Academy Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I attended Academy Pittsburgh in 2017. At the time, I had a few years experience doing project management for a startup software company and had taken a number of classes online (Coursera, Codecademy, and Udemy) and through the local community college on learning to write code. The difference between those courses and Academy is that you learn how to *build* software applications and not just writing loops in your IDE.

At Academy Pittsburgh, you get hands-on experiencing across the development stack: you’re going to interact with servers, create data models, write SQL queries, build logic in the application (Rails!) to return data to the frontend, and then begin to understand how to present this information on the page via HTML, CSS, and JS (with a sprinkling of React at the end).

Academy Pittsburgh gives you the opportunity to work on real world applications in a team environment, which will give you access to using a version control system (GitHub) to work collaboratively with others. In addition, you’re getting access to two instructors who bring years of experience working in the software field for such local luminaries as Vivisimo (now IBM) and DDI. And, the instructors, John and Jean, are just really down-to-earth, cool people, who are very patient and smart.

Another benefit of Academy Pittsburgh is that you get access to a close-knit alumni base and by extension great local networks. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Academy Pittsburgh was launched by Work Hard Pittsburgh, which regularly hires graduates to do project work for local companies (small businesses and nonprofits) and actively helps to facilitate job placements with local companies as opportunities arise.

I know there’s another local program in Pittsburgh that has a very focused front-end development curriculum and, yeah, you can get a job doing that JS-focused work. But, honestly, if you’re going to make a career move into the software development field, get the most out of your experience by touching every part of the web development stack/process (including testing!) and make some great local connections in the process by choosing Academy Pittsburgh.

Its worked out well for my 2+ year web development business, family, and me!

Not an enormous fan. The idea is great, but the follow through is terrible. I had to fight like hell for reasonable accommodations. The cameras in my face while I was struggling to learn something entirely new didn’t help either.

All my time there really did was keep me busy during the craziest of Covid-19. Learning how to learn remotely has its perks too, I suppose. The course is great for those that have a strong background in CS – see the various CS major college drop outs that excel here – but it isn’t taught well enough for novices. You’re shown examples A and B and then asked to pull a rabbit out of a hat, without having anything concrete to reference, and come up with G to complete the very difficult problem. As a former educator, the style of teaching drove me up a wall. Frankly, it still does.

Academy Pittsburgh did not provide me a strong path to the career switch that I thought it would. It just didn’t.

The best 12 week investment you could possibly make if you’re looking for a new career. Having completed the course in 2019, I can without a doubt say that the curriculum is very well thought out, comprehensive in all elements of full stack coding, better than competently delivered and will challenge you each and every day. You will complete the program possessing an in-demand skillset. This may be the only bootcamp in the country willing to put their fate in the success of their students by not charging any up front enrollment fees and only collecting tuition if a student finds a job making above a particular dollar threshold. A program better be damn good to put their money with their curriculum is – and this one is. Securing a seat is competitive, but it is 100% worth your time to apply…..it may very well be the pivot that changes your life.