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Epicodus is closed
This school is now closed. Although Epicodus is no longer accepting students or running its program, you can still see historical information and Epicodus alumni reviews on the school page.
Epicodus is a coding bootcamp offering part- and full-time courses online and in Portland, Oregon. Students learn everything they need to know to get a job as a web developer by learning JavaScript, C#, .NET, and React. More important than any particular skill, cohorts are taught how to think like a programmer, write good code, and pick up new languages and technologies in this fast-changing industry. Epicodus focuses on collaboration and inclusivity. Students work together in pairs and teams almost every day, and a diversity, equity, and inclusion approach is a core part of the program design.
Epicodus's courses also include job search preparation for students. Career advisors meet one-on-one with every student to review resumes and cover letters, practice interviewing, and even go over job applications in class. After completing the coursework, students are placed in hand-selected internships with tech companies at no extra cost, allowing them to begin their job search with coding experience already on their resumes.
Epicodus was without a doubt the best career decision I have ever made. My only regret is not attending sooner. Two weeks after graduation, I accepted a job offer that was nearly double of what I was making before and had been invited to interview with 10 companies.
~*~TUITION~*~
When I enrolled, the cost of tuition was $4800; now it’s $6900. I went to Epicodus over any other bootcamp in the area because of the cost (and reviews!). $4800 was a big inves...
Epicodus was without a doubt the best career decision I have ever made. My only regret is not attending sooner. Two weeks after graduation, I accepted a job offer that was nearly double of what I was making before and had been invited to interview with 10 companies.
~*~TUITION~*~
When I enrolled, the cost of tuition was $4800; now it’s $6900. I went to Epicodus over any other bootcamp in the area because of the cost (and reviews!). $4800 was a big investment for me at the time and I would’ve gone the route of an online bootcamp if it had cost any more.
~*~ CURRICULUM~*~
I completed the CSS/Design track.
The Intro curriculum is very comprehensive but many of the videos in the Intro are long overdue for a re-recording, due to poor audio quality and errors.
Epicodus now offers CSS/Design and CSS/React tracks. CSS/React wasn’t available at the time of my enrollment. I imagine those who are taking the CSS/React track are more interested in front end development than design. My cohort was about 50/50 split of those who were interested in UX/UI Design and front end development.
The CSS/Design track needs an overhaul. I think the JavaScript module should be dropped for the CSS/Design students and replaced with more UX concepts and product design fundamentals, as the 3 weeks the Design class offers are not enough. I had graphic design experience before Epicodus which gave me an advantage, but it’s been a struggle for others to find a UX/UI job with only 3 weeks of UX/UI-related courses under their belts. There are tons of design opportunities in the Portland-area and Epicodus would be wise to invest in a stronger Design program.
Unfortunately, the current Design track offers even less design-focused coursework. It now includes only 2 weeks of Design, with 2 weeks of React. Epicodus also offers a CSS/React course, so why React is in a design course is beyond me.
The CSS module should also spend less time on floats and introduce new CSS concepts like CSS grid, as well as designing sites with accessibility in mind and cross-browser compatibility.
~*~TEACHERS~*~
Teachers vary in enthusiasm, knowledge of the concepts, and commitment. When you get stuck, you can submit a ticket and a teacher will come by to help. It generally doesn’t take more than 5 or so minutes to get help, but it can take up to an hour - in which case, you’ll be relying on your fellow students for help.
I wished my weekly code reviews included more thorough feedback and that I had more 1:1 time with a teacher to discuss my progress and struggles.
~*~PAIR PROGRAMMING~*~
I’m very introverted, so I knew that Epicodus would be stepping outside of my comfort zone.
Pairing was generally a positive experience. Some days I was the weak link, some days I carried my pair through the day, and on others we screamed at the computer together. I learned something new from every person I paired with, whether it was a keyboard shortcut in Chrome, Atom, Sketch or a new way of thinking about a concept.
Generally I liked pairing because when left to my own devices, I get easily distracted, so sharing a computer with someone else all day kept me from checking Twitter.
~*~JOB ASSISTANCE~*~
When you graduate, you’ll receive weekly check ins, access to a job board for alums and weekly job digests (with opportunities that allow you to apply directly to a hiring manager). I found the weekly check ins really helpful, as I often had questions on how to phrase specific things during interviews and negotiations.
I only saw one design-related job posting in the digests and job board, though.
~*~INTERNSHIP~*~
The internship opportunity at the end of the program is great. Most people in my class got matched with their first or second choices. Although my internship experience was not positive, I don’t think I would’ve landed the job I have now without the internship, as I was doing similar work within the same tech stack and got to talk about that experience during the interview process.
~*~HOT TIPZ FOR SUCCEEDING AT EPICODUS AND BEYOND~*~
- Make Epicodus the most important thing in your life. Be prepared to eat, sleep, and breathe Epicodus. Your friends, family, spouse, and hobbies will need to take a back seat during the program. Dive as deep as you can into the curriculum and technologies you’re learning.
- If you can swing it, don’t work while attending Epicodus. Again, everything else in your life should take a back seat.
- Create a README template and use it for at least your Friday projects. Include a detailed description for the project, along with set up/installation instructions, and screenshots.
- Create an online portfolio. Even if you’re not a designer. DO IT. It will help establish your credibility. Make a YourName.com website with a link to some of your projects, your background, and ways to contact you. When I have told non-design students this, they scoff and say “I have my GitHub, my code will speak for itself.” That’s not true.
The first person to look at your job application may be a CEO or a Recruiter who doesn’t know how to code or have time to weed through your GitHub repos. You won’t get a job right out of code school because you’re an amazing designer or developer, you’ll get a job because someone likes you, believes in your potential, and thinks you’ll fit in with their team. You’re more than just your code or designs and people want to see that.
- Start making your portfolio when you hit JavaScript class and launch it before your internship starts. If you’re a Design student, don’t even think about applying for a job unless you have a portfolio, so get on it ASAP.
- Have 1 project on your portfolio (and pinned on GitHub) that isn’t related to an Epicodus assignment. Employers who’ve interviewed other Epicodus grads are tired of seeing your Pig Dice sites.
- Familiarize yourself with Agile development and project trackers like Trello and Pivotal Tracker and use them seriously during your group weeks. Put those experiences as skills on your resume and talk about them during interviews. If you’re not working in an Agile environment or using project trackers during your internship, try to get the team on board. Employers eat this stuff up! They are looking for people who can work within a larger team. Maybe you have this fantasy about being the Lone Programmer Hero - and perhaps someday you’ll get there, but it’s not how you will get your foot in the door.
- Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” before you go on your internship interviews.
- Have business cards ready in time for your internship interviews and have enough to hand out at Demo Day. Make sure the cards include links to your online portfolio, GitHub, LinkedIn, and email address.
- In addition to business cards, bring printed resumes to Demo Day.
- Don’t think you need to settle for the median starting salary for grads. Your skills are worth much much more than that. SOMEONE has to be living in all those shiny new condos - why not you? Look up salaries on Glassdoor for every single company you apply to and use tools like StackOverflow’s salary calculator. Again, your skills coming out of Epicodus are highly valuable no matter what anyone may tell you, don’t forget that!
- Apply for your jobs during your internship, or even before. Get on it! Don’t wait until after the internship to start applying.
- Don’t expect your internship to hire you after the 5 weeks are over, no matter what they promise you. Apply for other jobs.
- Think of job listing requirements as an employer’s wish list. Don’t be deterred by years of required experience. Apply for a position because it appeals to you, don’t pigeonhole yourself as a junior and only apply for jobs with junior in the title. I applied for a senior position and got an interview. I wasn’t hired but hey, they still saw something in me, despite asking for 5-7 years experience.
- I hate the expectation that designers and developers should do nothing but do work-related things in their free time, but use the time you’re attending Epicodus to invest in yourself and your future career. You’ll need to hustle hard and sell yourself to various companies when you graduate. When you get a job, you can go back to being a normal and well-rounded human being again.
- Pack a ding dang lunch. The vending machines and food carts are not worth it and will kill your wallet.
- Sign up for a Treehouse account, it complements with the curriculum (especially Intro, JavaScript, and CSS) and it’s a good place to start branching out to learn other things you’re passionate about.
- If you live in Multnomah County and have a library card, you can use Lynda.com for free.
- Go to meet ups. I went to a 2-3 meet ups a month and as much as I’d like to tell you I schmoozed and networked, I didn’t. I prefer going to workshops or specific talks rather than the ones where you have to stand around and to talk to strangers. To be honest, I often went to meet ups with fellow classmates and mostly just talked to them, but going to them helped me feel like I was part of a larger community and I usually learned something new or interesting.
- Be a resource for your classmates. You’re all in this together.
- Your classmates are not your competition. There may be overlap when interviewing, but have some perspective: there are lots of jobs in the world. Support each other. Your classmates are your friends and future colleagues.
- When you graduate, ask the career coordinator ANYTHING. I relied on her heavily for wording things in interviews, turning opportunities down, and negotiations and it helped me immensely!
- Customize your cover letters for every single role you apply to. Be genuine, don’t be a “To Whom It May Concern, I am very interested in your firm” robot. I cold applied for about 50 jobs and had been invited to interview with 10 companies (2 were from Demo Day, 1 was a recruiter who reached out to me, but the 7 others were jobs I cold applied to online). In my cover letters, I not only mentioned what my skills were and what I’d bring to the company, but WHY I liked them and what they were doing. People LIKE when you like them!
- Be the kind of person you want to work with. Show up on time, be honest, don’t disappear on your pair without warning, and don’t sleep in just because you don’t feel like going to school that day. School will be over before you know it, make the most of the time.
~*~THINGS THAT COULD IMPROVE~*~
- The CSS/Design track often feels like the odd one out. For example, there are lunch speakers every Wednesday and none of the speakers during my stint at Epicodus were design-related. The Eventbrite invitation for Demo Day mentioned that we were CSS/React, not CSS/Design. Does that mean there were design agencies and companies in need of designers that skipped out on Demo Day because design students weren’t listed?
- Amenities. Paper towels in the cafeteria were a rare sight and it’d be great if the kitchen stocked silverware.
- The attendance policy is far too lax.
- Code reviews from teachers should include DETAILED feedback and notes. It was disappointing to put my all into something for 9 hours and receive only “Good job!” as feedback.
- Do teachers at Epicodus use a plagiarism detector? Because they should.
- I wish online portfolios were a mandatory part of graduation, like creating a resume, cover letter, and cleaning up your GitHub.
- Companies should be required to provide more details about what they are looking for in an intern, the type of projects the interns will be working on, and if they are looking for someone with a design or development background. This would make the initial rankings and going into interviews less stressful. I felt like I was going to 5 blind dates because I had so little information about the companies and what they expected (and yes, lots of the companies had very barebones websites). It's hard to answer questions like "why do you want to intern for us?" when companies provided so little information in Epicenter and had a minimal internet presence.
- If 75% of grads are making $60k or less, the salary breakdown for employed grads should show more ranges for those making less than $60k. Also, I’d like to see salary breakdown for both Portland AND Seattle grads. And breakdowns by track.
- The graduation certificate is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Come on, Epicodus!
Congrats on reading this whole thing! I normally am not this verbose, but I wish you the best of luck at Epicodus. Give it your all… and make a portfolio!
I moved across the country to attend Epicodus. Not because I was 100% sure it would be the stepping stone to a fruitful and fulfilling career, but because I had a feeling it would be a great place to grow and work on my programming chops. And it was. Epicodus isn't in the business of teaching you how to be the next "Rock Star" or "ninja," it's invested in creating a coding community of equality and kindness. There were a number of things that I especially ...
I moved across the country to attend Epicodus. Not because I was 100% sure it would be the stepping stone to a fruitful and fulfilling career, but because I had a feeling it would be a great place to grow and work on my programming chops. And it was. Epicodus isn't in the business of teaching you how to be the next "Rock Star" or "ninja," it's invested in creating a coding community of equality and kindness. There were a number of things that I especially appreciated about Epicodus and its team, including:
1. the emphasis on growth-mindset. You will never, and are not even able to know everything about programming. What's important is that you feed your curiosity and know that you're always capable of learning. To start learning with that mindset, and be surrounded by people who share it is incredibly encouraging. 2. the emphasis on kindness. In their code of conduct they point out that you will be working with people all day long, and should be able to handle that well. I'm an introvert, with a touch of social anxiety, but when I read about pair programming, I believed everything people said about learning more and learning quickly. Their call for people to at least try to be kind helped relinquish anxiety about being out of my comfort zone 40 hours a week. 3. the diversity. As a minority (an Asian woman), not being in a room full of homogeneous people and minds was important to me. Epicodus makes it a point to have a variety of students (in terms of coding backgrounds, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic backgrounds, race, and age) which makes for a welcoming and inclusive environment. 4. the team's responsiveness to feedback. In college, we would fill out end of the semester reviews about a class and its professor. At Epicodus, there was a survey every week about that week's curriculum and our teachers. Plus weekly one on one check-ins with the teachers. Epicodus is experiencing a lot of growth right now, and probably some growing pains, but I'm sure changes they make will be led by the relevant feedback provided by their students to better the program and grow right alongsideEpicodus really worked out for me. That and some "hard work."
I came to Epicodus with a goal in mind, get a job coding. I didn’t care what I was coding, what the salary was, or where it was I did this hypothetical coding. I just wanted to break free from my backup career in market research. I had motivation.
I studied every lesson, everynight that it was assigned. I would come home, eat, study, and sleep eight hours. There were nights off but those were when the...
Epicodus really worked out for me. That and some "hard work."
I came to Epicodus with a goal in mind, get a job coding. I didn’t care what I was coding, what the salary was, or where it was I did this hypothetical coding. I just wanted to break free from my backup career in market research. I had motivation.
I studied every lesson, everynight that it was assigned. I would come home, eat, study, and sleep eight hours. There were nights off but those were when the assignments were done. Celebration was on hold until I could prove I could get my first job offer.
The course was a good fit for me. The pair programming forces you to work with different learning styles, and some work better than others. Even the garbage days held lessons. Most days were with people I wouldn’t have sought out and working with them helped in ways I didn’t expect. These interactions often led to surprise friendships, and the network I have now is nuts.
The syllabus was challenging enough that I could take on a new concept, drill on it a couple times, and then build on top of it. This is the same syllabus that led to my eventual job.
Job Story:
First off, I was lucky enough to land the internship I really wanted. I landed at a Ruby shop in Vancouver WA and it was wonderful. It wasn’t as good as others and it wasn’t nearly as bad as a select few. I would have been happy anywhere that had taken the time to teach me some coding lessons like mine did.
Leading up to our course completion, we started working on portfolio projects. These are supposed to be something you think is cool and will spend enough time to actually be cool to other people. I made a social site for hiring programmers. It had complex object relationships and functions and only looked okay. I spent a few weeks on it but really only finished the main parts that made it make sense and made me happy to present to friends.
This project was going to be presented at a reverse job fair, where students could show off a portfolio piece to roaming employers and give out some cards (get some cards, FYI). It was here that I met a bunch of companies and pitched my project as well as I could. I felt good but I didn’t get my hopes up.
In my free time I was sending out tons of resumes and cover letters. I was particularly fond of Angellist, I applied to over 160 Ruby related jobs all over the country. I was getting interviews ~2+ per week. I never held out hope for any one company, I just kept applying. I wanted the company that wanted me, wishing was not the key.
It was a week after the project presentation that I received an email from Daimler, to interview for a job working in Python and Java, two languages I knew nothing about. The project lead saw that we (Epicodus students) knew the basics in programming and could obviously pick up new languages and tools quickly, so he wasn’t concerned. Six Epicodus students were emailed to interview for the position. This was the job I wound up getting.
Today I work in an office doing work I never imagined I would ever have the opportunity to do. My team is full of kind and smart programmers and engineers that have completely taken me in. The work isn’t easy per se but it’s coding, and that’s exactly what I wanted.
New Student Advice:
I recommend taking a surface deep approach to the lessons at Epicodus. Going too deep or going off track was a common fuck-up when pairing and it only led to heartache. Epicodus lessons are broken up in the following way (as of my attendance late 2015): homework -> morning warmup -> creative implementation. Here’s what you should do:
1. Follow along in the homework. Actually do it that night, just follow along with the video, don’t think much about it. Do the homework.
2. Follow the instructions the next day. You will likely start with implementing the homework from the night before. Just go along with the lesson as it’s printed, this is the warm up, don’t skip it.
3. NOW YOU CAN GET CREATIVE. After the homework implementation, you’re given an assignment that implements the concepts you just studied/practiced in a new form. This is where you really learn. You can do it how you want (but you will likely really want the information you just learned).
Finally, don’t get lost in front-end minutia, unless that’s the lesson or you’re done with the day’s assignment. This is the design rabbit hole. It’s deep and you’re new, take it easy.
When you’re about halfway done with your studies at Epicodus, take some steps to make your job search life easier.
1. Make a portfolio. Mine is hosted on GitHub Pages for free, using Jekyll, with a template. You do not need a hand-built site if you’re not a front-end developer, just get one up that looks good and be done with it.
2. Get your LinkedIn in order. Follow the guide on Epicodus in this regard, it paid off for me.
3. Get your Resume put together. One page. No references to jobs that have nothing to do with coding. One page. Write it like some great code, short and effective. One page.
4. Get a decent cover letter together. You do not need a custom cover letter for every job, you just need some parts to be custom. I have background information that doesn’t change in my cover letters, you can do the same thing.
5. The above will take you very far in the general arena of job hunting. Angejlist also allows for sending notes and if you go there, I recommend that you send them. Treat these like micro-cover letters. Get a general template that you can alter some spots and hammer those out. Make sure your Angejlist profile is complete though, just like your LinkedIn.
Epicodus is not a sink or swim program. They don't expect you to have a background in coding. They do expect you to wake your brain up and put it to work! And along the way, they can help you actually understand how to be a coder, a student, a mentor, and a member of the tech community.
I started in January 2015 with one (traditional style) intro class and one unix class under my belt, and no computer to do extra research or projects(I had to borrow one to do my prelimi...
Epicodus is not a sink or swim program. They don't expect you to have a background in coding. They do expect you to wake your brain up and put it to work! And along the way, they can help you actually understand how to be a coder, a student, a mentor, and a member of the tech community.
I started in January 2015 with one (traditional style) intro class and one unix class under my belt, and no computer to do extra research or projects(I had to borrow one to do my preliminary work). I quit my job as a property manager and dove right in. (Due to the nature of my job at the time, this means I also lost my housing. That's right, I did epicodus as a homeless person. A very resourceful, couch-surfing, house-sitting homeless person)
Epicodus has a seriously humble, pragmatic, well-spoken and politically conscious leader. Epicodus is truly queer and trans friendly and Michael is on the front lines of bringing and keeping women in tech. I am not a person of color, so I can't speak to the experience of folks that are, but basically, the code of conduct pretty much says that rude jerks will not be tolerated, (I am paraphrasing there...) and Michael means it. If you are feeling excluded or picked on, tell Michael and he will end it.
Pair programming daily is a part of the deal - and that can get really tedious really quickly. Not everybody matches up personality wise, BUT it also means you have an opportunity to see so many different points of view and work with all kinds of different ideas. (HINT: Always partner with someone new! It's very comforting to pair with folks you work well with, but you will learn more from the diversity of switching it up as often as possible.) Luckily, they also give you a break on Fridays to just focus on processing what you've learned all week.
They throw dozens of different technologies at you throughout the course... Scary right? Why don't they just teach you one language, like Javascript, in depth, so you can feel confident about knowing it well when you are done? The Answer - Because you would be completely useless in most tech companies.
The company I work for now, has no less than 20 different (and often changing) technologies that I touch every single day. If I was unable to adapt to the pace at which things change - I never would have gotten the job in the first place. I impressed my current boss during my internship by taking on a project they expected to be done in 2 weeks. I did it in 2 days. They extended my internship to give me a taste of a department I didn't have any experience in, and I had 4 projects to complete in 4 weeks. I did 3 of the 4 inside of 2 weeks, plus, 7 other side projects that happened to come up. My job offer was in by the end of the 3rd week. All because this program kept us hopping from project to project and tech to tech. I got used to being adaptable, thorough, focused, and communicative. Those skills, and a serious passion for programming, is all an employer needs from a junior developer.
Finally, I appreciate that Epicodus really really wants you to get a job when you are done - and they do everything in their power to make it happen. They reach out to the community and they let folks know that the pipeline problem would be a thing of the past - if they hired folks out of bootcamps. (HINT: We actually have more relevant coding experience than folks coming out of PSU with CS degrees. Subjective, I know, but it was a senior dev I know that said it. That doesn't include folks who make it through the PSU internship program. We are not that far behind those folks either though.)
They make the internship thing happen for 60 people at a time. They host meetups. They bring in speakers from the community. They even brought me back as a speaker to talk about the internship process! They keep us engaged even after the program ends.
I recommend this program to all of my friends, and I will happily, personally speak to anyone interested the program. I am a fan, obviously, but if you have concerns, I will be perfectly honest about the struggle side of things. Nothing this good comes without a price, and mine was a few moments of mental and emotional exhaustion (which had a LOT to do with outside factors -which of course everyone has at some point and should reasonably prepare for)
You can find me on linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karvari- if you would like to chat about it.
Ignore most of these fake reviews. I attended Epicodus and it was the worst experience!!! They have no idea what they're doing, have no business "teaching" programming and don't really have many connections in the Portland community, which was obvious after today's announcement in class that they don't have enough internships for each student. Some things to consider before wasting money on Epicodus:
1) The owner, Michael Kaiser-Nyman
Ignore most of these fake reviews. I attended Epicodus and it was the worst experience!!! They have no idea what they're doing, have no business "teaching" programming and don't really have many connections in the Portland community, which was obvious after today's announcement in class that they don't have enough internships for each student. Some things to consider before wasting money on Epicodus:
1) The owner, Michael Kaiser-Nyman, is a phony and somewhat of a scam artist. This is purely a business that takes advantage of people looking for a new career.
2) Teachers don't exist. Epicodus hires former students who don't seem to have any real world experience. And, it's 2 teachers for 60 students.
3) So many students are unhappy with the course.
4) Epicodus uses pair programming, which means you learn nothing all day. How does one learn to program by spending half their days watching another novice try to code? For this reason, a number of people have already broken away from the class to do a self-study given the weakness of the cirriculum.
5) The cirriculum they provide is drafted by former students and is riddled with mistakes. Additionally, Michael is extremely arrogant and is incapable of constructive criticism from his students/customers. He can care less whether people learn anything or not.
Overall, Epicodus merely provides a space to work (though not enough computers for each student) and charges $3500 for it. With no solid cirriculum, a lack of experienced teachers and inability to secure the internships (which is really the reason most people enrolled), this isn't really a "boot camp." And forget about Epicodus finding you a real job at the end.
My epicodus experience was great! I came in to the course not having a lot of coding knowledge. I left the course with a broad range of knowledge and new skills to improve my chaces in the tech world!
Why Epicodus worked for me:
Why Epicodus worked for me:
Why Epicodus might not work for everyone:
Epicodus is very clear about what it is and is not. From the get-go (as in, these are all things that I was told during my intake interview) they want you to understand that the instructors are more TAs than anything else, that your learning is largely self-driven, and that the goal of Epicodus is as much about teaching you HOW to learn how to code as it is teaching you how to code. This last skill is invaluable given the rate that technology is advancing - it is incredibly unlikely that you will never have to learn a new framework/language for a job. As long as you understand those things, are willing to put in a lot of work yourself, and keep working on improving after you have finished the curriculum, Epicodus will work great for you.
That's because you get what you put in. It doesn't matter if the bootcamp is $5K, $10K, or $15K; if you don't put effort into it then you won't succeed, period. Epicodus and probably many other bootcamps will provide you the environment and fundamentals in programming, but the rest is up to you. Don't expect to get a job so easily if you only spend 40hrs a week coding. Epicodus doesn't make promises; rather, it creates opportunities for students to get into coding habits, connect you with ...
That's because you get what you put in. It doesn't matter if the bootcamp is $5K, $10K, or $15K; if you don't put effort into it then you won't succeed, period. Epicodus and probably many other bootcamps will provide you the environment and fundamentals in programming, but the rest is up to you. Don't expect to get a job so easily if you only spend 40hrs a week coding. Epicodus doesn't make promises; rather, it creates opportunities for students to get into coding habits, connect you with peers, prepare you with sufficient coding skills (based on your effort), and allows you to have a taste of real world experience through internships at an affordable price.
- Instructors: I liked all of my instructors even if not everyone are senior developers. When my partners and I are stuck on specific problems, our instructors would go over our errors step by step just like they are another coding partner. Even if they know what the problem is, they'll still ask us questions until we answer the problem ourselves, which I do appreciate. They don't just help with coding errors, but they also give advice on how to handle situations where you and your partner might not be on the same wavelength. In other words (honest words), you will not like to work with some of your classmates, but they'll still help you out when you need help. I would like to thank Leroi, Summer, Diane, and Michael for being awesome instructors during my time at Epicodus.
-Code Reviews: I'm ok with the weekly code reviews. They don't ask too much from the students, but I always go above and beyond for most of my reviews. It's always good to do more than what is being asked, and that is what Epicodus wants its students to do.
- Curriculum: It's understandable that the curriculum is what it is because of code deprications. There will always be newer codes, methods, and efficient ways of programming. However, I do think the curriculum should always be a top priority at Epicodus, which it might be, but it didn't feel it. The Design course could use some improvements from when I left. The design tasks for weekly reviews, I think, should be more complex or more strict. That would help me build a stronger portfolio. In the JavaScript course, we had three days to work on Angular 2 and two weeks of Ember JS. I prefer a more balanced schedule because I like Angular more.
-Job Assistance/Internships: I think communication between the staffs are clear and comprehensive. The internship, for me, was ok. It's not the best, nor do I feel like it's worth $1000 because it's a one person startup, but it's good experience in a way. I would recommend trying to find an internship on your own before going for the internship course because you know who you'll be interning for. At Epicodus, you'll be matched with 1 out of about 3 or 4 places, which could be awesome or not depending on where you are matched with. After my internship, I studied by myself at home for two months then applied to several places and landed a job. So I guess I didn't rely much on the assistance part. They offered to do weekly checkins, but I was lazy on my part.
Overall, if you have the motivation or looking for more motivation, then you should try Epicodus. Don't take Epicodus if you're the type of person who doesn't want to commit to doing extra coding work outside of the classroom. Again, you will only land a job if you put effort into it.
I attended Epicodus earlier this year and ended up finishing the program with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't all bad but there are some major concerns for Epicodus ( and programming bootcamps in general ) going forward.
Curriculum:
The curriculum is okay. They focus alot on the how and very little of the why of things. I commend them for making all curriculum available online but there are a lot of issues as it stands now. You will learn a lot about basic web develo...
I attended Epicodus earlier this year and ended up finishing the program with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't all bad but there are some major concerns for Epicodus ( and programming bootcamps in general ) going forward.
Curriculum:
The curriculum is okay. They focus alot on the how and very little of the why of things. I commend them for making all curriculum available online but there are a lot of issues as it stands now. You will learn a lot about basic web development and how to use version control, and how to plug and play various frameworks to drive your applications.
What you won't learn is how to actually program. The standards are very lenient when it comes to code review ( the daily peer review didn't really occur in my experience ) and essentially everyone "passes". Code standards are lax, best practices are lax, and I got the impression that they were more interested in keeping students happy and pumping out "developers" than they were quality curriculum.
Staff:
The staff is a mixed bag, and with them rapidly expanding to new locations I have a suspicion that the quality is only going to go down. Most of the teachers are former students, which frankly is terrible. Some of them were shaky on the very curriculum that they were teaching and students often rely upon other more advanced students for help because the teachers won't have a good answer. I understand that the concept behind Epicodus was a peer learning environment, and that may have been the case when they were a smaller institution, but there are far too many students and far too few teachers for it to be an effective learning experience.
Job Assistance:
Basically non-existent. One resume review. One mock interview. and they set you up with an internship ( kind of ). There are too many students, too few internships, and a lot of the companies that they are partnered with offer very low quality internship experiences. I heard directly from a company that I interviewed with that they would never hire an Epicodus graduate from prior experience.
Do not expect to hear from them at all after your internship, once again they will over promise and you will get burned. Be prepared to take on the job search on your own, which is not always a bad thing but anyone who expects to come to Epicodus and be guarunteed a job when they are done is going to have a bad time.
Conclusion:
Overall my experience at Epicodus was lukewarm. I met a lot of good people, and did land a job quickly afterword. But I credit my success to studying long hours after class on topics that were actually relevant and the fundamentals of what actually makes a good programmer. You will not learn these things at Epicodus unless you actively seek them out.
This school, with it's rapid expansion to multiple cities while already being on a shaky foundation, is beginning to look more like a developer farm pumping out underqualified and incompetent programmers with dreams of a completely uncompetitive job market which simply does not exist.
I caution you to do your research before attending any programming bootcamp and to realize that most likely you are getting what you paid for.
Michael Kaiser-Nyman of Epicodus
President
Sep 13, 2016
I had a mixed experience at Epicodus. I enjoyed pair programming with others and my internship was awesome. But I do have some issues. First, many of the companies that provide the internships aren't established. For example, two of the people in my class had internships at a place where they knew more about coding than the "developers" they were working with. The company didn't even have an office for them to work out of. One of those students reluctantly took on a ...
I had a mixed experience at Epicodus. I enjoyed pair programming with others and my internship was awesome. But I do have some issues. First, many of the companies that provide the internships aren't established. For example, two of the people in my class had internships at a place where they knew more about coding than the "developers" they were working with. The company didn't even have an office for them to work out of. One of those students reluctantly took on a position at the company, but she told me that the pay was very low, no benefits, no sick days, really more like a side hustle than a job. Second, Epicodus has not been that helpful with job placement. Yes, we worked on a resume, did a mock interview, and the like, but there was no solid guidance in the job search. Demo Day was very dissapointing. A few "employers" meandered around the room looking at projects. You had to flag them down if you wanted to present your project to them. I don't know anyone who landed a job from the Demo Day.
Epicodus gives you the impression that their name carries a lot of weight on a job application--especially with certain companies--but in my experience it doesn't. I also don't feel that the instruction prepared me for a fultime coding job. The code reviews are kind of a joke. You don't really get very useful feedback--it's mostly positive, but nothing specifically related to the quality of your code. It's very easy to trick yourself into believing that you're skills are better than they actually are.
Epicodus could be improved with better instruction (especially feedback on proper coding methodology), better job placement services, and updated curriculum.
My main problem with Epicodus is that they sell you on the dream of changing your life with a coding job--anyone can do it--just complete our program and you'll be a programmer! That has not been my experience and I know other Epicodus graduates who would agree with me.
Epicodus is a good school, but it doesn't live up to the hype. I think a person could achieve similar results for a lot less money using FreeCodeCamp, Treehouse or Udacity, and going to meet-ups.
I was a part of the first Android cohort. My class should've been advertised as a trial run because that's what it felt like most of the way through. Our Android curriculum was incomplete - it was literally just not there. At least a third of the class dropped out. Our teacher left after the first 2 months and Michael (who runs Epicodus) became our teacher, except he had no working knowledge of Android and was also clearly distracted since he runs the entire program. We considered asking f...
I was a part of the first Android cohort. My class should've been advertised as a trial run because that's what it felt like most of the way through. Our Android curriculum was incomplete - it was literally just not there. At least a third of the class dropped out. Our teacher left after the first 2 months and Michael (who runs Epicodus) became our teacher, except he had no working knowledge of Android and was also clearly distracted since he runs the entire program. We considered asking for a refund for the Android portion of our course because it felt like there was no structure whatsoever at this point. I understand that Epicodus stresses independant learning, but the whole entire course should not be a free-for-all.
We were informed half through that there weren't enough internships for everyone in the class, and a number of students had to wait for a "second round" of internships. A lot of people were unhappy with their internships. I've heard from cohorts since mine (including current Epicodus interns that interning where I ended up getting a job) that the internship selection has been pretty junky still - lots of companies canceling at the last minute because of communication issues.
Most importantly, I would like to suggest that prospective Epicodus students take reviews written by graduates from 2015 and earlier with a grain of salt: there are still jobs for junior devs, but there are many, MANY more job-seeking bootcamp grads than there used to be. The demand is not quite so high as it used to be.
Positives of my experience: having a group of people I graduated with that now serve as a very helpful network/support system. My first teacher Jake Kaad was great, but he was frustrated with the curriculum and also found a better job. I did indeed end up getting hired from my internship, but I had won a scholarship from the company that I interned with and because of this, I had a bit of an advantage from the start.
Epicodus could be great, and I can't speak to the current curriculum. I would suggest that people considering Epicodus try to reach out to recent grads on LinkedIn.
Michael Kaiser-Nyman of Epicodus
President
Jul 19, 2016
Epicodus is a mixed bag. It delivers on its promise to get you from no coding experience to being a coder. That said, your job prospects and general educational experience really depend a lot on your general aptitude for coding, your experience going in, and the route that you choose to go (front vs back end). Here is some advice that I hope will be helpful to you...
The coding mindset
Make no mistake - you WILL be a coder at the end of this program. Your knowledge ...
Epicodus is a mixed bag. It delivers on its promise to get you from no coding experience to being a coder. That said, your job prospects and general educational experience really depend a lot on your general aptitude for coding, your experience going in, and the route that you choose to go (front vs back end). Here is some advice that I hope will be helpful to you...
The coding mindset
Make no mistake - you WILL be a coder at the end of this program. Your knowledge will be limited in many ways, but you will indeed have the "coding mindset" that Epicodus focuses on - namely that you will have the aptitude to have an easier time learning new languages and understanding web dev concepts.
Instruction
One would expect to be instructed when one pays to go to a school, right? This is missing at Epicodus. Instructors are largely unavailable - day to day, they are not a presence unless you are having an issue, and you must put a "ticket" in to see them in that case. You get a weekly code review, but it is short, and doesn't make up for the lack of instruction the other 39.5 hours each week. Also, most instructors have no education training at all, and there is a difference between knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach it.
Pair Programming
So who DO you learn from? Pretty much up to you and your daily "pair" student partner, utilizing the online lessons that you follow each day. Pair programming is a cool idea in essence, but has some serious problems. If you can find a partner who is similar in level, approach, speed, learning style, and personality, it can be very useful, as you can really help each other through challenges and problems. The down side is that with the lack of instruction, you are basically learning from your partners, and they are just students like you, and almost nobody has any education background. It would seem that finding a coder better than you would be really helpful in learning, but in reality, those students are the worst teachers. They are either such naturals at it that they can't get on your level when they try to explain, or they are snooty and condescending, and basically annoyed with anyone not on their level.
Curriculum
The quality depends upon the class. The modules for CSS and Design classes were easy to follow, with a good pace, and really great videos and articles. The intro curriculum was awful - the section on JavaScript goes from zero to 100 and can leave a beginner's head reeling. It's like being a beginning swimmer, dipping a toe in the water, and the suddenly you're trying to swim in the middle of the Pacific.
Internship
I found this to be the best part about Epicodus. Getting some professional experience at the end of school was great - I learned a lot about client/coder relations, which greatly affects how you approach a project and what pressure there is (or isn't). Getting the idea of a workflow and how a pro team works was extremely beneficial.
Be careful which path you choose
In speaking with professionals, other Epicodus grads, and in my own experience, I've discovered that if you want a good paying job fairly quickly after graduating, it's a whole lot better to go the back end route. The front end market is super-saturated in Portland, and the farther you align with the design side of things, the harder it is to find entry-level jobs. Nearly all UI/UX design jobs were asking for 5+ years of professional experience, for instance. I'd suggest that if you go the front end track and wanna maximize your chance for a nice-paying gig, concentrate on JavaScript. I really wish that I had known about this before starting at Epicodus.
In the end
I wouldn't have the job (SEO Specialist) that I currently have without Epicodus. A year ago, I would have had no chance whatsoever to get any tech job, and now, that is an option for me, which improves my future career options. I enjoy Sass, and love Sketch, and have fun with my hobby projects. I've been very disappointed by the lack of decent paying jobs for my design-oriented interests, and I felt that I could have learned a lot more if I had some better instruction. But, despite the many issues that I believe Epicodus has, I still have come out with a new job skill, and a new job. I feel that I paid too much for it, but I did get a fast education in how to do web development and design.
Employed in-field | 58.8% |
Full-time employee | 44.1% |
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position | 8.8% |
Short-term contract, part-time, or freelance | 5.9% |
Started a new company or venture after graduation | 0.0% |
Not seeking in-field employment | 2.9% |
Employed out-of-field | 0.0% |
Continuing to higher education | 2.9% |
Not seeking a job for health, family, or personal reasons | 0.0% |
Still seeking job in-field | 17.6% |
Could not contact | 20.6% |
How much does Epicodus cost?
Epicodus costs around $8,700. On the lower end, some Epicodus courses like Intro to Programming (Part-Time) cost $100.
What courses does Epicodus teach?
Epicodus offers courses like C# and React, C# and React (Part-Time), Intro to Programming (Part-Time).
Where does Epicodus have campuses?
Epicodus has in-person campuses in Portland and Seattle. Epicodus also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.
Is Epicodus worth it?
The data says yes! In 2019, Epicodus reported a 72% graduation rate, a median salary of $75,000, and 59% of Epicodus alumni are employed. Epicodus hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 181 Epicodus alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Epicodus on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Epicodus legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 181 Epicodus alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Epicodus and rate their overall experience a 4.68 out of 5.
Does Epicodus offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Epicodus offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Epicodus reviews?
You can read 181 reviews of Epicodus on Course Report! Epicodus alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Epicodus and rate their overall experience a 4.68 out of 5.
Is Epicodus accredited?
Epicodus is licensed by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Washington Workforce Board.
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