I enjoyed having the option to come in to class in person and having teachers who were accessible…read more The demos and structured lessons were very helpful when they happened. I would have liked to have those more frequently. The constant support from career services was helpful. And I am glad that support continues post graduation.

I've taken time to think about this review as I've been out of school now for a few years so take…read morethe datedness of this with a grain of salt. I've looked into current offerings and have been in touch with many recent grads as well. I also align strongly with Yelp intended ratings and 3 stars is literally an OK rating so I don't hand out 4's and 5's to just anyone. If I could give Epicodus a 3.5 I probably would because it is OK but not something I would say is really GOOD or for everyone. Here's the Cliff's notes version: Yes code school will get to into tech, no it will not make you a developer or super hireable. Epicodus offers an ok middle-range priced education with some support but you have to be a self-motivated person and understand that tech is not hiring Bootcamp grads like they did in 2015 so be prepared to do a lot of work on your studies and portfolio in order to get a job. The points below cover: 1. my background and scenario 2. curriculum 3. internship 4. jobs 5. $$ I had an education and career before tech but needed a shift. I did a lot of self-study for years and in the end, needed a space and people to hold me accountable and Epicodus did that for me. I couldn't afford to jump all in right away so I did the intro night course and while that was financially a good route I still recommend doing all the courses as the full-time day package if you can swing it. I saved for years to do it and you should know it is VERY difficult to work while in this program as it takes most hours of your life for 6 months. In school, the courses have since been rewritten and that is GOOD as they were still fairly rough 5 years into the company's history. Now if you're really self-driven you COULD do all of the coursework yourself as it's online but having pairing buddies and a class you go with daily IS a huge help to staying accountable AND more similar to most jobs you will be going into. Teachers are underpaid and often former students, that is fine but I think for what you are paying it's difficult not to have a better education from the top. The internship was the real seller for me but the reality is it's often a hit or miss if you get something worth your education and if you've already worked in offices or on teams this section is not as important to you. What tech really needs is folks who are both technical AND good with other humans so if you need to learn that and this is early in your journey the school setting and internship may be helpful to you. They try to bring speakers in to show you that there are many more directions in the industry than just to become a developer and in all honesty, I think this education makes you a perfect fit for Support roles in highly technical companies which gives you a foot in the door. We all have different skillsets and they focus very heavily on becoming a developer so coming out of school I had little knowledge of ALL the amazing roles you could go into from engineering to product management, support or people managers! You have to do a lot of that research and learning on your own, be proactive in your journey. Epicodus is a tough one financially, it's cheaper than a lot of the top tier schools but you don't get the small class numbers and more hands-on education as those higher-cost options yet it's more than the cheap ones where you do it all yourself. So if you just need some accountability and a team to learn with this could be a good option for you. If you're super self-motivated the cheaper options will get you the same education for less and no difference in your attractiveness to companies looking to hire you. Some side notes... the facilities are great, clean, large and lots of computers. I appreciate the space they have created for you to learn especially if you don't have the tech yourself. I'm very happy to see they have jumped on board with the pay assistance models as an option for under or unemployed students looking to make the shift. So in the end, yes Epicodus gave me a few tools to get a job in tech and I was lucky to get a great gig right off the bat but quickly learned I was unprepared for the role. This has led to a few shifts and some better fits but I am not your average bootcamper, I am high human skills and low tech skills. People management is likely where I fit best into the industry and that is the goal. I encourage you to do your research and assess what is best for you financially and educationally and pick whatever school fits your end goals.