Intro

I used to work as a principal software engineer at a big software company for many years doing full stack Java web development. I wanted a new job but everything in web development has changed from Java/php/Ruby to JavaScript frameworks. I looked at a few bootcamps in the (Coding Dojo, Hack Reactor, Dev Mountain and Dev League in Hawaii – nice but no time to surf) and was accepted by them all. They are all good schools but Galvanize was 6 months (24 weeks), not 3 months to help us learn more and one of their instructor Josh used to teach at Hack Reactor and gave us a free Saturday course in JavaScript.

Precourse

I was accepted at all the schools. Hack Reactor had a one month prep course, other schools were easier to get in and Galvanize had an online test with an instructor, Oli. Josh gave me some last minute tips and I passed with flying colors but I would recommend people learn JavaScript first. They also like us to have a pre course project making a web page. I reached out to a few grads who helped me with Galvanize.

Quarters

The course was taught by Nestor and the resident was Michael (a recent graduate). Both were very knowledgeable in the materials.

The first quarter was web (HTML, CSS) and JavaScript. We created an image scraper JavaScript web application. Each quarter we get about one week to work on a final project and etween quarters we get a break week.

Second quarter was on React. This was the first cohort to learn React in the second quarter and probably the first to really deep dive on Redux, Think middleware and JS testing! We all made React web and React Native mobile apps projects for second quarter!

Third quarter was on Node and database development with the project to be integrated with our React projects to be hosted on AWS (Amazon Web Services). We all worked together and got everything done right before the Thanksgiving holiday break week.

Fourth quarter was our final project (3 weeks) and prep work, CS concepts for interviews. I worked on a React Native mobile app and our cohort had the most diverse set of applications throughout the program (5 mobile apps, e-commerce apps, video game for 2 players) and technologies (React, React Native, GraphQL, Python, Socket IO, and many more)! The limited amount of time the students had (1 to 3 weeks) to build full stack applications was truly amazing and inspirational!

As for career services, James encouraged us to go to informational interviews (I met with 18 tech professionals and wrote a blog about it http://siliconvalleycoffeetalk.blogspot.com/2018/03/interested-in-silicon-valley-coffee-talk.html), set us up to interview with many companies and even had follow up interview preps to help us months after graduation. This was free to graduates and we also get six months access to Galvanize workspace and lifetime use of the Alumni lounge.

After graduation, there weren’t that many companies hiring and I went to Galvanize interview prep with help from their director Sherif. He gave me a few pointers which I tried at an interview and it got me an offer from a start-up. Overall I received multiple offers two months after graduation, had interviews with big companies (had to cancel a few due to the job offers) such as Apple, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Netflix, Amazon, IBM and many more.

Thank you Galvanize. Even though I graduated and got a job, I still go there to help with the new students and go to meet ups as it encouraged me to pay it forward with people new to tech. I highly recommend this school!

November 10, 2017

There is a reason the contract for Galvanize states that the school can alter staff and facilities.
It is so that you have no recourse when they play the bait and switch on you.

The first quarter was great. We had an engaged instructor, meaningful lectures and exercises, and useful, organized resources.
That all went away in quarter 2 when Galvanize acquired Hack Reactor. Our instructor was reassigned, along a vast swath of the facility, to accommodate the addition of dozens of new students. Our cohort was left borrowing an instructor from another cohort. His engagement and enthusiasm were tepid at best. Along with the acquisition came the departure of the once-renowned career services staff, one of the main reasons I’d chosen the course.

Our class was essentially left paying $17-20k to sit in a room with the TA and struggle through seemingly random assignments with Google and LinkedIn as our guides.
Appeals to the general manager were unfruitful.

1/4 of the class dropped after Q2, realizing they could acquire a better education at home for free. I suggest anyone considering Galvanize or Hack Reactor to keep looking.

September 3, 2018

Stay the heck away from this program.

It’s difficult for me to even list all the problems with the program, but just to name a few:
-Most of the instructors just graduated from the course, and have no actual experience working in Web/Software Development.
-They are horribly understaffed, and instructor turn-over is atrocious.
-The course has no organization whatsoever. They’ll keep randomly throwing new ideas into the mix (advisor groups, remedial training, etc.) only for it to fizzle out because the curriculum is all over the place and no one has any idea of what is supposed to happen.
-They don’t give a crap about how much students understand the material, they just need to graduate you because they need to make space for the next cohort. We had several people in our class whom they graduated who clearly had learned next to nothing, and they force them out the door anyway.
-They are horrendously overcrowded. Someone currently in the course said they are up to 100+ students in the basement. They’ve had to convert a break area into a classroom because there are so many people now.
-I would be EXTREMELY skeptical of anything they tell you in regards to job placement. The last set of job placement data they list on their website is from 2016, and in my cohort (and the ones who graduated around the same time as me) pretty much no one has a job. Also, that data is from all their campuses. Maybe the rest of their campuses are on point, but Denver is a disaster.

The only positive I can really say is that Career Services is excellent. They are knowledgeable and hold your feet to the fire and clearly care a lot.

I’m not going to say that G-School is a scam, because that implies maliciousness on their part, and I don’t think they’re malicious. But, their current product is absolutely broken right now. Stay away from G-School Denver until some serious changes are made. Coming here was an enormous mistake on my part.

September 3, 2018

I was a part of the g63 DSI cohort. While I do think what is taught is valuable and useful, it doesn’t really matter since I can’t find a job. To get anything valuable out of galvanize you have to focus on what you’re interested in so that you can explore certain topics to a deeper extent.

I regret going through the galvanize program as at $16k, I’m now still unemployed (6 months after the course finished) and have basically been left in the dust by the school/company. Career services has completely stopped responding to me after the last time they emailed to ask for an update on my progress (I told them I still hadn’t found anything). In addition, weird things happened during the course, such as losing our lead instructor to a different company, and there were several days where the galvanize staff booked the learning classroom (the only space our DSI was taught) for other events so essentially there were days where the dsi students would show up and we were told to just work on projects around the building because class couldn’t take place that particular day due to a scheduling conflict with our classroom, I didn’t pay $16k for that. There were countless promises made by the career resources team to help us, such as professional photos to update our LinkedIns, that never actually materialized, as well. The final straw on my low rating is just the general lack of knowledge the career services staff have regarding applications as well as their uselessness. There were several times they suggested things during the application process that actually impeded my job search such as their suggestion to seek out roles with “senior” in the title because that’s just a company’s way of filtering out entry level applicants or their suggestion that galvanize is worth “around 2-3 years worth of experience” when applying. NO! That is not true and any company you apply to under that disillusion will laugh in your face. Galvanize certainly helps you get the tools to explore certain topics more in depth at your own pace but you are not experienced in much of anything except for the technologies you previously were experienced in or what you focused on during the course for your capstone projects. Also galvanize’s Talent job portal is a failure. They market it to be some great service to help students find jobs with companies that are familiar with the galvanize courses but they don’t screen posters so some jobs have absolutely no relevancy to the dsi or web dev programs at all. In addition, galvanize doesn’t even post their own job openings on Talent… Just goes to show you how much they invest in that program.

October 3, 2018

My overall experience with the Galvanize data science immersive was very positive and something I would recommend to others. I felt like I was always supported throughout the program by staff (technically, and career-wise), the curriculum was well developed, pacing was ambitious, but not too fast, and ultimately left feeling well prepared for my career.

Pro’s:
– Diverse curriculum, with room for flexibility at the instructors discretion
– Well educated and credentialed instructors
– Great facility
– length of course
– Good preparation for career hunting (mock interviews, content testing, etc.)

Con’s
– Cost
– Lack of depth in learning concepts (mostly due to time constraints however)

November 8, 2018

I recently (end of 2018) graduated from the web development immersion program (I think they are changing the name toward – software engineering program) at the Galvanize Platte location. It was a 6-month intensive program which is changing! It will be a 3-months intensive next year. I learned a ton through the program and acquired some pretty incredible skills, but I had to work my ass off in order to be successful at the program. The time required to be on campus is from 9:00am to 5:00pm (although, class usually ended 45 minutes early everyday). However, I was there usually from 7:00am to 6:30 or 7:00pm. I spent so much time at campus because Galvanize preaches a “learn to learn” pedagogical philosophy that expects YOU to do all the leg work in learning the material and only will provide the instructor support to help you along the way. This is important for the very reason that it gives you the skills to learn all of this stuff on your own. However, when you pay the high tuition, one expects (as I did) to be taught how to code which wasn’t my experience at Galvanize. I often wondered if the “learn-to-learn” philosophy that was constantly preached was leaned on too much by the Galvanize staff as a way to make up for the short fall in instructor support during the learning process. Galvanize does not have a conventional teaching model. I want to emphasize that you teach yourself. That being said, there are some incredible instructors at Galvanize Platte. I became close with several of them, who were always available to help when I couldn’t figure something out. Their desire and eagerness to help students learn is certainly evident. They want you to succeed and will work hard to help you if you work hard to do so. So, keep in mind that Galvanize is an atypical learning experience. If you choose to do this program, know that you do so as an adult who has that power and ability to work hard to obtain what you want – this experience is the epitome of “you get what you put in.” I also was in a great cohort and made several new great friends. The community at Galvanize is awesome. The school’s career services folks (there are two of them that work with students directly) are great! They are both incredible people with incredible talent for creating successful job candidates out of the students. However, again emphasis added, you must do the work. All in all, I thought Galvanize Platte was a great experience but it was the hardest I have ever had to work to learn something new, and the experience paid off multifold and will continue to do so. If you are not willing to put in the time, then I wouldn’t recommend this program, there are cheaper and easier alternatives out there. However, if you are willing to put in the work, this experience will be worth the money invested into it.

November 10, 2018

Galvanize’s (Denver-Platte) WDI program exceeded my expectations. I joined the 6-month immersive totally new to the field, and the program and it’s astounding staff took me from the ground up. The curriculum is top notch, and instructors do a phenomenal job of guiding you along the way while teaching you to be independent and job-ready. Being in a co-working space, students have the unique opportunity to network with companies of all sizes and background. In addition, the career services team is an exceptional asset to the program, as they give you personal feedback on your resume/cover letters/etc. to be job search ready. Thanks to their help and the modern curriculum, I accepted a job offer less than a month after graduation! This program is tough, but anyone willing to work hard will be successful.

November 16, 2018

Pros:
-Felt like they had a good grasp of the relevant technologies that need to be learned.
-Excellent Career Services: I worked largely with Chris Hegg and some with Angela Hayes. They help you with your resume, cover letters, interviewing, salary negotiation, application process and all the associated and latest tools to help with these things.
-It was very challenging, which is good because it prepared me for the future challenge that is being a junior developer. Plus, it just pushed me to be better in all areas of my life. Because it was so hard, I had to become more disciplined, more focused, and better with time-management.

Cons:
-Very disorganized: we keep moving classrooms, experienced large curriculum changes, and I think missed out on learning some things due to a shortage of instructors. My cohort came in just as two lead instructors and curriculum developers were heading out. So, perhaps the disorganization was something merely acute and not a chronic symptom.
-It was difficult to get one-on-one help at times
-It felt very high-school-ish, clique-ish, and I think some of the instructors participated in this
-Some of the instructors were not very professional

February 20, 2019

Two years ago I knew that I wanted to make a substantial change to my life for myself and my family – Galvanize didn’t really help me do that though. I have been an Engineer now professionally for 2+ years and after taking some time to reflect on my journey I thought it would be best to leave a review.

I can honestly say that the crucial information I learned over the last two years mostly came from Udemy.com and practice. Galvanize was good for the sense that I had to dedicate myself to coding every single day for six months. There were many times though that my Cohort would be lost and asking for help with non to be found.

Galvanize even managed to use us as guinea pigs in our third quarter by letting us be the first to experience a completely lacking React curriculum. We had instructors on vacation and with no help to clarify things the class resorted to purchasing Stephen Grider’s “Modern React and Redux” course to complete together.

The overall experience was completely lacking. Some of my fellow graduates resorted to leaving it all behind and going back to old jobs. Some of them looked for work for about 2 years until finding something – they drove Lyft and Uber to get by. I resorted too Freelancing and trying to make websites and anything else I could to get people to pay me.

I ended up getting a job two years later with some help of Udemy.com and being in the right place at the right time.

When people ask me about attending Galvanize, I always give the same answer. If you have 20k to waste then go for it. If not invest time in to 3 – 4 Udemy Courses and you’ll achieve better results!

Please also note – The program has progressively gotten worse. I’ve kept in touch with many Alumni who were in attendance and the general consensus is that it was a complete waste and helped them go nowhere. I’ve seen the Phoenix campus churn through instructors and let go of critical staff all while shortening the program length, introducing more “Self-taught” curriculum, and leaving students to fend for themselves.

I have removed my time at Galvanize from my resume and don’t disclose it when talking with engineers because Galvanize didn’t get me to where I am. I did.

Please, If you are reading this – Spend your money more wisely. Udemy courses and some local tech groups will get you further, faster, then this utter disappointment of a program ever could.

July 2, 2019