1. A chance to code full time and get financing for the tuition, cost of living and gas.
2. A environment where I could meet others like myself.
3. A place to stay late and code when cramming to finish projects.
4. A instructor to help me when I needed it.
5. A good resume project to leave camp with.
6. A place to find community even after graduation.

Basically, #1 is the only thing I felt was adequately provided, and that was provided through a third party, so hey, thanks to them I guess. I’ll start with #2.

#2 :“A environment where I could meet others like myself.”
I was hoping to meet passionate newbies who really had the drive and competency to build awesome thing. The “admissions representatives” aka, sales people, were just pushing as many bodies through the door as they could, regardless of aptitude. Look it up on glassdoor, they work on commission. Students that needed excessive hand-holding through lectures. Students that seemed to be barely able to operate their own computers, let alone build software. I did meet some awesome passionate people at coder camps, but they were in different cohorts who have the same complaints about the program as I did.

#3: “A place to stay late and code when cramming to finish projects.”
When I first got to the camp, I had a late night TA. She was there if you needed questions answered, and to close the building late. However, 2ish weeks in, she got moved to a remote class and started working from home, subsequently causing the camp to close at 5 when the 2 instructors left. It would be occasionally be open a bit longer, but not often. I’d usually end up at the nearby coffee joint when I needed to get work done.

#4: “A instructor to help me when I needed it. ”
This was partially due to #2, it was hard to get my instructor to help me on harder concepts when he had students who were constantly making him repeat basic concepts like git commands and editor hotkeys. Beyond this. He left the company 2 weeks before my final project was over, presumably due to differences within Coder Camps. The instructor in the other class was willing to help when I needed it, but much of the project as in a completely different stack, and I ended up finishing it out. Which leads to our next expectation.

#5: “A good resume project to leave camp with.”
I was in a group of 2 others, one remote and one onsite. We finished, but there were features missing that I sincerely wished made it in. Beyond our instructor leaving, the remote student had to begin working a full-time job for personal reasons. The scope of the project was made for 3 full time developers, and it was more like 2.25. I feel like this made me pick up the extra slack. The project works as a demo, but not as a product, and it still bothers me to this day. I put a lot of heart into it.

#6: “A place to find community even after graduation.”
After I graduated the dot-net class wasn’t receiving new students, and the mean stack class ahead of me was finishing their projects. In total, on a day I would stop in there would be 5 people in the building including the instructor and TA, but often less. This was pretty suspicious, they went from just throwing in any warm body willing to pay them, to mysteriously sending no-one. This turned out to be that they planned to close the Seattle campus. I tried to stop by recently to find out that they closed the camp. They are still active in arizona and Texas (so far as I know). I’ve found a good community outside the camp, the JS community in Seattle is warm and friendly. Unfortunately, Coder camps’ Seattle campus was actually in Redmond! And if you know anything about Seattle, the people here hate driving. So you end up spending a lot of time and gas to go to meetups and events where the community actually congregates.

Most of what I have learned hasn’t been from their curriculum, it was pretty badly outdated. I’m self taught, they taught me nothing. 2 weeks out of camp I found some contract work for a startup. With zero help from Coder Camps. And that’s fine, as I said, I wasn’t expecting it. That lasted about about 2 months, and now I’m on the hunt again. This whole experience was just sad. I came in with reasonable expectations and was disappointed in a spectacular fashion. Don’t trust a word they tell you.

On to the instructors. From Steve to Rob to Andrew
and to Kris, I have to say that the Skill Distillery has the best
instructors hands down. I have taken a Java course at a college located
in Denver (not naming any names) and the experience was dreadful. Steve
taught what I had learned in a semester in two weeks and I was able to
retain it all. I would like to take the time now to address the
anonymous complaint against Steve by saying that it not only pure
nonsense but 100% unfounded. There is no instructor who is more invested
in the well being and success of his students than Steve. He is
hilarious, kind, passionate and he can be stern when he needs to be.
Take from me, I have gotten called out for being on Facebook or dozing
in class but never once did I think it was inappropriate or like I was
being attacked. Steve is the best Java/Spring guru and you will learn
valuable information from him. Rob is the terminal wizard. Actually Rob
is pretty much a wizard at everything and I learned a lot from picking
his brain. Kris and Andrew were our instructors for the latter half of
the course. They tagged team what I thought was the most cahllenging
subjects which were Angular JS and JS. The way they engaged the students
and conveyed the subjects was perfect. Last but not least, I don’t
think any of the students in my cohort including myself would have
succeeded so well if it wasn’t for the help of Aaron the TA. Aaron was
always there to help you and help put the technigal aspects into layman
terms. I could go on and on but the TL:DR of it all is the instructors
at the Skill Distillery are phenomenal.

All the knowledge and
all the material we covered was staggering. It was challenging to say
the least. I will say that you can make it through this course if you
put forth 100% effort. That being said this course is not for everyone. I
believe I came in every weekend for a minimum of 5 hours to finish
projects or to have study groups. I came in early and stayed late every
single day. I don’t think I would have done as well had I not. We
covered Java in four weeks and we got pretty far into the advanced
subjects. After that we dove into the OCP prep. That alone solidified a
lot fo what we had learned throughout the previous weeks. After that we
covered Spring and some front end topics. From there we moved to
JavaScript and then to Angular JS. I have interviewed with a few
companies and done multiple coding challenges while on my job search.
Everything we learned was covered in the interviews and challenges. In a
nut shell the knowledge gained from this course will eventually lead
you to getting a career in Software Development. Almost 90% of my cohort
has landed jobs including myself so I can attest that this place works!

In
closing, the Skill Distillery was the best decision I have ever made.
It is in my opinion the best Dev Bootcamp out there because it teaches
Java for which there are tons of job opportunities for. The instructors
are also the best ones out there in my opinion. Cole, the director,
works tirelessly to work with students as well as local companies to
open up job opportunites. He is the reason I was able to land a job with
a well known contracting company. The material taught here will open
doors for you as long as you put in the effort. Skill Distillery has a
lot to offer and if I were you, I would not hesitate to sign up!

Sincerely,

Dennis

P.S.: If you have any questions feel free to hit me up at dennis.carrasquillo@gmail.com

I’m a veteran who has prior professional experience (not coding related at all) in the corporate world. My prospects were quickly turning into a dead end and I had a family to support. I knew programming was the way of the future but I didn’t have the time to dedicate to getting a four year CS degree. If coding boot camps like Skill Distillery didn’t exist, I would have been a slave to a less than optimal job outlook.

Skill Distillery has given me the tools I need to successfully break into the software engineering/development market. If you have a clearance you will have an immense number of job opportunities. Those who do not have clearances have plenty of opportunities as well. The market is booming! However, I won’t sugar coat it. The process to get hired for positions that don’t require clearances will require more of a dog and pony show (white boards, live-coding, homework code problem-solving tests, technical question grilling, in-person culture fit interviews) when interviewing with prospective employers.

Now, let’s get back to the boot camp. Before you actually get to the boot camp, make sure you go through the pre-work. Attempt to understand as many of the concepts in Java as you can prior to the first day of class.

The boot camp is NOT easy and you should not underestimate it. You WILL be challenged. The instructors are highly qualified and truly care about teaching as well as ensuring that the students progress if they encounter any road blocks. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Even if you think you’re asking a dumb question, you’re investing time and money to be there. Make sure you do everything you can to understand concepts that are troubling you.

Ultimately, do your best to stay light-hearted while your commiting yourself to the intense learning process. It will be hard, but it will also be very rewarding. This is one of the few professions where you can build something from scratch that can be useful and solve real-world problems. Skill Distillery has all of the resources you need to succeed in this field if you’re willing to put in the work.

Shaun Dashjian. Graduate. Full Stack Software Engineer

Skill Distillery is the place to join to prepare you to start your dream career as a Software Developer. Before I joined, I researched the various bootcamps available and Skill Distillery stood out for their commitment to effective education and successful career placement.

I joined the school in January, 2017 and graduated in May, 2017. My experience has been life changing. Skill Distillery has a fantastic team of instructors who are highly experienced in what they teach and very passionate about software development and seeing their students succeed.

During the 4 months of the program, I have learned a solid and effective software development skill-set and developed a portfolio of over 7 applications that showcase the value I could provide to future employees.

Close to graduation, the staff prepared us for our job search with various tips. And following exactly what they recommended and leveraging what I learned in the program, I got and accepted an offer as a full stack software engineer after just 1 month from graduation.

Skill Distillery is a great place to learn and prepare for a great career as a software developer. Join and don’t look back.

Where is the information for the Indian courses? Is it in English?

I actually never used my knowledge from DevMountain to get a job. I’m still in school actually for another 2 weeks, but have been working on my dev skills all the while. By August I expect to have a full time job doing iOS Dev. In other words though, I’m probably not the best person to ask that question to. I know there are plenty of people who were able to get jobs after their time with DevMountain though. Good luck!

I know this post was like two years ago but please I have a few questions. How was the job opportunity for you? Did it help you lend a job quickly after graduation? I plan on enrolling this summer.

The best experience I’ve ever had!,

Great teachers, Excellent course, V School is the place to be if you are willing to learn from the best!

actually this is false. I am currently in a cohort and I had two classmates over 50. Sadly one of them failed out because his typing speed set him behind on the assessments. (young people have failed out for this same reason). The other classmate over 50 is still on track to graduate successfully. So…check your facts

Hello! Check out moringaschool.com for bootcamps in Kenya. We are the most effective bootcamp in Africa – with a 95% job placement rate.

Hi Niel! Check out moringaschool.com for bootcamps in Kenya. We are the most effective bootcamp in Africa – with a 95% job placement rate.

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your candor regarding the challenges you experienced.

Your feedback is not typical of our graduates and we would like to better understand what happened and how we can remedy the situation.

I’ve emailed you directly and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Sean Daken
Founder & CEO

We’re sorry your RefactorU experience did not meet your expectations. While we may not agree on every point you make, certain issues you raise have concerned us as well. Below are some improvements we’ve made since then.

The job fair we hosted on June 16 was disappointing for all of us. We had over a dozen companies confirmed to attend, but many canceled at the last minute or simply didn’t show. The same was true for job seekers. Our career fairs typically draw 20-25 employers and 100-200 prospective employees from around the area, so these results were a surprise. We concluded that several factors impacted attendance at this event, most notably the timing during a popular summer vacation period, and the steady increase in competing requests for employers to participate. In response, we have renewed our strategy to hold fewer, larger job fairs and to collaborate with other partners (including bootcamp competitors) to produce them. For example, unlike the June event, the recent Denver Start-up Week job fair we promoted and co-sponsored was a tremendous success.

It’s important to note that simply attending career fairs, like responding to online postings, has limited effectiveness. We stress during every cohort that attending Meetups, networking, and directly approaching potential employers tend to be much more productive.

To address an increasingly competitive job market we have made strategic investments to help our students and alumni be more successful. We recently hired Gary Boley and Scott Bowman, veteran Career Services professionals with over 17 years of collective experience with schools like Arizona State, University of Wisconsin, and Florida Institute of Technology. They’ve revamped our Career Services education program and now provide 1:1 coaching from classroom to hire. They also support (at no additional fee) all RefactorU alumni desiring a change to tune up their resumes or brush up on interviewing skills. In addition, Gary and Scott are reaching out and building relationships with employers, large and small, to develop and implement faster, more effective ways to tap RefactorU’s talent pool.

You can reach our Career Services team here:

Gary Boley, Director of Career Services
gary@refactoru.com
720-441-2633 x116

Scott Bowman, Career Services Coordinator
scott@refactoru.com
720-441-2633 x114

Regarding one of your other comments, we’d like to underscore another key point. RefactorU is not a traditional school. It’s self-directed, adult education in which students are accountable for their own learning. We provide quality instruction, challenging exercises, and comprehensive learning assistance. Unlike other coding bootcamps, we don’t “cut” students who fail to meet arbitrary criteria along the way. All students must meet our admissions criteria and final graduation requirements, but each gets gets out of the experience what they invest in it. The final project, which demonstrates the skills the student has acquired, matters most. When it’s a well-designed, technically innovative solution to a problem, employers take notice. When students meet only minimum criteria, employers are unimpressed. Once again, the choice is up to the student, as are the consequences that result from the decision.

i shot him an email to see what he is talking about specifically. I am trying to do research. I just graduated from RefactorU in Boulder, which was a better and more informative experience than a year and a half of computer science courses at college. I am experienced at an entry level in the MEAN stack now, and i would like to get familiar with java in the server environment which is why i have applied at skill distillery. I have a year and a half of java coding experience in the desktop environment and i am hoping that skill distillery can finally kick start a junior dev career especially because i am now familiar with the whole javascript MEAN stack. It seems that now the good reviews outweigh the bad and i am hoping to get into this boot camp

Hi there, I’m a reporter for Inc. Magazine, and I’m working on a story about DevSchool. I’ve seen many, like you, who say the school is a scam, and I am interested in hearing your story. If you are interested in talking, please shoot me an email or give me a call at srodriguez@inc.com. My deadline is ASAP. Thanks!

why selling your house if you can rent it out? it sounds too dramatic

I sent an email (there are no phone numbers listed on their web site) about visiting the San Francisco campus for a tour, since I would be attending from out of state. I wanted to see where I would be studying, get a feel for the place, meet with an admissions person, and maybe even chat with an instructor. After all, it would be huge investment in time, energy and money to do all the prep work, go through the application process, quit my job, sell my house, and move to another state. After about a week they wrote back saying they don’t give tours until you’ve been accepted into the program, but they’d be happy to answer any questions I have….via email.

Pros:
– Get your feet wet and a basis of what it takes to create websites

Cons:
– Totally disorganized
– No job support after you graduate
– Poor TAs
– No accountability (you can ignore all the exercises and activities and no one will probably notice or care)
– Accepts students who probably shouldnt have been accepted (In the last two weeks of the cohort there was a student in our class who still couldnt write basic html.. and he wasn’t getting any help.)

There was a TA that was supposed to show up once to help on a weekend and they just never showed up. They didn’t have a style guide that they followed so certain instructors didnt know how to read the code in particular styles. During the final project where you were told that there was going to be prospective companies looking to hire there were no company recruiters that showed up. The job fair at the end of the cohort was a joke. There were only 5 companies there. Not all of them were even hiring. Oh yeah, also internet stopped working which made it impossible to do anything. This happened pretty regularly sometimes for a couple hours each day.

Ok, Done. http://webdev.camp/
Possibly the first live-in web development bootcamp.

4/7/2016

Shelby Escobedo • Student

After leaving the news industry, I decided to look into a coding bootcamp. Skill Distillery was worth every bit of money. The instructors are very hands on, and help you through the learninging struggle when coding. Not only are you being taught how to code, you have several projects to show potential employers your abilities. I have been told the stack they teach is very close to what is needed in for development jobs. I might not be a veteran, but they do accept the GI Bill, which is a huge plus for veterans getting out of the military. I am about to graduate soon, and am actively looking for a job. Skill Distillery is helping me with the process, looking at my resume, my cover letters, and even suggesting jobs I should apply.

I wouldn’t change my bootcamp experience for the world!

5/5/2016

Ted Kubach • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus: Denver

I’ve just recently accepted a full-time job with a leading digital agency out of New York City where I’ll be working with large Fortune 500 companies on optimizing their web and mobile delivery. The short time that I was able to spend at Skill Distillery contributed to making that happen. From the leadership team with Cole and Bruce to the instruction with Jaime, Kris, Andrew and Cayle; this a group that is relentless in both ensuring their students knowledge is on the forefront of an evolving technical spectrum and also broad enough to win competitive employment across a variety of opportunities in the digital space.

What I’ve personally experienced to be the best quality of this bootcamp is not just the education you will receive but a group that treats their students with respect. Skill Distillery is an organization that will have your back when push comes to shove. I know firsthand. Things don’t always go as planned (they didn’t for me) but what I can say is you can count on these guys to be there for you in the end.

Feel free to connect and message me if you have any questions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedkubach

5/11/2016

Jeffrey L. • Backend Software Engineer • Graduate • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus:
Denver

-tl;dr-
The professionals that I have met and interviewed with thus far have been blown away with the technologies and the level with which I have learned to program in the past six months. Even companies that have previously written off bootcamps are now interested in me and my classmates because of the serious skills we got here. I was extremely pleased with my experience at Skill Distillery and believe that my investment of time and money will pay off exponentially.

-Full Review-
Making the decision to attend a coding bootcamp was one of the most difficult I have had to make. The bootcamp model is relatively new and there are mixed opinions everywhere about the merits of a condensed and accelerated programming regimen. I approached the beginning of the program with a fair amount trepidation, and I knew that I was taking a risk, having no idea if it was going to pay off. I can now say, after watching previous students and fellow classmates receive high paying job offers from reputable companies, that the model and curriculum that Skill Distillery has instituted is world-class and without peer. The Skill Distillery team has repeatedly shown that they can take anyone with a logical mind and turn them into quality programmers.

I ended up choosing Skill Distillery over other bootcamps for three reasons, they have over twenty-years of experience in corporate training (Disney, Sony, Lockheed Martin, etc.), they teach a serious stack (Sql, Java, Spring MVC, JavaScript, etc.), and they are one of a very few that has been approved for the GI Bill by the Veteran’s Administration. I could not be more satisfied with my decision as each one of my reasons for joining were exactly what was delivered and more.

As far as the experience gained from corporate training, that shines through in all aspects of the staff and instructors that work at the school. Jamie Romero and Rob Roselius have been teaching Java and Sql/Database Administration/JavaScript respectively, continuously, to professional programers for more than 15 years each, and their professionalism and raw ability to teach is far beyond what any other program offers. Both Jamie and Rob wrote the curriculum that they teach, and have developed it over the past 16 years, continuously updating it all the time to be at the cutting edge of the programming needs of both us students and also the companies that need to have their programmers learn the latest technologies. Cole Frock the school’s director has been invaluable to students in helping to connect students and companies, local programming events, and professional groups in the community.

What I really wanted from my time learning to program was to walk away with the skills that would be desirable by professional companies and that is what I got from the Stack taught at Skill Distillery. The first 10 weeks of the course are spent learning Java, not just procedural programming like taught at other schools, but in an Object Oriented way. Object Oriented programming is not taught at other schools and this is why some bootcamps get a bad reputation for putting out coders who don’t understand how to actually engineer enterprise level applications. Spring MVC is also taught here, MVC (model view controller) being a programming pattern integral to secure web application design, I have talked to students at events that graduated from other bootcamps that have no idea what the MVC pattern is much less how to implement it. After moving on from Java other hugely popular and highly desirable technologies are covered to include JavaScript, NodeJS, Angular, MongoDB, BootStrap, and jQuery.

As for taking the GI Bill, about six of my fellow classmates were veterans and we all agreed that being able to come to Skill Distillery with our earned benefits was amazing. We came from all over the country and were all blown away by how much value that we were able to get from attending this bootcamp. One of the students that I went to school with, no prior programming experience, had a job offer across the country weeks before the program even ended. In my cohort we now have had eight students that have had job offers and or started a job as a Java/JavaScript developers, not QA testing, not sales, not anything other than full developer positions, this and we graduated just a bit over a week ago.

I could not have ever hoped for a better experience or a more solid education in programming fundamentals and CS design patterns from any other bootcamp. I will report back when I find a job and to let you know how my experience goes in the coming months. I am currently in the process of moving to California and have no doubt that I will have great success with the impressive tool chest that I am bringing away from my time at Skill Distillery.

7/1/2016

Kaylee • Java Developer • Student • Campus: Denver
:
There are lots of coding bootcamps out there, and picking one can be an extremely intimidating process. There are all these schools to choose from that all teach different coding languges and all seem to boast a phenomenal hiring rate. So, how are you supposed to choose?

I didn’t know this when I was choosing a coding bootcamp, but the two most popular and profitable languages to learn today are 1) Java and 2) Javascript. Skill Distillery is the only coding bootcamp I know of that teaches you both – and they teach them to you well. I started applying for jobs about a month and a half before the program ended, sent in applications to just three companies, and landed a job as a Java developer three weeks before the program ended. My new salary is 50% higher than the job I had in marketing and communications less than a year ago. I’m going into my job confident in the skills that I learned at Skill Distillery, and confident that I now have a solid foundation as a developer and can teach myself myself anything that may be required of me in my new job.

7/26/2016

Sarah Lobser • sarahlobser@yahoo.com • Graduate • Campus: Denver

Skill Distillery first caught my eye when I saw they accepted the GI Bill, and they happened to be close to home. I’d heard vaguely about coding bootcamps, and dismissed them without much thought, figuring they were all a scam somehow. But all of a sudden I had a relatively low risk option, and decided to check them out.

What I got was far beyond my expectations. I took about a year of computer science back in college, and this program blew through everything I knew in the first two weeks. It was challenging. Java is challenging. And adding in the full stack to build web applications with SQL, JDBC, JPA, JSPs, HTML, and CSS made me wonder if I could grasp it all. And then moving to JavaScript and building these apps using a whole other suite of technologies (Node.js, Express, jQuery, AJAX, Angular…) was like climbing to the top of a mountain only to realize I was only at the saddle. Looking back I can’t believe how much I learned in 19 weeks.

I started looking for a job a little later than most, but started interviewing in the last week of school. In every interview I had I would describe what I had learned and the response was always “you worked with [fill in the blank] technologies? Well that’s exactly what we do here.” In some cases the employer could see areas where I could show them something new. All my interviews were favorable, and 10 days after I graduated I had an offer I couldn’t refuse working with a great group of people. For the first time in my life I’m turning down job offers, and making more money than I ever would have imagined.

7/27/2016

David A. • Java Developer • Graduate • Campus: Denver

I would like to preface this review with the fact that before this bootcamp, I had zero experience and only an extreme interest in the idea of coding.

Application Process/Why I Chose Skill Distillery

After searching for about a week through different bootcamps across the country, I decided on Skill Distillery. I was prior military in Colorado, so going to school in Denver sounded like a great place to be. The fact that they accepted the GI Bill was a bonus factor for me, but not the primary.

The application process was fairly straightforward and quick. After sending an email to them, I heard back within one business day (I had applied on a Saturday evening). They had answered all of my questions and concerns, and within the next two, maybe three days, they had me take a ‘creativity and logic’ test of sorts, all done virtually with one of their administrators. After that, I believe it was another 48 hours when I received an email stating that I had been accepted and I began the course pre-work after I made my deposit. Total, I say about a week and a half had passed for me to finish the entire process and receive my pre-work once my deposit was made.

Classroom Experience

The classroom is pretty small, but comfortable. You’re close to your classmates, but it isn’t overbearing. We had 13 students in our class, and during the first half of the program there is almost always at least 1 instructor and one TA, or two of either, to help. This was important to me, because I knew I would have a lot of questions and not be afraid to ask them.

There were a couple TAs each day that would stay behind after normal class hours and often I would be there with several other students well past 7pm continuously asking for guidance, and they would stay there with us until the last student left. This includes the weekends, even when snow storms slowed down most of the Denver Metro area.

The first two quads were hell, especially for someone with no prior experience such as myself. But with the additional guidance and constant paired programming as well as plenty of hands-on labwork, I would say that most of us were able to keep up without issue. Anyone who did have issues would put the time and effort in on their own time and during the weekends and they were fine.

The last two quads were just as quick paced, but were focused on Javascript and at this point I believe some people, myself included, began to lose a little focus. This was just from possible classroom fatigue or primarily beginning the search for jobs in their preferred fields of Java, toward the end of the last quad.

Overall, I believe the instructors (Jamie and Rob especially) and the TAs did a great job of holding our attention, addressing our issues and weaknesses, and learning from previous cohorts to improve maximize our experience and Cole and Bruce will continue to improve this for the cohorts going forward.

Gripes

Not much for me to say here, as I’m pretty easy going about this type of stuff. The only things I would have to say here would probably be that the last quad be locked down a bit better regarding the MEAN stack. Even though I am putting this here, it’s fair to note that this is also being addressed, as we had our end of school sitdown with the director in regards to our concerns, and it’s being worked on to improve for future cohorts.

Job Hunt

** Again I will note that I had zero experience in programming before this. Prior to this bootcamp, I had worked as a medic in the Air force and a Customer Relations manager in the Healthcare Technology field. I don’t have a college degree, and did about a year and a half of college courses toward my AA before I decided I wanted a change. **

Due to my unique situation, I started looking for jobs about a month before school ended. Within about a week and a half of applying to a number of jobs, I had three interviews that I had gotten past the phone screening stage. Two of the three were impressed with what we had learned from a bootcamp, and they continuously stated that it seemed we knew more than most CS grads fresh from college. About three weeks into my job search I got my first job offer and I currently work for them here in Denver.

If you have any questions regarding this program, feel free to shoot me an email. I’ll gladly answer what I can.

7/28/2016

Michael Gomez Daly • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus: Denver

Just completed the program at Skill Distillery. I had very little background in coding, just minor self exploration. Left with a solid base understanding of Java as well as basic web development. The team and instructurs were awesome, especially the director Cole Frock. The bootcamp challenged me and forced me to work in team scenarios as well as solo. Overall a very benefitting experience. I would recommend this bootcamp to anyone looking to get a head start in the field.

7/28/2016

Elijah Molnar • Software Developer • Graduate • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus: Denver

I cannot say enough great things about Skilldistillery, but if made to choose the top three; the curriculum was spot on, I learned Java inside and out, and it doesn’t stop there–SD prepares students for real world coding complete with backend, frontend, and middleware experience. How to pariticipate in SCRUM, Agile methodology and much more then I can easily list here. Staff, Cole Frock keeps his finger on the pulse of the industry and is continually involved in each students success, Jamie and Rob (head instructors) were knowledgeable beyond compare in their fields, always willing to put on the extra time and effort to see their students progress, succeed, and explore every avenue of software development, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout out to the teaching assistants–these guys put in the hours and research to be there when you need them. Atmosphere. Relaxed yet fast paced. It felt comfortable and I never felt any hesitation from faculty to accommodate me in anything I needed. I’ve made new lifelong friends and colleagues at Skilldistillery.

8/4/2016

Riv • Graduate • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus: Denver

After I got out of the military I went straight into a private University, I did not know what I wanted to do but I was aware that I needed a bachelor’s to do it. By my second year I was already hesitant on what I could do with a bachelors in Economy. By accident I stumbled upon Skill Distillery, a coding bootcamp where I could use my GI Bill! I did some research and applied to the school with Zero knowledge in coding. After many, MANY hours of coding, I have to tell you the program is not easy, it asks a lot of you and requires a lot of your ‘free’ time if you want to actually understand the topics and truly learn to code.Thankfully the instructors and the TAs were ALWAYS there to answer those pesky problems where not even the internet could help you, they always took the time to go over our code and help us understand what we were doing wrong and how to better think about the problem, so the next time we came across that situation we knew how to handle it. I must have asked dozens of questions everyday and everyday they answered me with the same enthusiasm and motivation as me. It truly was a pleasure to come into class everyday, I was learning to do something I loved with good people! The classes are small so a camaraderie is built really quickly, specially since you are all beginners and you can lean on each other to help you get over those hurdles.

I recently started to actually look for work and the feedback I get from employers is astounding, constantly I get told that my skill set is very impressive and they cant believe I was able to grasp it so quickly. Comments like those help me feel a little more like an actual programmer and its all thanks to the tools I obtained thanks to Skill Distillery’s instructors and TAs. I will always carry this institution close to my heart, they helped me reach the career of my dreams.

8/5/2016

Alex • Student • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus: Denver

I graduated Skill Distillery about one month ago. I previously wrote a review on here, and I am writing this one as an update.

I had taught my self a little programming prior to Skill Distillery, however this school makes learning a much faster and more organized process.

The first part of the course focused on Java and the Spring Framework. The last half of the course focused on Javascript and MEAN stack. For the most part, the course was presented very clearly and it was easy to understand even the most confusing topics. We always have access teachers and TAs who are very helpful, dedicated, and knowledgable, and the school listens to student feedback in order to continuously improve the program.

I started interviewing during the last few weeks of the program. I have interviewed with several companies, and received several offers, one of which I have recently accepted. The feedback I have gotten from potential employers has been very positive. Also, when being interviewed for developer positions, I am able speak about programming concepts with confidence. If you put in the work during the program, you will come out with a surprising amount of hands on experience. This really helps set you apart from the competition when searching for a job, especially for those of us without a college degree.

I can confidently say that Skill Distillery is the best way to spend your GI Bill. I would encourage any veterans looking to change their career to check it out.

It is difficult, and it is a lot of work, but if you are willing to put in the effort, Skill Distillery will provide what you need to be successful.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me at alexmp1689@gmail.com.

8/18/2016

Kris Dolbeare • Jr Application Developer • Graduate • Course: Java Bootcamp • Campus:

Denver

I chose Skill Distillery because they teach Java and because Batky-Howell has been around for 25+ years training IT professionals. I echo the other positive reviews here regarding the thorough curriculum, the extremely knowledgeable instructors (who also love to teach), and the rest of the dedicated staff of the school.

I had been an accounting professional for about 20 years, and I decided to transition to a programming career. The boot camp model made it possible for someone like me, with no prior coding experience, to become a full-stack Java programmer in a matter of a few months. It was a difficult program, and we all had to work hard at it for long hours every day and most weekends, but it was worth it. In the world of IT, I’m obviously still a beginner. But, Skill Distillery gave me a broad foundation from which I have the tools I need to continue to learn and grow in my new career.

Most importantly … ALL of the interviews (and subsequent job offers) I had until I found my new job were a direct result of Skill Distillery. Most of the companies had already hired former students, and those students referred me to the hiring managers when they had more openings. The school staff also actively reaches out to area companies to establish relationships that end up connecting their students with local hiring managers, which is how I ended up with my job.

I have no regrets choosing Skill Distillery, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who is considering attending a full-time coding school.

Search the dictionary and find the word “in” and the word “from” and compare them. After that, stop slandering and apologize.

First of all, read your homepage again, it says 30% off for people who “come from” developing country. And I come from developing country. Do you need me to send you some pictures of my family to prove that I come from developing country? Everything he did is just followed his own rules and policies. I didn’t explain this part since I think it’s so minor compare to other topics, but since you really want to talk about it, then that’s fine.
And tell me then, which part, in my comment, is not true? Which part in my comment is a lie? If you can’t find anything, stop blaming your students and apologize like a true business, instead of a mad person.
If you guys really think Devschool is a business, then everything happened to me wouldn’t happened. Now it’s time for you guys to improve how to make students more satisfied. instead of threaten and post students’ private information to stop them from leaving negative reviews.

I’m really not sure, if in fact you read what you wrote in your original post or not, because it was not simply a negative review, but in fact slander. When you try to destroy something a person spent years building you must expect an emotional response. Just because you’re angry that you were unable to keep up with the course and that the refund policy does not work in your favor does not give you the right to comment on things that a student of only one class could possibly know anything about. If you want to comment on Jim’s integrity maybe you should mention that you misrepresented yourself as being in China, in order to get a 30% discount, when in fact you are located in the US. Despite all your efforts to extort a refund out of the school, one will not be coming. That would be unfair to the other students who were unable to hack it and did not try to blame us.

Thank you very much for your comments. Here at Devschool we are always striving to improve and welcome any feedback that we get. First of all Devschool is an all Online Coding Bootcamp that is operated by Jim Okelly, his assistant and a small group of part time instructors. Next you questioned the legitimacy of the school and implied that being centered in Mexico makes it a scam. Jim is from Mexico and takes a lot of pride in giving discounts to students from less developed countries, like yourself. How would you feel if we implied students from China are crocked? You also seem to have an issue with the job guarantee, it tells you that Jim and his hard working staff will support you until the day you move on. By the way, so far every student has found a job, so “forever” doesn’t seem that long. I myself have never heard of a school giving you a complete refund after you have completed the course.

I am very sorry that the format of the school did not agree with you, and do regret that our refund policy bothers you, but with positions at Devschool being in such demand we need students to be sure they are prepared to go the distance and not waste our valuable time. This is why we encourage prospective students to carefully read the web page and watch our videos before applying to be sure this is the place for them. Every students learns best in a different way. Here at Devschool we use one particular format and not everyone will respond well to it. So we sincerely hope you better luck in your next endeavor.

Thank you very much for your comments. Here at Devschool we are always striving to improve and welcome any feedback that we get. First of all Devschool is an all Online Coding Bootcamp that is operated by Jim Okelly, his assistant and a small group of part time instructors. Next you questioned the legitimacy of the school and implied that being centered in Mexico makes it a scam. Jim is from Mexico and takes a lot of pride in giving discounts to students from less developed countries, like yourself. How would you feel if we implied students from China are crocked? You also seem to have an issue with the job guarantee, it tells you that Jim and his hard working staff will support you until the day you move on. By the way, so far every student has found a job, so “forever” doesn’t seem that long. I myself have never heard of a school giving you a complete refund after you have completed the course.
I am very sorry that the format of the school did not agree with you, and do regret that our refund policy bothers you, but with positions at Devschool being in such demand we need students to be sure they are prepared to go the distance and not waste our valuable time. This is why we encourage prospective students to carefully read the web page and watch our videos before applying to be sure this is the place for them. Every students learns best in a different way. Here at Devschool we use one particular format and not everyone will respond well to it. So we sincerely hope you better luck in your next endeavor.

Will I get a refund if I don’t like the classes?
—-Yes. I know it’s hard to find this info but HE WILL DEDUCT A MINIMUM $1500 FROM YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU NEVER TAKE ANY CLASSES YET. Which means, once you handover your money, $1500 of it is just gone. And in my own case is, I took only 1 class in total along with an “onboarding session”, and from that I had owed him about $2000.

How about the job guarantee?
—Read it again and think twice. If you can’t find a job then you stay inside the school forever and enjoy the resource? What resource? MOST OF THE RESOURCES THAT DEVSCHOOL GIVES YOU ARE ONLINE RESOURCES THAT YOU CAN REACH EASILY BY YOURSELF, and other than that, there is a useless and unprofessional slack channel and his group sessions, which consist of “watching him code”. A PROGRAM THAT PROMISE YOU TO GIVE YOU A FULL MONEY REFUND IF YOU CAN’T FIND A JOB IS WAY BETTER. Think logically, Think twice.

Is the internship style cool?
—Do you enjoy your boss asking you to do stuff without telling you any reasons? Do you enjoy having to build complex projects with no basic knowledge, subpar instruction and simply being told to “look it up online?”? Do you like it when your boss humiliates you when you ask questions? If you really enjoy all of those things, then congratulations, you will pay Jim O’kelly so that he can be your “boss” and teach you a real life lesson about how stupid you are.

Can I really become a programmer after 4 months?
— Basically, you maybe can find a job after some inefficient, basic lacking studies, but it’s hard to find a good one or get promoted. And it’s definitely not worth that much money.

How about the “insanely humane” part?
—Jim Okelly never consider your opinion or your study hobbies, also he will give you super rude feedbacks when you become “annoying” and asking too many questions. I call this INSANELY IN-HUMANE.

So if you are interested, here is my experience in DEVSCHOOL:
Just like most students, I chose his Devschool because I saw that he had some good reviews online (and now I personally doubt if those are real). When I did the interview with him, even though he smoked drugs and performed unprofessionally during it, I thought it was his cool personal style and didn’t realize that it was a dangerous signal.
The class began after about 3 weeks, and within this period of time, I was in his slack channel, watching him share some random videos. Some of those videos (from Youtube) are programming related, but most of the time the topics inside the slack channel were just very random and unprofessional. I have been involved in many programming related slack channels and I have to say that Devschool’s slack channel, compared to any other slack channel that I have participated in, is the most unprofessional and useless one. If you want to pay $8000 to read dirty jokes, then go ahead.
The first class experience was awful.
So basically his teaching method is called “fully emerge”, which means he will just throw you into the share screen and begin to write JavaScript code in terminals and discard the fact that you don’t even know what is a terminal or how to write basic JavaScript. He will tell you to learn programming just like you would learn a foreign language. This is a very STUPID AND INEFFICIENT STRATEGY. If you really think that throwing a 25 year old into a foreign country for TWO hours per week is a very efficient way to learn a language, then you will probably will like his teaching. Also, he doesn’t have any curriculum and you won’t know what you are learning or going to learn, and you think that he is doing this so that the classes will fit you the best? Ask other students and you will know everyone learns the SAME THING.
Since I can’t understand a single thing of the first class, and since HE DOESN’T REALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS (he will tell you to search google or watch a tutorial online), even though he seems really confident in what he is doing, I decided to send him a very polite message, asking “Is that OK if you at least tell me what I am learning and what I am going to learn?” and “Is that possible for us to figure out a better way to help me to learn?”, and his first answer was along the lines of: THEN YOU SHOULDN’T TAKE THIS PROGRAM AND I WILL GIVE YOU A REFUND(I have more to say about the refund part later). Can you believe that that was the first thing your instructor tells you when you ask him for help? Really? He asked me to leave because I asked him to tell me what I am learning and what I am going to learn. His reaction made me think that HE IS AN AWFUL INSTRUCTOR AND HE IS A PSYCHOPATH! He answers in this way so that I will get scared and then he can manipulate me as he wanted to in the future. So that’s why most students don’t ask any questions in that slack channel!
After Jim Okelly told me to quit, I talked to many other of my classmates in Devschool. And apparently, a lot of them, after two months of study, still don’t understand what he is doing and have to learn everything by watching free online videos. But they never told him they didn’t get anything from him, because somehow, talking to Jim Okelly is very hard.
Considering his bad altitudes and the other students’ experiences, I decided to leave and left him a very polite message. The second day, WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATIONS OR MEESSAGES, I found that he just removed me from the slack channel (the only connection you can have with Devschool) and didn’t say anything. After I finally reached him out, HE SAID SOMETHING REALLY PERSONAL AND RUDE TO HUMILIATE ME. And he told me EVEN THOUGH I ONLY TOOK 1 LESSON, HE STILL SPENT ENERGY, AND THERE NEEDED TO BE AT LEAST $1500 FEE DEDUCTED (It’s around $2100 after everything). I tried to talk to him, and he just said rude things and then “go teach class”, the next thing I see is his girlfriend took the chat and told me “he is in class”. After that, he is in class forever, so good luck talking with him easily.

DON’T CHOOSE DEVSCHOOL OR JIM OKELLY! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WILL HAPPEN TO YOU AS WELL. There are so many better programs, with free classes you can try, and way better quality.

If you are looking for a code school, do not be attracted to the 10 weeks. It is a marketing ploy.

Internet crashes and slow connections would making it impossible to learn in class.

Nearly half the class stopped coming because the instructors and curriculum were so bad.

No job guarantee.

Facilities are garbage.

Don’t complain or they will cut off your job assistance and slack access.

Would I do it again? Yes. 20x over.

V School was intense and hard, but I learned a ton. I am a full time, full stack developer and have not stopped learning. I actually got a job before my course ended. If you are willing to work and study, V school teachers, directors, and mentors will help you succeed. The curriculum is thorough and really prepares you to keep learning. V School is really just a starting point, because they do such a good job of preparing you to move forward. It’s not all cotton candy and tulips! It is hard, challenging, and demanding, but IT WAS WORTH IT. I may go back for a night class in iOS development when it becomes available.

The Python/Django program was created by a recent graduate from a Ruby/Rails bootcamp, not anyone with real knowledge or experience in Python nor Django. The is so many things missing or wrong in that curriculum that you are better doing some Python online classes for free on Edx or Udacity.

The job assistance is basically a meeting where they will show you a list of few sites with job listings(that you would get yourself in 1min looking for jobs online) and a resume assistance that will take 2 weeks to review your resume.

I would never recommend this bootcamp to anyone.

Hi William,
What was the number of participants?
Cheers,
Marianne

come to india and finish this course within $1000.

Codeup will give you a solid foundation as being a developer. The benefit of Codeup over another bootcamp is all the help from the different instructors and also the preparation the staff gives to prepare you for the job hunt. The staff works hard to help you build a solid resume and also assist you in making the connections to employers after the bootcamp.

After months of searching I started reading about Devschool and how highly the school was recommended was from previous students who graduated the program. I spoke with Jim numerous times and he was always patient when it came to answering my questions and concerns, and I was impressed with how Devschool was not the typical “Big Box” outfit.

Unfortunately because of an unexpected personal life-crisis I had to drop out of the program before I was able to onboard due to my hectic schedule. And even though Devschool has a standard pro-rated refund minus some non-refundable portion, Jim made a personal exception for me due to my circumstances and refunded the full amount since I needed that money to get out of my crisis. He delivered on the school’s promise for an “Insanely Human Experience” and then some!

When in the future I can enroll in an online coding school I will sign up for their program again, no hesitation. Devschool rocks!

Yes.
https://www.10x.org.il

people can leave their reviews here, where you posted your comment.

old info

Joshua, I am a current student at skill distillery, I will graduate late april, and you should apply especially if you’re attracted to the gi bill acceptance! I’m not sure what Clayton’s experience was (apparently it was a bad one since he’s gone out of his way to post a review on every single page he can find), but some people have had positive experiences, some have negative. go for it.

Well that wasn’t a helpfull comment. Can you say some of the problem with this school. I am highly attracted to it due to gibill acceptance.

this guy works for go live labs…..just search his name on linkedin. Stop posting fake reviews

shoot an email to info AT bootcamps.in

Hey Pedro,

So I am officially done with gSchool, and graduated about two months ago. Now I am on the job hunt.

gSchool (now going by just the parent company name, Galvanize) was an experience I would not have missed out on if I had to do it again.

In six months, I learned more than I definitely could have on my own. I am pretty amazed with my own ability and skills coming out of the program, and what I can create now. Now that I am on the hunt for a job, I am definitely gaining traction and feel like it is only a matter of time before I land one.

That being said, the program is not perfect. As only the 2nd cohort in SF, and one of the first cohorts learning newer curriculum ( more JS and Node, less Ruby ), we definitely ran in to pacing and instruction issues.

Pacing in that when students got behind, either from personal issues preventing them from keeping up or inability to grasp a concept, it was difficult for them to get caught up. The program moves so fast, and if you get lost early or miss out on critical foundations, there’s not much time to back to it because you’re constantly learning new stuff.

Instruction issues came from our lead instructor being spread too thin. Towards the 2nd half of the program, he was barely giving lectures, instead dealing with admin issues and writing curriculum for future cohorts. He was probably one of the senior most instructors in the Galvanize family, and ended up leaving when our cohort graduated.

Because of time management and the lead instructor having too much on his plate, I definitely think our cohort suffered a little. Some things that were promised to us never really got fulfilled. We did not get to work on a “company project”, a real world project contracted to the program. We didn’t learn any ReactJS. And we didn’t get a lot of traditional computer science education.

That being said, the instruction that we did have was of the highest quality. I also believe that Galvanize learned from their mistakes, and have hired a ton of new and quality instructors, at least in San Francisco.

Overall, my experience was very positive.

The thing about Galvanize, or any coding school, is that ultimately you are going to get out of it what you put in. You also have to know before you go in that you enjoy writing code and problem solving. If you are wanting to get into the field because of the promise of a high paying job or job security, you may struggle. If you want to go to a bootcamp because you genuinely enjoy sitting at a computer for hours, creating cool things or searching for answers, than you probably will do well. Galvanize will teach you the skills, but you have to have the passion for it.

One word of caution I would give to you is that the program in Seattle is probably brand new… which means there are likely a lot of kinks that need to get ironed out. We definitely experienced this as only the 2nd cohort in SF, and I heard the cohort before us had even more problems.

But Galvanize is super unique in respects to a lot of other bootcamps. The environment you are learning in, the coworking space of startups and larger companies, combined with the many many events hosted by Galvanize, really does offer unique networking opportunities. I’ve interviewed with several companies located in the Galvanize SF building, and have made some valuable contacts as well.

Sorry if that was a little long. The tl;dr is:

Galvanize(SF) is a great experience and, to me, was worth the money. It offers unique opportunities that other programs cannot match. You definitely need to be sure that web development is what you want to do, however, because six months is a long and tiring (and expensive) commitment. You will get burned out. But you will also learn a ton and have real potential to land a job as a developer.

My experience is based on Galvanize in San Francisco, and your experience may differ being in Seattle.

What was your experience like? I am considering enrolling at Galvanize in Seattle

The JavaScript-based curriculum is extremely relevant to today’s job market. The instructors are passionate about both programming and the success of the students. The support staff is kind and helpful and works hard to build a community. The learning environment is intense but collaborative and it fosters both growth and friendships.

I very nearly enrolled in another bootcamp and while I don’t know what the experience would have been like there, I can’t imagine it being any better than the 10 weeks I spent at RefactorU.

The instructors can be hit or miss. During
my cohort, one instructor was usually unhelpful, and tended to keep to
himself instead of making himself available. The other instructor was
amazing – he answered questions clearly, and helped you towards an
answer rather than just give it to you.

Overall, the lectures were useful and every day helped me towards becoming a better developer. It was worth spending the time and effort to attend this bootcamp

Pros: Course content/coursework: The overall structure and content of the bootcamp were great. The MEAN stack is in demand, and I found it particularly useful learning AngularJS concepts, and am excited to delve into other JS libraries such as React.
Instructors: The lead instructors are very talented and motivated to see you learn and succeed. Not only were they highly supportive of their students, they were consistent & thorough in their teaching of concepts.
Classmates: I have met some truly incredible people in this class which I can confidently say will be life-long friends & helpful peers as we dive into our professional tech careers. I found my fellow students to be a goldmine of knowledge and it was very encouraging to see other students working together and helping each other.
Model: The number of coding bootcamps has exploded over the last couple years, and this immersive model is here to stay. As a long-time fan of alternative education (after sloughing through the traditional school model completing graduate degrees), RefactorU has hit the nail on the head in terms of providing a specific high-demand skill-set to anyone with the grit and determination to become a software developer.
Location: RefactorU’s location in Boulder is great for those interested in working in the start-up scene in Boulder. The Denver/Boulder metro area is an emerging tech hub and a prime gateway to enter a tech career. This was also helpful for attending the many Meetups, workshops, and conferences in the area.

Cons: Student to teacher ratio. We had three instructors for a class of 33 (we are the largest class yet). This is in contrast to 18 students in the prior cohort, and there were 11 graduates in the cohort prior to that. The classroom was far too small for this many students.

Individualized attention: while the instructors were fantastic, and true champs in terms of being overloaded with students, I had hoped for more individualized attention.
Class distractions: with such a large class it was an exercise in blocking out distractions. While each of us is responsible for getting what we want out of the program, I was hoping for a more professional (and quieter) work/study environment.

Also, on this site it states there is a 20% discount for women, which is no longer applicable. FYI.

I have high hopes for RefactorU moving forward, and I anticipate seeing great things from my fellow classmates in the future!

Edit: The class before us was 19, not 13. My mistake!