanding of recursion, OOP, higher order functions, callback functions, and closure.