LearningFuze

I have had an exceptionaly fun time at this academy, they put you in the environment of being in the workplace and give you the opportunity to learn first hand what it would be like.  We had the mentor of a senior level programmer which gave us some deep level understanding of the industry and what we would need to know to succeed in the field.  The projects we were tasked with completeting were fun and tough at the same time, each time learning a new concept to bring us deeper into the understanding of programming.  You learn to work in a team atmosphere and have projects and hackathons that resolve around this concept, which is a great learning experience because you will have to learn how not just you program but how others around you do.

Long story short, I was not happy with my career. I decided to quit my job and start the long venture coding\programming. After speaking to friends and going over many options, I decided to check out LearningFuze in Irvine. I was a bit apprehensive at first since I had no real first hand experience with coding but after the initial info session, I was all in. Between the friendly and welcoming staff and the fact that the majority of the students had no prior exposure to coding but were still enrolled, this gave me the confidence to move forward with enrolling at LearningFuze. During my cohort, we were taught a variety of skills such as Javascript, React, Redux on the front end and Node.js and PHP for back end. Since this was a full immersion program, we were coding up to fourteen hours a day, five days a week for 12 weeks. We also put together various projects both alone, and in groups. The group projects were especially rewarding as they greatly emphasized on the team dynamic. These hack-a-thons as they were called, were a true real world sprint in not just coding in tandem, but also a teaching us to better our communication skills (which is something that can easily be overlooked). Even after completion of the program, we are still allowed to come in and work on various projects. The staff is always ready and willing to help us acheive our goals even after our program is over. This mentoring alone is what sold me on Learning Fuze. 

Learning Fuze is a worthwhile time investment in order to explore a new career in technology. Learning to program can be an exhaustive tedious experience if you try to learn everything by yourself. It's easy to get lost, feel frustrated, and lose sight of things because programming is a unique skill that needs time to develop. What Learning Fuze does is bring together a number of like-minded individuals who are in similiar situations and make what can be a hard painful process into what is still painful but a social and unique experience. Through the people you meet and the helpful instructors of very knowledgeable and dedicated instructors, the process of entering the tech industry becomes a lot more enjoyable, faciliated, and most importantly, it reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles. There are plenty of reviews stating the highly quality of the instructors and the institution so I will not add more except to say that I agree with them. 

I attended multiple info sessions before choosing LearningFuze, and am glad that I did, since I was able to compare them all to what I was experiencing throughout.  I now know I made the right choice.

Starting off with the facility, it offers a tech-startup type of environment which allows students to have access to the multiple instructors on-site at any given time of the day.  There are 2 lecture rooms, 3 study rooms, and an alumni room for graduates to come back to the facility to work on any current projects.

The instructors are some of the top in the industry.  Starting off with Dan, the lead instructor. He had a unique way of teaching the most important fundamentals of Javascript to make sure we remembered it.   I still remember his specific examples, no matter how extreme they were to this day.

Andy was another very helpful instructor, showing students what they could become, being a previous graduate in the program.  Andy was one of the reasons I joined LearningFuze, from his willingness to help students and ability to relate to any struggles they face throughout the bootcamp.

Scott was the lead instructor for the React.JS portion of the program, who brokeeverything down in to pieces to help beginners learn a new framework from scratch.  I chose the frontend route and highly recommend it, with the material that Scott put together.

Lastly, TJ makes sure to put everything you learned to use, and prepares you for the job search.  He provides all students with the necessary tools, interview prep, and resume building to make sure everyone is able to get interviews and eventually land offers.  This was a huge piece of the program that differentiated it from others.

At LFZ I was surrounded by like-minded, motivated people who want to learn to code as much as I did. I'm not only learning from the instructors but also from my classmates, seniors, alumni and guest speakers from various tech companies.

The curriculum gave us many opportunities to work together as a group. You will be surprised at how different learning is with a group and in-person. We teamed up together, participated in multiple hackathons, and helped solve each others bugs.

After getting my portfolio fully approved by the instructors, preparation with TJ’s interview tips, and weeks of applying, I was able to land multiple offers in the OC and LA area within 2 months of graduating.  

Doing a complete career change and participating in a boot camp was one of the hardest decisions for me. Like you I researched many different ones and ultimately decided on LearningFuze, and am glad I did.

 

Initially, I was debating which bootcamp I wanted to go to because I was worried that they would'nt be able to provide me with the adequate education I need to get a job in the development field. What took away some of my fears about joining a bootcamp was how transparent learning fuze was compared to other bootcamps. They give you a detailed description of their hiring rate and what their program consists of. I ultimately picked learning fuze because of the assitance they give you after they graduate. I wanted a program that would stay commited to me and provide me with a safe learning environment. I would say if you've never had any coding experience before and are serious about getting into web development definitely pick learning fuze because of their supporitive environment. 

It has definitely been a wild ride at LearningFuze…I only say that because you're really taken out of your comfort zone when you enter the world of development. From things you never thought you would have to think of and breaking down your own logic, piece by piece. Despite all the challenges that came from being a part of the cohort and changing my career completely, the staff and even the people in my cohort were very helpful and supportive. The environment was definitely filled with down to earth people that really cared about one another and would be some lasting friendships for years to come.

One thing that I especially liked about LearningFuze was that despite graduating, all the lectures and materials are still available to you for however long you may need them. They definitely keep in contact with each cohort to see how everyones doing and to make sure that everyone is on the right track in terms of getting a job; as well as providing mock interviews, resume reviews, and portfolio reviews/approval even after the cohort.

Seeing where I stand 6 months after I officially started in development, I would say that I am definitely grateful and glad that I went through the cohort…I finally found what I’m passionate about and coding happens to be it!

I had programming experience prior to joining this boot-camp but many of the people in my cohort did not. Learning Fuze does a great job at sparking interest in new comers while also giving veterans the challenge they want and need. If you're planning on becoming a web developer, this school teaches you everything you need to get your foot in the door.

They also do a great job fostering a fun environment. You're always welcome so even if you don't walk out the door with an opportunity, their doors are never closed and they are always very willing to help you on any project (even if you have a job, they are still willing to help).

It's taken me a while to write this review.  I wanted to wait a while to get a full view of how my life has changed since taking the course.  I can definitely say this was a major, life-changing, amazing decision.  I loved LearningFuze.  I loved learning how to program, I love the friends I made, I love the teachers, and I love being able to live a life now free from what used to be a constant struggle to make ends meet.  Since graduating from LearningFuze, I've doubled my income.  My husband, who also graduated from LearningFuze, also doubled his income.  I made lifelong friends.  I made connections that helped me get my second dev job.  I learned how to learn things on my own.  I still have a space to go when I want to study independently (and free coffee).  I still have people to help me find work when I'm between jobs.  I still have the support and the resources and the community of LearningFuze.  I have a profession that's constantly in demand, allows me to grow and learn indefinitely, and uses all my intelligence, creativity, and passion.  

There are lots of roads to success in this field.  You might be innately talented.  You might have a ton of grit to make it through.  And, you might just be a great interviewer.  If you have two out of three of these, you are golden.  I have talked to a lot of other bootcamp grads, and while some of them achieved success, none of them have the community and support that LearningFuze has.  I know people who turned down opportunities in San Francisco to move down to Orange County to study at LearningFuze.  It really is the best way in, and once you're in, you're in.  If you're the kind of person who will take big risks like dropping everything to go to a coding school, chances are you'll probably be a good developer, engineer, and inventor.  And if there's a lot on the line should you fail, chances are, you'll give everything you've got to succeed.  I'm excited for your journey.  

My first impression from attending the Learning Fuze info session was that it seemed most open, organized and welcoming. Unfortunately, I ignored my gut intuition to go to Learning Fuze and chose to attend a different program... it was a huge mistake a waste of time. I spent 6 weeks going to a different bootcamp that had no proprietary course materials and the coursework/homework that was given was from free learning sites such as CodeAcademy. After about 6 weeks at the other bootcamp I decided it was not right for me, and I made the switch to Learning Fuze. Unlike at the other bootcamp, in order to even get into Learning Fuze I had to take a skills assessment, and two interviews (in person and over the phone). I also had a white board with the lead instructor due to trying to get into the current cohort. The questions during the white board session showed me how much I did not know. I decided to take the two root courses and then start the next cohort. During the root courses (the pre-courses before starting the full immersion cohort) I learned more than I did at the other bootcamp in 6 weeks! The full immersion course was paced well and had great flow. The first week and a half or so was review from the root (pre-courses) but with more depth and detail. Instead of simply memorizing how to do things, you learn what, why, how, when etc... to use/do things properly. Also the course is geared towards helping with job interviews and on the job situations. There are hackathon projects, solo projects and a large group project along with other problems/projects if you choose to take them on. Learning Fuze also hosts meet ups, employer talks, alumni talks, etc.. I believe that structure and organization is very important in any business/school. Learning Fuze has that in spades, but Learning Fuze also believes that everyone learns differently so while following the course, they are willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed. They will try and answer your questions in different ways with examples and analogies, so you can try and relate/understand things. I understand why they're rated so high and ranked #1 in Orange County.

     Although I had always maintained a passion for computers since my earliest days, my career path had instead taken me on a winding road into the healthcare field as a Respiratory Therapist. At dinner one night a long time friend of mine named Scott, who knew of my technical passions and who also happened to teach web development at LearningFuze, asked if I would be curious in checking out the full immersion program because he thought I would really enjoy it. I decided to take him up on the offer, quit my job a week after the info session, and turned in my application for admission. It was the greatest decision I have ever made.

     Because web development was new for me I made sure to attend the root classes which were incredibly helpful. It is a great way to get a feel for what the program will be like, and for those who like me have little to no experience in programming they are a godsend for making the material digestible. They serve as an excellent primer for people new to coding, and because the root classes are included in the tuition it is a no brainer to attend them.

     I was warned many times by the staff prior to the full immersion start date that it would be difficult and require about 60 hours a week of hard dedicated work to succeed, and the warnings were fully justified. As someone who easily scored in the top levels of my college courses I thought I would once again be “the smart guy in the room” and I could slip in under those numbers, but i quickly learned that I was surrounded by people who were much smarter than me and that I would need to squeeze in every extra moment of work I could to keep up. It was a wonderfully humbling experience.

     While it is often said that it is people that make the difference in an educational environment, nowhere is that more true than at LearningFuze. From my initial meetings with Monique, Bill, and TJ during the application process to my interactions with the instructors Dan, Tim, Collette, Andy, Cody, and of course my friend Scott (who showed no favoritism and always made sure to keep me on task), I was surrounded by a team of dedicated, knowledgeable, and most importantly, helpful people who would do anything in their collective and individual power to help me and every other student succeed. I have never been in a work environment that I enjoyed visiting so much each day.

     The curriculum hit all the bases. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, React JS, Redux JS, PHP, Node Js, APIs, AWS, Github, whiteboards, technical assessments, scrums. You name it, we were submerged in it. I must admit that often during the cohort I suffered from a feeling of being behind, which was shared universally among the students because of the deluge of information that was laid before us. But, the reality is that in a few short months the team of instructors had taken a classroom of strangers and turned them into a group of dedicated programming teams. By the end of the program every student had served an integral role in the planning and hands on development of full fledged web applications from beginning to end, a feat of which I did not believe I was capable of only a few months ago.The system of education LearningFuze has cultivated over the last several years is not flawless but I as a long time college student I can say it is head and shoulders above the educational experiences I have had previously. In a field where the principal focus is on the practical application of programming ability, LearningFuze rightly keeps its educational focus on real world development. If you put the proper time in and listen to all the advice the staff offers during the cohort, you will learn to program.

     One of the unsung heroes of LearningFuze is their extensive employment assistance. There are lectures and exercises on resume building, technical portfolio creation (from start to finish along with in-depth feedback), mock interviews, field trips to tech companies with a track record of hiring LearningFuze graduates, and all the information a junior level programmer starting in a new and competitive field needs. I have been told that many people do not fully avail themselves of this aspect of the program, but in my opinion it is instrumental to success.

     I would be remiss if my glowing review up to this point of the full immersion invited the idea that all was peace and happiness during my time at LearningFuze. I have already mentioned that my status of “smart guy” was immediately and often called into question (by myself not others, the instructors were always supportive even when I asked the same question for the hundredth time), but you must be prepared to have days where you walk away feeling beat up by logic and concepts that can only seep into one’s mind after they marinated for a week or two. We were told on the first day of class by Dan the “Yoda of Programming” (a well earned title) that this class would be the hardest thing we ever did, and he was entirely correct. The “Valley of Despair” is a real place that must be faced by all programmers, but thankfully LearningFuze provides an environment which takes at least some of the sting away.

     Perhaps the greatest measure of a person’s feeling about a decision that they have made is whether or not they would make the decision again given what they know of the decisions outcome, and in that regard I can say that I would gladly do so. During my time at LearningFuze, I not only learned the intricacies of web development and what I was capable of doing when pressed, but I met friends that I know will last a lifetime, and I finally got a chance to follow a long held dream. If you are thinking of going to a bootcamp to learn programming and change your life like I did, make sure you keep LearningFuze on your shortlist of schools, you won’t regret it.

First and foremost, attending LearningFuze was the best decision I could have ever made for my career path. Coming from a non-technical background, I came into LFZ with limited knowledge on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, prior experience in tech is not required to jumpstart your career as a developer. There are pre courses that are provided to make sure you are up to speed in regards to the technologies at the start of the full-immersion course. Throughout the course, you will learn a whole lot and feel that you have the potential to become a professional developer with job-ready skills. 

The instructors at LFZ were extremely helpful in a way that they guide you to find solutions for yourself. During my time at LFZ, not only did I learn how to build websites and web applications, but I learned how to pay attention to important details in code, how to ask questions, and how to solve problems. The staff at LFZ have shown that they really care about the success of their students and will put out a helping hand every step of the way whenever needed. 

Ultimately, I have become a professional Software Developer without prior technical experience. You can't go wrong with picking LearningFuze!