Rutgers Bootcamps

Halfway through the course I reflected on what I had learned and what I was about to learn. I realized how close I came to technological irrelevance. I clearly dodged a bullet by investing in my professional development.

The experience was both brutal and awesome. This Boot Camp is not for Slackers, you will get out what you put in. Push yourself hard and you will have an excellent portfolio to show for it.

We were lucky to have a great instructor in Ahmed and excellent TA’s in Matt, Han, Jacob and Austin. The curriculum was exciting, and the tools were immediately applicable to real world scenarios.

Corey, Juanita and Jessica were extremely helpful with resume critiques and just making sure we had all necessary support. This is not a program that starts, stops and then throws you to the wolves, it is a tool kit with a support structure. 

I am a software developer with experience in Winforms and WPF, SQL Server, and C#.  I knew I had to do something else but my work kept me focusing on these development platforms.  Late last year, I took on another role focusing on D3 and front-end web development.  It was a big change for me and a lot of challenge.  I was removed from my comfort zone and that led me to the internet looking for tutorials, videos, and eventually to this course Data Science Bootcamp. 

At first, I was skeptical because I was afraid that I would be bored or wouldn’t enjoy it and would be wasting my time.  I kept reading through the topics and I kept telling myself that this is what I wanted to do.  After a number of phone calls, questions, and a lot of thinking, I decided to join the class and I have not looked back since.  Not only was the class intense, it was challenging in different levels.  Each student decides how intense he/she would like his/her experience to be.  The material is fast-paced but engaging.  If you feel you don’t get it, the instructor and TAs are there to guide you through. You’ll be surprised at how much help you can get from everyone including your peers.

The coursework is 6 months and includes SQL, Python, JavaScript, D3, Tableau, Machine Learning, and so much more.  The program does not only teach you how to use each application but also shows you how to put them all together.  Coming out of this program made me a more confident developer knowing that I have acquired new set of skills.  

Don’t take this course lightly but as long as you come to class and do all your work, you will be surprised at how much of the material you will be able to retain. My recommendation to anyone who is thinking of taking this course is to come in with an open mind and an eagerness to learn but most importantly a willingness to share knowledge.   Trust your instructors; I had great ones – Ahmed, Matt, Han, Jacob and wonderful peers to learn and work with. 

Few months back, when I registered for this Data Science Bootcamp, I had no idea whether my investment is right or wrong. My daughter saw an advertisement of this bootcamp while doing her job search and asked me to enquire about the details and motivated me. This is the first time, I am looking at the course report. I didn’t check it then and just registered for the course. Had only few phone sessions with the admission team prior to registration and after that with Student Success Manager-Juanita for prework assignment.

Finally, I joined the Data Science and Visualization Bootcamp in August 2017. Covering various tools & technologies in six months, this curriculum is very intensive, but gives a lot of exposure to the world of Data Science. I came to this class with my statistical background and some knowledge of basic Excel only. With no prior experiencing in coding and other technologies, I had to face a lot of problem but thanks to our instructor Ahmed and all TAs – Han, Matt, Jacob and Austin. They have motivated and supported me every moment that I can do it, and yes, I did it.

Besides this, I had the opportunity to get a great advice from career services team as well. Thanks to Jessica, Corey and Ahmed for the positive feedbacks for the improvement of my resume and online presence (LinkedIn and GitHub).

Today, I can proudly say that I did the right thing to join this program. A lot of hard work and dedication is required, but not possible without this type of supportive environment and instructional staff.

Again, I would like to thank Ahmed, Han, Matt, Jacob, Austin, Juanita, Jessica and Corey for their support and patiently handling my queries. 

I came into the program with no prior experience on coding and no knowledge as to what most of the tools we would be learning do. I mostly wanted to start the course because they taught SQL which I noticed most financial companies I was applying for were seeking. The experience seemed daunting to begin with but that quickly changed after a couple days of class with a wonderful professor and great TA's who were always ready to help with solving problems that came up. I never thought that I would continually enjoy going to class as much as I did and I always looked forward to learning the new materials. I originally only cared about one thing when I came into the class, but my experiences here taught me that there are so many other things that I would love to do even more now that I knew how to do them. Instead of soley focusing on advancing my career in a finance related field now I realize that I may want to be a python developer instead which is a language I knew nothing about before starting this program. The program is definitely worth the money and no where else will they teach you in such a supportive environment reallly centered around making sure that you are learning and that you know what to do instead of being centered around getting graded. For someone who came in with no idea how to do even the most basic programming to becoming someone that now knows Python, Javascript, SQL, and so much more I would say that there is no other bootcamp that can compare to Rutgers Bootcamps. Whether your a coding novice like me or someone in the field for a few years you can still learn more than you ever thought possible in 6 months if you enroll here I highly recommend it has been a life changing experience. 
 

I absolutely loved the Data Science bootcamp. The curriculum was very intensive but I felt that it was great introduction to the world of Data Science and if right amount of time and work was put into the class, you will succeed in mastering the concept and Tools/Technology.

Languages and toolset will change over the time. But this bootcamp helped me in understanding how to approach the new technology and use it successfuly. When i joined bootcamp, i was just poweruser of Excel  and worked in non-technical environment. Today i am proud to say, I can code too. You just need dedication and hardwork for this bootcamp and rest will follow you.

It was not easy at any point in the course but I was lucky to have Ahmed as my instructor and awesome TAs: Han, Matt, and Jacob. I was working fulltime and doing this course. Not any moment it was easy, but i was able to complete this course with ease because of my instructor and TAs. The difficult concept were made so easy to understand.

     I attended the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp program in March of 2016. My experience at the program has been incredibly amazing.  Naturally, I have a love for technology, but I went into the program with ZERO experience in computer programming, and I almost quit after the first week because of the depth of the learning curve. I did not think I could do it! HOWEVER, I was lucky enough to be paired up with a phenomenal set of educators at the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp program who are highly knowledgeable, patient and determined to support student learning, navigation and development throughout the entire duration of the program. The use of the various digital tools, and quick responses from your instructors is a huge plus.  I loved this program so much that I had to give my instructor, Keith Rosenberg, a shout out on my social media: FB, IG, and Youtube @Kdcodewebs. Amazing!

The structure and organization of the assignments helped me to gain a solid foundation into both front and backend development. The program is challenging and rigorous, but with the support of the staff you can make it! You will succeed in this program! I know, I did! After the program, I have become so motivated to discuss the topic of coding in education that I have started my own organization designed to increase coding awareness in K-12 public school education. Without Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, I would not be where I am today.

Personally, I would like to thank Keith Rosenberg, Peter Tumulty, Mark Awai, Jeremiah and Juanita Soranna for supporting my learning journey and being patient with me throughout this program.Your journey will be difficult, but I promise they will help you get through to reach your career goals. I am now an entrepreneur! They helped me to realize my “zone of genius” and I am truly appreciative. You can watch my video detailing my Rutgers Coding bootcamp experience on my Youtube channel @ https://youtu.be/NBim1j89Xp0 (don’t forget to click the subscribe button if you enjoyed my video : -).

#RutgersCodingBootCampROCKS  #Kdcodewebs #loveyouall

This was the best academic experience i've ever had. Most importantly, I had fun. The difficult pill to swallow is the fact that the bootcamp is everything that you would expect a bootcamp to be; fast paced, challenging, instense, and everything else that follows. Yes it was all of the above, but progress and growth was the outcome everytime. With that, I grew not to mind the difficult learning process because the glory moments at the end of the day were worth it everytime, I couldn't go wrong.

Not only did I learn how to code, I grew a passion for coding. I have to thank the instructional staff for my new found love. Their positive nature was contagious as they provided support in and outside of class. Now that I love to code, I love to learn. I look forward to learning everyday; even on football sundays you'll find me posted at a panera all day. I'm eager to learn new technology in order to achieve project goals I have made for myself. This skill set has revamped the way I think while providing me with a new creative landscape of which I am only limited by my imagination.

That said, the bootcamp taught me how to think, how to learn, and more specifically how to solve problems. Yes I know how to code after endless hours of practice, but I had to learn how to solve problems first before I started typing away hard coding. With that, I grew confidence in myself to tackle any technical (or functional) problem I face.

Overall, I am forever thankful for my experience at the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. They provided and continue to provide support from every angle.

Amazing Experience.

If you're interested in taking the RCB full time full stack program you're most likely looking for a career change or to gain new work experience.  I belong to the former group.  I hated the career I was in and was in desperate need of a career change.  One day I came across an advertisement for RCB and thought that this could be exactly what I was looking for.  A career in tech was appealing to me because your skills and experience are what matter most.  RCB isn't the only bootcamp around so I did my research to see what my options were.  I ultimately decided on RCB because of the reputation, curriculum, location, and price.  

During the time leading up to the bootcamp my biggest concern was my lack of prior coding knowledge.  I had no coding experience going into this and was worried that I would be overwhelmed and get left behind.  I'm not going to lie, the pace of the course was intense and I put in a lot of work outside of class to keep up, but the instructional staff did an amazing job supporting everyone and making sure everyone stayed on track with the material.  There wasn't a single day that I left the class feeling clueless or lost.  The instructor and TAs were an invaluable resource during class and office hours.  Whenever I had questions about concepts that were covered during class or trouble with my homework the instructional staff were able to help me during office hours, often in a one on one setting.

I was never the most studious person.  In high school I did the bare minimum to get by and in college I often skipped classes and didn’t take them seriously.  My experience at the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp was the first educational experience that I actually enjoyed.  Everyday I looked forward to going to class, learning new things, and getting challenged by the homework.  The program did an amazing job keeping me engaged and immersed in a learning environment.  RCB gave me a passion for coding and taught me how to learn.  I’m glad I chose RCB.  From day one I’ve felt supported by the instructional staff and career services.  I highly recommend Rutgers Coding Bootcamp to anyone looking to make that jump into tech!  

I'll admit, when I signed up at the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, I was real nervous. I was scared that I wouldn't have a great support system and I would just barely survive the bootcamp. However, all those fears disappeared the second I walked into the classroom. 

There, I was surrounded by great students and faculty who wanted nothing more than to create coders who were going to "crush it!" 

The curriculum is intense, to say the very least, but you're learning the basic foundations that you can continue to build off of. There was no stone left unturned with the amount of information that we absorbed.

I loved coming to class every day and be surrounded by these incredibly ambitious and goal driven students. We really were a little family together. I know for a fact that all of us are going to remain in touch and be the biggest cheerleaders when it comes to finding a job.

The only thing I wish I did prior to becoming a student was code a little bit more. You can totally join the boot camp having zero coding background, but sitting down and taking basic courses on Udemy was really helpful to me. I just wish I had done more!  

I absolutely recommend the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp to anyone who wants to change their lives and start a new career. 

Before you read, this write-up will be a bit too long, this could be a mix of review, overview and what to expect. If you're like me, were admitted to the program, had concerns and kept hunting for reviews a month before the class started, I hope this will quell fears. It's understandable if you do, its a lot of money and a huge investment, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. A lot of bootcamps expect you to quit your job to attend, but RCB is held three days a week with hours that don't interfere with typical work hours, which will be a plus for many.

I attended the program in their Jersey City satellite location. My commute was about two and a half hours on a good day with public transportation from the Bronx, but being right next to the PATH was extremely convenient.

A little background on myself, in case, if there is someone who is reading is currently in the situation that I was in before I enrolled. I studied media studies, but not too soon after graduating, I realized the job market wasn't what I was expecting it to be for the field.

I had a pretty good handle on HTML and CSS before starting the class, as I had taken a few classes on them. When it came to JavaScript and everything else, I had no idea about the technology that it took to make a website. 

Before I really took to dive, I went through numerous tutorials and books to explore programming to see if it was for me. If you are highly considering programming as a career path and have no prior experience with code, I suggest the following resources (in order of quality IMO):

FreeCodeCamp
The Odin Project
Team Treehouse
Udemy
Code School
Codecademy
Youtube

Admissions

Rutgers Coding Bootcamp wasn't the only program I tried to get into. I've applied to a lot, and not every one of them has the same admissions process. Typically the higher-priced (or salary-based) ones have several rounds of coding tests and interviews. A lot of them were extremely daunting as they replicated the actual process of the application process for the typical programmer's position, some of them even expected applicants to know recursion, which baffled me. But applying to Rutgers was really pleasant compared to the other processes I went through. Some of them were so impersonal and demoralizing that I step away from coding for a few months.

Rutgers started with a general info session with a Trilogy rep, who gives you a run down of the program. Based on that conversation, if you are ready, the process starts and you'll have an interview with admissions. They'll take your background, interest in the program, and your experience with programming. From there you'll take an online multiple-choice assessment, and then based on your score, you'll have another interview session that's only slightly technical with a tricky logic question. It's worth noting that for every stage of the admissions process, you'll be on the phone with someone, which I did like since it added a human touch to it.

After that, it's only a few days before you get the final verdict. In all, for me, the process only took two weeks, from speaking with an information rep to getting the decision, and it was pretty painless.

The Teaching Staff

My class was led by Peleke and Matt, with Boris and Theory being the Teaching Assistants. These four are amazingly patient human beings who want nothing more than for you and your classmates to succeed. They will not only make learning code enjoyable and interesting, they will teach you how to break down concepts, remind you about the fundamentals, and inspire you to push your brain to the limit. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you do, they'll always have an answer. They are all very humble and empathetic and understand if you are having trouble picking up a concept, they'll work tirelessly with you to make sure you are comfortable with it. They will go above and beyond to make sure that your projects are ready for deployment and bug-free even if it's into the wee hours of the night.

With all of the terminologies and syntax, it's hard to get a high-level understanding of things, but with the program, you'll have plenty of practice. Each class you'll have 10 or more activities that'll make use of each tech.

But even if you are not assigned the same teaching staff I've had, fear not as Trilogy is pretty good as sourcing their staff, as they're all extremely knowledgeable and will pretty much have an answer to any question you throw at them.

Your cohort is assigned a student success manager, who is pretty much makes sure you're on track with your homework, up to snub with the material, provides info on the course and helps you get in touch with the various Trilogy Services. I haven't had to ask Kalimah for too many things, but she was always great at helping me out and informing the class of changes and anything we need to do.

The Course

The program itself is excellent. The curriculum is finely tuned and top notch. For those who are concerned with only learning the newest and "hottest" tech and afraid that what you'll learn will be outdated, have no fear. The curriculum team is constantly working on the course material, and are always adjusting to what technology is in-demand at the moment, like React JS. If somehow Vue JS becomes the next de-facto JavaScript framework, I'm sure the team will adjust the curriculum to that. At the end of my cohort, we were scheduled to spend a week (for each) on Java and Python, but React JS had picked up so much steam, we skipped those two and spent extra time on React.

24 weeks sounds like a very long time, but I didn't feel like it. Regardless of any program, DO NOT expect that you will learn the in's and out's of any programming language. That is simply not enough time to master anything, but it is enough time to get pretty good at something.

The first 2 - 3 weeks, you'll go through git and Github, with a crash course in HTML and CSS. After that, you'll get into JavaScript and jQuery. But right after that is where things pick-up with Node JS, and the course starts getting interesting. By the end of the course, you'll be comfortable with databases and frameworks like React JS.

There is a homework assignment that's due two weeks from when it was assigned. Each homework assignment deals with the tech that is learned, and you're given the option of doing assignments into difficulties, one of them being the easier to do. In total, there are three group projects which will expect you to make use of all the technology you have learned as well as incorporating anything not covered in class. These were extremely fun yet incredibly frustrating all for good reasons. They not only add to your portfolio, but help you get a sense of how to work in a team, version control, and learn project management.

Besides class time and work, there are plenty of opportunities to learn provided by Trilogy throughout the 24 weeks. They do "hackathons" on a weekly basis, typically on a Friday night where someone will teach a programming language not a part of the curriculum or go over something like React JS more in depth. These are done online with other cohorts, alumni, and teachers from other Trilogy programs around the country. They are really informative and voluntary so if you do have extra time outside of class work, I definitely recommend doing them. They are recorded so if you miss them, they are viewable once the videos are encoded and uploaded to Youtube.

I haven't had to use them, but Trilogy does provide tutoring services, so if you do find yourself struggling with class work, you can as for a 1-on-1 session and they are at no extra cost.

Career Services

Do not expect any sort of job placement from Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. From the very first day, they will iterate that they do not have any sort of job placement program in place. They had workshops on how to build your online presence, practice sessions for job interviews and webinars with industry folks. I had the impression that they were still ironing things out in their career service, which is a real shame since the curriculum is quite excellent.

While I didn't expect to be handed a job after graduation, career services left a lot to be desired. There were tons of communication breakdowns or lack of. At times there were career service webinars scheduled during work hours which a lot of people couldn't attend. They did tell us for demo day/graduation that there was going to be a few hiring managers there to connect with but none showed up. Career service was kind of a mess but they were in the middle of a revamp I guess. It would be nice if they organized meetup-like events. There are opportunities outside of class to network in the area, but it could be tough getting to recruiters and hiring managers at those.

I do hope they improve this aspect of the program.

The Takeaways

TL;DR 

• The curriculum is top-notch
• Teaching staff is great, empathetic, and patient
• don't rely on career services
• the program only works if you put the work in
• be proactive, start assignments early, read up on new concepts and technology.
• class work and homework are great at getting you comfortable with concepts and tech
• you'll have fun learning

Overall, based on the strength of the curriculum and the material you'll learn, I can wholeheartedly recommend this program. Learning programming is very hard, and it's easy to get into the notion that it's a breeze with bootcamps promising you to be a master programming in three months. The reality is you won't come out of any bootcamp as a master developer, and you won't after completing this one. There is simply not enough time to learn everything. So with that, programming is hard and the folks at Trilogy know this. Although career service wasn't the most robust aspect, it shouldn't deter you from considering this program, you'll learn a lot and have fun doing it. 

*****

If you feel that this is the program for you, or you've already been admitted and preparing to start, here are some things I suggest on doing:

PRACTICE and REPEAT: Coding isn't something you can learn by reading a book, it is HARD TO LEARN. It is imperative that you go through the motions and know why and how the tools you are using work. Every chance that I got, I was either reading a JavaScript book, working through a tutorial, creating side projects, or even watching a Youtube video. Everything helps.

GOOGLE is your best friend: Seriously, it's okay to Google, you're not expected to know everything. You may get really good with Twitter Bootstrap and never have to use to the documentation again, but that'd probably take years of useage, so feel free to have the documentation open up in another tab. When you start doing projects, a good 85% of the resources you'll be using to make those creations come to life will be from Googling, so start practicing and get better with your search engine wording.

Throw your ego into the Hudson River: Learning the fundamentals of programming is hard. There will be times where you ace a concept and other times you'll feel crushed. But if you stay humble and have a craving to learn you'll get the material.

Help your classmates out: You're all in it together, and helping your neighbors makes the experience better for everyone

Go all in on projects and homework assignments: This goes hand in hand with my repetition and practice point, the work is designed for you to grasp the tech, not doing them will be your loss. Later on, they'll serve as examples that'll go into your portfolio, so try to put as much effort as you can.

I am so thankful that I found Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. I needed a program near where I lived, from a trusted and reputable source, that allowed me to continue working. The structure of this program is ideal for those who cannot give the 60-80 hours/week required by many full-time bootcamps. Not only that, the slower pace over a 24 week program aids retention of concepts and affords time to apply new concepts creatively. I continued learning concepts that a bootcamp does not have the time to cover and explored tech outside the curriculum. 

Besides ideal length and flexibility, the curriculum and instruction were very helpful. Matt Kim and Peleke Sengstacke both demonstrated strong abilities to teach, instruct, correct (where needed) and model the development process. They also brought years of experience coding in the real world that allowed us to ask all sorts of questions. I was able to see what a coder does and how they think. On top of that, they often challenged us with interview questions and taught us about algorithmsm, white-boarding, and application architecture. Together with a curriculum designed so that one could push themselves to complete more challenging tasks, I came out with a lot of confidence in my ability to code (even while recognizing that I have a lot to learn, because I saw even in them that learning never stops!). Our two TAs, Boris Yakubchik and Theory Practice, also real world developers, provided assistance and also pushed us to do harder stuff. Overall, I felt the curriculum and instruction lended themselves to learning about code and learning to code quite well. 

Since this bootcamp is connected with a larger organization, Trilogy Education Services, with bootcamps and several major universities across the US, the coding community is strong and the opportunites to learn from one another are great. Pavan Katepalli is the CLO for the organization. He holds weekly training sessions and miniHackathons where I met students from other bootcamps and learned new concepts and technology outside the normal curriculum. Trilogy also provides free tutoring services for students who need assistance. I was able to begin tutoring other students while in the program and continue tutoring to this day.

Being connected with Rutgers University gives a sense of credibility to the program as well as provides connections with the Rutgers Alumni network. I can now say I am a Rutgers Alumnus, which means something, especially in NJ. Additionally, and very importantly for me, this connection helped financially since I was able to secure a low-interest rate educational loan through Sallie Mae (an option I could not find in other private bootcamps). Moreover, I was able to request some extra cash to cover the cost of a new laptop as well as other education related expenses. Honestly, this was the major deciding factor for me, before I knew anything about the program as it compared to others (which I think it compares very well looking back!). 

Keep in mind, if you are considering a coding bootcamp, or even a full CS degree, becoming a web developer requires hard work and a strong commitment to continual coding. You have to push yourself and take the reigns of your education and your future. No one is out there who is just going to give you a job. This is a competative field. Rather than being discouraged by the difficulty, push yourself to learn. Let your failures drive you to excellence. Make the sacrifices necessary to learn to code well. Bootcamps, degrees, or any other form of education and self-improvement are not a panacae for your career opportunities in and of themselves. Don't put all your hopes and expectations in a bootcamp to get you a job. Rather, start coding now, add to your learning process the discipline and opportunity of a bootcamp, and continue to code and code and code. It's your hard work that will make your bootcamp experience a good one.

One of the only negatives I experienced in this program was related to career services. The bootcamp advertises a strong career placement ratio and offers career advisement services. In our case, the director of career services left about a month into the program and it took several months for the school to get back on its feet. During that time, there was a lack of communication and it was unclear exaclty what career services will do. However, they made some new hires and seem to be heading into a better direction. Still, I would like to see them be more proactive in connecting us with potential employers. With the general stigma against bootcamp grads, it would be great to know they are out there building personal relationships with employers and advocating for us and putting our work on display. Maybe this is going on behind the scenes and maybe this will get better in the future, but right now, I don't know.

Nevertheless, I still would recommend Rutgers Coding Bootcamp to anyone and I have recommended it so to friends. You willl learn how to develop full stack web applications. And you will build important relationships with other devs that will stick with you.

Overview

    This program was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. In addition to learning web development, the course touches on mobile apps as well! The instructors (shout out to Dan V, Ahmed, and Pavan) know their stuff and really go the extra mile to help students succeed. You will learn a lot of real world programming skills, finish with a solid portfolio to showcase to employers, and meet some like-minded friends along the way. Also, having a Demo Day where you can network with employers at the end of the program, was a huge plus. But you need to be realistic with your goals and expectations.

My Two Cents

You may notice a lot of reviews on this page are either love it or hate it, so I think you should ask yourself 3 questions before you commit to this course:

1. Do you have (somewhat) of an idea of what coding is?
2. Will you have the time to put in 15 to 20 hours a week outside of class?
3. Have you done your research and considered alternatives?

Here is some insight into the three questions above:

1. The bootcamp is rightfully labeled as a beginner’s program. You don’t need to have any experience in coding before you start since the course covers all the basics in the first few weeks. But, if you have no prior programming experience, I highly recommend testing the waters before agreeing to the program. While a lot more is covered in the bootcamp than just this, doing a couple (free) HTML and JavaScript lessons on codecademy.com will give you a flavor of what to expect.
2. The course is labeled as a “part time” bootcamp, so it is possible to work full time while taking the course. But, you will definitely feel the “bootcamp” aspect. A number of students did really well while maintaining a full time job, but I could tell it was definitely stressful for them. Personally, I struck a good balance between working part time (25 hours a week) and studying 15-20 hours outside of a class. This gave me the chance to have some free time to attend hackathons on the side. Be responsible though, I am 20-something year old. If you have a family to support, I would not recommend quitting a full time job since the bootcamp does not guarantee a job at the end.
3. Coding is a lot more than just knowing syntax, you need to be able to boil a problem down to its essential parts to understand how to solve it. Let’s start right now. If you’re determined to become a programmer, you basically have 3 options. First, you can go to a 4 year college for computer science and earn a degree. Second, you can become self taught. Third, you can attend this bootcamp (or others). I recommend watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FioceDs7JA to see the pros and cons of each. Ultimately, I chose the bootcamp option because I already had a technical degree and was looking to quickly transition closer toward software development. I choose Rutgers Coding Bootcamp over others because it was cheaper than most, closer to where I live, and the part time aspect allowed me to still have a job while studying.

Finally, The Full Review

About Me

    I actually graduated from Rutgers University with a 4 year degree and was in the workforce for two years before signing on to the bootcamp. I came from a Mechanical/Industrial Engineering background, so I was no stranger to a difficult course load. I had a decent foundation in knowing how to code, but I was missing a lot of the bigger picture parts of actually knowing how to create and deploy a website or app. The bootcamp filled all these gaps.

Overall Experience

    The course felt very inclusive and it had an active Slack community were you could post questions, chat with students, and collaborate on projects. Having this community made it feel a lot more inclusive than my classroom experience in college. Outside of lecture, there were also many (optional) video sessions you could attend (for no additional charge). These sessions included an Interview Weekly session where instructors and former bootcamp students talked about interviewing skills and how they liked working in tech. Other sessions also included Mini-Hackathons were instructors, former students, and people in the industry gave coding walkthroughs on making chat bots, data analysis, twitter bots, etc.

Instructors

    You could feel that the instructors and TAs really were passionate about coding and often took extra initiative to nail down concepts. I found my instructor, Dan V, to be very engaging during lecture, and, honestly, he did a better job explaining concepts than most of my college professors. Some TAs were former bootcamp students, but they are also very knowledgeable and helpful. Often, top performing bootcamp graduates are asked to come on to the program as TAs. 

Curriculum

    The course is true to it’s “full stack” name. You learn how to make a fully functional website that looks good, feels responsive, and connects to a database. As an added perk, the course briefly touches on mobile app development too. The pace is quick, but sustainable, just be sure to keep up with the weekly homework assignments. The homework assignments are critical in learning the material thoroughly and they also become part of your portfolio to showcase to employers.

Job Assistance

    The bootcamp does not guarantee job placement. I repeat, the bootcamp does not offer job placement. The course is very up front about this, but you should understand how this impacts your job search. After graduation other bootcamps take a percentage of your first year’s salary as payment for the course. Rutgers Coding Bootcamp does not, it is based on a flat rate, up front payment. While this often makes it cheaper to attend, the bootcamp has no incentive to do your job search for you.

    Instead, the bootcamp offers job assistance. These include resume writing sessions, networking techniques (and events), interviewing skills, and learning how to maintain a LinkedIn presence. Overall, I would say it was pretty helpful. To get the most out of career services you will need to be proactive. I recommend attending the Interview Weekly sessions and keeping your portfolio page and Github up-to-date. And presenting at Demo Day is a must!

    Personally, I found the job search more difficult than actually learning the course load. I sent out about 70 applications and rarely heard back from employers. Definitely avoid the temptation of a “one click apply” approach. From my observations, I would say that the best approach to landing a new job was by networking with current students, bootcamp graduates, and TAs/instructors. Ultimately, I landed my current job by networking with a classmate.

Conclusion

    Would I take the course again? Yes. Not only did I land a new job, but I now have a sweet new hobby. The $9,500 was a lot of money, but I learned a lot of material quickly, met like-minded students, and have a very valuable skillet. I am writing this review 2 months after graduation. I skill keep in touch with my instructor and classmates.