Deep Dive: Sabio Coding Bootcamp

As tech continues to find a place in homes and offices across the globe, the demand for software engineers is at an all-time high, with projected job growth of 21 percent over the next eight years. This is deemed “much faster than the average” for all occupations nationwide.

In spite of the demand, companies still struggle to recruit talented software engineers and have often resorted to either foregoing certain requirements or delegating tasks to other employees with similar backgrounds. There’s no better time for you to venture into this field, fill in the gaps, and stand a chance to make upwards of $100,000 annually. 

However, with so many career tracks available today, deciding the right fit for you personally may seem like a daunting task. There are tons of factors to consider, like your career goals, financial capacity, and personal interest. 

In this article, we are going to take a deep dive into one of the industry’s oldest bootcamps: Sabio. We’ll see what it offers, how it stands compared to others, and more importantly, how software engineer hopefuls can take advantage of its comprehensive and community-centric approach to learning.

Sabio’s Story

Sabio Coding Bootcamp was established in 2013 by tech innovator Gregorio Rojas and his partner, social entrepreneur Liliana Aide Monge. Over the course of seven years, the school has expanded from its first campus in Downtown Los Angeles to several locations including Orange County, Culver City, and now Online via Live Remote.

“We believe that our biggest impact can be made by cultivating awesome tech talent. Sabio was established on prominent tech-hubs where our students will have fantastic job opportunities and be confident in their newfound career; however, now via our Live Remote classes anyone in any location can thrive,” the founders said.

Sabio has received the seal of approval by the state of California and is also a founding member and current board member of the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR), an organization that seeks transparency in outcomes reporting. This further highlights its commitment to students’ success and truth in advertising. 

As one of the coding bootcamp pioneers in the US, Sabio only has one mission: to train the next generation of top-tier software engineers.

Best Technical Mentoring

“Sabio’s in a unique position; we’re one of the oldest coding bootcamps in the market, yet we are still owned and operated by the founders. This allows us to keep the institutional knowledge and the ethos alive.

“Our ultimate goal is to help you launch a new career, develop your talent to become a highly-skilled professional, and build the life you’ve always wanted,” the duo said.

This is made possible, mainly thanks to Mr. Rojas’ expertise and market knowledge. He has had an illustrious tech portfolio, having been in the software engineering field since 1999. From building software to technical coaching and interviewing developer candidates, he has done it all. Now, Mr. Rojas leads the team of instructors at Sabio with a distinctive teaching style that proved to be effective and insightful. 

“I push my cohort to code their way to success. I want them to dig for answers and find every possible error they can so that they can understand how to deal with it in the future.

“I believe in wrestling with code before I lecture about the given concepts. People are able to generate better questions and gain a deeper understanding when they have seen a piece of software in action.”

The courses at Sabio are taught exclusively by experts from major companies like Fox, Gamefly, Stack Overflow, TMZ, and UCLA, among others. The instructors are required to go through an intensive vetting process and the school only accepts high or C-level executives. 

This not only guarantees high-level education for students but also gives them access to a unique real-life perspective so they can meet the job market’s demand. 

“We believe the best way to jump up in your career is to be surrounded by a class of leaders who have already been there.

“People aren’t coming to us to learn these skills as a hobby; they are doing it for one explicit reason and that is to become a software engineer. And we are 100% committed to helping them become that.”

Tight-Knit Community

However, what truly sets Sabio apart is the very spirit that it was built on. 

The founders, Mr. Rojas and Ms. Monge met in university where they both shared a mutual love for community work. According to the duo, they understood that greatness can happen when a tight-knit community is built and empowered.

“We launched Sabio based on a lot of similar principles involved in community work. We are dedicated to supplying people from underrepresented groups—women, people of color, veterans—with the right resources so they can thrive. 

“Gregorio has been in the software engineering field in LA for more than 15 years, so he understands the talent requirements of different companies and he knows exactly what skills and competency needed to get hired. Because we had all those insights, we decided to build Sabio, a school where we can impart wisdom on other people who wanted it.” Said Ms. Monge. 

The school also believes that your career doesn’t just impact you, but also the people you love. With this in mind, the school itself acts as a community that supports students through various other non-career related decisions.

“We believe coding bootcamp should be a transformative experience. You will make friends that last a lifetime. You will discover just how smart and capable you really are. Once you are a part of the Sabio family, you belong to a special group of people who will support you in your career long after you leave our classrooms.”

Courses

There are several courses you can take at Sabio. Before getting started, beginners are encouraged to take Sabio’s free online PreWork course. Those with advanced skills can skip ahead to the Tech Assessment by contacting the school here. To gain a clearer understanding of these courses and discover the perfect fit for you, let us discuss them individually.

PreWork

Cost: One-month free access with code PREWORK2020 

Duration: Flexible but materials and support are available for four weeks upon registration

This course was specially curated by Sabio’s Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Mr. Rojas himself. It caters to individuals with little to no background in software development. Upon signing up, prospective students will get an invite to join Sabio Candidates Slack Team where they have access to live instructors and other like-minded developers.

PreWork is a four-week program with no commitment requirements for the full bootcamp. It gives you an introduction to the materials and skill sets you will need to complete the Sabio Coding Bootcamp. Prospective students can expect to learn the foundation of Javascript and Chrome Developer Tools. 

Full-Time Node.js Full Stack Course

Cost: $15,000

Duration: 13 weeks (11 weeks coding + 2 weeks job preparation)

Employers are actively seeking versatile Node.js developers with React proficiency, which is exactly what this course offers. In this course, you get to immerse yourself in JavaScript and Google’s Chrome V8 JavaScript engine, among others. 

Sabio’s Node.js Full Stack course will prepare students for major challenges and opportunities as a software engineer. You can expect to learn the client-side frameworks, database architectures, APIs, tools, and soft skills you need to master Node.js. With a great command of full stack development, graduates have a high chance of landing a job in an elevated market. 

Full-Time .Net Full Stack Course

Cost: $15,000

Duration: 13 weeks (11 weeks coding + 2 weeks job preparation)

Microsoft’s .Net Platform is an industry-leading framework known for its reliability and wide-scale adoption in both small startups and large enterprise organizations. Sabio’s .Net Full Stack course will help tech aspirants tackle software engineering challenges easily. 

Students can expect to learn the client-side frameworks like React, database architectures, APIs, tools, and other soft skills needed to master Asp.Net. The open curriculum will be taught by industry veterans dedicated to your success.

Part-Time Full Stack Web Development Course

Cost: $9,900

Duration: 20 weeks (weekday option) or 24 weeks (night option)

This part-time course is perfect for career changers or those who are currently juggling other commitments. There are two options available: weekday or night. For the weekday lessons, students are expected to spend 336 hours over the course of 20 weeks, with 16.5 hours in-class lessons on two days per week. Outside of contact hours, students are expected to commit 10 hours per week on homework and exercises.

For the night lessons, students are expected to complete 336 classroom hours over the course of 24 weeks, with 14 hours of in-class lessons per week. The 14 hours will be further divided into two: 8 classroom hours on Saturdays and 6 classroom hours during a week. Outside of that, students are expected to commit 6 hours per week on homework and exercises. 

How Sabio Changes The Game

Over the years, Sabio has received accolades and honorable mentions from top review sites. In fact, the school has recently been awarded a Candidacy Status from the Council on Occupational Education in July. Such acknowledgments are possible due to the school’s constant efforts to build and empower the tech community of various backgrounds.

Aside from providing a conducive environment for students and graduates to thrive in, Sabio has several other initiatives to help increase the number of women and people of color that participated in the innovation economy.

Women in Tech

Sabio has established a robust Women in Tech Scholarship Fund that provides financial resources for women who want to participate in its coding program. The applicants will only need to demonstrate a financial need for tuition assistance, laptop assistance, or living expenses.

This is meant to not only attract more female coders into the field but also enable those who would otherwise lack the resources to achieve their dreams. In 2018 alone, Sabio gave out over $100,000 in scholarships for women and those who are unemployed and underemployed.

Additionally, Sabio hosts a weekly Women Code meetup at its Culver City location, where women of all ages can come and learn to code in a supportive environment. The meetups are led by renowned female industry experts who can help fellow females start their tech journey. With the help of its alumni, the school has also raffled off laptops for the Women Code meetups. 

Sabio also has a dedicated space for female graduates to share their success stories and real industry experiences which can be accessed here. 

Veteran Community

Being a welcoming space for all, Sabio also accepts several VA education benefits to help qualified military veterans find their footing in tech. This initiative will not only help veterans to have a smoother readjustment to civilian life but also provides exciting and all-round rewarding career opportunities for them. Find more information about the enrollment process here.

Entrepreneurship Partnerships

This is an initiative to help students build a stronger portfolio, which subsequently will make them stand out above other job applicants. Through this initiative, students will be exposed to a number of local startups and SME entrepreneurs who would present them with pitches that they can turn into actual projects. 

“This adds a level of fun and engagement for the cohort so they could see that there are actual people who need them to build a real solution. The school will find small business owners that need some tech built for them and we’ll have our students hone their crafts by putting what they learned into practice. These projects are what employers look for in their resumes. It’s a nice win-win situation for all,” Ms. Monge said.

Sabio has also helped many people launch successful tech-enabled businesses via their strategic partnership with the Veterans Chamber of Commerce in Southern California. 

Outcomes

Sabio takes success very seriously. To effectively measure and demonstrate its performance, the school publishes an annual outcomes report every June, which can be found on its official website. 

In 2018, 84% of Sabio graduates successfully found employment in the tech field. There are also hundreds of other success stories that can be found on Sabio’s blog that suggest the effectiveness of Sabio’s community-centric approach. This also further backs Sabio’s motto “learn from the best, in order to be the best.”

Conclusion

Sabio is set to produce the next generation of high-quality software engineers with its unique combination of community-focused approach and exceptional teaching staff, led by co-founder Mr. Rojas. As an industry expert himself, he is able to come up with a curriculum that is not only comprehensive but also teaches the soft skills needed to find success. Sabio’s tight-knit community has also managed to provide a supportive and welcoming environment to everyone, regardless of background.

If you’re interested to learn more, head on over to Sabio’s website. You can also email the school at join@sabio.la for more information. What are you waiting for? Take the first step toward a lucrative and fulfilling career today.