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.

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

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.

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.