First day at the Full Time Full Stack Web Developer program! Checking in now, but will do a full review once the course is done in 3 months. So far, here are my expectations: - learn a LOT of programming skills - intense days of info overload - build a few apps/websites - make connections with local IT/Developers - begin working as a web developer within a month of graduating Update a few days after graduation: Instead of saying the same thing as everyone else, "the teachers were great, the community is awesome, you learn a lot" blah blah, I figured I would break it down and give detail on everything from my perspective and what I thought of each area. Lecture & Assignments A typical day looks like this: 9:30-12:30pm - Lecture with a 10 min break each hour 12:30-1:30pm - Lunch 1:30-5:30 - work on assignment for the day which is what you learned in lecture I really liked this setup - I learn best in the morning hours, so for me, having lecture first thing was best. In the afternoon everyone typically works in the chapel so you also get to switch up work areas so you're not always stuck in a class room. Homework There's rarely "assigned" homework. Your homework is finishing the project you started in the afternoon, whether you worked solo or on a team. If you did finish the assignment on campus, then it's up to you on how much more you want to work on. I will say this: there's always something to work on. Some people would work on projects until 1am, some people never worked after class was done. This is the part that is up to you - obviously the more you practice the more you'll learn and get ahead, but they also know people have families and other hobbies so that's why you never have to work on anything, Make it your own. You chose the amount you can handle and level of effort you want to put in to the class. Hackathon's There are 2 hackathons, both on Saturdays, and are all day 9-6pm. Each one just tests everything you've learned up until that day before the hackathon. You are put into groups of 4-5 people, are given instructions, then you just work on that app all day. You have to take a mandatory lunch break for at least 30 minutes (I guess Utah law requires a break when you work an 8 hour day), and DPL provides breakfast and lunch. They really aren't bad or scary, they can actually be fun, especially if you are with a good group. At the end of the day, you will present your app to the entire class. The TA's then "grade" your project and they pick one team as the winner from both the full and part time cohort. One of the prizes was a Raspberry Pi. The week that you have a Hackathon end up being a 6-day week so you only get Sunday off. These weeks can make you feel exhausted. Social Events There are 2 social events, ours both ended up being bowling. They are both on a Saturday, typically mid-day. They aren't required, but good to attend so you get to know your classmates and their families outside of school. They are free, and pizza and sodas are provided. Career Services This is a huge area where DPL lacks - there are none. We had a 20 min lecture/presentation on resumes but was very general. It wasn't until the very last week of class that they said we should turn in our resume for review. Here's what I wished they would do: I wish they had a list of all the bootcamp-friendly companies that typically or are willing to hire new grads. I also wished they did mock interviews so that we would feel more confident going into technical interviews. I wish they did some kind of career day event, like have the alumni come back and help with resumes, give talks, help with mock interviews, etc. They always talk about networking and going to meetups, and that's great if you've lived in Utah forever and know a lot of people but for those of us out of state its really hard to connect with the tech community here. Most new grads in my cohort got a job through "a friend of a friend of a friend" and were handed jobs while the rest of us had to put in tons of effort to even get an interview. It really does make a difference of "who you know." We did get to visit on local company and that was nice to able to ask real alums and employers what they are looking for. I have more I wanted to write about but it wouldn't all fit! Feel free to DM me with specific questions! :) UPDATE: I got a job as a Web Dev Intern one month after graduating from DPL! read more

DevPoint Labs - Specialty Schools Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

I'm a graduate of DevPoint's Full Time Full-Stack Web Dev Bootcamp and it was a really great experience for me in every metric. I took a leap with this camp to make a career change and having come into the program with no coding background, I feel the team at DevPoint has prepared me for a great start in Software Engineering. I'm building great things on the web now and have a very marketable new skill set. Plus, I love the work I'm doing! This is a tough course but its also a stellar learning environment and an amazing culture. Couldn't be more grateful to DevPoint and I'm happy to be part of this network of people! Thanks, Nhi read more

I left my career as a journalist to pursue web development. I decided to go with DevPoint Labs to make the change. It was the best career choice I've made so far. Now, I work from home, get paid nearly double what I was making as a journalist and love every second of my work. If you are thinking about doing DevPoint Labs, I would HIGHLY recommend it. It changed my life. read more