Recently had a friend who had a very negative experience with Code Chrysalis (programming bootcamp) and would like to share it here.
– Staff were difficult to contact (did not answer phone or emails).
– Instructors provided no support. As a software developer myself, I know you have to be autonomous and independent but there’s a difference between teaching someone to be independent and throwing a bunch of leetcode-style problems at them and giving them a deadline to finish or get kicked out of the course (CC’s teaching style).
– They suddenly changed their course schedule a month before the course started (moved it a few weeks earlier) with no prior notice. Keep in mind, they have strict deadlines for you to complete coursework or get kicked out of the course.
– They force a culture of isolation and unnatural work practices. They literally cancelled all of their group study sessions and warn you not to reference or use someone else’s code solution to a problem.
– More than half the students couldn’t complete the assignments/dropped out. I understand, they want to be a hardcore “silicon valley” startup but it seems really scammy if your business model is based on taking people’s money and then screening them out *afterwards*.
I know they have some staff active on reddit so I’m just going to post word for word my friend’s experience and leave it at that. Caveat emptor.
10 comments
The standout thing you mentioned is taking money and then throwing students out? What the fuck.
Seems like a refund for the remaining time is needed. Could you elaborate or do they really keep 100%?
I somehow misread this as “chode chrysalis”
Coding bootcamps are basically a tax on people who do not have the skills to create a study schedule and stick to it.
There’s nothing of what you learn in a bootcamp that cannot be found in a good book, a free youtube video or a much less expensive Skillshare/Udemy/etc… course.
Why would anyone bother with a Japan-based bootcamp anyway?
How applicable/realistic are those leetcode problems? I just started using it and those easy problems take me around 20-30 minutes on python, while medium hard ones take me like an hour to 2. If they expect me to solve those problems in a 15 minute interview I am in deep doo doo.
All I know about Chrysalis is that one of the founders made an incredibly annoying thread on Twitter talking about how the reason the Japanese workforce is stagnating is because employees refuse to “take risks” and jump from job to job.
This kind of take just completely ignores the fact that benefits packages, salary, etc. is often based on seniority, *and* that foreign companies that try to incentivize job hopping often fail to provide salaries that are comparable to the material and social benefits (and stability!) of being a lifelong employee at an 大手企業.
Naturally one couldnt imagine the Japanese to actually be working towards their own self interest! No, no, its all silly “honor culture” and cowardice and little meek Japanese shooting themselves in the foot– at least according to her.
So.
I am not surprised to hear their business sucks.
i had someone contacted me a few years ago they had good experience with cc.
i know that everything is this world would eventually become rot. pretty surprised that cc has become rotten so fast
I recall having a very dim view of one of the organizers, who hosted several public events. Beside having a tenuous grasp of programming fundamentals herself, she was extremely rude to many participants she interacted with. Left a really bad taste in my mouth.
I took the course last year and I have the opposite experience.
They were quick to respond.
I received lots of support when I actually needed it but more often just ways to find the solution myself.
The course schedule thing idk, wasn’t a thing when I was there.
You shouldn’t use someone else’s solution to a problem… but most of the time we were working in groups anyway so it’s a moot point.
My graduate class had no drops outs and there probably should’ve been at least one. The only issue I had with the course was that they were unwilling to hold someone back if they couldn’t keep up. They told us at the beginning of the course that if you couldn’t keep up they’d allow you to take another course in the future without charging again as long as you following their reasonable stipulations.
I attended some meet-ups/ short trainings there a few years ago when it was a relatively new program. Yan was pretty nice, so I’m pretty surprised to hear the bad reception. Things could have changed around there, but back in the day it was a pretty friendly cohort of people.