Coding DojoReviews of codingdojo.com

Introduction: I chose the Dojo Cyber Security bootcamp based on positive reviews from friends who completed their full-stack bootcamp. The curriculum seemed promising, with a focus on Security+, SyCA+, and CEH certifications. However, my experience with the bootcamp left me feeling disappointed. Details: The bootcamp consisted of 24 weeks, with 8 weeks dedicated to each certification. I was expecting to receive in-depth knowledge of each certification and the ability to pass the exams after completing the respective module. However, the lectures were 4 hours per week, which quickly became monotonous with basic slides on the screen. While we did have belt exams after each 8 weeks, they were nowhere near as difficult as the real CompTIA exams. In order to pass the certifications, I had to rely on free YouTube tutorials to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. The bootcamp lacked any group technical projects, which was disappointing as I was hoping to gain practical experience and work on my teamwork skills. Additionally, I was underwhelmed by the HR team's support in helping me prepare for job interviews. They only provided basic Q&A sessions and checked our resumes a few times. It seemed like they were not invested in helping graduates find employment. Overall, the bootcamp felt like an illusional project, designed to make us feel like we were doing something worthwhile. It certainly was not worth the high cost of $15,000+. There are other free resources available, such as Professor Messer and HacktheBox, which offer more practical exercises and hands-on experience. Improvements: To improve the bootcamp, I would suggest making the belt exams more challenging and ensuring that students are fully prepared to pass the certifications. It would also be beneficial to include more practical exercises and group projects to help students gain real-world experience. Finally, the HR team could provide more comprehensive job preparation and practice interviews to help graduates secure employment. Conclusion: Overall, while the idea of the Dojo Cyber Security bootcamp is good, the execution leaves much to be desired. It is only worth around 20% of the cost and requires additional studying outside of the limited lectures to pass the certifications. I would not recommend this bootcamp to others.

Coding Dojo markets its cybersecurity program to easily get the skills you need to enter the world of cybersecurity - no IT experience needed. They are correct that one doesn't need IT knowledge and one can muddle one's way through the content. Coding Dojo touts a very high job placement rate which may be based on coding boot camp, not cybersecurity. Basically, if you don’t have a good 2-3 years of IT knowledge, no employer is going to give you a look for a cyber job. Yes, the industry is growing, but so is the number of people who have “fallen” for the overpromised boot camp claims. The teaching style is comprehensive but boring as heck. The materials are poorly put together and riddled with errors. It is taught by cyber experts, but NOT educators so the approach is not conducive to engagement or memorability. The labs are great for hands-on experience, but most students spend a ton of the time on zoom calls with TAs because no guidance is given on how to complete the work. Coding Dojo says to use the “20-minute rule” – if you don’t get the concept in 20 minutes, find a TA (who generally are booked out 3 days)! For almost $15,000, students should be getting better materials and training. Many of my classmates had to go into debt to take the part-time course and now have no job. Many graduates become TAs because they can’t get hired! The program is newer than their coding boot camps so still needs some work. I am writing this review so that others don’t get lured into their false promises. Look elsewhere for a new career! Response to Coding Dojo: the career services are a joke - I know how to write a resume and a LinkedIn profile. I spoke with career services and they were like "this looks good!". If you are just out of school, perhaps these are great services, but with over 20 years of experience - not that useful. Coding Dojo does not have connections to hiring companies. The jobs they post are from public sites and NONE are for cybersecurity.

First, let me say, if you are looking for an easy way to get a certificate, THIS IS THE WAY TO GO! For starters, you don't even have to do the homework. After the first 'stack', where I busted my ass to get the assignments in, the instructor told me they don't get checked anyway. So I didn't bother submitting any more. Which is OK, because the exam was a joke that I had no trouble passing even without doing the homework. Their claim that the instructors are 'industry professionals' was a lie. I had 5 instructors. Only one had any experience. The rest were just recent graduates with no experience in the field. I admit it was a bit expensive, but, considering I didn't really have to do any work to graduate, it isn't too bad.

Coding Dojo is an amazing Bootcamp to jump start a career in the tech field. It has everything I was looking for - flexibility, hands on learning - reading, videos, and projects, great online community, amazing career support, and lots of different paths to choose to fit your needs.

Pros: instructors, overall curriculum, helping build your resources to be a full stack developer, the online learning platform. Cons: Career services team. The team is overburdened and doesn’t have the ability to support all students. Example - sending a resume to review. Not hearing back for 2 weeks and then them completing it during a meeting. They also don’t have connections with companies to help get you placed.

Thanks to the Dojo. I was able to do a lot of things that I never thought I could do. It's great that it's a promising career with a great future. They keep you focused on intense work but with such an effort to reinforce student learning. Definitely a great place to start a new journey in tech.

Bootcamps / trade schools are a great alternative to College, especially if you are uncertain on what you want your career or life to be. Coding dojo provided me with all the resources I will need to be successful in the course. I got to work at my own pace or work ahead. They have a structure for attendance and assignments, so you wont feel like you don't know what to work on next or where to be. Each instructor has their own way of teaching, some might work for you others might not, but you have the platform and your classmates to reach out to.

To each's own, with a grain salt, If you need to see an entire application built from start to finish Dojo has a demanding curriculum that will take you there. It took me years after college and running my own team that exposed my shortcomings of building an entire application from all directions (web/mobile). I am nearly 40-years-old, dropped out of college while attempting to pursue a CS degree, then opted to build a tech start-up from scratch as Founder/Investor.... all have failed until I attended Coding Dojo. The process is called "Drinking from a firehose". Normally, it would take approximately 5 years in regular college setting to learn software engineering. Coding Dojo on-site Burbank, took me there with 3 separate stacks within 14 weeks. The most important part of becoming a developer is attaining the ability of becoming a determined self-sufficient Developer. All the instructors and staffs at the Coding Dojo were a tremendous help in reaching my developer skills. They were understanding of life events and I went through plenty. For example, I had court cases, hospital newborn emergencies, care broke down twice ( 80 mile daily ) , my close friend on their death bed, then attending their funeral. I was still determined to complete my course. Now being comfortable building projects in MERN, Java, and Python, I have the ability to continue learning other languages such as C++ (college attempt). Coding Dojo's Curriculum, On-site Instructors, and student support were all magnificent throughout the course in helping achieve something I thought I would be unachievable.