LEARN academy

Rudy Becker _{on Google}

Jan 16th, 2021

When deciding on which coding bootcamp there are several key factors when need to consider, and in this review, I will explain those key factors and how LEARN Academy proved to be the best professional educational decision for my goals.
In-person vs. online: I started my LEARN Academy cohort in February 2020 and for better or worse was able to experience both the in-class and online (Zoom - remote) version of LEARN Academy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an ideal world, one should attend the in-person experience in order to further solidify friendships within your cohort, the teamwork aspect of being able to discuss code in-person with a whiteboard, and just the general fun of being able to walk around the classroom with a Kombucha in your hand and see what your peers are code. Nonetheless halfway through my bootcamp, we pivoted to remote and we didn’t skip a beat. I feel that all aspects of the curriculum were maintained and we were even able to quickly start utilizing important digital tools more heavily (Git, Slack, VS Code Liveshare) that are fundamental for remote dev work in the future anyway. Overall “in-person” I feel is ideal for learning, but LEARN was super successful in replicating the “in-person” experience online.
Internship: The internship is a TREMENDOUS value add for choosing LEARN Academy. I had the opportunity to join a company and work alongside 5 developers at a fast-growing startup in San Diego (keep in mind I started to learn to code just 15 weeks prior). My internship was extended and I continued to work for 10 months at the same company gaining practical coding experience every day. I was hired as a contract worker with no benefits, but nonetheless, it was an invaluable experience to work on actual production code. The internship is guaranteed for 4 weeks but I would say â…“ of my cohort was asked to extend for 1 or more months and they were also paid for their extensions and were able to put actual development work on their resumes.
Quality of teaching instruction: During my course, I had three daily instructors committed to my cohort ~6 to 1 student to teacher ratio (they pivot the number of instructors based on class size). All in all the teachers I had were able to meet me at my learning level and explain complex concepts into more easily digestible content. They were ALWAYS available to answer questions and held office hours. Like most things in life you get what you put in, so make sure you ask questions all the time and ASK for help when you need it. We also had an excellent Professional Development week, led by the Career Services Manager, and in addition, had access to other developers at several of the dev agencies that were in the same building. If my instructors didn’t immediately know the answer to my question or debug my problem they were able to get back to me with my answer in a timely manner. In addition, we had various guest speakers and panels (from the SD tech scene) which made class each week super interesting.
Overall, there are plenty more points to speak about when speaking about LEARN but at the end of the day after three months of classroom instruction, I was successfully contributing to an agile development team at a tech company in San Diego. The process to prepare for the bootcamp, take the bootcamp, and perform at your internship is INTENSE. The skills to learn to code is like learning a foreign language you constantly need to have a growth mindset and practice, practice, practice. 10 months after my bootcamp I am still growing and learning each day and that never changes. You must have it within yourself to persevere, be a self-starter, and make many many many personal, financial, and family sacrifices to have a chance at getting a junior developer position in 2021. With that being said LEARN is the most well rounded and experienced resource available in the San Diego area to place your faith in to prepare you for a successful life-changing career pivot.

Tucker Mullen _{on Google}

Aug 18th, 2019

My time at LEARN Academy was one of the best experiences of my life honestly. I came into it expecting to be good. But it ended up being great! I knew it would be challenging, which it was. I knew it would be hard at times, and it was. And I knew it would be a lot to take in, in such a small amount of time, and it was.
LEARN Academy and their instructors teach the content in way that makes it stick in your head. It is fast paced but as long as you are willing to put in the hard work and proper effort, you will pick it up very quickly.
Additionally, LEARN has you develop applications to practice the content which really brings everything together. Working with other students in the cohort is one of the best ways to learn because you're all learning the same content, at the same time.
One of the best things about LEARN is their career services. You are taken on a startup crawl in downtown San Diego so that you really get to see what tech companies are really like. After that, they help you practice technical interviews, real interviews, and prep you for your internship at the end of the cohort.
Overall, LEARN Academy is the perfect bootcamp if you're looking to become a programmer. I came into it having went to another bootcamp a few years back and there really was no comparison. LEARN is a hundred times better than the bootcamp I went to before. I recommend LEARN Academy to anyone interested in getting into the industry!

Kevin Kochanski _{on Google}

Jun 1st, 2019

I came to LEARN to disrupt my mid-career boredom. There were a few bootcamp-style options, but I was drawn to LEARN for several reasons: the unique internship aspect of the program; a commitment to diversity I saw in their staff, alumni, and community involvement; their place at the center of an active tech community; and the fact that, because they are local, they would be in touch with the needs of San Diego employers.
I'm over 40 and approach all new situations with skepticism. I started LEARN waiting to find out that it was all a sham, that I'd been taken for a ride, or that the level of learning was nothing I couldn't find in a few YouTube videos and I am SO happy to say I was wrong. All of what drew me to LEARN in the first place proved to be true. The educators are so passionate about the success of each student, as is the management - they have a reputation to uphold in this community, and that start with putting well-prepared program grads into the workforce. Beyond the tech curriculum and the amazing educators, two extremely valuable pieces of this program are the Career Services and the Internship. Students have real interviews with real companies, no smoke and mirrors. And the professional development portion of the curriculum combined with ongoing career services advice is WAY more than I ever got from NYU.

Joshua Cumpian _{on Google}

Jun 12th, 2018

Attending LEARN Academy was one of the best, most satisfying decisions I've ever made for the growth of my career. I spent a few months researching the coding bootcamp I wanted to attend. I remember scouring the internet for reviews on every possible bootcamp. Some seemed too focused on just shoving people through the curriculum or not being worth the money in one way or another. Online bootcamps seemed way too shady and disconnected from the student when this is something where a student NEEDS a mentor to help them get unstuck. Learning on your own can be done, but can take two years when a person could attend a good bootcamp and get it done in 3 months and pay it off before those 'would of been two years' are over, and now you have a job and experience already before you would of gotten your first job.
Every day I attended LEARN I was completely satisfied with my experience. The instructors and owners care about the success that you want to get out of it and will do their best to help you reach your short term and long term goals. If you request additional help, the instructors will without hesitation help you during lunch or after class. They truly care about the student - especially the student who takes their choice to attend seriously. It's hard to help someone who doesn't pay attention in the first place, or who doesn't put any effort in.
There is a lot of hard working successful students that come out of LEARN that land in awesome jobs that wouldn't be possible if they hadn't attended LEARN. If a person does the suggested pre-course work, attends LEARN, works hard to understand the material everyday, asks questions about what they don't understand, there's no doubt that they will land an awesome job and career. A person should go into the school humble, willing to constantly learn (because that's what a developers life will be), and to take it serious. You will get out of it what you put into it. I would gladly answer any questions about my experience and recommend it to anyone who wants to be a developer. A coding bootcamp won't hold your hand as they magically transfer skills into your brain. But they give you the network of people you need, the environment you need, the mentors you need, the internship you need to get some experience, the encouragement you need, and the right direction you need to be successful.