Covalence

Recently graduated from the Full-Stack program in Birmingham. I did most of the course pre-work and felt comfortable enough to follow through with it. Here's an honest review after some time to reflect on the experience:

** I had no coding experience prior to this course**

The course starts off with "easing into" coding with some simple styling labs. There's one lab a day after the morning lecture where students get to struggle through the exercises. I think Matt Landers (Covalence founder) has smartly used this "struggle through it until you get it" concept to maximize the efficiency of the program. 10 weeks is a very short time to get students quality time and exposure to coding and I do think that struggling through it is the best way (albeit very difficult) way to learn the material. By the time we reached the final projects, I felt like I had most of the tools to feel self-sufficient in creating a full-stack website. Feeling comfortable and feeling independent definitely took some more studying on my end, especially for the "final assessment," to feel like I really had a solid understanding of how everything worked together. 

My main frustration with the program came with the misleading job prospect promises. Throughout the program and beyond graduating, Covalence keeps a network of job opportunities and will provide students with job listings for entry-level development jobs. There is a student success coach looking over job listings on job-hunt websites (Indeed, Monster, etc.) and providing advice on resumes and cover letters. She was very helpful where she could be and these are great resources to have! However, they do not live up to the expectations that were set at the beginning of the course. If you're already a proactive person, these resources are what you as an aspiring developer would be using anyway so it really doesn't afford you much of an advantage in the job market. We were told about the great connections that Covalence has with employers, some of whom are actually your mentors in the course, although I literally saw my mentor once - the initial meet-and-greet day. You are also told how rapidly Birmingham is growing and how in-demand web developer skills are currently. These claims are still true! Just know that the bootcamp is your foot in the door to web development. It will require much more work on your part to really be marketable as an entry-level developer in the job market. In reality, you will be doing 95% of the work to get yourself hired so set your expectations accordingly and take the job promises guardedly. 

Final thoughts: The program is overall a great program for an accelerated jump into web development. The cost certainly beats the alternative (entirely self-directed learning or Computer Science degree), but the price tag is a bit high for the value IMO. If you already have job prospects, using these skills to supplement existing skills to make you more valuable, or your company is already sending you, it's a slam dunk and you have nothing to lose. If you're quitting your job to change direction and fully jump into web development, make sure you really take time to weigh the pro's and con's. It's literally an investment so make sure you feel like it's worth investing in. 

DepotU is in a fantastic location - look up Innovation Depot.  I had an excellent experience. My class was very, very happy with our instructor.  Be prepared to work hard!  DepotU certainly wants to give you your money's worth. We had a lecture every morning and a lab every afternoon.  The class size felt just right.

The DepotU director, Haley, was super helpful with getting students connected with potential employers.  Recruiters will stop by occasionally.  Try to make friends with your classmates - you will work alongside them throughout the process.  Know when to ask for help, but try to learn how to accurately search for a solution on the web. 

I had done a fair amount of self teaching before Depot/U, but was looking for something more. I needed a real human there to answer my questions and give me the "why" from time to time. David Stapleton did a great job with his lectures, as well as 1 on 1 help throughout the course. I am glad I took the course, as it has advanced my career and helped me get into a field that can be very tough to break through.

This course teaches you the ins and outs of JavaScript, which will prove valuable no matter what programming language you go on to learn in the future. Depot/U teaches you how to learn, so you can enrich your programming experience on your own, forever.

This course is definitely worth it, but make sure you are ready to give 110% and you are totally invested in learning to code!

TL;DR

Choosing to attend Depot/U has proven to be one of the most impactful decisions I have ever made. The course was not only tremendously useful in terms of learning specifics about front-end development in order to enter the workforce as a developer, but it also continues to pay professional dividends from the contacts I made while attending the bootcamp.

Full Version 

I was in the very first course in the Fall of 2015, and it took me a long time to determine whether or not it was something I should do. I was already learning web development on my own, but I wanted to get up to speed quickly in order to start a career as a software developer. It was around this time that I discovered Depot/U, and I vetted them as best as I could at the time (I didn't have the luxury of student reviews that all of you do!). After meeting with several prospective students and the instructor, I finally came to the conclusion to take the course, and I am very glad that I did as it has completely changed my life and its trajectory.

The coursework – while not extremely rigorous in nature – was very, very fast-paced, and so I will echo others that have left reviews and state that you may find yourself falling behind. That's to be expected. (It's a bootcamp, afterall. Treat it as such from the beginning, and you'll get much more out of the course.) Do your best, and focus on understanding what you're learning and why. There will be a moment where things start to click, and it becomes much easier thereafter. 

Since I was a part of the first course, there was a learning curve for both students and instructors, but there have been significant and beneficial changes to the curriculum infrastructure that make this bootcamp an even better investment in yourself. With that being said, that's how you should view the course. It's an investment in yourself - no one will be holding your hand through job interviews, so it's up to you to put the time, energy, and effort in to make the most of this opportunity while you're in the course. Moreover, use the opportunity to network with people as much as possible; you never know when a simple introduction will lead to a job offer or business venture.

I was very fortunate to secure a job as a front-end engineer soon after graduating, and the opportunities that have come from my involvement in Depot/U continue to astound me. I highly recommend this course, and I wish those involved nothing but the best. Happy coding, everyone.

I'm currently a student, and at about 1/3 of the way through the curriculum, I'm already applying stuff I've learned to the 'real world', even automating some of the work at my office job. The instructors are knowledgeable and are quick to respond to code reviews, even though I'm in the self-paced bootcamp. 

The lectures themselves are very digestable and the info is presented in a very clear format. The labs are pretty fun exercises and they try to keep you engaged. Overall, I'm genuinely enjoying my experience programming through Covalence, and as this review stands, I haven't missed a single day in committing code for this whole month yet.

I can't speak for the job assistance yet because I still have a couple months to go until completetion but they still offer advice and webinars year-round for career assistance, so I'd imagine the direct career assistance as you come near the end of the program would be just as on-par as the rest of the course.

Excellent value, excellent product.