Sabio

I decided to be a part of the bootcamp early in the year after attending one of Sabio's informational sessions.  I was very impressed by Gregorio's passion and belief that anyone could code.  After attending a few of their pre-training sessions, I was still skeptical that I could do it, too.  Once the intense 12-week training began, I knew that there was no turning back.  Under the guidance of our instructor Aaron, I persisted in making sense of the many facets of the world of web development.  "Focus on what you already know, not on what you don't.", Gregorio would chime in once in a while.  It was a much needed reminder in that while there was just so much that I didn't understand about software development, I was also gaining ground at an incredible pace.  It was all a matter of where I would focus my attention on. 

At the end of the 12 weeks, I had a full-stack portfolio of an MVC ASP.Net project with Angular on the front-end.  After a few interviews, I landed a job as a full-stack web developer, where I'm currently employed earning exactly twice as much as my previous employment.   

Sabio is more than a bootcamp.  It's a community.  The 5-year support that Sabio offers is just about the best part of their program.  They work hard to create and maintain a community of professionals that support one another (both emotionally and technically) and help each other with leads.  In addition, they stand by your side and advise you on the next move for your career.  It really feels like Sabio is a family, who is there to cheer you on and give you both tools and courage to become a developer, too.

I have since contacted them with both technical and career advice.  I have also joined the Sabio team on a hackathon, which was amazing! I'll definitely do it again!

Being a full time father for the last 6 years has been a big priviledge for me. I loved spending all that time with my son. But since he's now going to school, and my wife wanting to have her turn with him, its time for me to get back to work. I have been out of the job market for so long, and dabbling in different odd jobs, I decided going forward I would like to change careers and become a full stack Web Developer.

I started taking online courses. But soon I realized that it won't be enough, so I started researching on Full Stack Web Development bootcamps. Having compared several, I eventually decided to go with SABIO. It has been the best decision I have ever made.

SABIO offered the closest real world experience I could ever hoped for. We worked on a project for a client. I experienced creating the whole stack, from Front, Mid tier to the back. I experienced having an agile environment, doing daily stand ups, working on cards (trello), and have done best industry practices such as code reviews. Best of all, SABIO offers mentorship and training for 5 years after you finish your program. The cohorts are also smaller with a maximum of 10 fellows per cohort, giving each fellows a great opportunity to learn from the Instructors and do more.

The training was intense, but it was worth it. Like everything else, You'll end up with what you put in, The long hours, the studying, the sacrifices, its only for 3 months, so I made the most out of it. And on the last day of my training, I got a job offer.

To Gregorio, Liliana, AAron, John and Jimmy... Thank you.

I first heard about Sabio from my dad, when he met the founders of the bootcamp at a tech event. I was working in the financial service industry at the time when he told me about it.

Not long after I left that industry, I began looking into other coding programs prior to checking out Sabio, but they didn't really intrigue me. So I researched Sabio online and found out about their high percentage of graduates who get placed in well paying jobs. I was skeptical at first because it seemed too good to be true, but I was sold at one of Sabio's info session, when they explained how they continue to develop careers of graduates years after completing the bootcamp and getting a job.

What I enjoyed the most about the bootcamp is working in a small classroom setting that is hands-on with a product that will be functional and presentable for your portfolio. It's a very intense training program, but it is very rewarding if you are willing to dedicate the time and invest the money.

Joining Sabio was the best decision I ever made for my career. After feeling stuck at different entry-level jobs over the last few years with zero growth, I decided I needed to make a change. I had no prior programming experience, but because of Sabio, I am now making more money than I ever have and I feel like I finally have a real career path.   When I was considering different programs, what really sold me on Sabio was how much the founders and instructors truly care for the Sabio fellows. They keep in touch with fellows even after they graduate, providing advice and inviting them to Sabio's social and career development events. I can't stress enough how important it is to have this support. The staff will push you, challenge you, and encourage you because they believe in you, and they want you to succeed.   Cohorts are small, about 10 people, and the instructors have 10+ years of experience. While I personally benefitted from the different instructors (my cohort had two different instructors), if you learn better with a specific teaching style, I would recommend you get to know the instructors beforehand. Many cohorts work on a real-world project with a real client, which is a valuable experience.   In general, before signing up for any bootcamp, make sure this is something you really want to do. Coding will be your life for three months, and hopefully your career for many years to come. Complete the tutorials on Code Academy to start with. Sabio has six weeks of pre-work before the program starts. I recommend participating in this fully to prepare for the program. If you enjoy web development and are good at it, then this is a good investment for your future. I was lucky to receive two job offers before I graduated. While it can typically take several weeks to find a job after graduating, Sabio will provide you with the skills to be a junior developer, as long as you put in the work. And you really do have to put in the hours to get the most out of this program.   If I had to provide criticism, perhaps there could have been more group instruction. You spend most of your time in Sabio doing hands-on coding as an individual, and without a doubt, this is the best way to learn how to code -- by just doing it. But more instruction could provide more value for the tuition. Quality of job assistance is hard to judge, since it ultimately depends on the individual to apply to jobs and become good at interviewing, which I imagine is the case for any bootcamp. Sabio does provide lots of great advice, interview practice, resume critique, and a meeting with recruiters.    To sum up, Sabio has changed my life for the better. I'm making more money, I have a real career path, and I have the confidence to strive for more in life. This was a great investment in my career that I truly wish I had made sooner.

My, my, my, where to even begin? I'm sure whatever words come next will be wholly inadequate but let me give it a shot anyway. 

I'm a math teacher by training--Bachelors and Masters from UC Davis, with nearly 20 years of teaching experience. I'm pretty damn good at that. I've taught fairly advanced math to a Cal Berkeley engineering student--multi-variate and vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, basic ODEs and PDEs. I have a poster on my bedroom wall that contains a multi-million digit prime number. Every single digit. I'm a math nerd. 

I also programmed a computer for the first time when I was about 10 years old. I've programmed on and off for many years in a number of languages. But I had really only dabbled; never took on any kind of major project, by myself or as part of a team. I pick up computer languages without too much trouble. 

Fast forward. By June of 2015, after another lousy year as a private math tutor, I knew I needed a new career. And software development was the clear choice! I did some online homework to see what web developer bootcamps were in the Los Angeles area. I knew a bit about Makers Square and sure enough, they were launching their first cohort in July. But then I found Sabio.la. Who were these folks? I was intrigued!

I called Liliana and had an informative conversation. Then I came to an info session. I was floored by what I heard Liliana and Gregorio saying. They could show me how to become a web developer? And not just me, but anybody who wants it and is willing to do the work? A full stack .NET web developer? We're going to probably build a real web app for a real client? Are you kidding me? I knew right then and there Sabio was the place for me. They welcome a great diversity of people--under represented groups is their speciality. That was also a huge selling point. Too many talented, capable people slip through the cracks in America: yes, white male privlege really is a thing. I was happy to see Sabio so open to all.

After about 5 weeks of pre work--an intro to JS/HTML/CSS, .NET MVC, and some SQL Server/TSQL--I was officially a member of cohort 10, which started on Monday, August 3. And yes, we had a real client, n NY!

I won't give you all the grueling details, just a few, so that you get that this is the real deal, no bs, no fluff! Gregorio pushed us hard from the get go. We learned it all. HTML, CSS. Bootstrap, JavaScript, jQuery, and then (thankfully!) Angular (or ng as I know always call it) on the front side. ASP.NET MVC/C#/Web API for server side. Stored procedures in SQL Sever. Third party API's such as AWS, SendGrid, and Twilio. RESTful APIs, TFS, and so much more. Like I said, we did it all! Every one of us, every day. 

I was at Sabio by 7 am and stayed until at least 7, often 7:30 or even 8 pm every day, M-F. Plus more work on the weekends. It was tough. Really tough! A friend of mine describes it as 'putting your head in the oven'. That's because solving software development problems is generally hard. It can be frustrating, a real emotional rollercoaster. And I personally never felt like I was learning enough. It's as though I was perenially behind. Part of that is because I'm a bit older--late 40's and just not as quick as I once was. But part of it was that I really just wanted to take it all in. So much to learn and I could not absorb it fast enough. Plus it always seemed like so many other people in the cohort were learning it all so much faster. Who knows, maybe they were. 

But here is the key: Liliana, Gregorio, and Aaron (our other lead developer), supported us, kept us calm, and kept us moving forward, making sure we were challenged right to the edge of abilities and beyond. They told us what to do all the way, what to pay attention to, what to put aside for later consideration. In the final two weeks, they helped us transition to the job search. They helped us put together kickass 1-page resumes that highlight our relevant tech experience. They pounded us with interview prep questions. They told us to practice whiteboarding and keep talking about our code. They told us play nice with recruiters and take every interview opportunity that comes up, because we needed the practice.

How did it all turn out? Well, by the day our cohort ended, Friday October 23, two of the nine who were looking for web developer jobs had accepted offers and were due to start the following week.

I was not one of them. But, on Monday October 26 and Tuesday, October 27, I had my first two in-person interviews. By the time I got back from my second interview, late Tuesday afternoon, I had received an offer via email from the company I had interviewed with on Monday. Just a day later, on Wednesday, the other company said they were going to make me an offer as well. I knew the second company was the right fit for me: a fast growing startup in Santa Monica. Hey, I even had a third in-person interview scheduled for Thursday, which I canceled because I knew I was taking the Santa Monica job.

My first day was Monday, November 2, barely one week after finishing Sabio. By the way, the job I got with this company had an official starting salary range of 110-150K. Yeah, you read that right. That is a senior software engineer level salary. And they gave me the job! Now I  am no senior software engineer: I lack the level of experience specificed in the job description. Hence my starting salary is a bit below that. But let's just say they made me a fine offer. Ponder the implications of that for a moment.

How about the rest our our team? A fourth person from our cohort also landed a job during that first week after graduation. Another member of our cohort is in talks with a Santa Monica startup (not the one I'm at). Yet another member of the cohort has an upcoming in-person interview at the first company I interviwed with--the one I turned down. And guess what? He's probably going to get a job offer as well. That's how good Sabio is!!! 

So, if you are ready to learn to be a full stack .NET web developer--if you want to learn the skills to get employed--I've got just one workd for you, my friend:

SABIO

 

 

 

I have been waiting for the day I could write this. I wasn't expecting it to be this soon. But I told myself I would wait till I had a job. Finding a job was my number one goal in taking this intensive. I achieved that. I achieved it, with an offer of employment on the very last day of being in this intensive. I work with a great company and it is a dream job. As for pay, I now make more than double my previous hourly pay. I feel very fortunate to have found Sabio. It teaches you a great foundation to be able to dive into the world of web development. We learned the .net stack which I think is a great way to introduce you to key concepts of web development. Now I am able to move on to the stacks I want to learn. And I have the experience to do so safely. Since finishing Sabio, I have successfully developed a MEAN stack application, and understood every dependency I put in. I feel confident in the practices we learned and know very well they are transferable to other stacks. If you're on the fence on whether to take this intensive, I would say go for it!

This course far exceeded my expectations. I started working as a full time software engineer 6 weeks after Sabio graduation. The founders of the school go out of their way to ensure that you understand the material and the job marketplace. I had no technical backgound when I started the program. Now I am a part of the technical cognoscenti. Sabio is amazing and well worth it.  They have a network of contacts and a community of Sabio alumni and supporters that you tap into immediately.  The return on your investment is a thousandfold and it is immediate.

Sabio provides a great environment for anyone interested in becoming a full stack developer. I came into the program knowing very little and I was able to secure a job within a couple weeks of finishing the program. 

The program is structured so that you are coding and building a project for the entire 12 weeks. There are very few lectures and most of the learning is done by you actually getting your hands dirty in the code and debugging any problems.

You can't talk about Sabio without mentioning the founders, Gregorio and Liliana. They are both completely invested in the success of every person that decides to enroll in the course. They have made it their mission to keep Sabio Nation an open network for their fellows even after they have completed the 12-week program. 

If you are looking for the right boot camp to help you take the next step in learning to code, I would encourage you stop by one of Sabio's open houses to get additional information and meet the staff in-person.

First off, the founders, Gregorio and Lili, are the best kind of people out there. They're like your parents. Greg is really really invested in your future, and Lili is the mother that makes sure everything is ok. 

My instructor (not Gregorio) was great! He always gave you enough to get you started but not give you the full answer (good way to learn...that whole "give a fish" vs. "teach how to fish"). 

The curriculum is tough! But in a very good way. It means you WILL learn. But that also means you HAVE to put in the effort outside of class. Live, breathe, eat, sleep <code>. It pays off in the end because you'll be able to get a job pretty quick. My cohort all got jobs within 1 month. 

Remember that this skill is perfectly transferable to other companies so it doesn't pigeon hole you into one skill set (so to speak). 

Best life choice I've made so far. Just wish I did this earlier.

Oh, and if you decide to do this...DO ALL YOUR PREWORK, and more if you can...trust me. I didn't and it bit me in the behind.

 

There are not enough words to describe how truly grateful I am for what I received from my experience at Sabio. My time there was not easy but it was absolutely worth doing all over again. I guess the biggest reason why I picked Sabio became apparent to me after first interviewing with them. They are not a coding sweatshop ran solely to make money, though it is grueling; the founders are incredible people who care deeply about each of the eight people who finish a cohort. As a result of the level of quality they deliver, I was able to land a high paying job before I even graduated the bootcamp. 

 

Before I started the bootcamp I had absolutely no experience in programming, and didn’t even feel comfortable with a computer. I have an unrelated degree in Spanish and History; and yet, I decided to look into programing and started checking out different bootcamps and reading reviews to figure out which one to join. I’ll list out the reasons I decided on Sabio and what I learned in hindsight.

Reason’s why I would choose Sabio all over again:

It is NOT a factory pumping out programmers with little to no skills. This was a determining factor in choosing not to go with some of the other options, and after having finished the bootcamp, I came out confident in my ability to figure out problems needed to get things done.  

-It is NOT a class where you go and listen to someone go on for hours

-It is NOT a place to be babied.

-They DO NOT hire they own fellows. All the instructors have 10 years of experience or more.

-They teach you to be resourceful and think like a programer.

-There are only 8 students per class.

-They have a TON of pre-work and resources to make sure you learn as much as possible before you start the program so that you get the most out of your time there.

-They invest in you before you invest in them. You can come to their pre-work classes and get a taste of the program and make your decision without having to pay anything up front.

-They have a system in place that has proven to be successful (I got a job a week before graduating) 

-The founders are real people who genuinely care about you and your success and you can feel that when you meet them. 

The program is intense, but very rewarding. Gregorio and Liliana (the founders) take the time to meet everyone and make sure that everyone’s needs are met. They check up on you as often as they can and adjust reasonable requests. Gregorio usually stays on campus late, so if you're there programing he makes himself available to answer questions and help you when you're stuck. You definitely get way more attention than what you pay for and this was invaluable to me. 

The best thing about this program is that you’re actually building a product that you can then brag about. The other bootcamps out there have little projects that anyone with decent google skills can build without going through a 3 month bootcamp. Throughout my 3 months at Sabio we build an app, had meetings with the product owner, worked in an agile development… to say the least, it is as close to the real world environment as it can get. So when you get your first job, you are already familiar with how things run in a development environment and you can easily navigate through it.

Choosing Sabio was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I guarantee you that it will also be yours.

 

PS: There is an added bonus… They feed you Cuban food every now and then! ;)