Makers Academy

I have worked in IT for many years, but for the last 10+ years I've drifted away from hands on development and moved to managing IT teams.  This never sat well with me, as I hated losing my technical skills.

So I decided to go on the Makers 3 month course, and haven't regretting it for a second.  

The whole experience was fantastic, and has really got me ready to join a Web Development team, and actually start delivering code again.  The environment at the course was amazing, and the other people on the course made it a really great experience.

It's interesting that the course is very hands off, leaving you to figure stuff out yourself.  This seems odd, but has meant I've hit the ground running now that I'm back in my office.

I strongly recommend this course to anyone wanting a kick start into Web development.

Before I started Makers, I had read several reviews stating that it was a hard course, and that it took up all of your time for those few months. This is the same experience for me, but that was a good thing. I was really looking for something to challenge myself and this course certainly did that. 

I really liked the curriculum, starting off with Ruby and its easier to read syntax, and then moving on to Javascript and beyond. I liked the weekly challenges and the different projects you get to work on, and how they get increasingly more difficult each week. Along with this, I liked the fact that it was largely self-led learning - the coaches are there to give you advice, and do workshops etc but for the most part you are relying on yourself and your cohort. The coaches however do instill a good mindset about being able to learn anything, and how to easily pick up new languages due to the learning process at Makers. The only things I'd change to the curriculum is for them to maybe add more about some JS frameworks - maybe a few days on React or Vue etc since they are such a large part of development these days. The other would be to change week 7 as I haven't really found anyone that particularly enjoyed it and could maybe be used better learning something else. 

The after course care has been really good. The careers team are great and are a very helpful lot. If you are active with them and engaging with the careers fairs etc then you can get a lot done in a short time. While it took me a few months to get a job, there was so much opportunity around and I feel that the alumni have been great at sharing job postings. 

I don't think anyone is going to be an expert in development after 12 weeks, but Makers definitely gives you the tools and the attitude to pursue it and to be a great developer. I would always recommend them to anyone looking for a great new career. 

I was told joining Makers would be a life changing experience, and I was told right! A friend who graduated and is now a software engineer recommended this "bootcamp" and I cannot thank her enough for this.
I put "bootcamp" in quotes because to me, that word sounds like you would have a drill sergeant forcing you to work hard on something until you can't take it any more. For tech, that would be trying to digest a Computer Science degree in a few months. But Makers doesn't do that. The coaches teach you how to learn more than what to learn. Of course you'll have a set of tools they'll recommend you use for the project of the week, but mostly they teach you how to think like a programmer, how to solve problems, how to get un-stuck when a problem seems too big for you. It's not intense because you've got your head down trying to learn every single JavaScript library, but because you feel how much more you can improve and learn, because every day you understand a new concept that opens more doors.

And then there's the environment. I expected the technical know-how I'd be getting there, but what struck me the most was how good I felt being there. I was surrounded by like-minded, open, and generous people, both coaches, students and staff, who all contributed to make these intense 3 months (4 with the pre-course) the period I've felt the most relaxed and happy in the last few years. You're never alone in your struggles, and pair programming is at the heart of the whole course, learning from each others. Taking on this journey with people like them is priceless. The Chief Joy Officer, Dana, is probably the symbol of that spirit at Makers. Through quite a few workshops, she made me understand how emotional intelligence and awareness could practically, tangibly impact your well-being and your capacity to take on challenges. I even practised meditation, and I wouldn't have believed it had you told me a year ago...

Oh and once you're done, they're not done. There's a great team of people whose sole purpose is to find companies that they believe junior devs should work at, make sure students get in touch directly with them through careers fairs, and help the graduates be at their best for the whole application process. I applied in April, started in July, graduated in October, and started on my first dev role in November. 6 months to train and get a job as a software developer, I couldn't be happier.

If what you want is to know how to write programming languages' syntax, look up the documentation. But if you want to become a software developer, Makers is definitely a good bet!

I finished makers in August of 2019 - and am about to start my first job in tech in mid Novemeber.

Makers was a tough few months, I certainly didn't find it an easy journey, but for the most part I had a really fun time. A lot of that is down to my wonderful cohort, many of whom are friends for life as well as a few of the staff. I definitely struggled most at the start of the course - I felt very uncomfortable and out of my depth, but this is something that we are really taught to 'lean into'. That feeling discomfort is part of growing and learning - I think around week 5 that mentality really began to click.

Makers is not a golden ticket to a job, it's a lot of hard work - and you get out what you put in. The course is good, but it is very self directed so it is up to you to do the work and the learning.

I feel like the course needs some updating, inclusion of React and APIs would be very useful given most tech test requirements. But I also understand that Makers is about giving you a foundation in programming - to learn how to learn. And I did find that to be the case, the real journey began for me post Makers when I was on my own, making up my own projects and learning what I wanted to learn. I felt like I was capable enough to tackle new technologies which was an amazing feeling.

Ultimately I managed to career change in well under a year, and in the most fun and exciting and mind opening way - and for that I am truly thankful to Makers.

I recommend this programme because from my application to the moment I found a job, I found every relationship with the Makers team very human, supportive, constructive and positive.
 
Before Makers I did plenty of different studies and jobs and I already found myself quite good at learning new things. But now, I find myself being faster and more structured in anything I do. Even if during the Bootcamp it might feel a bit messy with too many resources to explore in depth, this is the process to get fast at learning and to know how to prioritise what to learn in order to constantly move forward in an Agile way. 

In term of software engineering, well, I got a job and people tell me I am doing well, so I believe with the Makers process and some determination, it works. What I love the most is that Makers really focus at making you a good autonomous software engineer but also to be good at working with others (group work, Github, SCRUM) and to look after yourself (Yoga, Meditation, pace your self directed learnings), I believe this is what make the transition to the workplace easier.

You might be interested in reading the 2 Medium blogs I wrote about it: 
https://medium.com/@AdrienFabre/journey-to-coding-why-a094a4e06541
https://blog.makersacademy.com/journey-to-coding-makers-d0e3fc97059f

It says a lot about Makers that their open days for the course are also students final projects. The confidence is well placed as well, I graduate confident in my abilities and keen to start my new career. The curriculum is fantastic, focusing on your own independent learning but the real strength at Makers lies in the environment. Coaches and fellow Makers are friendly and helpful, meditation and yoga adds some relaxation to what could be a stressful time of your life and the building is a wonderful place to be. You can sense if from the moment you walk in but if you doubt me, attend demo day and see for yourself.

I decided to move into software engineering as I was looking for something more challenging and focussed on problem solving. I was recommended Makers by a friend who already worked in engineering; he worked alongside Makers Alums who had been hired by his company after the course, so I knew going in that their methods worked.

The Makers course encourages you to get into the learning mindset, without being punishing if you don't understand something straight away. The early weeks consist of pairing with other members of your cohort on weekly challenges, which have multiple ways of approaching them (walkthroughs, reference materials). If there are concepts you don't understand in those early weeks, you'll continue to encounter them in different contexts going forward, so there's very often a realisation a week after you're introduced to a concept as to how it can be applied, as well as a really supportive coaching team who will unblock you if you feel you're struggling.

Makers focusses on Ruby at the start of the course, as opposed to JavaScript, which is more standard in the industry, however Ruby is a comparatively simple language for learning object-oriented programming and test-driven development, and they also teach you how to effectively learn new languages based on your understanding of an existing language.

Along with coding, you're also learning effective communication and Agile team-working styles that are used in the industry. You'll have seminars on effective communication and empathy alongside how to develop good algorithms, and yoga to destress after a long day writing code.

By the end of the course, you'll have a strong portfolio of work, a process for developing code and you'll be able to work effectively in teams, taking a final project from ideation to demonstration in just two weeks.

After the course, you get access to monthly jobs fairs with the Makers hiring partners. You also get a great support structure from the careers team from CV reviews and mock interviews, to offering you support if you are feeling disheartened.

Before coming to Makers I was working in IT as an Operation engineer but wanted to move into DevOps, however my programming/coding ability and understanding of the software development lifecycle  wasn't strong enough to make the transition. I decided to come to Makers after failing to learn sufficient programming skills by myself and certainly don't regret making that decision. 

Pros:

Excellent learning environment
Some of the coaches are really knowledgable & helpful 
Good course materials and projects

Cons:

On a few occasions the lectures/lessons didn't seem well planned
Not all of the coaches are helpful, one in particular was avoided by the whole cohort due to their unhelpful attitude 

My time at Makers

I attended makers for 12 weeks in the summer of 2019 to complete the year long employer apprenticeship programme. I had a small amount of previous experience with development before joining the course but was new to web development. I am now placed with my employer to complete the rest of the apprenticeship programme in which I have regular contact with the makers apprenticeship team. 

Pros

- Excellent working/training environment. Makers puts a lot of effort into creating an environment that allows you to learn effectively with lots of support from coaches.

- Good range of content. The course covers a lot of different areas and exposes you to lots of technologies and different paradigms.

- Stretch content. The course is designed in such a way that there is stretch content available if needed on particular areas.

- Good amount of support post course. The makers community has been really useful post graduation in helping me develop my skills.

Cons

- On some weeks there was a limited amount of workshops to engage with. 

 I will start off by saying that I am a very picky person, but I absolutely loved my time at Makers. It is a really fantastic atmosphere to learn in and the community are very supportive. By the end of the course I really was equipped with the tools to go and pick up any language or framework independently - something I couldn't have dreamed of prior to starting the course. The emotional intelligence and meditation workshops are fantastic (this is coming from a hard sceptic) and you really cannot underestimate the importance of these soft skills in the industry. The vast majority of jobs I've applied have made it paramountly clear that they want a team worker, not a lone genius, and I feel that Makers have prepared me really well for all the collaborative aspects of my future career as a developer.  The careers team are also very supportive in your job hunt.

A few things to note. Not negatives, just clarifications. first of all, it will require a lot of self-study and self-motivation.  There are people to reach out to if you are stuck, but no one is going to spoon feed you. Secondly, they currently teach very little computer science as part of the core curriculum. It's not necessary in order to learn to code, and indeed during my interviews I didn't even encounter any computer science type questions, but just something to note. Lastly, the job guarantee doesn't mean that you'll automatically be given a job at the end - you are still expect to be very proactive in your own job search, but as mentioned before the careers team are there to help. Expect at least a few weeks between finishing the 12 week course and landing your first job - you most likely will not have time to apply while doing your final project and can only get the ball rolling afterwards.

The general curriculum is great, you learn about the core concepts of object-oriented programming thorugh ruby (which you can then translate to basically any OO language) and javascript is likely to stay very relevant and important. Some parts, however, do feel like they need an update - perhaps too much of a focus on fullstack Rails (which really doesn't lend itself well to modern sexy web app behaviour). Would have liked to replace the mandatory Rails part with a Rails/Django/etc API backend + JS framework frontend instead, also some exposure to NoSQL databases too would have been nice. Also replacing jasmine with jest would have been more relevant to current industry requirements.

A lifelong dream has been realised, and I will soon be starting a new job as a developer with a company I've been able to apply to via Makers. Now I can give a review of the complete Makers experience.

What’s good

• Careers support: This was the main thing I was looking for when it came to choosing a bootcamp, and why I chose Makers. I fully approve of Maker's decision to grow their careers team and have nothing but good things to say about them.

• Holistic approach: Yes, you’ll learn to code, but more importantly for me were the things we didn't cover at university. You learn modern software development processes and to apply best practices: e.g. agile, TDD, and clean code. 

Why Makers is worth your money

The careers team, the learning environment, and the community. Besides providing some kind of structure for your learning, I choose to do a bootcamp for the immersion and community. Look out for the next Makers Q&A evening and Demo Day to see if Makers is right for you.

What you’ll learn

During the 4-week pre-course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of Ruby, as well as getting introduced to git and GitHub. Then during the 12-week onsite course, you have more Ruby, a little Rails, a little Javascript, and whatever your team decides to work with during your final projects.

After graduating, I found that almost every job on offer involved working in Javascript (and often React). I did feel disadvantaged compared to other bootcamps who cover Javascript and React in more depth. I would have liked more time spent on Javascript, introducing popular Javascript libraries and frameworks. I felt that my cohort’s coverage of Rails and Javascript was a bit rushed.

Even if a company says they’re not looking for specific proficiency, who do you think they’re more likely to choose given the choice between a candidate who knows the tech stack, and another candidate who doesn’t?

But I’ve put in the time to hone my Javascript skills after graduating, and I guess it's all worked out.

However, I do agree with the Makers approach and think that beginning with a decent grasp of the fundamentals is important. And then you can specialise to become T-shaped. 

Now is always the best time to join Makers

Makers is always learning and getting better. In my time here, I’ve witnessed how some things have changed for the better:

• The Fellowship is how I came to be at Makers. It means I didn’t have to pay and now, for newer Fellows, it’s better than ever. Apart from not having to pay, there’s now very little difference between the Fellowship route and the regular route into Makers. You still have to be hired through Makers but you’re no longer restricted to only the pathway roles (you become a Makers contractor), which are much less common and also open to everyone else.

• Reviews-as-a-service is a way for you to get expert feedback on your development process. It’s an hour-long and it’s done online through screen-sharing. You code a solution to a problem while demonstrating agile, TDD, clean code, and your ability to explain what you’re doing/thinking to someone else. It used to be that you had to “pass” your review before you could apply to jobs through Makers. Availability of review slots was scarcer and I felt that it was an artificial barrier to jobhunting. Now it’s as it should be: you submit your application for a role, attach review feedback if you have it, and it’s down to the Makers careers team whether you get shortlisted.

So if you enrol, I’m sure that by the time you make it onsite, there will be other things that have changed for the better.

Support during the course

When asked about my experience at Makers, I like to say that Makers taught me rather little but I did learn a huge amount. Being taught is a thing that is done to you. In learning you have agency and it is something you do for yourself. Makers is an environment that empowers self-driven learning. That’s what I’d be paying for.

Some may find it frustrating when it seems that coaches won’t give a straight answer. There’s a method to this apparent madness. It’s so that you can develop your own process for problem-solving, which you’ll need as a developer.

There’s great pastoral care from Dana, the Chief Joy Officer, who leads the daily meditation and twice-weekly yoga sessions, and is always available for a chat. I’ve always found our conversations helpful whenever I’ve needed an outside perspective or second opinion. I believe we also have Dana to thank for the recent improv workshop and karaoke night at Makers. I went to both and had lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to the next karaoke night