SPICED Academy

All the instructors are really good, and will constantly try to gain the most out of you.
The result is that you'll learn the most in-demand skills out there (React, NodeJS), as well as build up a great Github portfolio to be shown to the employers.

But I warn you: there's no magic in it, meaning that, first of all, you really need to master the prep course they assign you before starting the academy, and, second, you need to stay fully focused on your programming tasks during the entire period.

Big sacrifices, big achievements

I'd worked in digital marketing for over 10 years at companies large and small, often surrounded by developers, before learning to code myself. I looked at a lot of different bootcamps as well as exploring self-learning options but was drawn to Spiced because of their javascript-focussed curriculum. I'm so glad I signed up with them.

The course was brutally hard at times but ultimately the experience was rewarding beyond anything I'd imagined. Learning to code in a bootcamp environment is tough and you need to draw deep on your resilience at times, but Spiced offers excellent teaching standards in an incredibly supportive environment. Fellow students and the Spiced staff give you all the support you need to take a leap into the great unknown (!) and if you show up and put the work in you'll come away armed with a wealth of new skills.

It's true that as a newer arrival on the scene than some other bootcamps, their network is smaller, but this is changing as more of their cohorts graduate and maintain links with the college. Because cohorts are reasonably small and they have a couple running at once, you have an opportunity to really build bonds with your fellow students which I feel is a real benefit vs choosing to learn with a more established provider eg General Assembly.

The career workshops, while of benefit primarily to those earlier in their career, still offer some themes of interest for 'older' students and are a great added extra to the course. 

Finally, they offer great help if you're relocating to Berlin for the course and are full of advice for finding places to live and getting established. 

Thanks Spiced - I look back on my time there very fondly! 

Why SPICED?

At first I was skeptical about taking a coding bootcamp but then I talked to Shilpha in an interview to hear each other out including potential concerns I had. After talking to her I was sold on SPICED despite being accepted into others as she was honest about expectations on me and what the school could deliver.

They sure did deliver. If you want to go to a school where you are spoon fed all the answers and have lectures all day instead of writing code yourself then apply elsewhere. If you want to go to a bootcamp where you learn-by-doing then apply for SPICED. From the learning facilities and environment to the top-notch staff who really know their stuff and always want to help and see you improve.

I went from knowing very little HTML and CSS to being able to program in JavaScript and creating web applications that communicate with databases to being able to publish them live with the latest tools used.

Be prepared it won't be a "holiday" in Berlin but a learning experience you'll have for life helped kicked off by the awesome people at SPICED.

Be careful with this school: it can turn sour. The CEO convinced me to join their programme unprepared. Subsequently they did not help me catch up. One of the teachers advised me to consider ‘joining the next cohort’, instead of helping me figure out exactly what I was having difficulties with.

After attending the first few days of this bootcamp, I felt defeated and have now decided to spend my energy elsewhere. Spiced uses an external tool, Codecademy, as a prep course for their full stack program. When I worked through the Codecademy track, Codecademy had updated and shortened some of the tracks, which led me to being un-prepared for the Spiced assessment, which they want you to complete. I had therefore done a stripped down version of the track, which was missing some critical concepts that I needed to know, and so instead of completing the assessment in 4-5 hours, I ended up horribly stuck for a few days and feeling incredibly incapable. This mishap, in combination with the frustration during the first weeks’ classes has led me to the decision that the quality of the bootcamp is lower than expected and promised.

Dear Spiced, if you use outside resources like Codecademy, it is important to make sure to know about any changes to the material being taught. I feel it would be wrong to expect the student to know that they're missing something. Codecademy clearly posted about these changes to this specific track on their blog over a month ago.

Furthermore, from the words ‘from beginner to ready-to-hire’ on their website and the reviews available online, it seemed like we would get a lot more explanations of the concepts and hands-on support early on. I felt I needed this, but I did not get it. The work is independent and I did not feel a good enough connection with the teachers; I also felt that they were not going to be able to provide me with the pedagogical teaching methods it seemed Spiced offered. I might as well be sitting at home, working through freeCodeCamp. Their communications staff member and I discussed that some people do need more thorough explanations, or maybe some simpler challenges to fully grasp certain concepts. I did not have the right foundation from the prep course and we were already moving onto newer subjects which were building on this. Sitting there feeling completely overwhelmed during the second and third day was emotionally exhausting and I was doubting my capabilities, and felt incompetent. Due to the aforementioned circumstances I hoped they would consider refunding me the full seven thousand and eight hundred euros, but no. I’m now left feeling ripped off.

Their ‘registration’ fee is a massive €800 euros, which you do not get back if you are forced to ‘drop out’. Before the course started I trusted the CEO as he reassured me that others before me had not completed the assessment and had gone on to do okay. I was told the teachers would sit with me and once the bootcamp started and during the first few days, to make sure I felt okay. Unfortunately this has not been the case for me and I feel as if these were false promises made. Spiced runs two cohorts at the same time, so with only two teachers for two cohorts, this means the teachers are not dedicated only to supporting your cohort. After not feeling listened to and asking for the full money back, and writing that I would be writing a negative review, the team at Spiced responded to me by saying that they felt I was blackmailing them. Thanks Spiced.

These are the reasons I am disappointed and feeling ripped off. Be careful too, the CEO is unreasonable and after explaining my frustrations over a Skype call as he was not on campus, he did not seem interested to want to take in my feedback at all. Thank you for reading, you’ve been warned.

I'm an American from Los Angeles and I decided to move to Berlin specifically to attend this program. I was excepted into most bootcamps in the States but I chose this on. Reason being is it had the same Javascript curriculum as many bootcamps in the States but at half the price. After doing the math, I found out that after the flight, rent, and coast of living, I would be saving money by doing this program in Berlin. The staff is wonderful, and the environment is very friendly. My fellow peers became friends that will be friends for life. My advice is if you are considering it, just go for it. It is very challenging but rewarding.

Spiced was a great jumping off point for learning how to code. The curriculum is rigorous and challenging, and the staff and teachers are extremely supportive and are always available to help, when necessary. Looking back, I feel that the knowledge I gained from this course is invaluable, as I have been able to get many interviews just within the first few weeks of finishing my studies.

I would recommend this school to anyone who is ready for a career change, or wants to dive deeper into their coding skills.

Spiced was an important step for me, both as a person in a new city and as student in a new profession. They really helped me get into the swing of things quick and craft an atmosphere that fosters co-operation among students to help them crack down on what they do not know. They even let me have a payment plan so the fee wasn't that steep.
I really felt welcome there and the unavoidable feeling of being dumb when learning something new was easily absobed thanks to Julia, David and Matt - my teachers who will always have a soft fuzzy spot in my heart.

Big Thumbs up!
10 outta 10 would code again!

I always wanted to learn how to code, made several attempts with online coding schools but never got very far. Therefore after long considerations, I finally decided to enrol in a coding bootcamp. I can only say I have not regretted my decision for even one moment. 

I joined SPICED in the second cohort and was impressed by how quickly I was able to program pretty complex things. Their curriculum focuses plainly on JavaScript, which makes a lot of sense in my opinion. That leaves enough room to really learn the language and not just a few frameworks. We were taught JavaScript the hard way, by first doing challenges in vanilla JavaScript before later learning how much easier it can be done with a library or framework. That way I feel comfortable to program almost anything I want in JavaScript or pick up any new framework by myself, which I have already done quite a few times. 

I still remember the first time I met Shilpa, the Director of Programms and Community at SPICED, for the first time after she gave me an appointment to check out SPICED HQ.

She was so friendly, so was Frederik, SPICED CEO and Founder, and David, CTO and Head Coach.

From day 1, David, the most godly-skilled head coach I've ever met, started the course with full enthusiasm. He's just so good in delivering the information and let'em sink in! As of every single day of the course, he kept teaching us in a way that feel that he is giving his 100%. Besides his JavaScript-every-couple-days-fifteen-minutes-theoritical portion, he always have practical challenges for us; what is called white board challenges. Prepare yourself also for the most common interview questions for developers he will train you for.

Day in day out, we programmed and built awesome apps using the lastes frameworks, libraries and technologies. All what I can say about that is you have to be prepared for an instensive 9 hours of programming every day that you wish you had before (if you are really willing to learn). In my experience, I would spend three months in an intensive bootcamp rather spending, at least, tripple the amount of time watching free online courses, even paid ones! I did that before I went to SPICED and I wouldn't say that it was a waste of time, but It was so easy to forget! At the bootcamp, they wouldn't let me leave the class before I understand what they were trying to teach me. That was for me a BIG PLUS becuase it showed me how much they care.

Ok wait a minute.. did I say "they"? Who are they?

Well, I already mentioned David but there are also 2 teachers/assistants.

First is Julia, SPICED Teaching Assistant & Developer. One of the most experienced array-fan developer that you will ever meet! 

You'll know her more once you meet her.

Oh, and make sure to be on time or she would like to have a lil chat with you over a cup of coffee. Ask me about that. Well, let's face it > you are being serious and you want to learn? you be on time. Period. That proved me, again, how much they care about their students.

Second is Matt, SPICED Teaching Assistant & Developer. Matt is more of a friend than a teacher to me. His skills are just beyond mind and I am proud to say that he taught me once! He, David and Julia make just a great team. I have been taught by masters!

Shilpa did an awesome job in workshops she led at SPICED. She taught us lots of useful tips of how to create our CV as developers (should be unique), make our cover letters (because you have to) and along with Matt, how to organize our LinkedIn profile. Basically, everything you need to be job ready.

I would really recommend paying them a visit and check the school out. You'll know what I am talking about once you are there!

As of Jan 16, I am in my 6 weeks period of programming a 

Moaaz.

This bootcamp was an excellent upgrade to my professional skills. By graduating online I learnt the potential of working efficiently on a remote environment. The curriculum was inspiring from the first day and I got a balance between being able to work at my own path on the topics of my preference while having continuous assistance from the Spiced staff as well as from the rest of the students. The content taught is relevant to my actual professional tasks and it´s structured in a way that allows to support student at very different levels of knowledge and familiarity with the topics of data analysis, science and engineering, as there are enough references and challenges to pick up and develop from even after the course. But I specially enjoyed the friendly and supportive atmosphere created between staff and students.