MakerSquare

MakerSquare is an accelerated web development course that teaches you fundamental web dev skills with a strong focus on Javascript. I am a firm believer in the quality of this program and think that this program is absolutely worth the time and money required. This is the best investment I have made in my life, and would hold it’s worth equal to that of a college degree.
A little about me
Before coming to MKS I had a business degree from UC Davis. However, despite trying, I was having a hard time finding and landing a position that I was genuinely interested in. On the side I had been dabbling in basic web development courses (codecademy, code school, etc.), and wanted to improve those skills while trying to find work. I eventually came to a point where I wanted to transition into software engineering and looked to schools like MakerSquare to see if I could take my current skills (next to none) and transform them into useful and valuable skills that could help me find work. Eventually I decided to make the plunge and started studying up for the interview.
About the course
The course itself is extremely rigorous and demanding. You absolutely need to have that in mind before you you apply. This thing’s a beast and takes dedication. However, it is never insurmountable because there is a strong support network of peers and instructors to help you through the course. Once you get into the flow of the program, the days will fly by because there is so much to learn and there is a lot of fun to have. Expect to learn the full gamut of JS skills, from writing front end code and learning how to use frameworks, to writing server code, querying databases, and writing tests. The beauty of the program being a full stack JS school is that you can learn all aspects of the application without ever having to switch the language you are writing in. This really allows you to focus on the concepts and and CS fundamentals that will help you grow as a programmer overall.
It’s not just about programming
One of the things that is not quite as obvious about MakerSquare is that you learn so much outside of just becoming a killer JS dev. With occasional presentations, some mock interviews with a technical mentor, and being surrounded by eager minds, you will learn how to talk about technical topics with confidence. This is so valuable for when you are interviewing for jobs after the course. You will be able to communicate confidently and clearly to your interviewer.
Community is crucial here
At MKS you spend 12 hours a day, 6 days a week with the same people for 3 months straight. You will meet awesome students and develop strong friendships during the program that will last well after the course is over. I knew no one in the course before it started, but now one of my classmates is my roommate and I work with two classmates at my current job.
A bird’s eye view of the transformation
In an effort to illustrate the impact of this program, I want to explain how it has affected me. Before I started, I barely knew the fundamentals of JS. I didn’t even know how to loop through an object! Fast forward about a year later, after I had gone through the program and started working, and I am now a Software Engineer at Playstation Network. I am using Ember 2 and ES6 in my projects. These are all things I had never heard of or understood until I went through the program. I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of getting into a place like this without a CS degree until I had gone to MKS.
MKS and you
Is MKS worth your time and money? YES! I could not recommend this program enough for people that are serious about learning web development. Whether you already have experience, or come from a completely unrelated background, you can succeed in this program. A disclaimer though. You should not reasonably expect to pay the money and go through the program and automatically expect to get an awesome job right off the bat. To really get what you want out of the program, you need to be ready to work hard, get outside of your comfort zone, and be willing to learn from your mistakes. This program is hard, but if you truly want it then you will benefit far beyond what is advertised at MKS.

Full Disclosure: I was a student at MakerSquare for three months, and I also stayed on as a fellow (essentially a teaching assistant) for a 3-​month period after that.
After pursuing programming in my free time for 8 months, I realized that only learning nights and weekends wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to be. I quit my job and enrolled in MakerSquare. The experience I had there was nothing short of incredible. I learned more in my first week then I did in 8 months of studying on my own.
This is going to sound cheesy, but MakerSquare changed my life. Whenever people ask me about bootcamps and which one they should attend, I always recommend MakerSquare. The experience I had was so phenomenal, especially compared to what I’ve heard from people who attended different schools, that I can’t help but recommend it to everyone. Like all things in life worth doing, you get out of MakerSquare exactly what you put into it. Before I went to MakerSquare, I knew where I wanted to be and I had the drive and passion to get there, but I didn’t know how. MakerSquare provided me a clear path, and all I had to do was put in the work.
There are three things that separate MakerSquare from other bootcamps:
1. The quality of the curriculum. The curriculum is very well designed and covers all the fundamental Computer Science concepts that you’ll need, as well as guiding you from almost no programming experience to building full-​stack web applications. In addition, I think MakerSquare made a very wise decision to teach only JavaScript and here’s why: If you’re new to web development and you have to pick one language to learn, it should be JavaScript. JavaScript is the ONLY langauge that runs in the browser which means you HAVE to know it if you want any kind of front-​end role. On top of that, Node. js growing in popularity, so you’ll find that you’re not limited to front-​end roles. A lot of companies in Silicon Valley are using Node on the backend, so you’ll be able to work across the full-​stack. Other bootcamps will tell you that they’ll teach you 2 – 3 different stacks /​languages which is «better», but I don’t believe that. Three months is simply not enough time to learn multiple languages in depth, especially when you’re also trying to learn web development and computer science for the first time. When you leave MakerSquare you may not know Ruby and Python, but you will know JavaScript inside and out, and MakerSquare does such a great job of teaching you the fundamentals, that picking up a new language after that will be a breeze. My first job after MakerSquare was actually a back-​end Python role. I didn’t know Python very well when I interviewed, but I displayed enough mastery of JavaScript and CS fundamentals that the company was confident I would pick up python in a few weeks.
2. The sense of community. MakerSquare works very hard to encourage a strong sense of community among its students and staff. Going through a coding bootcamp is a grueling process. It challenges you physically, mentally, and emotionally; but I looked forward to it everyday because of the great people I was surrounded with. Even on my worst morning, when I didn’t get enough sleep the night before and I was completely drained from the non-​stop 11 hour days, my mood always perked up as soon I walked through the door and saw all my friends. Very quickly, it begins to feel like family.
3. The quality of the instructors. The instructors at MakerSquare are very talented, and more importantly, passionate about what they do. Every instructor at MakerSquare turned down higher salaries in the industry because they’re passionate about the work that they are doing and they believe in MakerSquare’s mission. On numerous occasions, I’ve seen MakerSquare instructors cry after watching a student who had been struggling for months finally succeed and flourish. The instructors at MakerSquare pour their heart and souls into the students and the curriculum, and they want nothing more than to watch every single student be successful and happy in their career change.
If you really really really want to be a software engineer, and you’re not afraid to work hard, then go to MakerSquare. I promise you that if you pour your hard work and passion into the program, then you will get back ten times what you put into it and come out the other side exactly where you wanted to be: a software engineer.

I attended Makersquare in fall 2015, from August through October. I am a recent grad from college, and I actually studied computer science. I decided to do a coding bootcamp because after a year of working in industry, building web products, I realized I lacked a good understanding of the various frameworks and tools that are specific to web development, and my own efforts at constructing a syllabus for myself and self-​learning during my free time, despite my background in comp sci, were proving to be ineffectual. It was important to me to find a coding bootcamp that had a strong syllabus that covered these various frameworks and allowed me to produce a body of work demonstrating my abilities.
Makersquare turned out to be exactly that, and more, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is in a similar position. Class size is around 20 – 25 people per cohort, and you can be sure to receive a lot of personal guidance and mentorship. The syllabus is solid — it’s being curated by Kyle Simpson, an extremely influential person in the Javascript community, and they are able to iterate incredibly fast. The staff is professional, but also warm, and constantly seeking feedback from people in the program. I’m particularly glad for the community — staff and fellow students alike — the whole time I was there, I felt like I was surrounded by people who were devoting their every last bit of energy towards making themselves better, and it was always positive, never competitive, and I found that to be an incredibly inspiring environment to be in.
I was one of three girls in my twenty two person cohort, and initially, I was a little uncomfortable by this gender ratio, but Makersquare works pretty hard to create an inclusive, no-​bullshit environment, and I thought they did a decent job of it. I pretty much spent 11 hours a day, 6 days a week at this place for three months, so it was important for it not to feel like a hostile environment in any way, and I’m very grateful and relieved that this ended up being the case.
Whether you’re thinking about a career change, or you’re a recent grad who wants to learn a ton of stuff in a short period of time, if you’re prepared to put in the hard work and time, I would highly recommend Makersquare. I’m really proud of the things I built while I was there, and looking back on those three months, I realize I achieved a remarkable amount of personal growth thanks to the people, the syllabus, and the environment. I’m really, really glad I did it. :)

I attended MakerSquare as a student from March — June 2015 and then stayed on for the fellowship program until September 2015. I had nothing short of a fantastic experience there as a student and fellow and can not recommend this program highly enough to anyone who is interested in a career in software development.
MakerSquare is a very intensive and demanding 3 month program that taught me everything I needed to know to feel very prepared for my first job as a software engineer. I was happily surprised to find that while the curriculum is JavaScript focused, there is a consistently strong emphasis on computer science fundamentals such as time and space complexity of algorithms, various data structures and their uses, and well organized and clearly written code. Perhaps just as valuable as learning to code however was all the «extra» knowledge I gained that is much more of a vital piece of the MakerSquare education than they advertise. Rarely during my time as a student did I write code alone, and if I did it was a small piece of a larger team project that was always planned with, and code reviewed, by my peers. This team-​oriented approach to education was a great way to learn how to communicate complex, technical ideas to others clearly and simply as well as understand how a team-​built software application is developed using version control software, a task board/​bug log, and following a scrum development cycle. When my time as a student came to an end, I had 4 completed projects for my portfolio, experience doing countless toy problem challenges (which prepared me very well for interviews), and a group of like-​minded students and alumni with whom I’m networked.
As for the fellowship, I would encourage anyone who attends MakerSquare to strongly consider it. The entire staff is incredibly supportive and inspiring and I gained more from my time as a fellow than I thought was possible. I’ll leave it at that.
While your experience may vary, I was fortunate enough to have a ridiculously awesome job lined up 3 weeks before the fellowship ended thanks in large part to the career services support of MakerSquare.
I’d recommend MakerSquare to anyone with a passion for programming and who is serious about a career in software. It is not for everyone and was very trying at times but if you want to go to the best coding school in the Bay Area, MakerSquare is it.

I am not a student (yet!) which perhaps provides a distanced or at least different perspective than some other Unilocal reviewers. I regularly attend the weekly JavaScript Lesson taught by the MakerSquare Fellows as well as other Meetups such as Ask Me Anything events with faculty and staff. I also paid for and attended the month-​long part-​time Intro to Web Dev course called MakerPrep. All this to say I’ve had relatively extensive exposure to the MakerSquare atmosphere and personally know most of the faculty and staff despite not being a student in the full-​time immersive bootcamp.
My experience with MakerSquare has been nothing less than amazing. This school is filled with incredibly intelligent people who are also extraordinarily compassionate and community-​minded. The faculty (including the Head Instructor, Mentor, and all the Fellows) have an impressive command of JavaScript. At the same time as having irrefutable mastery of the language, they also pride themselves on constantly striving to be amazing teachers. In interacting with faculty, it’s obvious that these individuals have ended up in their roles because they find teaching more fulfilling than other possible routes. They are incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly adept at relaying that knowledge to students. They are relentless in their own improvement, continually iterating over the curriculum and teaching strategy and adapting it to students learning style patterns and industry trends.
The Fellows, who were once themselves students, have an impressive breadth and depth of Javascript/​Web Dev knowledge. They also have a firm grasp of Computer Science fundamentals and, perhaps most importantly, they are all aggressive learners. The fellows have been well-​trained to burn through documentation in no time and pick new things up extremely quickly. They also have a genuine curiosity in learning that shows in the eagerness to research new topics and keep pushing the boundaries of their knowledge. The bootcamp must be working to produce such highly capable Fellows.
The non-​faculty staff members (Career Services, Marketing, and Admissions) have all been extremely helpful. All employees seem really happy at MakerSquare — proud to be a part of this community. All employees, both faculty and non-​faculty, are very thoughtful and considerate towards the students and non-​student guests like me. All my interactions with MakerSquare have left me feeling like they genuinely care about me and are dedicated to empowering people like myself who are working on making a dramatic life change. I’m grateful to get to interact with MakerSquare employees and look forward to the opportunity to join such a powerful community. Writing a positive review was effortless — I could go on and on about how great MakerSquare is.

MakerSquare provides its students an abundance of challenging curriculum, hands on learning, and even some help with your career development during and after the program. The school starts you off by learning the fundamentals of JavaScript by re-​implementing the code from the popular Underscore. js library and learning about all the hard concepts of JavaScript. After developing a solid foundation you then explore relevant and popular frameworks, libraries, and tools that are commonly used by the software engineering community.
MakerSquare also devotes nearly half of its program to building your own applications. These applications can be on any topic and use any technology you are interested in. The support from the MakerSquare staff does not end here, you will continually have meetings with technical mentors that will help guide you through whatever issues your group is facing and will make recommendations for how you might handle them.
The most important thing that MakerSquare will provide you during your time here is the ability to become an autonomous learner. You will continually encounter technologies that you aren’t familiar with. You learn to look at the api documentation, books, videos, or online resources. Software Engineering is an industry that is constantly evolving and you often won’t have all of the skills required for a particular job you are interested in; but because of your ability to learn quickly and autonomously you have the confidence to learn those skills which you may be lacking and excel at them.
Career services are also provided to its current students and its alumni. During your time at MakerSquare you will be given time to develop an impressive cover letter and resume, and more importantly an advocate for your job search that will help you through anything and everything during your job search. From formatting emails to a prospective company to salary negotiations, you have the support you need throughout your programming career.
MakerSquare has a great community of truly determined and caring staff. This school measures student outcomes as its beacon for success rather than enrollment rates or profits. The network of friendships that you create and the ever-​growing list of alumni are invaluable to have as a software engineer.
MakerSquare is a great school, if you come prepared, willing, and determined they will undoubtedly mold you into an excellent software engineer.

My name is Jeff Louie. I recently graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor in Physics and Economics. After graduating, I tried looking for a job as a data analyst, but realized that was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I always had an interest in Software Engineering so I did some research. I found MakerSquare online and decided to give it a shot.
I expected to learn a lot about web development and software engineering from MakerSquare. My expectations were exceeded; each week at MakerSquare as a student was filled with new concepts and technologies.
I chose MakerSquare because of its reputation amongst the other coding boot camps in San Francisco and because of the culture there. During my interviews while applying to MakerSquare, I found that the people there were very friendly and welcoming, but also had the drive to succeed.
The environment at MakerSquare had both a serious and relaxing environment. During class and project time, the environment was serious, where people were determined to get work done. During lunch time and at the end of the day, people would just hangout at MakerSquare and talk or play ping pong and darts. It was a place where people could come to learn and get work done, but also have some fun.
I also made great friendships with my classmates that I know will last a long time. My cohort got along very well. Outside of class, we would hang out almost every weekend, whether it was at the dev house or somewhere else in San Francisco.
I really enjoyed working with the MakerSquare instructors and staff. The instructors and staff at MakerSquare are very open and helpful. Whenever I had questions or concerns, they would personally address them. I really appreciated the efforts they made to make us all feel comfortable. I don’t wish that MakerSquare did a better job at anything; I liked the program as it was when I took it.
MakerSquare Career Service did a great job. My job search process was very short given the efforts of Career Services. I was able to set up all my interviews through
or MakerSquare. Shortly after I became a fellow for MakerSquare, a recruiter who was looking for an entry level software engineer from JPL contacted Savrut. Since he knew that I had majored in Physics during college and was interested in their work, he referred me to the recruiter. From there, I was able to set up a first round interview and get the ball rolling on my application process. Savrut helped me throughout the whole process, from the initial phone screen all the way to salary negotiations. My current position is an Enterprise Applications Software Engineer I at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). As a student, MakerSquare was able to prepare me technically for my current position. As a fellow at MakerSquare, I was able to learn how to explain the concepts that I learned as a student. By taking MakerSquare, not only am I ready to start my career, but I was able to land my dream job right off the bat. I wish the Career Services at the UC Davis had similar standards.
MakerSquare was a great ride, however I would not recommend it to everyone. I would recommend the program to anybody that has an interest in web development and has a decent grasp of JavaScript. I would not recommend MakerSquare people that have no programming experience. I think that the people who already know the basics of JavaScript are able to learn a lot more from the program. They will not struggle with the things that beginners struggle with, which allows them to spend their time more efficiently at MakerSquare, learning about all the different technologies used in web development.