codefirstgirls.com Omdömen 23

I started last week and am currently doing the Python kickstarter, I am halfway through and have no background in tech at all.

The lessons themselves are very basic, which is great to start with. However, I found that the content is a bit disjointed. For example, in a lesson, completely new concepts are discussed in the more detailed, application part of each lesson (codealong) and in that regard you are dropped in at the deep end very quickly.

Some explanations were unclear so, you do spend a great deal of time using outside resources to plug in the gaps.Essentially, you get what you pay for and this is a free course. That said, other free resources are a great deal more detailed.

So, if you would like to be walked through everything in detail, this is not for you. Code First Girls kickstarters introduces learners very briefly to concepts and then it’s upto the learner to find their own way.

The Code First Girls kickstarter codealongs are great for seeing code in practice but I find it to be quite passive as you essentially just parrot what you see on the screen. If you want a deeper understanding I would highly recommend applying your knowledge to small but different mini projects using your own initiative. That really cements learning and allows you to figure out where you could improve.

The kickstarters are great introductions. They are the spring-board into further learning necessary for entry-level positions.

Overall, if I could do this again I am not sure I would. I personally prefer a lot more detail, feedback & hand-holding but that is because my own learning style developed that way. Everyone is different.

Quick note: Code First Girls does not reply to tweets and you cannot use your iOS devices to login to the platform, much less use them to complete the course. Whilst trying to reset my password on iOs I was met with the following “Nonce check failed for unlock request.” which I found to be funny but deeply unprofessional. Make of that what you will.

The best support for a middle aged women with zero programming skills, the CFG instilled confidence along side the technical elements of learning Python, SQL and AI/Machine Learning. I am in process of switching career at 45 years old.

CFG changed the career switching game for the better! I completed both the degree and masters, then got my first role in tech immediately after. The course is intense but you’ll leave feeling confident in your skills and potential for growth in your chosen field.

I'm grateful to CFG for my role in software engineering, because it opened a door I had long wanted to access but didn't have the key to open.

I did the course in Autumn 2023, and boy was it intense. It required a lot different type of planning to get it done, but I am so glad I did it. I did the full stack stream and had a really great tutor in Sid. He broke things down, he explained things in a way my mind could understand and was just overall top notch.

The feedback from instructors was also really detailed, so there was always plenty to learn and reflect back on.

Some drawbacks however...
- I did the fullstack stream, however ended up in a backend team
- There was no overlap between the languages we learnt on the course and the languages we were expected to use in our roles
- Sponsoring companies seemed somewhat unprepared for our start, evident in the fact that teams were only identified and confirmed while we were going through a mini company onboarding itself.

My feedback to CFG would for them to work with the companies who are sponsoring candidates to create a 0-6 month onboarding plan, or create a standardised one that companies can adapt to their individual use case. This is helpful because CFG are building a foundation with us, and that needs to be leveraged quickly upon joining - crucially by ensuring we are placed in teams where there is software development work to do, which isn't always the case.

Second bit of feedback would be to find a way to get companies to be really intentional about the streams they're sponsoring. There's no point encouraging full stack applications, if they're not destined for full stack team.

Overall, just a bit more custodianship is needed between CFG and the Clients, and CFG and the graduates.

I loved my CFG Degree. It helped me change career without taking a pay drop. I'm now so much happier in my career.

CFG helped me to transition from a career in teaching to a career in tech. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. The course was good quality and it was clear that CFG was committed to feedback and improvement. There was clear communication to students and support on offer for anyone struggling on the course for whatever reason. Would highly recommend.

They have a lot of courses available, with some that are more introductory-based. They do give you a good foundation to go out and explore more or even learn more in-depth principles about the area. The tutors and the community are amazing, and we had lots of fun problem-solving and learning. The tutors were willing to spend some more time explaining things to us and making sure that we understood everything.

I took a short course a while ago, and it involved actual classes with an instructor which I found pretty good. Now, it's all self-paced “learning,” with the dullest, most basic videos you've ever seen. It’s just a robotic voice reading off slides.

You can easily get through it without writing a single line of code, because everything’s multiple-choice quizzes asking questions they answered 20 seconds earlier. There’s very little integrity in passing these courses, and I’d urge employers to take that into account when assessing CFG “qualifications.”

They also just don’t respond to you. I had a technical issue in the first week of my SQL course, submitted a support ticket (as they tell you to do), and never got a reply. I’ve also been waiting three weeks for a response to another email. They sent me my SQL certificate but didn’t include my final score, even though the course repeatedly mentioned you'd get one. A super simple request, but again: nothing. Complete radio silence. Honestly, I’m starting to think there aren’t any actual people working there anymore, they just uploaded those videos and left.

This is such a phenomenal concept, and it’s so frustrating to see it executed so poorly. This could genuinely change people’s lives. Instead, it’s just wasting our time. Respond to your emails.

More than 7 months in my new role as a Junior Full Stack Software Engineer thanks to Code First Girls!
The course was intense and very well structured. The instructors were kind and knowledable. After passing my final exam I got hired by a sponsor company.
I found out about CFG from my friend who also landed a role in SWE thanks to CFG. We're both located in Poland.

I completed the CFGdegree in Autumn 2023 and started my sponsored role at the beginning of 2024. The course was definitely intense and fast-paced, but being able to transition into a software engineering role still feels surreal. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am in my career without CFG. it’s been such a life-changing experience.

That said, I do think the entry requirements could be reviewed a bit. A lot of people joined the course with little to no coding background, and I could tell it came as a shock to some just how challenging the content was.

Something else I think could be improved is making sure the course stream matches the actual role people are going into. I was placed on the Full Stack stream because the role was labelled as Full Stack, but once I started, I found out my team was mainly backend-focused. I had to pick up Object-Oriented Programming on the job, which was more thoroughly covered in the Software stream. It would help if CFG and the sponsoring companies worked a bit more closely on that kind of alignment.

Overall though, I’ll always speak highly of CFG. The support, the community, and the opportunity itself have been amazing, and I’m so grateful for everything it’s opened up for me.

Forced me into a rubbish stream cos that's all they had left refused to add it to the contract and made me sign the contract forcing me to do a pathway I hate disgusting company appalled by their behaviour 100% sure their racist too

Fast forward a month applied again and they didn't even know where my application and then lied that it had been rejected I have now contacted their CEO they are a disgusting company who discriminate against candidates who have applied before or made a complaint

The concept is brilliant, and the fact it is free is also a huge plus in making it more accessible to women without the skill threshold or financial barrier.

However, it is very poorly executed. I took the Intro to Python 8 week course. The timing of the sessions meant it finished very late in the evening, so if you work full time it can be a bit of a time crunch.

My course had 2 instructors, but 1 of them only led a small part of one session. The rest of the time she only took attendance and when prompted by the other instructor, she still barely engaged. If she was new or training, we were not told so it just felt like she wasn't interested in being there.

The classes themselves were fine, but the student materials/slides were poorly written. The instructors did a lot "this is simple, you should be able to do this" and 9/10 times you had a question, they told you to go away and research it. Perhaps they meant to be motivational, but it came across patronising since it was a complete beginners course and I noticed several students dropped out or complained about the instructor's attitude in the class chat. In the end, I think I would've learnt more by using one of the many Python tutorial sites. If there is an expectation to do a large volume of work and research outside of the weekly sessions, this needs to be more transparent.

At the end you do a project and present it. You're heavily encouraged (almost pressured) into doing it in a group. However you are complete strangers and there was never any ice-breaking or collaboration prior to this, so of course most of us wanted to work solo. With 2 instructors, it would've been better if during classes we split into smaller breakout rooms and worked together to solve the problems in class. Instead they just said "5 mins, attempt it" and everyone did so in silence. The whole vibe was incredibly awkward and the instructors didn't do anything to rectify it.

The project presentation stage was the most disappointing. You could choose from a couple of pre-defined project briefs with existing code, and it's blatantly obvious they prefer you to do it in groups. For people with full-time jobs and other commitments, this isn't realistic. Additionally, the project briefs were pretty dull so naturally many of us chose to do solo projects, and/or did our own ideas entirely from scratch. During the presentations it was very obvious how biased the instructors were in favour of group projects from their questions and comments, with solo projects getting much less positive engagement. When the first few presenters went over their allotted time, the later presenters then got aggressively rushed along which seemed really unfair (I recall one person seemed so anxious they were stuttering).

We then found out there was a "competition" for the best project, which we were strangely not informed about prior. There were some brilliant projects from students working solo, writing their code from entirely from scratch without any prior coding experience. The winning group used one of the pre-prepared briefs, and had someone with software development/IT experience on their team. Considering it was an introductory course, I did find it strange that there were a few people with data analysis/coding backgrounds, when I'm sure many complete beginners ended up missing out. This was incredibly disappointing, and it would've been nicer for them to recognise a group/individual who had made impressive progress as a complete beginner, since this is the intent of a "intro" course.

I might consider doing another CFG course in the future but I would want to find out who the instructors are before signing on, since the course I took here was rather disappointing.

I took the intro to Web Development course in 2020. I was very impressed with the support and tuition I received, especially considering the course is free. The community that I did the courses with were really great, and the tutors were knowledgeable and friendly, and replied to questions during the week when required. I look forward to doing more courses soon.

I completed the Introduction to Web development 8-week course with CFG.
I recommend this course to anyone who is interested in familiarising herself with front-end development.
We were sent modules prior to the course and information on the subject.
I found it helpful to go through the material before each session so I could be more prepared and could follow the instructors' explanations much better.
The participants posted on Slack (cross platform messaging service) our weekly homework, and it was interesting to see others work.
The instructors, were very friendly and professional. Always happy to answer questions.
The best part of the course was a group project. I learned a lot from the women in my group. Also, it was interesting to see other groups' projects that were presented in the last session.
I look forward to another CFG course in the future!

Thanks again, CFG!!! ❤️

I applied for CFG Software Engineering degree and even did a Python course with them, to have better chances for the programme. The application process was very time-consuming, but it gave me a lot of hope that I could get a job with their support. Unfortunately, I wasn't selected as a finalist, even though I passed the test and answered their interview questions following the advice of CFG ambassadors.

I've been trying to break into tech for so long, but CFG can only offer this opportunity to a few people. I wish I hadn't wasted so much energy applying to them.

Love the introduction to python and apps course! Especially love that it is free. Very patient instructors. As with most courses, you get out what you put in. A lot of the learning comes from grappling with the coding on your own between sessions.
I would love to do the CFG Degree but can't commit to every evening unfortunately. Would be great if it could be made more flexible.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to especially aimed at getting women in tech. The problem is the teaching level is so poor. My mother who was a whizz at SQL but retired 10+ years ago and has forgotten a lot had to fill in the gaps as the explanations were really bad. I was having trouble understanding/using the software required but no one would answer my query on how to actually use it meaning I was completely lost. Thankfully it was free and I would have been even more disappointed if it was something I had to pay for!

I took part in the CFG degree and was offered a job by a UK bank at the end. Yes, the course is full on - it takes a lot of time and there is a lot to learn. The teaching style wasn't my favourite way to learn (every evening for 2 hours on Zoom over the course of a good few months) but there's a lot to grasp to understand the basics of the tech industry, and I felt that I came away from the course with enough knowledge to act as a base for what I'm now learning within my role. I have now totally switched my career, and started on a salary way more than I could have thought possible a year ago. Don't go into this course thinking it'll be easy - working full time, doing the course, and finding time for the projects and homework is hard. But, for me, it was absolutely worth it. Some of the sponsoring companies don't offer full-time roles at the end and I'd be wary of those - try and select a company that will give you a job at the end and will support your learning within your future role. There are definitely improvements they can make to the course, but there are plenty of opportunities to feedback and I think overall the CodeFirstGirls team are improving what they offer for each future cohort of students. It was a great way for me to enter the tech industry so if you're dedicated to wanting to learn, it's worth giving it a go.

The only reason they're deserving of 2 stars, is because I at least got a qualification out of it. During this, there was no support whatsoever, teachers didn't care or even pretend to care. The mental health support they provide is not support. No understanding for anyone. Poor communication and poor teaching.

If you are going to offer this degree to people, also let them know there is no work/class/life balance. For those working full time there is no support. And for those who think this course is for the ones with minimal experience in coding, it is a lie. This course is for those who either know all their stuff or for those who have the free time to learn the stuff. And if you're struggling, the staff do not care. Please do not say you are giving women the unfair advantage when you are also making it unfair.

Waste of time. Don't respond to emails you'll apply for courses and opportunities and get ignored. Supposed to help marginalised demographic of women in the tech industry, and then they'll mess you around by side stepping questions and ignoring applications for weeks / months on end ... When chased about their unprofessionalism, they will do anything to deny accountability. As a single mother who's has never been given a fair chance in tech due to my responsibilities and other demographic factors... I feel completely shunned out.
I turned down other opportunities because I really wanted this... Devastated. Don't trust them when they say they will contact you. I passed everything given an automatic guaranteed interview still nothing.