Grand Circus

I did their Android boot-camp with Jayashree Ravi and was blown away. I got my ass kicked, and learned more in two months than I did during my entire bachelors degree. They keep the class size small enough for all the one-on-one I needed and the prof did everything she could to make me succeed, ie. testing my apps on her own time, finding references I couldn't then teaching me how to do the same. I was pissed off, sleep deprived and worked harder than I ever had been in my entire life, but I learned sooo much and it was worth it. If you want to learn to write code, and don't want any bs, this is the place.

I was a part of the December 2018 Java bootcamp and now currently work as a software developer - I couldn't be happier with my decision to attend Grand Circus. Excellent preparation/learning environment!

It’s been an incredible experience being a part of the boot camp and alumni here. If you’re willing to put the time and work in, the sky is the limit for you in terms of success. You will definitely make a ton of new connections and experience a ton of support from staff and fellow students.

Don't waste your money. Yes, you can learn the basics of coding your chosen language(s), but that is where the truth ends and the lies begin. There is no job placement, so the advertised ~90% placement is far from a joke, it's just a flat out lie. Average salary coming out of bootcamp is 50-60k? Maybe if you don't include the ~50% who are still unemployed, even then it's a long shot. Exersises and materials aren't even checked for coherency, grammar and spelling errors. Does that sound like something worth 11k of your hard earned money? I, at least, got in before the tuition hike and while it was still an in person class. They advertise that their mission statement is to increase diversity (minority representation) in tech. I'd say about 90% of my cohort was Caucasian. And more than half of that 90% I would say was male. There's nothing wrong with that, until you are one of those white males that are told at orientation about Affinity Groups! Oooo ahhh. Everyone should try to join an Affinity Group, they are great. What are Affinity Groups you might ask, they are gatherings of people to discuss the struggles and triumphs of people in tech. Oh, that sounds good and helpful you think, until they tell you what the groups are. People of Color in tech, ok right off the bat that is a group for 10% of the cohort, next. Women in tech, ok definitely more people included in that one but still not even half, next. LGBTQ+ in tech, ok again a fairly small percent of the total cohort. Last is the Group for people suffering from mental illness and depression, again as far as I could tell a very small, if not non existent, percent of the cohort. So now at least 30% and likely more have been told to join Affinity Groups and how positive they are, but there is no group offered for them. Do I really care? No, I wouldn't have participated in that anyway, but it's far from what I consider inclusive, especially when they are mentioned quite frequently in the early days of bootcamp. I could go on for pages about how GC failed all expectation. The point is you can pay 1k max for an online program to teach you to code and it will be no worse than GC. You say well at least with GC there are real people I can ask questions to. Sorry, their policy is "ask Google" because that's what you'll have to do in the real world. As if we are all cavemen that have never used Google to find out something, so we need practice. Apparently I'll get plenty of practice in the real world, so what am I paying for again?? The real reason for ask Google is because the staff isn't nearly as qualified as they should be, likely because of the likely more than 3 million dollars they take in from classes, seminars and rented co-work space a year, the teacher make very little. Toward the end of my class I learned that my teacher had been the TA a year prior and a year prior to that she had been a student in my seat. I want a teacher that has years of experience in the real world, not some student stuck in the sad gravitational pull of GC. Again, don't waste your money, you may never see a return on any of it. No one is hiring GC students and the two companies that are, United Shore and Quicken Loans, will make you essentially sit through another 3 months of there nearly identical program, but at least then they pay you.

I really can't say enough positive things about this school. It was truly a privilege to learn Java with Antonella, an exceptionally gifted teacher!! I went from working a string of service industry jobs to getting offered a position in tech the very same day the bootcamp ended. No bachelor's degree required! If you're ready to commit to an immersive learning experience, definitely consider taking a course here. Pro tip: The Career Services helped me every step of the way, do take advantage of the resources they provide. A+.

My son took this boot camp on a recommendation. I would suggest that you really do your homework before signing up for this program. It is way overpriced for what you get for the money. Yes, the coding portion of the boot camp is good. My son learned the basics of coding. The issue comes when you ask for assistance, or if you have questions on the daily class. The class is set at more of an advanced pace, Not for a beginner just getting started in coding. They claim they will help you prepare your resume, if I didn’t write my sons it would have not been excepted. They kept sending it back to him with; needs to be re written. No explanation as to what needs to be changed. I have the emails to support the claim. The big one is the the help with job placement. My son has been asking for help, and getting no help or response what so ever. He has contacted the placement department with no answers. I am so disappointed, with this entire experience after it came so highly recommend. At this point I would like a refund. Again don’t waste your time or money on this program! I was hoping that I could rate this in a negative stars!

If you’re curious about a job in tech, CHOOSE GRAND CIRCUS. I’ve learned so much from my instructors and peers, and have made lifelong friends as well. I went from HATING my job in sales to a junior software developer within months of graduating, and the coolest part about this is the fact that I didn’t know how to write a single line of code prior to GC - and now I work for a very reputable company in Metro Detroit as a developer. Enroll in one of their programs. It’s worth it.

The staff are nice, but ultimately, the certification as a junior front end developer is worthless unless you have a bachelors degree. That's just one of the things that the staff do not let you know. Also, do NOT take ht part time boot camps. They treat you like second-rate people, do not offer the additional out of course support, such as the soft skills for interviews, and it costs the same. I took their front end web development for part time because I cannot afford to quit my job to take the full time course, and that's what happens. You get treated like you do not exist.

Nothing that was promised was provided. We were told we would be set up with interviews. We put a lot of effort into improving resumes to never hear from Grand Circus. We were told we would have mandatory quarterly upskill trainings, it's almost been a year and I have not had any additional training. Grand Circus completely dropped the ball. Our program was paid for by the state, although we were not paying on our own this service was still paid for. There has been no communication to even discuss anything that was promised. Now looking back I am glad I never took out a loan to pay for this company. They are shady and offer nothing besides empty promises with snotty attitudes. The training was half done. I feel like there were discrimitory factors that caused this behavior. We were treated fairly poor in my opinion. I searched for my own opportunities and had interviews and no one took the time to coach me or encourage me. Instead jaseekia my instructor and project manager who's name I don't remember Made weird facial expressions. We were there to learn and feel as if instead of helping and encouraging us they looked down on us. I personally am employed in IT currently and two semesters away from having a Masters degree in IT. I went to Grand Circus to improve my technical abilities, instead they put a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sad to see so many startups come to Detroit with such terrible customer service and poor treatment towards Detroit's own residents.

Grand Circus provided me with the best educational experience of all time and changed my life in ways that i did not think were possible. Since completeting my bootcamp, i have the best job of my life and my career is exceeding my grandest expectation. Overall: My experience at grand circus was second to none. Starting with my first "fact finding" phone call with the GC admin staff, I knew that I was dealing with passionate and knowledge individuals who cared about me and helping me achieve my goals. This initial feeling was confirmed and reestablished over and over again throughout my experience with GC. I loved every aspect of my bootcamp experience and would recommend GC to anyone who has any interest in software development. Administrative: Deciding to participate in a 10 week bootcamp was a significant decision for me - not least of all because of the financial aspect. However, as soon as i began discussing the financial piece of the bootcamp i felt immediately at ease. the GC staff were able to answer ALL of my questions and provide my with numerous options specific to my situation. This was a relief and allowed me to focus on coding and getting as much out of the bootcamp as possible. Staff: The GC staff, down to the person, are seriously amazing. They are incredibly passionate, knowledgeable, and supportive. They are always looking out for their students best interest and, again, i felt immediately at ease once I met them on site at Grand Circus in downtown Detroit. I developed lasting friendships with multiple GC team members. The bootcamp: The bootcamp itself was awesome! i loved my instructor, the curriculum, the unique approach to learning to code, the team work, and all of our deliverables. I felt like i was family with my fellow bootcamp teammembers and have remained in close contact with many of them. The pace of the bootcamp was malleable - our instructor and TA adjusted it weekly to match the students' grasp of the material. this was a HUGE value add as it ensued that eveyrone was able to remain engaged in spite of challenging material. Netoworking/job placement: UH-MAZING! Grand Circus is DIRECTLY responsible for helping me find the best job of my life and launch my career in a completely new and exciting direction. The GC staff used their networking contacts to secure me numerous interviews. Since finishing my bootcamp i have started a new job with an industry leading organization that i was put in contact with through grand circus. My role is closely related to what i studied at grand circus.