Lighthouse Labs
Lighthouse Labs Bootcamp Reviews and Complete Guide
More than 20,000 students have learned to code through the Lighthouse Labs software development and data science bootcamp. If you wish to join their ranks, explore this Lighthouse Labs review to discover what programs the school offers, how to get accepted, and how to pay for your education.
Lighthouse Labs was founded in Canada in 2013. The brainchild of a group of developers hoping to improve coding education, the school offers 12-week courses online and at its campuses throughout Canada.
What Is Lighthouse Labs?
| Lighthouse Labs Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Cost | Campus: $13,000 Online: $1,750 – $13,000 |
| Start Dates | Rolling Start Dates |
| Locations | Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Online |
| Courses | Data Science Bootcamp, Intro to Data Analytics, Intro to Front End with JavaScript, Web Development Bootcamp, Intro to Web Development |
| Available Programs | Full-Time, Part-Time,Self-Paced |
Lighthouse Labs is a highly reputable Canadian coding bootcamp. Graduates of this school have gone on to work for large tech companies such as Amazon, JumpAnalytics, Uber, Telus, Indeed, and Tango Financial.
The institution offers full-time and part-time courses in many areas of programming, with courses currently taking place online due to COVID-19. In all of the classes taught at the school, 75 percent of students’ time is spent practicing coding, whether through projects or solving coding problems.
Is Lighthouse Labs Worth It?
If you are looking for a reliable school that will prepare you for a career in tech, this bootcamp is worth it. Lighthouse Labs’ main objective is to bring students up to speed in coding and data science. The school’s proof of success is in the results, with many graduates going on to full-time programming careers.
Its price is similar to that of other software engineering schools and is more affordable than a university education.
Lighthouse Labs Job Placement
According to official data from Lighthouse Labs, 96 percent of students get a job within four months of graduating. This figure is higher than any other bootcamp in Canada.
This is partially due to the school’s professional network, with many large Canadian companies and startups turning to the Lighthouse Labs website to search for fresh tech talent.
Does Lighthouse Labs Offer a Job Guarantee?
Lighthouse Labs does not offer a job guarantee, but it does have a Career Services program that students can join to make connections with prospective employers. Through interview and resume preparation, career coaching, and networking, 93 percent of students find work within 120 days of graduating.
The minimum salary received by these former students is $52,000. More than 1,500 graduates are currently employed in the Canadian tech industry.
How Much Does Lighthouse Labs Cost?
Courses at Lighthouse Labs cost between $1,750 and $13,000, depending on the course. Full-time courses lasting 12 weeks cost $13,000, whether attended on-campus or online. A six-week part-time online course ranges from $1,750 to $2,250.
How to Pay for Lighthouse Labs: Scholarships, Loans, Installments
Lighthouse Labs offers multiple scholarships and other funding options for students. Below, we’ll look at the external and internal tuition payment methods offered by the coding school.
Scholarships
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lighthouse Labs created a special grant for prospective students who have been financially affected by the virus. The school invested more than $1 million to support those who are suffering financially due to COVID-19.
Those who qualify for the COVID-19 Scholarship Fund can receive $3,000 or $5,000 for full-time online courses and $750 for part-time courses. To apply for this scholarship, you must fill out a form and write an essay.
ISAs
Currently, Lighthouse Labs does not offer an income share agreement.
Loan Financing
Lighthouse Labs also does not offer loans. However, this bootcamp does provide financing through government partnerships. Students in the web development bootcamp who live in Alberta or British Columbia can qualify for the Government of Canada’s Student Aid program.
Installments
If you choose this payment option, you must make a deposit once you are accepted into the program. The school won’t reserve your spot in the course if you fail to pay. Payments can be made by credit card, check, e-transfer, or bank draft.
GI Bill
As it is a Canadian institution, Lighthouse Labs does not accept the GI Bill. However, there are other financing options for Canadian veterans. The bootcamp website has a PDF guide on financing that will provide more details on this option.
Lighthouse Labs Locations
Lighthouse Labs has offices in several major cities in Canada. At these campuses, you can access exclusive courses and materials that are not available online.
- Lighthouse Labs Montreal
- Lighthouse Labs Vancouver
- Lighthouse Labs Ottawa
- Lighthouse Labs Victoria
- Lighthouse Labs Calgary
- Lighthouse Labs Toronto
These class sizes at all of these locations are small, with only eight to 12 students allowed per class in order to create a personalized and comfortable learning experience.
Lighthouse Labs Courses
This bootcamp has five courses, each of which will leave you ready to take on the challenge of a professional role in programming after 12 weeks.
If you are new to coding, you should check out Lighthouse Labs’ prep courses so you can get a strong base of knowledge before starting your full-time class.
Lighthouse Labs Prep Courses
These short courses called Prep Modules form the basis of everything you will learn in the more advanced courses at Lighthouse Labs.
After you learn the programming fundamentals in these lessons, you will submit your work at least two weeks before your bootcamp begins.
Then, you will have meetings with the Lighthouse Labs managers who evaluate your work. Below are some of the topics students will learn in the Prep Modules.
- Create web pages with HTML5
- CSS tools
- Web development with Ruby on Rails
- UNIX command-line interface
- Simple programs with Ruby
- Control and change source codes with GitHub
Web Development – In-Person | Online
This is one of the most advanced courses at Lighthouse Labs. This 12-week full-time web development bootcamp will teach you how to turn your theoretical knowledge into usable web products.
Most of your time in the class will be spent developing websites. In addition to your teachers, Lighthouse Labs also assigns mentors for students in this course so you can get help outside of work hours.
Data Science – In-Person | Online
This data science bootcamp is also a full-time 12-week course. Over this period, students learn data science skills such as the data-specific programming language SQL, Python, and the basics of machine learning. Before you sign up, be aware that this course is a combination of math, data, and advanced programming.
Intro to Web Development – In-Person | Online
In this short six-week course, you will get a handle on all the tools you need to become a web developer. By the end, you will be able to create your own web applications, through both back-end and front-end processes.
Intro to Data Analytics – In-Person | Online
This course is a great place to start if you want to learn how to interpret data. In six weeks of lessons, you will learn how to turn data into useful information that can be used to help businesses generate income and make better decisions.
Intro to Front End with JavaScript – In-Person | Online
Over six weeks, you will learn all about JavaScript. Students will create a personal website from scratch in this course using their newfound knowledge of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. These classes are based on front end development, which is used to build dynamic and creative interfaces.
What Is the Lighthouse Labs Schedule?
This Canadian bootcamp offers full-time and part-time schedules. Depending on your availability and location, you can choose which one is the most appropriate for your situation.
Full-time
Full-time courses can be attended online or in person. These are intensive classes that will require 40 or 60 hours of studying per week, for 12 weeks. You will begin work in the morning and end in the late afternoon.
Part-Time
This schedule is favored by students with jobs. If you are taking a course while also working, you should choose this model, as it only requires six hours of study per week, for six weeks.
How to Get Accepted Into Lighthouse Labs
Meeting all the requirements to study at Lighthouse Labs is easy. This school is open to anyone, with admissions based solely on the motivation and merit of each individual.
To apply as a Canadian student, you must be a high school graduate and at least 19 years old, or 18 if you live in Alberta, Quebec, or Ontario.
Lighthouse Labs Acceptance Rate
Lighthouse Labs does not make its acceptance rate public.
Application Process
The admission process at Lighthouse Labs consists of four steps.
- Fill out the online form: Go to the bootcamp’s website and fill out the application. On this form, you will provide basic information about yourself, your educational background, and your coding experience.
- Book a group interview: Once you have turned in your form, you can book an interview with Lighthouse Labs.
- Pass assessments: When the interview is over, students must take several tests to assess their performance in coding and logic. You will receive study materials beforehand to prepare for these exams.
- Take the Prep Modules: If you passed the tests, it’s time to take Lighthouse Labs’ prep courses. In these, you will learn all the basic knowledge you need to start your selected program.
Interview Questions
During the group interview stage, you will have to answer questions about coding and web development, plus give the interviewer an idea of your personality. Lighthouse Labs even has a blog on its website containing tips on how to answer these questions.
Below are some of the questions you may be asked in your interview. In addition to these, you may be asked to answer some technical questions.
- Why did you choose Lighthouse Labs?
- What are your career goals?
- What experience do you have with coding?
Is Lighthouse Labs Right for You?
Whichever bootcamp you choose, you are making the right decision by attending Lighthouse Labs. The school is methodically preparing its students for professional work at reputable companies.
A News Wire study found that the number of tech jobs in Canada rose by 3.6 percent in 2019, equating to more than 60,000 new positions. This included increases in junior developer roles and all other areas of software development.
These stats are proof that signing up for a bootcamp at Lighthouse Labs is a smart choice if you’re seeking a stable career. By committing 12 weeks of your time, you will receive the fundamental knowledge you need to break into Canada’s tech industry.
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Anonymous
Being unhappy with the traditional school system, I started looking for alternatives and found Lighthouse Labs. After a bit of research I decided to go with them for no particular reason, other than I liked their website. After all, most coding bootcamp websites all advertise for the same thing.
The sheer amount of knowledge and understanding about high-level programming they gave us in such a small amount of time, is invaluable. We, the passionate cohort I was lucky to be a part of, gave all of our time and dedication for those 10 weeks and they supported us throughout this learning experience.
Yes. ‘Supported’ us. As I wrote previously, I was dissatisfied with the school system I’ve been a part of all my life and so, this was refreshing. They taught us early on, how to learn, how to be curious and assertive. Of course, no one understood everything, so the mentors were always there at the ready, to help us either look through documentation and code more carefully or come up with a different explanation of the problem, while never revealing the answer!
As fo the curriculum, it was heavily dependent on javascript and on week 7 we did a ruby project. We did many projects using different stacks of technologies, all the while learning how to use git and Github for good workflow. The last 10 days were the craziest, most exhilarating days of the bootcamp; we had to team up in teams of 3 or more, come up with a solution to a problem, have a good team workflow, and do a full-stack application with our newly acquired knowledge.
We also had some networking events with employers, where we could talk with them, ask questions and even potentially get a job. Overall, we learnt how to present ourselves in a favorable light to more easily get interviews and later on, a carrer.
Since I didn’t have any prior notable work experience, it was a risky but life-changing decision.
January 15, 2020
Anonymous
I enrolled in the Web Development Bootcamp at Lighthouse Labs with very little prior coding knowledge (I had completed a couple code academy courses in CSS and HTML) and I came out the other end a Full Stack Web Developer! I loved the learning environment, and I don’t think I would have made it through without the encouragement and expertise of my teachers and mentors. And at the end they even helped me find a job! A 10/10 learning experience that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to jump into the world of web developement!
March 16, 2020
Anonymous
Lighthouse labs have a special effect on people. It takes what you knew as your limit, destroys it, and don’t let you build a new one for a few weeks, not until you have learned everything they have to taught.
And all that with an imense support from the teachers, mentors, and staff.
June 18, 2020
Anonymous
I graduated from Lighthouse Labs’ Vancouver Web Development Bootcamp in April 2019, and really couldn’t rave enough about the program.
Coming from some basic coding knowledge (I had taken one of the part-time introductory coding classes that Lighthouse offers), I found the bootcamp to be a difficult yet supportive and rewarding experience.
With tons of mentor support, awesome teachers and a curriculum that’s regularly updated, it’s clear that Lighthouse cares a lot about their students.
August 27, 2020
Anonymous
School never really worked for me – I was often bored, often distracted, and when high school ended Computer Science was definitely not in the cards. But I always enjoyed coding and dealing with technologies. 15 years later after a few career changes the idea of a bootcamp came up and I asked around a bunch and landed on Lighthouse as having one of the best reputations and…man…I’m so glad. Those 10 weeks were some of the most challenging but ultimately most rewarding of my life. I met 13 amazing other cohort mates and great – really great – instructors and mentors and by around week 7 I realised I could barely recognize week 1 me. By week 10 I’d learned a tonne and created a web application from scratch that I’m really proud of.
I am a bit of an evangelist now. This experience was incredible, and career services was so helpful – I’m about to start my first job in the field in 5 days and I graduated only 2 weeks ago. If I had it to do over again I would do it in a heartbeat.
November 7, 2020
Anonymous
I would highly recommend the Web Development Bootcamp with Lighthouse Labs. From the instructors to the mentors to the support staff, it really seemed like their main focus was ensuring the student’s had the best experience possible. I felt supported throughout the entire bootcamp and there was constant reassurance when things got tough (which they did & will – this is not a simple program. It definitly requires a lot of work and dedication).
One aspect I really like about the bootcamp is the life-time access to the course material. I’m currently going back over some of the topics we learned as a refresher and it’s been immensly helpful! I also think it’s extremely beneficial that you complete the bootcamp with a full portfolio of web applications to show employers. Upon completion of the program, there are events to connect with the mentors, alumni, etc. to help you become part of the tech community.
All in all, 10/10 would recommend this program to anyone who’s contemplating taking the leap! It will provide you with the skills needed to make a career change.
December 13, 2020