The Iron Yard Coding Boot Camp — Review

I started The Iron Yard coding academy here in Durham, NC three weeks ago. It has been a whirlwind of learning so far and overall, a great experience. I was just at the point in the program where I could have left and gotten back a substantial part of my tuition. The thought definitely crossed my mind if it was still worth it or not: cost to benefit ratio, learning, enjoyment, stress, network and connections all played in.

I decided to stay and here is my preliminary analysis of the program (Python Engineering):

• Very Demanding and intense — can be discouraging at times (overwhelming), but a great environment to learn if you can handle it
• “Boot-strapping” experience — there are many resources available, but you are expected to seek them out according to your needs
• Lots of cool people — fellow students and faculty are great resources, not to mention the school space at the American Underground and the connections which come along with that
• Quick coverage of many important topics — assignments go in-depth and you get a chance to practice concepts multiple times through assignments, but the pace moves very quickly and it is easy to fall behind
• Preliminary work was not enough — I could have been preparing six months in advance and still learned a ton here

Is it worth it? Yes and no. At this point I feel it is not worth the $12k tuition. However, if you can afford it or don’t mind going into a little debt, it is a great experience that I would definitely recommend. More to come!

[Six Week Update]

After six weeks, I decided to leave the program and get 1/2 of the tuition back. While I’m sure that I could have gotten value out of it, the cost and instruction quality didn’t seem worth it to. So, I decided to strike out on my own and continue self-paced instruction as I looked for work.

[Seven Year Update]

I found an internship after a few months of looking, and have worked at many successful companies and jobs since then! Looking back, I think that it would have been a good idea to finish, but I was fresh out of undergrad, and eager to start making money. I don’t think it has negatively impacted my career as I’ve had to find ways of continuously learning and getting better while working.