MakerSquare

I graduated from MakerSquare back in 2014. Not to be overly dramatic, but it was a transformative experience full of incredible people. I have no regrets investing in my education with MakerSquare, since it brought me to the awesome career I have today. Of course to get there, require 110% dedication and lots of struggle and hard work.
Here’s why MakerSquare was stellar:
— MakerSquare cares about your success. Their hiring network is great and vast. Career staff is on point, and there to support you on this rough journey to your first coding gig. My first job after graduating, the company had a former MakerSquare instructor on my team and learned a ton from him and the team there. A few months after that, we hired 2 more MakerSquare grads and they were great team members. I imagine I’ll just have more and more opportunities to bump into MakerSquare alumni in my future which is is nice.
— Amazing classmates. Of course, your experience may vary, but I absolutely loved my cohort. We grew very close and now fast forward almost 2 years later and we still stay in touch. I’m constantly amazed by my peers and where they have ended up in their careers. And I’ll mention that many of them continue learning and improving their craft. I think this is a testament to the commitment of students that MakerSquare brings in. I recall one of the mentors said «It’s not about whether you can code, because anybody can learn how to code. But it’s whether you will stick with coding or not.» All of my cohort still passionate about coding are slaying it at their careers.
— Good on selecting students that are committed to code journey. I was surrounded by peers who were willing to put in effort around the clock. This is important because even just one person who is not committed could bring a group’s learning down. And choosing students who are not collaborative and willing to help each other learn also can bring down that dynamic.
— Constantly iterating and improving the program. Which mirrors the super fast pace in the industry. This is SUPER important because it’s the only way to stay relevant and ensure students get placed in the appropriate jobs the industry demands. For example, my cohort in 2014 learned Ruby/Rails+JS, and now it’s 100% JS. And in just the last year and half, I see the job landscape changing (I’m always curious about the jobs out there). So it’s really nice to see MakerSquare constantly evolving the program to match what the industry needs.
— Curriculum focuses on coding. That’s like a big «duh» but the instructors understand that constant hands-​on coding is the way to learn. Instructors are highly invested in the students learning and success, and were super helpful and encouraging. I won’t mention details of what the curriculum was since it will naturally evolve (see my previous point).
MakerSquare is a phenomenal program, but is not for the faint of heart. It requires 100% commitment, not just for three months, but for the next chapter of your career. Those who are serious about changing their career to something more fulfilling, I say go for it.

When my startup blew up, I didn’t know really what to do.
I tried applying for jobs in marketing, but realized I’d be starting from the bottom all over again after two years of hard work, sacrifice, and not enough pay.
When I found MakerSquare, it reignited a passion about programming that was sleeping inside me for over ten years — only I had been on the outside looking in. During my application process, I realized that ‘this was what I was meant to do’.
I made amazing friends. Everyday there were tough problems, funny jokes, and good times. That made the long hours a lot easier.
Three months later, I had my first job. I doubled my salary.
One month later, I took my second job. I tripled my salary, and received a $ 5,000 signing bonus. I bought a new car.
There’s a couple of reasons why I tell people to go to MakerSquare.
It’s an amazing return on investment. Not only on starting salary, but on how quickly you can move up in earning potential.
It’s a powerful skill. You can start a company, work for yourself, add value to any organization. From anywhere in the world. You just need your laptop.
It’s in a great industry, in great, economically strong cities. You will be always needed.
You just need to enjoy solving puzzles and want to work hard, and sky’s the limit.

I went from code tinkerer to coding professional after completing the 3 month full-​time course. I got my first dev job just 13 days after finishing MakerSquare. Few other things I’ve ever done in life have paid off as well as attending MakerSquare did!

On July 10^th, 2014, I heard for the first time the word «Ruby» used as a name for a programming language by a cofounder of MakerSquare. On August 25^th, 2014, I started my first day as a MakerSquare student. On November 17^th, 2014, the Monday after the Friday I graduated, I became employee number 2 at an Austin-​based startup writing Ruby code for a living.
A very quick transition to coding for a living is absolutely possible, as I’m a testament of it. Looking back on the time and money I’ve spent to learn, MakerSquare is the investment that unquestionably impacted my future as a developer to the largest degree.
To anyone looking to become a developer for a living, here’s some insight into my personal MakerSquare experience and some advice my reflections leave me with:
1) The only way to learn is to act on your desire to learn. From mid-​July to late August, I did nothing but learn the basics. I did every Code School course, I did the Complete Web Developer Course by Rob Percival on Udemy, I read the Pickaxe (Programming Ruby), I read all the way through HTML & CSS and JavaScript & jQuery by Jon Duckett, and I completed every single exercise (even the optional ones) of the pre-​work, so that by the time I got to class, not only did I have a small foundation built for web development but I was in the habit of learning rapidly. You hear «You get back what you put in,» a lot around MakerSquare, and applied to this, there really are no better words to describe the investment you make.
2) Big investments are scary, as is the future, but the reward quickly outweighs the risk. I saw a great review of MakerSquare online (much like this one) and took a leap of faith on the organization. All it really took was for me to act was my want to learn and for me to allow myself to be convinced by an online review. But, while I didn’t personally know anyone in or around the organization to give me an inside perspective at the time, the investment was guaranteed to pay off because I knew I would do everything I could to come out an exceptional (and employable) developer. I found out in the first week that I had made the right decision, which leads me to 3).
3) The interest to learn a similar subject brings about a community that could’ve otherwise never have existed. MakerSquare isn’t just where I learned to code. MakerSquare is where I found the guidance and support I needed to be an exceptional (and again, employable) developer. During the course, I lived with MakerSquare students, I rode the bus to class with MakerSquare students, I ate lunch and dinner with MakerSquare students and faculty. I went to meetups and happy hours with MakerSquare students and faculty. I stayed up until the wee hours every night at coffee shops sitting across the table from MakerSquare students. For a year after I graduated, my roommates were MakerSquare students, the Lead Back End Developer of RoverPass (the startup I still work at) was a MakerSquare student. MakerSquare (at least for me) isn’t just a place to learn to code, it is and always will be to me the place I found a community of people eager to learn to code, and eager to support and encourage others to learn to code.
If I write anymore, I fear you wouldn’t continue reading. So, I’ll finish by saying, my decision to join MakerSquare made sense for me. So often, people ask me if they should join MakerSquare or a similar school for coding. My answer is the same to you as it is to them. MakerSquare built the road, it’s your job to walk down it. If it feels like the right path, then the chances are it is. If you’ve come to the decision that you want to learn to code and you want a career out of it, then as someone who has completely first hand knowledge of that situation, I give my full recommendation into MakerSquare. It gave me everything I wanted and more.

I completed the intensive program 6 months ago, worked for MakerSquare for 3 more months doing the fellowship program, and have been at my current company as a Software Engineer for about 3 months. Hard to believe I had no programming experience just a year ago — I would definitely recommend MKS to anyone looking to make a jump into the software industry. They are very supportive of their students and alumni and definitely seem to be trying to bridge the gap in the software industry by holding workshops etc for women (always a good thing). I haven’t met anyone who graduated the immersive that was unsatisfied with what they were able to accomplish and learn in the program.

Great school with good instructors, curriculum and exercises that help you evolve from ‘newborn to a toddler into programming world’. I am referring to prep course that I am currently attending and enjoying. All immersive students seem to be satisfied with the boot camp program.
If you want to challenge yourself, gain new desired skills for changing job market, enjoy the logic, math, computer science and more — try it !
(I looked up Unilocal before signing up myself)

I recently completed the Maker-​Prep program. I began with VERY little programming experience, and over the course of four weeks, learned a considerable amount of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I learned enough to create dynamic websites and web applications.
I enrolled in order to test the waters of programming to see if I liked the field. This was an excellent introductory course and I learned so much more than I expected. It was an amazing value, and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in an intro to programming/​web design.
Thanks Doug, Dave, and Tyler!

I just completed the beta Maker-​Prep program: a course designed to prepare those with little coding experience to pass the full-​time MakerSquare entrance interview.
As the beta, this course was obviously less organized than I would have liked, but that was to be expected.
The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and more than willing to answer any questions one might have. The teacher of the course was aptly able to assist those with no programming experience, and still provide interesting and challenging problems to those with a more in-​depth background.
A course like this was perfect for me as I was considering a career in software engineering but needed a hands-​on experience before making the dive to a full-​time program.
Highly recommended. Fantastic value for the price.

What were your expectations coming to MakerSquare?
I expected an intensive 3-​month program focusing on the full-​stack web development with also supplementary topics including Agile methodology, algorithms, and special topics. I did get all of what I expected but only by inputting hard work and making full use of the available resources (instructors, meetups, networking, feedback from projects, etc.) will one expect to get full value from this program.
Why did you choose MakerSquare?
Compared to the other bootcamps (
), I met and knew some of the MakerSquare alumni and felt confident that I could do the same. MakerSquare’s humble beginnings and teacher-​founder concepts attracted me to their reputation despite their novice delve into programming bootcamps. The cost, although high, was comparative and the conversion rate from student to jobs was high as well (my biggest factor in deciding to join).
What was the environment at MakerSquare?
Quite open yet competitive. Yes, its true that your classmates are also some of your competitors but that doesn’t mean you can’t network and learn from them. One must constantly remind themselves that the true competition is how much you knew before the program and what your true motivation is after the program. Do I really want to be a developer? Do I really want to program/​design? Am I still attracted to this area of interest? MakerSquare’s relaxed attitude for drinks/​snacks/​language helped me feel at home too haha.
Interacting with other students
All of the students come from a wide background, most in their mid 20s to young 30s, but almost everyone had a unique background. Secretary, english majors, accountants, engineers, still-​in-​school students, novice programmers, and more. All the students were filtered/​screened before they entered MakerSquare making them quite knowledgeable, smart, resourceful, and creative. Each person also had some quirk to them that made everyone quite memorable lol.
Working with instructors and staff
All the instructors and staff were quite knowledgeable and ready to help, which made me feel comfortable despite my shyness to ask questions sometimes. I was glad for their help.
What do you wish MakerSquare did a better job at?
Giving more of the true work environment ranging from startup to enterprise. What is the typical workday like? How do you use typical project management tools (Atlassian (Jira, Bamboo, Crucible, etc.))?
Also, good vs. bad programming styles/​tips when working with various front-​end and back-​end frameworks. Sometimes I do things just because that’s all I know but is this hindering me from knowing that there could be a better way? Sometimes I feel afraid to deviate because that’s all I know and I become befuddled by what I tried to experiment with and when I deviated from my learnings to test new things and expand my horizon as a programmer.
Another things, perhaps more tutorials on how to setup typical apps: e-​commerce/​store, applicant/​project tracking, super complex CRUD-​app, how to make a bad website (good details to show how optimization works), data science integration and visualization, etc. providing a springboard for any of these ideas would be awesome to encourage beyond-​the-​classroom studies.
What was your job search process like?
Job search wasn’t too bad but it can be difficult if you don’t understand the playing field. You are probably a non-​CS major with a novice background competing against CS majors with good internship experience. You must play to your strengths: self-​motivated learner for several months learning extensive materials (in breadth and depth) for full-​stack development with proven portfolio of these skills. Then pick and choose all the companies from the meetups, job fairs, company sponsored events, job boards (there are a TON), 3^rd-​party recruiters (Especially these guys!), friends of friends, LinkedIn, Facebook groups’ Austin Digital Jobs and Capital Factory Jobs, and any kind of networking. Looking for a job is a full-​time job! You must stay up to date in technologies and the community as well: Twitter feeds, all those free tutorial websites, and meetups.
What is your current position and how did your MakerSquare experience prepare your current position?
I am a front-​end developer for a nation-​wide financial company (NetSpend). MakerSquare prepared me with the fundamental concepts and project management skills to make suitable for the job. If anything, they taught me and showed me the basics on documentation reading, how to find resources, and get me used to the terminology and tools available.
To whom would you recommend the program?
I recommend the program for anyone is loves to make things, appreciates the problem-​solving nature of programming, loves to learn new things, and loves to break things. You don’t need heavy math/​science background. In fact, I think it may hinder you like it did for me

My expectations of MakerSquare.
My expectations coming into MakerSquare were that I would get access to many resources and learn the necessary skills to get a job in the tech industry as a web developer.
Why I chose MakerSquare.
I chose MakerSquare because it was in Austin and had many positive reviews from prior students. Also, I was getting frustrated at my old job and always wanted to learn how to code.
Environment — interactive and fun!
The environment at MakerSquare was great for learning and very fun. It was very hands-​on with a lot of interaction and discussion between students and teachers! I was very happy with all of my classmates because the other students were just as passionate about learning. The instructors were better than the majority of my engineering teachers in college. They were all incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The staff was very organized and supportive throughout the entire program.
Feedback
I wish MakerSquare did more short one-​on-​ones with students, and held students a little more accountable for completing assignments. I know the time is short, but I found these very helpful because I could fully review solutions and concepts.
Career Services
I felt MakerSquare prepared us extremely well for our job search. All of the talks from hiring-​partners and other people in the industry were very helpful. Also, the knowledge about having an online presence and how to market yourself was great.
Summary
I would recommend the program to anyone who is passionate about learning code and improving their life.
The course is challenging, so make sure you work hard. The program will only be valuable if you put in the time and effort every day. Don’t expect people to teach you things or do things for you. You must be willing to take initiative and do a lot of work and research on your own.

I’m a recent graduate of MakerSquare (just finished this past week) and spent the most fun 3 months of my life. It flew by! For future cohorts, I wrote a mini review about my time at MakerSquare:
Why did you choose MakerSquare?
I saw great reviews for MakerSquare online (via Facebook, Quora, Google) and its location in Austin was a huge plus considering its growth in the technology field.
What was the environment at MakerSquare?
The environment at MakerSquare was amazing! The people in my cohort were very motivated and friendly, the staff were very approachable, and it felt like I was a part of a family from the very first week. The founders really cared about what we thought about the program, so our feedback was addressed promptly. Because I felt so comfortable, I would get sad on the weekends when I couldn’t be at MakerSquare.
Working with instructors and staff
The staff and instructors were the best part about MakerSquare! It’s easy to see how much they care about the students and truly wish the best for them. I only had positive experiences with all of them.
How did MakerSquare prepare you for your job search?
MakerSquare did a decent job preparing us for our job search! Savrut and Jessica provided all of the information we needed in finding jobs. They were helpful during the entire process, and are available even after the course ends. They are limited to how much they can help, so you have to be proactive with your job search.
To whom would recommend the program vs. who should not take MakerSquare, and why?
I would not recommend this program to anyone looking to switch into software engineering for the money. You will have a tough time if you don’t enjoy coding as a hobby.
I would recommend this to anyone who is passionate about learning a variety of new technologies. It is not necessary to have an analytical/​science background or heavy math background. As long as you enjoy coding, you will have a fulfilling experience. People from very diverse backgrounds came into my cohort and everyone became amazing coders!

I just completed MakerSquare’s part-​time front-​end dev program.
A few things sold me on MakerSquare:
— They offered a part-​time front-​end dev program so I could continue working full-​time and attend the evening classes.
— It felt personal. In my research, some dev schools felt more factory-​like, while others (e.g. MakerSquare) had much more of a personal touch. The instructors obviously care and are extremely intelligent and helpful.
— Student/​teacher ratio: My cohort had about 20 students and there were almost always ~4 instructors at each class. In addition to in-​class help, our instructors were always available via email, office hours, or willing to schedule another time to meet if we requested. During class, there was always at least one instructor available to help me 1 on 1 with any issues, questions, etc. This in itself was one of the most valuable parts of the program for me.
This was a fast-​paced program; so much ground is covered in the 10 weeks. It seemed a little intense at times, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The beginning of the course actually reminded me a bit of the very first day of Spanish class — when the teacher begins class speaking entirely in Spanish to a classroom full of non-​Spanish speakers. At first, the students have no idea what the teacher is saying, but over time, it somehow begins to make sense and the students are able to understand exactly what the teacher is saying.
Similarly, during the first few days of class, I think it’s safe to say we were all pretty wide-​eyed, hoping all those foreign words would eventually make some sort of sense… and of course they did! Diving in head first, absorbing, researching and asking questions is the best way to take this course. It’s perfectly normal to feel completely flooded with information. I promise, the farther you get into the course, the more everything makes sense. You get out exactly what you put into this program!
All of the instructors — Elyse, Alex, Mae, Flip — are all wonderful and always willing to explain things, answer questions, help you understand why you’ve broken the same line of code 276 times, etc. The MakerSquare instructors all seem to have a unique combination of knowledge, high expectations, patience and the ability to (calmly) explain the same thing in 37 different ways when the first 36 explanations somehow aren’t registering in your brain.
Although I still have so much to learn, I learned so much more than I ever expected I would in those 10 weeks. I, without a doubt, walked away from the course with a strong understanding of front end dev and the confidence/​ability to work on my own dev projects. Great staff, really impressed with how much I learned and I would take this course again in a heartbeat.

Why MakerSquare over the other 5 bootcamps I was accepted to?
I applied to, and got accepted to six different bootcamps, but I chose MakerSquare for a lot of reasons. All of my expectations were surpassed and I couldn’t be any happier. I’ll first tell you why I chose MakerSquare, then describe my (amazing) experience.
1) Interview Process. During the interview, I was asked more questions that stumped me compared to other bootcamps. They were very engaging and enthusiastic about the conversation, and very prompt in responding to any questions or concerns I had throughout the process.
2) Career Services. Most of the other bootcamps that I applied to had some sort of financial gimmick tied to their career services or you were only allowed access to the career services team for a certain period of time. The career services team doesn’t have a time constrain or financial tie to your next job, they are just a group of people who are really passionate about finding you a job.
3) DevHouse. I thought the DevHouse would help me make my transition to Austin from Ohio much easier. I didn’t want to get suck in a long term lease or live in a neighborhood that wasn’t safe.
I Had High Expectations
I had pretty high expectations for MakerSquare before I got there, and they surpassed them within the first day. Everyone introduced themselves to me and was super friendly. My mom is a teacher, so I know some basics about teaching techniques and how to tell if your instructor actual cares about your experience. Every instructor that I met at MakerSquare was highly motivated and dedicated to my learning experience while I was there. I didn’t enjoy struggling through every lesson, but it really is the best way to learn something, and I felt I learned more than I could ever imagine during my time there.
Amazing Career Services Support
I thought the career services team would be similar to the ones at a college or university, which aren’t very helpful, but they too exceeded my expectations. They sit down with you individually and go over your resume, LinkedIn, and anything else you want to cover to make sure you are presented correctly online. I was also impressed they had numerous potential jobs lined up for us before we even graduated.
The Environment — Great Instructors & Great Peers
The environment at MakerSquare is what makes it such a great program. I is extremely hard for me to be on time for things. I am one of those people that you have tell me to be there at 3:30 if you want me to show up at 4. I was not late a single day during my time at MakerSquare. I showed up every day excited to be there because everyone there was excited to be there too.
MakerSquare did a great job of picking out a group of students for me to learn with during the program. They were all intelligent and I found myself many times talking to them about intellectual things that didn’t just involve programming. We all came from very diverse backgrounds, but our common vision of becoming programmers brought us all together.
Anyone who has written even a few lines of code knows the frustration you get when something isn’t working. I ran into hundreds of errors in my code during my time at MakerSquare and the instructors were always willing to help. It was hard enough for me to not get frustrated over my errors, and I applaud the instructors that can come in everyday and fix numerous for other people’s code. There wasn’t a single problem that I ran into that my instructors couldn’t figure out, and I had multiple situations where someone would sit down with me individually for an hour or more until the problem was solved. Compare this to college: I was lucky to get 20 minutes of my instructor’s undivided time.
Overall
It was the best learning experience of my life. Study hard before so you can get accepted, and consider it strongly compared to other bootcamps. I did and it was definitely worth it.

I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and absolutely loved it! The instructors are fantastic, knowledgeable and supportive! As a complete beginner I was really encouraged and empowered to learn more about the varied topics handled in the course! Not to mention that all my classmates were incredibly motivated and overall great friends!
Having a solid understanding of the different aspects of the world of Front End web development, do I have the confidence on working on and creating my own projects! There’s still much to learn, but Maker Square provides us with a solid base of knowledge paired with great instructors and a great environment to be in! Highly recommend MKS to any wanting to learn!

I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have been a Designer for several years, but felt that improving my front-​end development skills would really take me to the next level in my career.
Having taken the class, I’m not only taking on rewarding projects that are heavy on web development, but with the help of tools I learned about through the course, I was able to apply those skills directly to enhancing my professional website. I Highly recommend this course as an entry point into coding, especially if you are a designer looking to take the next step into development!

In short, I’m very happy! Though I’m not programming on a daily basis, I was able to get into the St. Louis startup scene which was my main goal before enrolling at MakerSquare. I’ve also built a really awesome network of programmers and startup gurus in St. Louis and I believe that’s thanks to MakerSquare! :-)
I joined in Winter 2013 – 2014 (Cohort 3 Represent!). My reason for joining originally was not initially to become a software/​web developer. Rather, I wanted to be able to communicate better with programmers that I worked with. I wanted to gain better access to the startup network. And most importantly I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to explore on my own — I didn’t want to have to rely on finding a developer to build my ideas and turn them into a reality. I came out of the program having learned web-​development with a strong emphasis on solid software development skills.
Here’s what I loved about MakerSquare:
Curriculum:
I was impressed by how much I learned. I literally had no experience in programming and I can now build web applications that ACTUALLY work. Not just simple interactive sites, but fully dynamic applications that work heavily with javascript on top of a rails framework. Moreover, all of this was taught with a very clear emphasis on test driven development (from the beginning) and solid software development principles.
Instructors & Culture:
They actually cared about the students and our progress and they were just all-​around cool people. The culture at MakerSquare was actually a huge focus in the organization. I think what I loved most was learning how to learn all over again. I gained a new confidence that I’ve never had. The energy was also great, everyone had awesome ideas — from students to staff.
Feedback:
I would have liked to have more experience with Ruby and really learning how to code w/​algorithms and such vs. w/​Rails which is just teaching you the framework. From what I gather, Rails is now being treated as a detail vs. a core of what we learned. When we learned rails, it was about utilizing the framework for its ActiveRecord and quick-​to-​web functionality.
MakerSquare still teaches web development (rails/​mvc, http, javascript, etc) but now only after teaching other concepts that are applicable not just to the web, but to all software (test-​driven development, SOLID principles, application boundaries, decoupling, databases, interfaces, software architecture, etc).
I would have loved a deeper problem-​solving skillset through exposure to algorithms. Looks like I was one cohort shy of that. MakerSquare now integrates algorithms and algorithmic thinking from day 1.
Finally, MakerSquare was split into two nearby locations (Congress & Brazos). The extra space was nice, but it felt disconnected and I think it kept our cohort from being as close as some other cohorts have been.

The environment at MakerSquare is one of enthusiastic learning. It was a joy to be around intelligent, knowledge-​seeking individuals, who were united under the common cause of career change and coding. Pair programming was encouraged and students enthusiastically tutored each other throughout lessons under the watchful guidance of some dedicated instructors. This course is completely immersive, 9−6pm, M-​F, and also requires outside study as well as two weekend-​long hackathons. You must be prepared for this kind of commitment coming into MakerSquare. You will learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, and Rails, as well as version control, GitHub, relational databases, and so much more.
The Instructors are incredibly passionate about their school and their curriculum, and are often willing to go above and beyond normal expectations to see their students (past, present, and future) succeed. They have created a wonderful learning environment into a much needed field.
90% of your peers will be wonderful, caring persons with a liking for teamwork. As in any school, some personalities will slip under the radar that have no regard for professionalism. Largely, they are in the minority.
The Hackathons were the most useful weekends I spent at MakerSquare. They are what solidified my understanding of rails and how a professional dev team will operate.
The quality of life at MakerSquare is a whirlwind of learning. Be prepared to start dreaming in erb.
The career services offered by MakerSquare were 10 times more valuable to me than my alumni services offered by SHSU. Jessica is a great coach on everything from resumes to interviews to how to gracefully accept (or decline) an offer. She is impressive in her resolve and makes herself readily available through, email, phone, and office visits.
The tuition was very pricey, but the payoff has been more than worth it. I had more interviews after MakerSquare than I had received in the last two years of job hunting. I also have 100% career satisfaction. No regrets from this gal! If I had to do it all again I would in a heartbeat. Currently, I am employed by a local dev team as a Web Developer and I am learning PHP and Drupal.

The team over at MakerSquare is incredibly dedicated and they continue to substantially improve their program. I was with MakerSquare for two classes as an instructor and curriculum developer. I currently work as a senior engineer at Rapid7 (working on Metasploit), and I worked at many other software companies in Austin (including OtherInbox and Mass Relevance/​Spredfast) prior to MakerSquare.
I would say without reservation that the founding team is an amazing group of folks. I got to know them all very well, and they’re incredibly dedicated. It’s difficult to draw comparisons between the various coding schools without attending them all yourself, obviously, but from purely anecdotal evidence, it sounds like the team at MakerSquare cares more about the success of their students than some of the other schools.
The cohorts themselves tend to skew towards mid-​twenties, but they’ve had students in their late fifties, as well. They are incredibly selective in the selection process (I believe the acceptance rate is ~15%), so it’s always a great group of really motivated people. Rarely did I encounter someone who had trouble getting along with the other folks in the class.
I can now say with some authority that it’s very difficult to teach the software engineering in 10 weeks (they extended the classes to 12 weeks for that reason), but MakerSquare is relentless in their drive to improve. The instruction team meets regularly to review lessons and student progress. The «Learn app» which houses the curriculum is a great resource for learning new concepts, and their focus on teaching the fundamentals of software engineering, rather than simply throwing you into «here’s how you build stuff with Rails,» is also a big advantage.
There are now both full-​time and part-​time classes. Part-​time classes will take you through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript basics and the full-​time classes focus on software engineering, Ruby, and JavaScript. The JavaScript curriculum is particularly good — I haven’t seen anything like it anywhere else, especially for folks coming at JavaScript from the perspective of a total beginner.

MakerSquare was a very rewarding experience. I discovered a new way to solve problems, learned the fundamentals of computer science, and now I’m off to starting a new life in SF.
I recently graduated from MakerSquare a couple weeks ago and am interviewing at a handful of companies in San Francisco. A few days ago a prospective student asked me a bunch of questions about my experience. I thought it would be helpful to share.
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How was MakerSquare’s Career Services?
Careers services after graduation is the most crucial time for them. Through their connections with companies in both Austin and San Francisco they have a list ‘Hot Leads’ compiled, which are employers interested in hiring students from MakerSquare. I have been introduced to several employers through MakerSquare and have set up 4 interviews within a week here in San Francisco. They will also set up a live portfolio for you, showcasing all your projects, Linkedin, GitHub, etc. which was very helpful when I was communicating with employers.
What did you learn?
One of the most important concepts I learned from MKS was a solid understanding of how computer languages work. I came into the program ready to make web applications and see what I could do. Before being able to do that, the first step was to understand the software design and the inner workings of each multiple languages: JavaScript, Ruby, HTML5, and CSS3. Now that I am comfortable with Object-​oriented programming and software engineering fundaments (we did this with Ruby and JavaScript), I am confident I can now set out to learn other languages such as Objective-​C, Java, Python, etc. You will be able to draw patterns between the languages allowing you to pick them up sooner rather than later.
How was the quality of teaching?
The teacher-​to-​student ratio is what helped me the most to grasp the computer science topics being taught at MKS. There was about one teacher per six students. Each teacher had a general knowledge of each topic but were mainly specialized in a single language, such as Ruby. The teachers offer office hours that you can set up as many times as you like. Office hours were helpful especially when the course picked up in pace.
Did you live in their DevHouse?
Ya. For me, it was a great decision. Whether I was at MKS or at home in the DevHouse I was always surrounded by students. This really helped me stay on track and keep focus throughout the 12 weeks. If I had questions about any material after class I could just collaborate with fellow students at the DevHouse. Studying and learning became easier living in that environment.
Did you receive mentorship? Was it valuable?
I thought the mentorship program at MakerSquare was very helpful. Mainly because I used our weekly mentor meetups as an opportunity to focus on my weaknesses. Coming into the program I was more comfortable with writing in Ruby rather than JavaScript. Maybe it was because Ruby read more like english or that they’re were so many helpful methods I could use, I do not recollect. But what I do recollect was that my JavaScript skills needed an extra boost.
So, during the Mentorship night, where all the mentors visit MKS prior to being assigned mentees, I made an effort to find someone that was dealing with JavaScript and could help me become better. Each week my mentor and I focused on what I was weak in within JavaScript. By the time final projects came around I was writing solely in JavaScript using Node. js on my backend and Angular. js on my frontend.
Aside from the technical skills you learned, what newly acquired skills do you like to wave to prospective employers?
My ability to continue to learn new languages. One strength I gained from coming out of MKS was an interest in learning new technologies. Before MKS, computer programming seemed pretty daunting and cryptic at the same time. Once I became comfortable with the fundamentals of Ruby and JavaScript I was more excited to expand upon it. In other words, once you fully understand one language you can start to draw parallels and recognize patterns in other languages making them easier to pick up. I did not set out to learn a new language, and I would not recommend it during the program, but I used this new way of thinking to learn multiple JavaScript frameworks during class (i.e. Backbone. js and Riot. js, two frameworks that MKS will cover). When learning these frameworks I always sought out patterns and anything similar while keeping the differences clear in my mind.
So now when I reach out to employers I ensure them that I will be able to fulfill my role as well as consistently learn on the side.

I had joined the 2^nd cohort at MakerSquare in fall of 2013. Prior to MakerSquare, I had tried learning Ruby and JS on my own, through countless books and online tutorials. Having completed a few guides, I realized that my ability to learn «how to code» was hindered simply by my style of learning. I love interactive q/​a style learning, which is what led me to MakerSquare.
Of the different programs out there, the one thing I would urge others to consider is that they place a heavy amount of weight onto prework completed (how much work you’ve done ahead of time) and community-​fit. If you’re a solo worker and not a fan of collaborative environments, you may want to consider other programs.
Anyways, long story short, I would whole heartedly recommend this program. As classmates, I had former programmers, retail store workers, a professional photographer and even a former elementary teacher. Out of the program, each of the students were working as professional front-​end engineers (junior developers) within weeks of graduating. So safe to say, MakerSquare has a great professional network, and they know how to teach code.
The classroom environment (the location on Congress ave) was a bit cramped at times. But from what I’ve heard the class size is now capped at 18, vs. 30 or so when I went through.
All the ‘issues’ I had (space constraints, less than ideal student: instructor ratio, and focus on advanced concepts (algorithms and data structures) has been completely addressed. According to the staff, Cohort 5 is operating on an almost night/​day difference of curriculum than what I had.
So not only do I give the program 5 stars, I would (and likely will) retake the course to take advantage of their newest curriculum.