Rutgers Bootcamps

Going to RCB was honestly one of the best decisions of my life.  It isn't an easy program, it's challenging and exhausting, but in a really, really good way.  The way this program is taught forces you to not only learn the class curriculum, but also spend a significant amount of time out of class learning on your own.  This program made me feel confident enough in my skills to quit my job and have a complete career change.  It was a terrifying risk to take, but it was the best decision I've ever made and I wouldn't have done it without this program.  Looking back to where I was 6 months ago, I am absolutely amazed at the things I can do.  The instructors and TAs were excellent. They actually cared about the success of each student in the class, which is extremely important when you are doing such a challenging program.  I highly recommend this program to anyone who has the drive and enthusiasm necessary to become a web developer.

Full-Disclosure: The boot camp hired me toward the end of the course as a part-time curriculum consultant.

I enrolled in this course to learn the process of creating web apps with Node.js. There's a lot of technology involved when building out a full-stack project: markdown files, JavaScript logic, API routing, database management, version control and so on. I tried relying on online resources to study this info, but the vast amount of content available made it arduous to chart out a clear learning path on my own. This led me to seeking out a nearby coding boot camp, Rutgers being the closest (30 minute drive to New Brunswick vs 90 minute train to NYC).

The course focused on the various components of a modern web app and moved through this material in a cohesive direction (database management before the Express framework, essential full-stack tech before trending libraries like React and Angular, etc.). My instructor, Ahmed Haque, taught each lecture with a friendly and energetic tone—his speaking style brought down to earth the abstractions and complexities inherent to web development. 

The instructor and TAs always provided exceptional assistance whether I needed a quick clarification or a more in-depth rundown—they always made sure I understood the material before helping the next student. Ahmed even created video tutorials for us to view on our own time for some of the tougher concepts.

While 24 weeks makes for a lengthy course, the wide breadth of client- and server-side technologies covered in this span gave the boot camp a brisk pace. Still, by paying attention to the lectures, studying outside the classroom and taking advantage of the one-to-one support, I came out able to build full-stack apps with different frameworks and databases. Would recommend to anyone looking to do the same. 

I'm going to make this review as detailed as possible, I feel as though there aren't many testimonials for RCB out there and thanks to some SEO magic, this pops up first. 

First of all, long story short, I was in the January 2016 cohort of the New Brunswick class and by the fifth month of the program I was fielding a number of job offers by a number of companies ranging from small startups to big corporations. I came into the program with zero coding experience and took this course along with my college coursework (I was in the final semester of my senior year at Rutgers). No, my degrees were not in computer science. Yes, my offers were more favorable than a number of my friends who graduated with a degree in CS. 

Every single line of code I typed was taught to me by my instructors: John and Ahmed. John was my main instructor while Ahmed instructed both sections of the January cohort on Saturdays. It cannot be overstated how incredible these two were at teaching us the beast that is Javascript. John was extremely patient with all of the students and kept us all engaged into the wee hours of the night on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He even stayed after class was finished on most nights to further aid students that needed extra help. John's teaching abilities surpassed that of the tenured professors that I studied under at Rutgers University. He also has a sense of humor that helped keep things light when Node or MySQL were beating us into the ground. I would not be at my job, in my apartment or in my social standing right now if it were not for John. 

This sounds like a cinderella story, which is why you're probably wondering about the one-star in the Job Assistance category. I would give it zero stars if I could. The reason why I decided to pay $9,000 for this program was to not only learn how to be a software developer but to also enmesh myself into the network of connections that was advertised to me when I inquired about the program. At my initial inquiry, I was told that we would eventually be working with companies on projects to see what it would be like to be a real-life developer. Didn't happen. During the first few weeks, we were actually shown PowerPoints listing various companies who were connected as hiring partners to the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. It pains me to say that these hiring partners were non-existent when it came time to look for jobs. 

During the entirety of the program, career services would take literal WEEKS to answer my messages about any topic at all. No matter how small or big the issue. By the fourth month, I felt as though I was ready to begin applying for jobs. Due to the negligence of career services, I sought advice from Ahmed about how to approach employers, how to negotiate a fair salary, and other important things about the technological job market in which I was not familiar. Thanks to Ahmed's advice - I was able to prepare myself for technical interviews, salary negotiations, as well as just giving me a a confidence boost when I initially started at my new job and started feeling overwhelmed. Ahmed, John, and Quincy (John's teaching assistant) were the sole proprietors from this entire experience of getting me from noob to full-time, salaried software developer. It is because of them that I personally felt that this program was worth it.

It truly is a shame that the incredible work done by these men are overshadowed by the incompetencies and utter disorganization of the career services. I was under the impression (and given the impression) that we would be connected with a wide array of companies to hopefully be placed with at the conclusion of the program. "Career services" has consisted of students being told to apply for ten jobs a week and a Google sheet with seemingly Google'd job postings for software developers. A big number of the postings actually ask for candidates who are seeking a mid-level developer with years of experience or a developer who has experience with frameworks that we were not taught at all in the program. Absolutely NOTHING like the connections they boasted about at the beginning of the program.

In conclusion, I am grateful for this program. Only for the fact that I have learned so much and have enjoyed every bit of learning during this experience. It has provided me with a skillset that will aid me for the rest of my life. At the end of the day, my gripes are very specific and if I could go back I would absolutely choose the same path that I chose in the beginning of January. But, hypothetically, I would hope that I would possess the knowledge I have today about who in the program actually cares about each student's learning / overall success in life and who simply does not care and will feed you anything on a silver platter to get your check in the mail. 

I was once like you: a boringly normal human with a lame, mostly administrative job and a random array of self-taught tech skills, from HTML & CSS to the most rudimentary Ruby and Java. 

After enrolling in Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, all of that changed. I moved up in my job, I can charge a significantly higher $$$/hour rate for freelance work, and I haven't even finished the program yet!

After just a few months with RCB's instructors, I could write fluent JavaScript, model databases, and I no longer have to search HTML and CSS attributes every five minutes while working on front-end projects. 

My career now has direction, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like my life has direction. 

In addition to its great instructors, RCB also provides you with amazing career-focused guest speakers and an awesome career coach who will connect you with prospective jobs while equipping you with the skills to create stand-out tech resumés.

If you want a better future, register today!

I'd like to write a review about the April 2016 cohorts. I feel that this has been an amazing experience. The environment, teachers and TA's are all very understanding and it feels like how college should have been. I have a Masters in Statistics but I wished I had more challenging programming courses in the tools used. After some experience as a Statistical analyst, I thought I should go back to a program and learn applied programming (Rather than just theory) in a deeper level. I feel like I can apply my skills to a much broader field now. It is a pretty tough program but the environment makes a difference. It's a bootcamp so expect to be doing a lot of hard work. I am happy that it's not a traditonal lecture. I was always good at it but I never had enough hands on experience. I think compared to other schools, 6 months is perfect yet just challenging enough.. Recently, a couple of people have started getting jobs as well within 4 months!

(For reference, I was in the January 2016 cohort at New Brunswick). I have to say, that I am so blessed that I applied, was accepted, and had the experience that I did.  I will admit, prior to starting the course, I was scared.  Not only scared, but anxious that I would fall behind, nervous that I didn't have the "brain" for this kind of work, and regretfully filled with "what ifs" about my personal success in the course.  But guess what? I did fall behind - and I got through it.  I must say, that though these past six months were incredibly challenging, and through the tears (yes there were tears!), I came out more successful than I ever had expected after just six months.  Rutgers Coding Bootcamp was an amazing experience.  It's super difficult to learn new material, especially material that you have never once seen or touched before (my background is in Clinical Counseling), and so you have all these anxieties that you won't succeed. But trust me, you will. At RCB, you have the MOST help and support, not only by the teacher (I had Ahmed, and I will say he is a fantastic teacher! I don't doubt that John, the other teacher, was great, but I can only speak for Ahmed), but also by the TA's. I have never felt more sense of security and generosity than I did in this course. With also the help by the career team, you can be sure you will be helped every step of the way. If you are stuck on a homework assignment, or just need help, or even if you're having a break down and need a pep talk, you will have access to your teacher and TA's every single day (trust me, I know from experience), and I can promise you, you will come out the other side more successful, confident, and capable than you ever thought beforehand. If I could re-do these past six months, I would do so in a heartbeat. Go RCB! 

I was working at a dead-end job, with a pointless degree. My life was starting to spiral out of control and I didn't know what to do. Then I happened to stumble upon Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. The name Rutgers alone caught my eye, since I graduated from Rutgers in 2013. The admission process was smooth and everyone was quick to respond during the intro stages.

I came in with very little coding experience, but from beginning to end, the instructors and staff were there for me every step of the way. The program itself is intense, meeting multiple times per week and dedicating time to homework, all while working a full time job (definitely doable). The instructor (Ahmed) and TAs (Peter and Faisal) were extremely knowledgeable and helpful in every possible way. They take their time and make sure you do not fall behind, and they definitely go that extra mile for their students.

The curriculum is fine-tuned, well thought out, and will have you job ready in 6 months’ time. From attending classes to spending countless hours on homework and projects (all while making friends in the process =P ), I’m happy to say that my RCB experience was an amazing and successful one. I was able to land a position at a very reputable company right before graduation. Thank you to everyone at RCB for everything!

First of all. I would like to thank all of the instructors and teaching staff's hard work. It has been an amazing experience with Rutgers Booting Camp so far. I really like the instructor's teaching style. The whole program is very well designed. Not only on the teaching part, but also mange to show us how fun and powful code can be in our real life. 

My major is not computer science. I started on my own in the begining and found it is really something I am passionate about. Going back to school is the best choice I ever made. Becasue it is the only way for me to become more professional. Surounded by all the people who also share the same interests keeps me moving forward. 

Special thanks to Pavan my advisor and my instrutor Matt. It is really appreciated! 

Respectfully,

Chen

After graduating college and working in some full-/part-time opportunities, I reached a point where I wasn't sure what to do with my life. When I most needed it, an advertisement for Rutgers Coding Bootcamp appeared on my Facebook feed one day. I applied and waited for a response, not realizing that I had made one of the best decisions of my life. 

As a bootcamp, this program is intensive. You meet 3 times a week, for 3-4 hours each class, and will need to invest at least 20 hours a week to develop a firm understanding of a variety of technical concepts, frameworks, and languages. If you put in the time, you will only boost your potential for success. The academic support in this program is second-to-none. The instructors (especially Ahmed, Faisal, and Peter) and staff all work tirelessly to help you reach your goals. The insight and the skills you develop from this program are invaluable, not only to the Technology industry, but also, to life.

I am two weeks away from graduating from the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and can honestly say that it has been a life changing experience. I entered the program nervous and doubtful of my ability to become a full stack software developer. Now six months later, I am exiting the program with a valuable set of skills and confident that I will be successful in the tech industry. I highly recommend this program. The support of the administration, the dedication and compassion of the professors are unlike anything I have ever experienced before. 

As a Rutgers alumni,  I can say that the quality of education at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp exceeds the standards of education that I received as an undergrad.  Between the high quality instructors with a wealth of experience in the industry, the extra support provided outside of class throughout the week, and a curriculum that adapts to the constantly changing field of software development,  RCB is a program that I am proud to have been a part of. 

Beyond learning about software engineering principles, RCB teaches valuable skills, such as how to prepare a resume specifically tailored to jobs in the IT industry, how to market yourself on social media, as well as how to ace the coding interview.   The career advisors helped me seamlessly transition from a career in a completely different industry to one as a full time programmer.  

In addition, the partnerships that the program has developed with IT companies in the Tri-State area exceeeded my expectations.  It was refreshing to see the quality of employers at our demo day - I actually received an interview directly from this event and started my career as a software engineer two weeks later!

Reflecting back, it's hard to believe that only six months ago I didn't even know basic HTML & CSS.  With RCB's help, I was able to to learn the skills that I needed to become a full-stack developer and transition to a new career that I enjoy working in each day.  

I will be completing the RCB in about 4 weeks. The program is excellent and the staff has an enormous energy and ability to teach dense and detailed subject matter. Anyone considering the RCB must realize that it will take real dedication and a lot of hours but the payoff will be worth it. This curriculum can turn you into a full-stack developer in a mere 6 months. Try doing that on your own!

Besides a dedicated staff and a well-organized curriculum, the career services component and staff is second-to-none. They go the extra mile to make sure you are setting yourself up for success in the job market.

All in all, the experience has been very hard work with many, many hours of learning on my own, going to many classes, and doing tons of coding for homework and group projects. But at the end, there is tremendous satisfaction that the RCB delivered on what was promised.