Makers Academy

I joined Makers Academy in September 2017 on their immersive coding bootcamp. There was an initial interview process to assess eligibility to the course with a basic technical interview. The first month was a 20 hour per week remote precourse which set the level of understanding needed to progress to the full course. 

Our class of 17 students were tutored for around 2 hours per day at the start of the course with afternoons reserved for challenges we worked on in pairs, aimed at cementing the knowledge gained in the morning workshops. This combination of traditional classroom and challenge based learning led to an excellent understanding of test driven, agile software development fundamentals and also promoted solid self learning principles.

Students at Makers get to enjoy a lot of comforts including a fully stocked kitchen, daily guided mediation sessions and yoga classes. Everything is there to be enjoyed and there is no pressure to take part if it's not your thing.

After the 4 months spent with Makers Academy I was able to successfully land my first job within a week. My time there had fully prepared me for the reality of making the career change into software development and the careers team were on hand to help with the transition in the build up to leaving.

I would fully recommend Makers to anyone who's considering making the move into development. It can be daunting to take the leap but it's the experience of a lifetime for those who take the risk.

I have only had the opportunity to attend a single coding Bootcamp, I'm glad it was Makers Academy.

The most impressive part of the course for me, besides the excellent coaching and learning environment, is the post-course support team! they worked tirelessly for as long as it took to get me lots of job Leads both with the massive selection of hiring partners they've built up and helped me improve my interview skills and methods. 

The main reason I went to makers over other any similar boot camps is the quality of the post-course support.

I had a great experience at Makers Academy! It's very intensive and you get to learn a huge amount over 4 months. I'd recommend it to people looking to transition into software development - the course was very focussed on teaching skills that would be beneficial in that environment and ultimately helping you to get a job as a developer. That said, the process of getting to that point was really fun, the coaches were supportive and excited to transfer their knowledge, and I only started to be encouraged to think about jobs about 6 weeks from the end of the course.

The school is amazing, there is good support but don't expect anybody trying to stick knowledge in your brain - they learn you how to be a knowledge worker, you will have to make the learning by yourself!

I was very pleased by the support before, during (with an amazing student's emotional support) and expecially after the course - they really try to be there at every step of your career, from starting the course to getting a job.

I was convinced doing the live (not online) course was going to make a huge difference.
I attended it and it really worked for me, expecially regarding team working skills.

Although, if you fill you got a good set of those skills already, you can save lots of money by taking the online courses - many remote students have been hired already but don't ask me the stats!

Also, if you have a good base you could even try without the course and save those money alltogether.

Makers Academy was a tough but really rewarding experience. The course requires you to take a certain responsibility for your own learning but is structured in such a way as to continually build up your skills and confidence. The weekly exercises introduce important concepts through the applications you build. The concepts are not handed to you on a plate and do require you to figure some things out yourself, but I found real value in this process. The coaches really know their stuff and are on hand to help if you are really stuck - again they won't give you the answer on your plate but will help you develop a way forward and solution yourself.

One thing I did not really appreciate before the course at all was that I would gain experience in areas of development best practice - things like test-driven development, pair programming, or daily standups and retros when working in groups. Getting exposure to these was valuable in its own right, and is also something that I found really interested potential employers.

The course strucutre was really good and building up my confidence in my own skills - after the first few weeks I felt empowered to try new things with the training wheels firmly off, completing projects in areas such as machine learning and blockchain. At the start of the course I never could have imagined I'd feel confident enough to take on subject matter like that. Again I won't claim it was easy, but we felt we could embrace the struggle and build as we learnt!

In terms of outcome, I've secured a job with a software consultancy, which I'm really pleased with. The careers team provided good support in helping to put me in contact with potential employers and briefing me on areas to focus on for interview.

Makers Academy has given me a fantastic foundation as a developer and both a desire and curiosity to keep building my skills.

I spent a couple of years trying to learn coding on my own, but never really got to a point where I could have been employable. Makers Academy was the perfect place for me to learn in a structured way. The curriculum focus a lot on "learning how to learn" and learning by doing, so don't expect to be spon fed. We coded from day one and were taught about TDD and Agile practices, stuff that I never heard of before during my self studies. They prepared me for being part of a real working environment, it's not just about coding. After 3 very intense, challenging and rewarding months I found my first job as software engineer for a company that I thought would never even consider me as a candidate.
To sum it up, if you like to work hard, and learn a tons and be part of an amazing community Makers Academy is the place for you!

I found Makers Academy to be a brilliant experience that fast tracked my programming knowledge in the space of 3 months. I was taught industry best practice, alongside the skills of learning how to learn effectively in an industry that is constantly changing.  We carried out pair programming every day, and were well supported by our coach who went above & beyond to help us learn. I got a job one week after graduating. It's a well respected course within the tech industry & has amazing hiring partners. 

Before starting my journey in software engineering; I searched around for the best bootcamps in the U.K. Makers academy was simply outstanding in terms of what it had to offer and so I went for it.

So here I'am a month after finishing the course about to start a job as a software engineer and nearly double my pay from my previous job. If you are the thinking about studying programming / coding, there's no better place than Makers Academy, they don't set limits to what you can achieve and you are constantly challenged to improve and be your best. 

In terms of languages, by the time I had done with Makers; I'd touched on C#, JavaScript, Ruby and Swift aswell as some of the most popular frameworks out there, again these are not all in the course modules but you are encouraged to explore new things through project work. You learn from day one industry best practices and the fundamentals of programming, and by the time you are done; you'll have a solid portfolio of projects and a great grasp of programming.

This course is as intense as it gets, and you will get out of it what you put in. This course is for you if your a hard worker, passionate about code and serious about changing your career. Don't expect to be spoon fed and you must have the right mentality to be successful.

The Makers career team are second to none, and they really do have very strong links with the industry. I got my job through them in a very prestigious company. So if your looking to work in the industry after finishing, this is the right place to study. 

This has been an amazing experience and it has truly changed my life, if you serious about making a change; then Makers Academy is the place to be.

As a testament to the course: I entered Makers Academy with very limited knowledge of software development. I accepted a job offer within three weeks of graduating. 

• ​There is a lot of focus on care both for yourself and fellow students, including daily meditation and bi-weekly yoga. Both the Joy Officer and the coaches are often around to speak directly about your concerns, and there is a strong, open feedback culture that Makers seem to take very seriously. There is a lot of emphasis on everyone feeling safe and supported. ​
• The support in getting a job is absolutely fantastic, as long as you put in the effort from your side as well. That means building a rapport with the careers team and helping them to help you find something suitable. They will help you for as long as you need to get a job, though that might mean supporting you in finding one for yourself, as the number of jobs available via hiring partners at any one time will inevitably be fewer than the graduates applying. 
• The focus on agile practices, software craftsmanship and projects emulating the real world was great. Learning to work like a programmer, think like a programmer and collaborate like a programmer are by far the most important skills Makers can give you - much more than just learning the actual languages, which is something you could probably go at alone with enough time and dedication. These are the skills that will make you employable beyond the code!
• ​The focus on 'learning by doing' was indispensable in propelling my learning forward. This, along with the 'growth mindset' that is integral to the Makers learning philosophy, was one of the most useful lessons that I will continue to apply not only to my career but to any challenge in life. 
• The course is set up to promote total self-learning. What little structure you have is slowly pulled back until you are working in a completely self-directed manner. As such, you will have to rely on yourself to progress forward. The coaches are there to keep the ball rolling, but they won't chase you if you fall behind. The onus is very much on you to make it known if you are struggling or need specific guidance. Don't expect to be graded, or even receive much feedback without asking for it.​ This can be very frustrating, especially at first, but is quite good for encouraging self-sufficiency and self-assurance (which will be pretty essential post-course). 
• There is a sense in which you are at the mercy of your cohort more than your coach. Pair programming happens every day, if not group projects, and programming alone is discouraged. This is fantastic for letting you get a taste of coding collaboratively, actively thinking about a problem and knowledge-sharing, but does also mean you are reliant on each other to maintain a level of commitment and motivation.

Makers is very much what you make of it. Frankly, it is quite easy to go through the course without much effort, though unsurprisingly the pay-off will be minimal-to-nonexistent. And, of course, it's possible to go at it 24/7 and make coding your life, though I think the necessity of this is over-stated. Maintaining a not-insane work-life balance won't ruin you, as long as you work smart and are mindful of your own progress (it's true, though, that you will need to give up some of your weekends!) Seek help for your weaknesses, engage thoughtfully, be a considerate pair, and you're already halfway there.

Disclaimer: I am writing this review in return for a free hoodie (I do love free hoodies), but apparently I can be as honest as I like 😋

I was part of the April 2017 cohort at Makers and finished at the end of June. It took me about two weeks to get a job as a Software Engineer afterwards. Before Makers I was a marketer and only had a tiny amount of coding knowledge, all front end.

I joined Makers because I was making a conscious career change. Before the course I was sceptical that I'd be able to get a job coding straight after, but I've been proved wrong 🙌

The biggest thing I've got out of Makers is a mindset change. Whereas before I wasn't confident about learning new things, especially technical things, I feel way more confident now. Get yourself a growth mindset 📈 

What's good about Makers Academy?

• The learning methodology is great; it's all about 'learning how to learn' which focuses attention on feedback and reflection over learning by rote, perfect for getting into good habits as a Software Engineer;
• The culture is very open and friendly; they take their Code of Conduct seriously in order to create a geniunely inclusive environment;
• Pair programming every day replicates the environment you'll be in when you get a job after the course, and also helps peers share knowledge without too much interference from coaches;
• Learning Ruby, then TDD, then about web apps, then JavaScript; the curriculum flows nicely and each week for the first half of the course builds on the knowledge you already have;
• The careers team are great, friendly and highly motivated to get you a job ASAP after you finish; the jobs are generally good jobs and well paid compared to other graduate-type roles

What's not so good about Makers Academy?

Firstly – during the application and selection process, they can be a bit pushy. Although they make a big deal of the fact that you've been 'selected' and try and make you feel special, they are clearly under pressure to get you to commit ASAP and pay your deposit. It's a huge life decision to leave your job (if you have one), take three months out, spend £8k etc., and I think they should make more of an effort to not put so much pressure on people at that stage.

Secondly – your cohort will very much a peer-led learning group. The coach is there as a guide and to give you some structure early on ('leave the stabilizers on') before you're confident enough by yourself. As a consequence you're reliant on your fellow learners to (a) show up, (b) be attentive and engaged, (c) be forgiving if necessary. Undoubtedly, not all of your cohort will match this profile. 

As an prospective student, if you're hoping for lots of structure and lots of teacher/student type coaching and quantitative feedback, then Makers is not for you. You need to be confident enough to ask for help if you think you need it, too.

Top Tips for Applying to Makers Academy

Don't freak out. When they invite you for face-to-face interview, read the email they send you with instructions (from memory it's about doing some Ruby on Codeacademy and a couple of other things). What they ask of you is not hard and it doesn't take a huge amount of time. Just make you prepare by doing all the things on their list and you'll be fine.

Final thoughts

If you know that you're interested in coding, this is a great place to start (if you have the money and the time). It's expensive but if you look at the salaries for the roles from the careers team, a lot of the time it will pay off very quickly. 

If you don't yet know that you're interested in coding, do some more Codeacademy or similar, or check out free coding meetups like Codebar.

From what I can see so far, programming is creative, thoughtful and challenging work, and Makers gives you a good taste of that. It's intense only if you want it to be; there's no pressure from the coaches to be working all hours. Take your time and you'll be all the more confident for it.

Any other questions? I'm on Twitter as @baileytalks – tweet or DM me. Always happy to have an honest chat 👍

I came to Makers with 3 years experience as a technical support engineer. 
My goal was to change career into web development.

3 months after the course, I got a job as a junior Python/Django developer. 
I wrote a blog about my journey at Makers Academy : https://bkjourneytocoding.wordpress.com/

What I can say about my experience is that you get out what you put in. 
Makers has the materials, the curriculum and a dedicated team to help you along the way but you have to put in a lot of work.