Codesmith - Los Angeles, California

Demian M. (.

I first heard about Codesmith as my big brother picked up an interest in becoming a software engineer. My brother decided that he wanted to jump straight into JavaScript and we learned about Codesmith while looking for local meetups.

Now although Codesmith is a 12 week software engineering program, they do hold weekly "Build with Code" sessions so that new developers can come in, learn some JavaScript, and get a feel for the education that one may get when applying to Codesmith. I've been coming to Codesmith with my big brother for their weekly "JS the Hard Parts" series and it has been amazing. Will Sentance who is CTO and one of the main instructors at Codesmith teaches the sessions and makes an effort to involve everyone in the learning process, as well as make sure everyone is understanding the material before moving on. Our first day at a session was really fun and motivating as well. It really makes you excited to learn and it's what keeps us coming back. I've talked to a lot of people that have been to other places for coding sessions and they often say that the other ones they go to are really boring and they feel more like a study group instead of a session where you actually go to learn something.

I really encourage everyone to check out Codesmith. Whether you are looking for a program to learn software engineering or you are new and want to meet people who are just starting like yourself. Check it out, it's a great environment, and it is extremely friendly and welcoming.

jessica G.

Great environment, amazing Meetup 'Javascript the hard parts' including lectures and pair-programming exercises. Highly recommended for any level of experience from absolute beginners to experimented. Immersive program is extraordinary to start a career in tech!

Samara H.

Codesmith has transformed my life in such a short amount of time. I knew I wanted to be a web programmer and I was going to teach myself javascript over this past summer. On my own I probably would have still been trying to learn the fundamentals, not creating projects to reinforce my knowledge in different frameworks and libraries. Codesmith didn’t teach me to program by giving me the syntax to a function, but they explained the process of a function and how its variable store works. Getting a deeper understanding of how a computer executes a callback function, for example, has gotten me further than solving a single problem on an online tutorial. I have learned how to be/think/act like a full stack engineer.

I didn’t come from a stereotypical tech background, I graduated with a B.A in American Studies a few months ago and now I have a good understanding on how servers, databases, and multi-threading work. It is such a great feeling to be able to understand the process of what your code is doing, but there is so much more I want to learn. Technology is constantly evolving and Codesmith has equipped me with a skill set to keep learning on my own.

James B.

I am a recent graduate and current fellow at Codesmith. Deciding to attend Codesmith was one of the best, if not the best, decisions of my life! I went from knowing minimal jQuery programming to truly being able to build anything I can think of (seriously). Even though they focus on Node, React, Angular, Databases, JS Fundamentals etc., what they are really teaching you are the tools needed to go and learn any technology in an extremely efficient manner. For example, my group's final production project required Three.js and WebGL, technologies not specifically taught here. Thanks to the fundamentals, tools and ideas we gained in the first 7 weeks we were able to quickly get up to speed with those technologies and create an amazing project before our cohort ended. Also, the culture at Codesmith is second to none. Everyone is focused on helping each other and growing together, part of the reason you can learn so much here in such a short amount of time. The hours are long, the concepts aren't easy and your going to challenge yourself like you never have before. However, if you stick with it you'll be awesomely rewarded with these skills. Getting through to the project period and seeing what you can actually build is an extremely rewarding experience. If you get accepted to Codesmith, I highly recommend attending. You won’t regret it!

J F.

A life-changing experience. Codesmith builds in its students the ability to problem-solve and take on the most challenging engineering problems. They keep an active part in the Los Angeles and San Francisco developer communities, and are fully dedicated to growing their students and alumni through the course of their software development careers.

Michael B.

Codesmith is the type of program where every student leaves as a transformed version of the person he/she came in as. The most obvious transformation is one’s exponentially expanded software engineering knowledge and experience, but students also leave with a radically broader grasp on empathy, the kind of empathy you gain from intense pair programming sessions and grinding through 12+ hour days with your Cohort-mates.

The curriculum is always evolving and is updated as a result of student feedback and/or the ever continuous momentum of the industry. Over my 12 weeks (13 including a prep/gap week between cohorts) Codesmith presented daily opportunities for ‘aggressive expansion’ of my engineering and problem solving skills (for anyone thinking of the scene from The Dark Knight, there is never any battling , though Ping Pong games can get intense). You go deep in JavaScript, by the end you can truly develop a web application that includes a database, RESTful API based server, and powerful front-end (using Vanilla JS, React, Angular, or whatever you desire because you have to mental tools to learn anything new).

You learn about more than just JavaScript at Codesmith though. Daily, you will experience the exciting challenge of a new algorithm problem, you learn data structures, engineering best practices, and possibly most important of all you will grow tremendously in your technical communication. Anyone who has tried to solve a highly technical problem in a team setting will relate to how important technical communication is for the project’s success. At every point throughout the program you will either be asked to communicate to your pair-programming partner when you are not actively typing, or with the Engineering Fellows during code review, and ultimately all of these experiences result in a deeper understanding of the material and an ability to explain your code that is highly valuable to teammates and employers.

Attending a coding bootcamp is a major life decision, and I have not once regretted choosing Codesmith over any of the other options in LA or elsewhere. You receive full devotion during and after graduation and I wholeheartedly believe there is nowhere better to begin the next chapter of one’s life.

Donald W.

I am going through Codesmith’s "JavaScript the Hard Parts" Meetup for the second time. Learned a lot and great pair programming experience. It’s another fantastic free resource from Codesmith for the tech community.

Kirsten Y.

As a graduate of the immersive program, I recommend Codesmith to anyone who wants to try out coding and/or start a career in the field. The workshops and online prep materials are great as well.