Flatiron School is a great place to learn Web and iOS Development. Expect to start learning even before the first day of the bootcamp. You will be asked to complete 50+ hours of prework before starting either program. You can see the prework online to get a feel for it. As a caveat, expect to pay a little bit extra outside of tuition to complete the pre-work.
Both programs are full-time and are broken out into three units. The first unit teaches you fundamentals. Expect to learn these fundamentals by doing lots of pair programming and group programming (though there may be some solo pieces in the iOS class). The second unit consists of building projects to reinforce the fundamentals. The final piece is either a specialization in the Web Development course or a Capstone Project in the iOS course. Specialization simply refers to picking something you want to master and going for it. The Capstone project is working with a team to build an app for a startup. In addition to just teaching the language, Flatiron School teaches you best practices and gets you integrated with the tech community. They fundamentally believe that you should learn how to learn, not just learn a skill.
They are also very passionate about providing the highest quality curriculum. All of their teachers have all been TA's with their program first. They also take 4-6 weeks in between sessions to work on teacher training and curriculum development.
Admission for the school is done on a rolling basis so the earlier you apply the better.
The Ruby program is a 12 week, full time, intensive program, designed give you the equivalent skillset and experience of an entry-level Ruby developer. Because we focus heavily on collaboration, you are required to be on campus Monday Thru Friday, 9AM-6PM throughout the duration of the program. There is certainly a fair amount of work to be done beyond those hours (many students choose to stay late and come in on weekends), but that’s the minimum.
Prior to arriving to campus, you’ll also complete 4 weeks (80-120 hours in total) of prework assignments at home. This, plus the following 12 weeks of on-campus learning, amounts to a 16 week commitment.
The Flatiron School prepares students for its web development bootcamp with 150 hours of pre-work, which can be completed remotely before beginning the intensive. The pre-work prepares even those without any web development experience to spend their time on campus studying more advanced topics such as Ruby. The Flatiron School’s web development curriculum also includes plenty of intensive career counseling and interview training.
The iOS course is a 12 week, full time, intensive program, designed to give you the equivalent skillset and experience of an entry-level iOS Objective-C developer. There is no prior experience necessary. Due to the amount of material covered and our focus on collaboration, you are required to be on campus Monday thru Friday, 9AM-6PM throughout the duration of the program. Outside of class there is plenty of work to be done, but that's the minimum.
Graduates of the Flatiron School’s iOS development bootcamp have landed jobs at prestigious companies such as The New York Times, Etsy, and Boeing. The on- campus curriculum includes Git, custom interfaces, and test-driven development. Flatiron School iOS development students also keep blogs and give technical presentations at Meetups.
Flatiron is a life-changing experience where all the students and staff are committed to excellence. The preparation in their bootcamp prep and the prep work they require for students to complete before entering the campus are unparalleled. In addition, the job placement team is legit!
@FlatironSchool = by far the best educational experience I've had. Great culture. Great team. Solid student body. Solid outcomes. Recommend.
Really great teachers and excellent support. Offered weekend tutoring which was helpful with some more difficult to grasp subjects. Received lots of job interview prep/resume help at the end of the course and was set up with quite a few job interviews. Landed a job through them but did not receive the $4,000 tuition reimbursement they advertise. When I asked about it I was told it's actually up to the employer to decide if they want to pay it, which I found weird. Wouldn't most employers just opt out of paying? I'd advise prospective students to get some clarification on how the reimbursement works before enrolling. I landed a job 2 months after graduation (starting salary of $50,000) and learned A LOT. Overall, I'm definitely happy with the experience and opportunities Flatiron School provided.
It provides an excellent foundation, but prospective students should keep in mind that it does not make you fully employable (despite what they say!). Flatiron will get you well on the way to employability, but you need to do the rest yourself and/or find an employer who's willing to make an investment in you.
My experience at the Flatiron School was quite positive and I am glad I became a part of the community. The TA's and head instructor were very knowledgable and I felt like they were invested in my success, but I also didn't feel like they were overbearing. I did come in with a background in CS so at first, I felt like the course was not terribly difficult but soon enough I was challenged by the content. Some of the non-coding extra-curriculars they do are silly and you just have to grin and bear it. Also, the final group project was hard because I feel like we were not given enough direction. But I learned a lot and was able to gain employment after it was all over.
It was a great experience in terms of learning and developing as an individual. As important as it is to learn how to learn (and by default, how to learn how to code), it's also important to remain balanced and humble. I really learned how to break down problems thoroughly and assess timely solutions.
Great school. Provides a diverse environment where one has the ability to reach his/her full potential around people who are equally as passionate and motivated as you.
Overall I think it's extremely well-rounded and easy to understand. I highly recommend the Learn-Verified online program (which is where I'm enrolled), but I have friends who took the in-person intensive program and I've only heard good things as well.
I think it's an awesome program! Their teaching philosophy is amazing and the instructors are great. Highly recommended. The learning is very hands on. Not relying too much on lectures rather on hands on coding with a stress on TDD using real world tools.
Awesome school way better than a college degree program and I really loved every moment of it. I would recommend this school to anyone who can afford it. You just won't get the algorithms and data structures of a CS program but you'll learn how to code and that is powerful in 12 weeks.
I learned a ton and my instructor was fantastic. The students were fantastic, too - driven & intelligent & engaged. I would definitely recommend it.
Greatest opportunity of my life. The school is through and through amazing. Everyone from the people who are selected to attend, the staff and curriculum I couldn't be happier. The Flatiron School truly changed my life.
Best decision I've ever made. Flatiron opened doors for me professionally and intellectually that would have taken me many confused years to try and pry open on my own. They start their students on a path of programming greatness on the shoulders of giants like Kent Beck, Uncle Bob and Sandi Metz, unlike other experiences that try and cram syntax into your head to get you a job and out the door. On top of the stellar programming training, it's also a unique life experience that is hard to come by as an adult: nearly half a year of singularly-focused immersion in which you can literally _feel_ your brain changing every day. It's exhilarating!
Great experience, knowledgeable and caring instructors. Definitely gave me the base I needed to move on to find a job in the industry straight out of school, but you definitely only get out of it what you put in.
This is an intense and immersive program that makes you dive right in with real-world tools like Git and Atom with the potential to contribute to open source curriculum and begin building an impressive portfolio.
Overall it was a good experience. I came out of school with enough knowledge under my belt to get a new job as an iOS developer. This was not the case for many of my peers who are still looking for jobs. I think sometimes the course was disorganized and lacked structure for students who needed it.
I learned a lot within the 3 months and feel pretty confident with my web development skills. I attribute this largely to the Learn.co curriculum and my instructor, Jeff Katz. There were a few moments that reflected poorly on the school: namely due to campus management issues and a preoccupation with the school's image and $$$. But I have to say that overall it was a pleasant experience.
Pretty great environment to learn how to code. Teachers were great, sources were fine, but I think the most important thing is being able to learn in group, together with other students.
Highly recommended. The Flatiron education fosters a love of code and learning that extends beyond the skills you'll need on the job -- you leave with both a solid foundation of skills, but also a lifelong passion. Friendly, encouraging culture; superb teachers; great cohorts -- it's everything you could want. Only negative is the fast expansion, which makes campus crowded.
It was an amazing, intense bootcamp, where we had passionate instructors who cared about our success and colleagues who were always willing to peer program and/or do a code review.
It was an amazing experience. You learn a ton and the environment is incredibly supportive. My classmates were hardworking, smart, and hilarious which made the experience that much better. I am so happy I went.
How well did this program help you create a portfolio (or maybe more specifically, projects to put in a portfolio)? I am considering the online bootcamp. I am experienced engineer with some success in learning web development on my own. My main interest in bootcamp is to get feedback on my work and help (direction) in building a good portfolio. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Looking at Flatiron's online program I notice their emphasis on the community oriented parts. What I worry about is that given the low amount of graduates they've had - did you find there was enough of a community there to be helpful ? Also - how are the teacher's ? Where they there to answer questions ? Thanks for your honest opinions..
Does Flatiron offer courses on python and big data?
How would you describe the culture at Flatiron School?
Bootcamp grads love to talk. We'll find students from Flatiron School to answer your questions.
Flatiron Instructors are super cool, capable and clear people. Each of my instructors had a special blend of technical knowledge, empathy, and cultural competency. It was clear that I was learning from people who believed in themselves, the mission of Flatiron, and me. There's no shortage of ego in the startup community. It was great to see the real difference between the "Ego" I see in a lot of space, and a confidence in the value of being a great teacher / student. The instructors were confident in themselves, in the process and in me. That confidence made all the difference, especially during a moment when my own confidence waned. The environment really matters in those moments.
My instructors were the best part of the whole experience - they are absolutely wonderful people, and they really do personally care about everyone learning as much as possible and enjoying the process. Two years after graduating, I'm still in touch with them and continue to learn from them.
The main instructor was a bit of a rambler and he would go off on odd tangents, but he was kind and knowledgable and always good for a laugh. The TA's were friendly and help when they could but were often swamped. Help was easy to come by though. Peers were always there.
They were effective in creating the eagerness to continue learning and personal development. There's very little hand holding, which I liked a lot.
Very effective. They gave you the ability to be as curious as you liked. Thats all you need to be able to succeed as you want. The ball is in your court.
The staff is very responsive and helpful. They e-mail back within a few hours and scheduling Skype meetings to discuss any issues is also an option. You can also visit the campus even if you're enrolled in the online school. They're really doing a great job!
They are great. They work really hard to find the right balance between being helpful on the one hand and not spoonfeeding on the other, rather guiding you so you can find the solution on your own.
They were great! A little more hands off than I would like but learning with the students really came together and crushed the labs that were assigned. In hind sight the hands off approach is a lot more reflective of the work world.
My main instructors Blake, Steven and occasionally Avi are by far the most amazing individuals I've had the opportunity to learn from. They each have their own styles, but everything flows together well and made learning a true pleasure.
Highly effective!! I collected a long list of quotes from Avi Flombaum (my cohort was lucky to have the dean as our main instructor) ranging from the deeply insightful about the core tenets of programming, to the hilariously silly, off-the-cuff mid-lecture jokes. Additionally, all of the TAs and other instructors were equally brilliant and patient and always there when you needed them. (Including a little after the semester ended while people were getting on their feet).
The instructors were great. TAs are often former students who know what it's like to go through the same process, and the instructors are very good at taking something complex and boiling it down to something you can understand.
Lead instructor wasn't super effective, but there is a different one now. The TA's were always available and explained things well/walked you through any issues you had.
The lead instructor was great but the other instructors weren't that helpful. This is due to the fact that they commonly hire instructors who recently graduated from the school and don't have much experience in the field.
They were very effective and would always work though a problem with us if we were struggling or didn't understand the problem. Their passion was contagious.
Very. When choosing a bootcamp, I thought I needed a teacher who was an expert in the industry and had been programming for 20 years. My instructor had not been programming for 20 years but he was extremely knowledgable, a great teacher, and he could give us really valuable perspective on what to expect in the workforce when starting out. Both my main teacher and the TA's were incredible. The TA's have taken the course themselves, so they have a great perspective on what your questions might be during each phase of learning.
As I said previously, get some clarification regarding the rules of the $4,000 tuition refund. Besides that, I'd say you should probably throw yourself more into the social aspect of it than I did, even if you're introverted. Don't just stick with one group -- try and get to know as many of your classmates as possible. Oh, and definitely don't slack on the pre-work.
Quit your day job, say goodbye to your friends, and start winding down any personal relationships you may have. This program can work for you, but you have to work for it. This is a 24/7 endeavor, and if you're willing to give it 100% of yourself it will pay you back in kind. However, you cannot coast through this. If you refuse to do the homework and doze through class, you will get nothing out of it.
You get what you put in. Don't do this if you're not ready to change your life. This is a huge time and money investment and if you're not ready to commit, don't bother.
To not get bogged down by not learning things as fast as your peers - there will be things you'll access at that your peers won't and vice versa.
Work hard. Sacrifice and always remember that you get out what you put in. And oh yea never doubt yourself. It will be hard but always push.
Even if you're not sure whether or not you want to pursue a career as a programmer, I think what the Flatiron School has to offer can only be beneficial to you and your future. Learning to code does not only help you develop a creative and strategic way of solving problems, but there is so much room for individual and collective empowerment and you will feel that the more you continue to learn. Just have fun and stay disciplined!
Work from 9am to 12am and on the weekends because you will never get a chance to take 12 weeks of just learning again. Work on side Projects as well you learn the most from projects in the bootcamp. It's kind of like the boss stage in a game, it encompasses everything you learned from the labs.
Do as much prep work as possible before the course, and take some time to learn some CS fundamentals on your own before the course, too. You have to really love computer science - maybe obvious, but not always the case for bootcamp students.
Make sure this is actually what you want to do and not something you think will get you a easy paycheck. If you don't care and invest you will not experience how fruitful this opportunity can be.
Normally I advocate skepticism and independent thought, but I'd say "willingly drink the Flatiron Kool-Aid!". I had a moment when I realized that Flatiron's mission and approach is definitely very heavy-handed and I could either criticize it and get creeped out by it, or put all my faith in their experience and syllabus design. I did the latter and I feel that that was the way to get the most out of the school. They know what they're doing and it's in your best interest to go with their flow.
Prepare to spend most of your time coding or thinking about coding. It's a lot of work, and to make the most of the program, you need to put the effort in. But if you do so, it'll be very rewarding.
Work outside of class and do as many side projects as you can. Get an app or two into the App Store on your own outside of the class assignment. In the end just make sure you have multiple apps, some in objective-C and some in swift, on your GitHub. Attend meet ups throughout the entire bootcamp.
Try to stay ahead of the curriculum and don't be afraid to ask the instructors for extra support. There will be some weeks that feel slow-paced and others that feel overwhelmingly fast. Try to grasp the essentials while you're there; enough to land you a job.
Even though it's an amazing school, it definitely does worth 15k. None of the bootcamps do. You can take course online. You can attend couple of meetups and talk to people. They'll be happy to help.
Don't give up! The process of learning to code can be excruciatingly hard at times. but you really reap what you sow, and the reward way outweighs the pain. Learning to program had without a doubt been the most enriching experience I've ever had.
To seek understanding first. If a coding problem is difficult, I recommend they break down the problem into its smaller components and solve what they can.
Enjoy your time, try to learn as much as you can. It flies by and is such a rare opportunity to focus 100% on learning something new. Realize that, even if you feel like you know nothing, you know more than you think. It sneaks up on you. Plan to limit social time with friends and family outside of the bootcamp. There can be balance, but I usually just found that having social commitments stressed me out since I would rather be studying/going to a meetup/etc.
The environment really lives up to its mantra: "Learn. Love. Code." In brief, I would say the culture creates space for all three, and for a unique combination of them at times. My favorite parts of the culture are: 1) Getting all students to code from Day One 2) Integrating Soft Skills & Special Guests into the Curriculum 3) "Feelings" Friday as an intentional space to both emotionally respect and process the rigor of the program.
It was definitely a much more outgoing culture than I'm used to. Lots of fun but occasionally the vibe felt a little pretentious to me (a fellow student called it "cultish", which I could also see).
Laid back, a touch bro-y but not in a terrible way. The instructors at Flatiron are really really invested in everyone's success, and they will move heaven and earth to get you where you need to be!
Friendly and calm. Everyone is supportive. There is some underlying competitiveness but it is not the main feeling you get when you're there.
The culture is extremely oriented around pairing and clear communication amongst the faculty as well as the students. There is a real sense of community.
Diverse and Open. Good culture that provides the ability for one to learn. 24/7 office space that provides the opportunity for one to lack sleep also.
Even though it's online, making it more difficult to have a sense of community, I think the Flatiron School has done a really great job. You can create study groups with other students and ask each other questions, and they've incorporated a mandatory blog option to record your learning process and read those of others as well.
Very cooperative and community oriented. Students are encouraged to help each other out and be part of a community. Students really form a bond of friendship. Whenever I get stuck late at night when no instructors are available I know I can count on a fellow student to help out.
Very friendly coding culture with encouraging smart people that are happy to see you succeed. I was a computer science major for 3 years in college and learned nothing. I learned how to program in Flatiron School.
Relaxed but nurturing environment. Very start-up kind of culture, but in only the good ways. Everyone that manages to be apart of the Flatiron school be it staff or student all contribute towards building a great environment for learning and growing both technically and socially.
Very friendly. In actuality, most of the learning occurred through working with other students on projects and learning from each other. I still keep in contact with many of my classmates.
The culture is supportive with a focus on solving problems, building connections, and getting involved with the greater developer community.
Very friendly, comfortable and self motivated environment. The higher ups at the school are fairly standoffish if they don't know you, but the professors and TA's are super helpful and relatable when walking you through something.
It tries to build this through weekly rituals like Flatiron School Presents and Feelings Friday, but I would say it fails at building a good culture.
Strong community. Great teams, nice people. all in all awesome experience.
Very much one of collaboration and a real focus on 'being reasonable and being nice'. Students are there for each other, and everyone is really motivated to work hard and succeed.
The culture was fun and vibrant. Everyone there wanted to have a better future for themselves and were willing to put in the time to master their craft.
The culture is one of curiousity, respect, and self-reliance. There are people around to help you, including your classmates who turn out to be some of the best resources, but you are also expected to lean how to learn and solve problems on your own.