Rutgers Bootcamps

I came into this course with no technical experience whatsoever. I had a desire to add to my skillset in a changing employment landscape. This course was one of the most difficult, frustrating, and humbling educational experience I've ever had. I had some incredible instructors, and other students lept at the chance to help those who were struggling. I think a collaborative environment is pretty essential in a course like this, and Rutgers Coding Bootcamp delivered on that one hundred percent. While the program advertises itself as one that will help you transition to a pure development, I think it's easy to see that everyone -- folks with writing backgrounds like myself included -- should at the very least have a better understanding of the underlying technologies of the web. I would wholeheartedly reccomend the course. 

This will be a short review, but what I wanted to concentrate on is the faculty and staff. Going in as a blank slate in regards to Dev, I was certainly worried about my ability to keep up with the curriculum and rest of class. But the Ahmed (my instructor) was easily the best teacher I've had in my life. With an ability to put difficult concepts into simpler terms, and with the support of the TA's and classmates, this was the most enjoyable learning experience I've ever had. Do yourself a favor and take the plunge, as this may become the most important six-months in your life!

The Rutgers Coding Bootcamp program is the best investment I have made for my future as a web developer.  This course is in depth and intellectually challenging.  The professor and the TAs knew how challening the course was and therefore went above and beyond to assist every student.  Ahmed, Nate and Will were always available for help with homework and to encourage students who began to doubt themselves.  I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to pursue a career in web development.

At Rutgers Coding Bootcamp the pace was fast and the work was intense. But thanks to Ahmed's light-hearted teaching style the classes felt fun even when I was really challenged. The instruction was clear, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into the curriculum design. At the end of the course you will not only know full-stack web development, but you will have a good understanding of how to teach yourself any other programming language or technical skill. Really, the process is made that clear. 

But it's not just about working on your own. A big challenge for me was learning to work with other developers. We were really pushed to learn to work together, and Ahmed  had us explain material to each other, work in groups on projects and in-class assignments, and created a space on our slack channel for students to help each other solve problems. 

In addition to the regular classes, students enrolled in the program have the opportunity to take a plethora of free workshops. Knowing how important it is to keep abreast of up and coming technologies, they provided us with a chance to learn Elixir and Phoenix. Since I have a graphic design background, I especially appreciated the free workshops on UI and D3.js that I was able to take. In fact, alumni get to participate in a lot of the free workshops too. The entire team is very supportive of the alumnis continuing education. 

The career services offered are up to the standards of the rest of the program. Mock interview sessions, opportunities to practice white board questions, and career development workshops are all offered as part of the bootcamp. The career services team has been giving me and my cohort a lot of individual and small group attention. Frankly the career services through RBC have been better than what was available at my college. 

I couldn't recommend the program more highly. If you're considering a coding bootcamp, definitely consider RCB. The pedagogical expertise that comes from an affiliation with one of the country's oldest universities makes a difference. 

I'm confident that, given the time, I could have learned everything I learned in the program on my own. However, as I've heard emphasized several times now, the best software engineers are not just masters of the technical aspects, but they're excellent communicators and collaborators. Such soft skills are easy to miss if you don't have the environment that this class provides. If you want to make the most of it, I strongly encourage that you connect with fellow students, instructors, TAs, and speakers. Though it may not be immediately apparent, the indirect effect of making that effort will pay off.

All that said, the collaborative part of the curriculum felt a little lacking in structure at times. While I enjoyed working with my classmates, I would have liked to have had more time getting a sense of the collaborative process so we could have spent more time actually building the projects than trying to figure out how to get going. More practice with git, for example, would have been a huge help. I wonder if re-working a project would have given a better feel for the continuity involved in larger projects that'll be encountered after finishing the course.

Overall, Ahmed was an excellent instructor, the TAs were helpful, the students were engaged, and I'm happy with the results.

My experience with the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp was phenomenal. I had tried to learn some web development basics on my own prior to the class, but I was never as successful as with the bootcamp’s guided learning. They provided the structure that I needed to make sense of a field that can seem incredibly daunting and complex for someone coming from an entirely different world. They helped me learn how to learn, so I could continue even after the class ends. 

With all that said, there is nothing that will substitute hard work and hours of dedication. The immense dedication with which Ahmed, our instructor, went into each class was inspiring. He really went above and beyond to ensure that everyone received a well-rounded experience. Learning to code is like learning a new language. Put the work into it, and you open a new world of possibilities. Nothing is handed to you, but there’s always someone there to help you if you feel like you’re struggling. It’s an investment in yourself that you have to work hard at, but you’re never alone. 

I highly recommend RCB to anyone looking to get into web development. I have a background in business and prior to joining, I had a little bit of knowledge about HTML and CSS from online courses. I felt like I was at a stand still because I wanted a formal and immersive learning experience. Grad school was too long considering the tech field is continuously changing and the bootcamps I found either required a background in tech/computer science or seemed like a waste of time and money. Not only did I learn a lot while attending RCB, but this experience has been truly life changing. I'm leaving RCB with a very strong foundation and the knowledge I've gained is transferable to other languages and frameworks I'm interested in learning. Everything I've learned is directly relevant to what an entry level/junior developer requires.

I attended the Jersey City location and Ahmed was my instructor. He's extremely knowledgeable, committed and ALWAYS available. The class picks up quickly. The first two weeks, we learned HTML and CSS and by the third week we moved onto JavaScript and then Jquery. The classes usually started out with a lecture and then we moved onto exercises (sometimes we worked individually or did pair programming). Like most things in life, you get what you put in. If you are dedicated and proactive, I'm sure you will be very satisfied with your experience at RCB.

I absolutely loved the bootcamp. The curriculum was very intensive but I felt that it taught us the necessary languages and discipline to not only dip our feet into the Web Development world but succeed if the right amount of time and work was put into the class. It was NOT easy at any point in the course but I was lucky enough to have an AMAZING instructor (Ahmed) and two AMAZING tutor assistants (Nate and Will). There was an endless amount of support, literally 24/7. I never felt like I was bothering anyone when I asked for help and never felt that I was so lost that I wouldn't be able to catch up (which was my biggest fear coming into this bootcamp). My instructor genuinely wanted to be there and help all of us succeed. Aside from the education aspect, my instructor, classmates and TA's have helped me grow as a professional and also as a person. I am forever grateful for my whole RCB team.

I found RCB at a time in my life when things weren't adding up as they should. Do well on your SAT's, get into college, and you'll get a good job, they said. But this "life formula" turned out not to work for me. I thought I was doing everything right, but eventually found myself not being able to wake up happy every morning. I decided to finally bite the bullet and sign up for a coding bootcamp. I had nothing to lose.

The main reason I chose this program over others was because of its proximity, as well as the flexibility in the part-time program. I had to work full-time while attending the class, so this was my biggest concern. The curriculum offerings were also standard with the industry. As well, the bootcamp was offered through Rutgers University, and I liked that I got a little bit of "college experience" out of it. Students ranged widely in ages, profession, and skill level, but I found that it was a safe place to network with others without feeling judged. It helped me become comfortable to talk to other "coders" and maybe one day call myself that.

The greatest advantage of a having face-to-face class was that if I needed hand-holding, I could always find someone to talk to. But to really excel, I had to be able to push past my own limitations. The lectures provided a foundation on which I could exercise my creativity when doing the homework. The most helpful sessioins were doing a timed coding test in class and doing mock interviews with live feedback. I think that whether one graduates still a novice or an employable professional, largely depends on an array of personal factors, but previous coding experience is not one of them. Learning is a lifelong skill, and practice makes perfect; I felt that RCB did a good job of emphasizing that. When it came to applying for jobs, the biggest threshold for me was getting an interview. Sending a resume was definitely not enough, and Career Services was able to help me get in the door on more than a few occassions. Demo Day pushed me to get my portfolio ready and practice talking with employers. In fact, I found that it wasn't difficult to demonstrate my skills and willingness to keep learning. 

When I started RCB in January, I was despondent and unsure of what "path" in life I was taking. For the first few weeks, I forced myself to get into the routine of squeezing in time for a quick dinner between work and class, and trying to not fall behind. But it wasn't long before I found myself doing all-nighters because I wanted to, and gaining a sense of accomplishment when I made that final push to GitHub for all the world to see. (And then pushing it again a few minutes later because of a bug.)

And now entering into the last few weeks of the year, I am starting a new job, and I am a lot more optimistic with the direction I am going. Thank you to a great instructor and friend Ahmed, to the best section TA's Peter and Faisal, and also to Quincy for fielding all my in-class questions, Patrick for the intro to Python, and Peleke for taking an hour out of your time to talk about RxJS. Also, to Stacey, for always telling me where to park, to Career Services, especially Nalani and Zach, who were great to work with and kept me motivated post-graduation, and to my family and friends for their encouragement and support along the way. What a year it's been, and I can't wait for the next!

Taking this course was honestly the best decision I ever made.  I was in a career I was not happy with and I always wanted to learn to code, so that's when I choose to apply to the bootcamp.  The instructor was fantastic, the TAs are always there to help either in person or through the internet.  I learned so much through the course and now I have a full-time job as a developer and I am so much happier with my career.  The curriculum was very good and focused on teaching students technologies that the market needs developers for.  The job assistance was fantastic as well, the student success coordinator I was assigned stayed in touch and set up phone calls to talk about my job search often and didn't stop until I had got an offer. 

I recently graduated from the program in July 2016 and life has just not been the same since (pardon the cliche). I must admit that at about the 3 week mark I began asking myself if I could have gone the self teaching route that others have offered as an alternative. For me, it would not have been a stretch since I have a background in IT (comp sci undergrad, MIS grad). Web development was something I was interested in because so much of my prior experience had been on the systems side (process improvment, project management, quality assurance), and I was looking to transition my career track towards something that was more "hands on", if you will. Plus it's easier for developers to telecommute; systems people usually have to be at the office. 

Now that I've completed the program I know that I would not have nearly the amount of knowledge had I tried to self teach the skills I learned at the RCB. I am the parent of a soon-to-be 3 year old and a soon-to-be 1 year old at home so "self" anything is just about non-existent. I was lucky enough to be able to get to class 3 days a week for 6 months during which time I learned not only all the languages, frameworks, and other technologies that enable me to build complete web apps from scratch, but also some intangible lessons in collaboration, team building, and problem resolution. Most importantly, I got to work with knowledgeable, personable people, students and staff, many of which I hope to keep in contact with years to come. 

As far as the curriculum, I felt that the course moved along in a natural progression and at a very rapid pace, which I liked - it wouldn't be much of a 'bootcamp' if it didn't. Of course, there were times when I felt overwhelmed and there is a lot of pressure to not fall behind in the material. I was always able to get help from TAs/Instructors when I needed it and the career services support is stellar. I personally was able to earn myself a nice raise at my present job along with some other incentives and accolades, with the skills I learned at the RCB. 

If you are looking for a career change, or even just a skills retooling for Web development, I would highly recommend the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. The format, curriculum, and support staff are all top-notch, indicative of the Rutgers namesake. You must remember, however, that you MUST be willing and able to put in the work outside of attending classes. As with so many other things in life, what you get out of this program will depend enormously on what you are willing to put into it. 

First off, I just want to start by saying that this was the best academic experience of my life. I have struggled with staying excited and motivated in the traditional university experience for years. Ahmed, my instructor, was the best teacher I have ever had. The TA's Peter, Faisal, Dan, and many others were some of the best mentors I have ever had. Career Services has brought me so many different exciting opportunities I would have never been able to find on my own. And my fellow students were some of the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met. Okay, with that being said, here is my breakdown of the 6 month adventure that was Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. I was in Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and graduated about a month and a half ago. It was a great experience. I felt like I have a group of people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life. That includes the students,teachers, TA's, and career services people. On top of the great social experience, I had a great experience academically as well. I am definitely at the level of a junior level web developer. When going into this I did a lot of research on coding bootcamps and a few pieces of advice I listened to helped me a lot. Many people that had negative reviews on bootcamps said that the pace was too much (not from RCB but from other bootcamps). I am in no means the fastest learner. Going into a 6 month part-time program and coming out a competent full-stack developer was definitely a daunting task. What I did that helped with the pace of the program was actually did all the prework, plus I went over the curriculum and did some of my own additional work (html, css, light js). So going into the program it was if I took a prerequisite for the bootcamp. So in the program I definitely struggled but with the help of my fellow students as well as TA's and awesome instructor Ahmed. I can't describe how amazing they were. So before the program was over I had one freelance job and than since the program was over I have done contract work with one company, have had numerous clients contacting me for freelance work and have went on two interviews. Remember that this has only been a month and a half out of the program. Nalani and the rest of career services have been working their a**es of to get us jobs and it really shows. Ultimately, it has been said time and time again. These people are giving you great resources and amazing staff  and providing you with a great platform and experience... What you do with it is what will determine your success during and after the program.