Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now industry mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream jobs in tech. Check out my review of Codeworks.
- What does Codeworks do?
- Who is Codeworks for?
- What does Codeworks cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Codeworks
- Alternatives to Codeworks
- How does Codeworks compare to Pathrise?
What does Codeworks do?
Codeworks is a tech bootcamp with tracks in software engineering and web development. Students can take their program online (live) or in-person. They have campuses in New York and Austin, as well as Toronto, London, Berlin, and Barcelona.
Students in both tracks must complete 160 hours of pre-course work, which helps them develop an intermediate understanding of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, as well as a basic background of Git, important developer tools, and APIs. Those who enroll in Codeworks meet for 11 hours a day from Monday-Saturday. Mornings and afternoons are spent in lecture and completing hands-on projects. Lectures are not recorded, so attendance is required. In the evenings, students review previous material and participate in meetups with industry professionals.
Those in the software engineering track, which meets for 12 weeks, learn important tools and frameworks such as React, GraphQL, Angular, node.JS, Redux, and more. The web development immersive course takes 8 weeks to complete and covers the same topics as the software engineering track, but in less depth. Both programs offer a full-stack curriculum and in the final week, students work with career coaches on portfolio preparation, technical and behavioral interviewing, and more. After finishing the program, students receive 1-on-1 assistance from a career coach until they find a job.
Besides their full-time bootcamp, Codeworks has a free introduction to JavaScript course. This self-paced, online course takes about 10-20 hours to complete and covers topics such as variables and operators, control flow, functions, loops, and more.
Who is Codeworks for?
People who are looking to learn the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer or web developer from scratch could benefit from Codeworks. As a full-time program, students with extensive life and work commitments outside of class might not be the best fit. Those looking to learn the basics can take their free JavaScript fundamentals course.
What does Codeworks cost? How much work is involved?
For remote students, the web development track costs $5,700 and the software engineering track costs $8,500. Tuition for the in-person web development and software engineering tracks is $9,200 and $13,000 respectively.
Codeworks offers 3 financing options: upfront payments, loans, and deferred payments. Those who pay their tuition upfront must do so on the first day of class. People who are enrolled in an onsite course can take out a loan to cover tuition. Rates and repayment plans depend on an applicant’s credit history. However, loans are not available for remote students.
Only candidates who are enrolled in the onsite software engineering programs can participate in the deferred payment plan. Through this plan, students make a small deposit before the course begins and pay the rest in installments after they sign a satisfying job offer. This is not an income share agreement (ISA), as students pay the cost of upfront tuition, not a percentage of their initial salary.
To apply, students fill out a brief online application and have a call with an admissions counselor. Candidates then complete a technical challenge. To prepare for the challenge, candidates are encouraged to take the free JavaScript fundamentals courses. Next, they work on a self-guided coding project that takes about 2 weeks to complete. Once they have successfully passed these three components, students are admitted to the program and begin taking 160 hours of pre-work for the bootcamp.
Ratings and reviews
Online reviews of Codeworks are generally positive. SwitchUp reviewers found that they learned a lot from the rigorous bootcamp. According to one reviewer, “the course curriculum is everything you’re going to need to succeed in a full-stack position.” However, one grad cautions, “So this is not a course where you are going to get your hand held. You will have zero social life.”
Similarly, CourseReport reviewers praised the program for how well it prepares students for the job market. One reviewer, who underscores that “you will spend 11-12 hours there a day, 6 days a week,” notes that “the curriculum is well-tailored to the job market. You will leave well prepared for the technical interviews.” In addition, the reviewer advises future students to “make the most out of your senior projects. These will form your portfolio during the job hunt, and will make a big difference.”
However, that CourseReport grad felt that the “lectures were meh”: “There were a few excellent ones, but I have to say that as a whole their effectiveness was questionable.” To overcome this, the reviewer advises future students to “be prepared to spend time learning things on your own.” A Reddit user echoes this, saying, “you’ll get what you put in.”
Alternatives to Codeworks
If you decide not to enroll in Codeworks, you might consider one of the alternative bootcamps or online resources available below:
- General Assembly is one of the most well known bootcamps. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Similarly, Fullstack Academy, Eleven Fifty Academy, and devCodeCamp offer part-time and full-time software programs for aspiring software engineers.
- Students can also consider Lambda School and Thinkful, which have coding courses as well as programs in other topics. Both bootcamps offer income share agreements (ISA) for financing.
- Actualize, Zip Code Wilmington, App Academy, Hack Reactor, Coder Foundry, Launch Academy, and Flatiron School are all full-time bootcamps that can be taken in-person on their campuses or live online.
- Similarly, Kenzie Academy offers in-person and online courses in software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Likewise, Prime Digital Academy has full-time and part-time courses in UX design and software engineering.
- Another option is Grand Circus, which teaches courses on Java, front-end, and C# .NET. Their campuses are in Michigan, but they also offer online options.
- Likewise, Tech Elevator, Epicodus, DevPoint Labs, and Redwood Code Academy are software engineering bootcamps with online and on-campus options.
- Merit America is a nonprofit that teaches tech sales and software engineering to people without college degrees.
More alternatives
- If you cannot commit to a full-time course, Covalence, Code Fellows, and Galvanize have part-time options for aspiring software engineers.
- Aspiring software engineers and web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- Another option is Austin Coding Academy, which has online and onsite courses in full stack web dev.
- Similarly, Nashville Software School, Georgia Tech Bootcamp, UC San Diego Bootcamps, and Codeup have courses in full stack web dev and data science.
- Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
- edX is one of the most popular online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
- Both Springboard and Udacity are online learning platforms with a variety of courses in coding. Learn more about Springboard and Udacity in our reviews.
- Students on a tight budget can check out W3Schools and freeCodeCamp. These free online learning tools have courses in Ruby on Rails, as well as other languages.
- You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
- Online learning platforms Udemy, egghead, GoRails, and Coursera also offer thousands of videos in a wide range of tech subjects.
- Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs online. They provide free courses on many different programming languages. They also offer membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for more course options and greater support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
How does Codeworks compare to Pathrise?
Codeworks is an online and in-person bootcamp for people who are looking to develop the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer or a web developer from scratch. In addition to the course material, students receive assistance with the job search process, such as preparing for behavioral and technical interviews, building portfolios and resumes, negotiation, and more.
The Pathrise program focuses on preparing our fellows to land the best possible job. Our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table and fellows receive 1-on-1 support on every component of the job search process, including resume and LinkedIn optimization, portfolio building, technical and behavioral interviewing, cold emailing and reverse recruiting strategies, and salary negotiation.
Our program is flexible, requiring only 4 hours of group sessions per week and weekly 1-on-1 sessions with mentors as well as ad hoc sessions that can be scheduled as needed by fellows. All of our lessons are live, as well as recorded, so fellows can review previous material and keep learning. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they start working at a new job they love and we never require upfront payments or deposits.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in working with our mentors to optimize your job search, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
