Tech Elevator

For anyone that is serious about learning software development and ready to put in the work required to break into the industry, there is no better place. I was surrounded by like-minded future developers that were just as driven as I was to succeed and a staff that is there to help every step of the way. The enviroment, instructors, curriculum, and 24/7 access to the facilities is second to none but there is one thing that sets Tech Elevator apart from any other Boot Camp in my opinion. The Pathway program. This program runs concurrent with your lessons and gets you prepared at every level to get noticed by organizations and ace your interview. I cannot understate the impact of the Pathway program!! If you are thinking about another school instead of Tech Elevator this is the aspect you should be evaluating with which ever school you are considering. It's one thing to learn these skills, but to have assistance in being able to effectively show off what you have just learned to employers and actually get them to invite you to interviews is what we are all really looking isn't it? They do not guarantee any type of employment, but if you follow this program and put your all into this for 14 weeks there is zero reason you should not find a job! 

This review is about Tech Elevator Detroit Campus

In general, learning at Tech Elevator Detroit Campus is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I have met so many people who are genuine and interesting, and I quickly transitioned from a non-technical background to software engineering. I have already accepted my offer from Slalom even 3 weeks before graduation and the fact that employers were competing to get me in their teams greatly boosted my confidence.

My experience at Tech Elevator is real and I would like to share my story and opinion with anyone who is thinking about joining Tech Elevator Detroit Campus. You can connect with me either through linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guan-he/ or my email address: heguanelvis@gmail.com. 

About myself

I have a master of public policy degree and a B.A. of English and International Studies. Being an immigrant made it challenging for me to establish my career here in the United States, and I was fairly nervous after graduation that I could not find a decent job. Prior to coming to Tech Elevator, I do not have much software development experience. I used Python at school to do some basic data analysis and have not used Java.

Detroit campus staff members

The Detroit campus is quite new. I am in the second cohort. There were four staff members when the cohort started and now they have hired our missions coordinator. Jeff and Nicole work really hard to connect with the employers and try to get them to school during the last few weeks for matchmaking events to get students employed. They are responsible for the non-academic aspect, including helping us create good pitches, craft resumes, networking etc. Andy and Margaret are great instructors who have years of experience using Java. They are always acessible whenever people have questions. Overall, all the staff are all very knowledgeable, patient, reliable and hardworking.

Java cohort curriculum

The curriculum consists of four modules. Module I is the fundamentals where we learned about Object Oriented Programming and the fundamentals. Module II is about Database and SQL to design tables and effectively store data. Module III is about the Java Spring Framework to create backend for web applications and Module IV (what I am learning right now) is about JavaScript and the Vue Framework to create interactive and responsive frontend pages. At Detroit, the curriculum focuses a lot on testing, which really helped me in the job search process. Students have their Tech Elevator Laptop and are given a really well written e-book link so that they can preview and review the lessons. In addition, Margaret and Andy also made great slides and sent out additional resources for self study and interviews.

Career program

Tech Elevator's career program is probably one of the best part about this boot camp. I would say it is way better even than my university. They teach you everything about marketing yourself, writing resumes and cover letters, networking with employers, behavior interviews and tech interviews, and the strict deadlines forces you to keep making changes to your documents and becoming more professional. They also invite industry professionals coming to campus to do mock interviews with you. My resume and linkedIn profile looks completely at a different level before I start applying for jobs. The most amazing part is that they also invite a lot of companies on campus to introduce themselves and you will defintely have the chance to interview with them at the matchmaking event. I met Slalom at an employer showcase and got the offer after the matchmaking event. 

Next Steps

It is still 2 weeks before graduation and I am looking forward to doing my final capstone project. After graduation, I will take a trip to visit my family in China and get ready for my new position starting in February. 

I really enjoy my time at Tech Elevator, and I believe they are doing a great job to help people get stated with a tech career and create IT professionals for the city of Detroit.

Tech Elevator not only made me a full stack developer but it changed my life. My carreer was on a track to nothing beforehand, and now I'm a successful developer in the field.

Class is long and class is hard, but when you put in 110% you get 200% back. The staff is present and invested in your success the entire journey. I can't explain how many people I've been reccommending it to by word of mouth, it really is as great as they say. Which yeah totally sounds phishy right? But there is no greater joy for me than praising Tech Elevator every day. I preach it and I live it everyday.

Through the course of 14 weeks you learn a bunch, but what you really learn in the long run is the patterns and ways of thinking. In the end you will be thinking like a developer and ready to learn newer and more advanced concepts. That is the most valuable part I would argue. Every single day I go into work and I'm confronted with new concepts and technologies, but Tech Elevator taught me to learn them, tackle them, appreciate them, and truly Tech Elevator fueled my hunger for knowledge.

The Pathway program is another huge aspect of Tech Elevator. I don't think anyone would begin to think about Tech Elevator without thinking of the Pathway program. My Pathway staff was incredible, Jessica, thank you. You're walked through the do's and don't's of the IT world, what to excpect, how to achieve it, and again back to those patterns, ways to continue to do so. If Tech Elevator had a 2nd course for advanced level concepts I'd be there in a minute because I know it would be worth my time.

TL;DR

Overall great experience. It took alot of time, work, and money (I don't have $15, 500 in my couch cushions...), but it paid off (and now paying off that loan). I got a job offer one week before graduation and accepted it. I love what I'm doing and if you want some unsolicited advice scroll to the bottom. 

MY BACKGROUND

When I saw I have no computer programming experience, I mean NONE. I didn't even do the HTML stuff to my Myspace page when I had one (RIP top five). I asked a computer programmer friend what language he recommended me trying out and he said to try JavaScript. That was in April. I started my bootcamp in May...#myexperience

I come from a television production background in Los Angeles. I was tired for working 12+ hour days and not really having a skill. Plumbers plumb, Electricians wire things, Builders build things, and I wanted a skill that had good pay, benefits, and offered interesting challenges.

I knew that my life was going to transition out of film and into something else. All I knew is I wanted to learn a language something like Mandarin, Russian, or Korean, something easy (joke). But instead of any of those languages, I found computer programming and Tech Elevator...

HOW I FOUND TECH ELEVATOR

I was listening to NPR and heard the ad for Tech Elevator and learning to code.  ​

Nutshell: After reading their website and reviews here on course report, I took the test, scored well on the test, talked on the phone with Terry to schedule interview, filled out application, took another aptitude test, interview, got accepted. Woo! 

I decided to go to an open house down in Detroit when I got to meet Anthony and Andrea and ask more questions and hear their spiel in person. I was so impressed that instead of starting in September like I had originally intended, I decided to be a guinea pig and move up my date to May the first iteration of the Detroit bootcamp. Cohort[0] forever! 

STAFF

Margaret and Andy were my professors during the bootcamp and they are both phenomenal! They truly cared and took time to help me understand when I was struggling. And when I had to take two days off for a wedding in California and another day off because my aunt died, they helped me get back on my feet and catch pace again with the rest of the class.

Nicole and Jeff worked equally as hard on their end in the bakground to make sure they were finding businesses for matchmaking, finding speakers to come share their wisdom, and helping our resumes shine above the rest!

CURRICULUM

I appreciated the structure of the curriculum and the tools they used to keep a pulse on how we were doing. Everyday they knew how you were doing through a survey quiz thing. 

We learned object-oriented programming using Java, PostgreSQL, Spring MVC, JavaScript, Vue.js, and CSS/HTML. Maybe you're reading that right now thinking, "Sh!t, I don't have a clue what any of that is?" Well, then you would've been me about five months ago. Lol. You'll learn it. It'll be hard, but by God you'll learn!

EQUIPMENT

The laptops they provided worked great. I definitely had to adjust to using a PC...They had great monitors there and system for showing coding on all the screen so we didn't have to rely on the whiteboard all the time. 

FEEDBACK

• I've read some other reviews on here saying they don't spend a lot of time on front end and I would agree. It does take a little bit of a back burner compared to the back end stuff, but I think with the timeframe they are working with, they do a great job. 
   
• Sometimes I had feedback to give, but no one or thing to entrust it to. It would be nice if they created an active email account for the different bootcamps where current students could submit feedback whether on assignments, structure, staff, or whatever they thought could be improved. That way instead of the feedback getting lost in classroom discussions, it could be received, pondered, and implemented.
   
• Tech Elevator didn't realize when they started in Detroit how big Test Driven Development (TDD) was here so when it came time for interviews, we were mostly prepared for whiteboarding exercises and less of TDD stuff (though many of us took extra time outside of the classroom to prepare for this). If they haven't carved out a space for TDD in the curriculum, my feedback would be that they do so. 
   
• Career Pathway - this is the least sexy thing about bootcamp (no offense, Nicole). Who wants to stop working on their coding application to go to class to learn about how to format their resume? Unsexy, but necessary. However, I felt like the first two sessions of Career Pathways were really severe. We were getting mixed signals about how it was "optional", but "if you want a job, you'll come". If that's the case, then don't make it fake "optional", make it "mandatory". Just remember, it will make a difference and make sure you implement any feedback Nicole gives you on your resume. It will help!

WHERE I AM NOW

One week from graduation, I got a job offer from a great company. I'm currently training with them and I'm loving every minute of it. #sexyresume

Side note: I did a Java bootcamp, but got a C# job. I was worried about this at first even though they are both OOP, but my professors assured me it was super similar and they were right. It's not a bad transition at all!

UNSOLICITED ADVICE

//You get what you put into this program. Margaret and Andy can't solve your problems for you, but they can help guide you on the right path. You might have to get there early, you might have to stay late, and if you're like me you have to do both of those things. 

//Don't. Be. Afraid. To. Ask. Questions. You are only hurting yourself if you don't raise your hand and admit you don't understand and ask if they could go over it again because chances are someone sitting next to you felt the same way, but they didn't have the guts to raise their hand. Be gutsy in admitting you don't know!

//Take a walk. When they give breaks, get out of that classroom and do a loop around TechTown. It helps. 

//Help one another. There is not a single person who knows it all or has all the answers. The people on your right and left are going to be your family for the next 14 weeks and you'll need each other.

 

I had been working around 6 years in a field that was not bringing me any real satisfaction when I decided to enroll in Tech Elevator.  I gave myself 1 year to pull it off myself - learn online and get a job as a developer - and when that year ran out, I turned to Tech Elevator as the fastest reliable way to just start working in what I love - coding.

 

Learning Process

The curriculum is structured in a sensible way that progresses from one day to the next.  Every single day has a homework assignment that incorporates that day's ideas.  Lecture is around 3 hours, and the rest of the day is working with classmates and instructors to apply the ideas firsthand.  I loved this balance because class did not drag on - if you listened closely, you understood, and if you missed anything you had the rest of the day to work on it one-on-one with an instructor.

Each instructor is experienced and knows can explain ideas in different ways for different minds.  I appreciated that the instructor of the Java class was always happy to sit and help a .NET student, and that the curriculum designer himself would make time to help me think things through.

Job Guidance

The Pathway Program is everything it's hyped up to be.  Learning and practicing soft-skills, iterating on our resumes, and meeting major employers for around 10 interviews per student is a pretty amazing edge to have in your job search.  I got a couple of competitive offers and accepted one before the bootcamp was completed.

Environment

The staff and students must be pretty carefully selected because every last person on campus was genuinely pleasant, easy to work with, and motivated to make a good life.  I can't think of too many environments like that, and anyone who studies there or works there is very lucky to have such healthy surroundings!

Summary

If you are looking to reach your first job in the industry in a minimal amount of time, and you're motivated to put in the work, Tech Elevator will give you a clear set of goals to meet and all of the support and tools you need along the way.  Strongly recommended!

I enrolled into Tech Elevator with minimal coding experience. I was not sure what I had gotten myself into, but I can say that it is among the best decisions I have ever made. Starting with the curriculum, I found the first few weeks to be the most difficult. Being new to programming certainly had it's challenges, however I found the instructors to be extremely committed to my success. They were an amazing support network, and exercised great patience while I was learning. I feel the material itself prepared me well for any aspect of programming, it truly gives you a full-stack of knowledge. What I found really separated Tech Elevator from other camps in the area is the Pathway Program. The program at Tech Elevator really feels like two courses. One you learn to code, the other prepares in navigating the job market. This program teaches you how to craft a resume, prepare for an interview, building a LinkedIn, and working with recruiters. The crown jewel of Pathway is Matchmaking, where you are set up with a variety of interviews with companies big and small in the area. In the event you don't get a job from Matchmaking (like me), the team at Tech Elevator is absolutely committed to your success, and will continue to help you until you are placed. In summation, the entire team is behind every student, and really wants to help you succeed. The course work is challenging, and asking for help from instructors or classmates when needed will be the key to success. Job placement is taken very seriously, and if you graduate you will get a job in the field. You will not only leave the program with knowledge and employment, but also a network of fellow students(and Alumni), committed staff, and other members of the field in the area. This network will last, and will assist you moving forward should any issues arise as well. It is a culture that dedicates itself to elevating oneself, and also to elevating others. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to break into the field.

I came to Tech Elevator in my early 40s, transitioning from a career in education, with my only previous coding experience coming 20 years ago (one class in C++, some dabbling in HTML) and almost completely forgotten. As an adult with a family at home, I particularly appreciated the compressed nature of the program, allowing me to shift careers in just months rather than years. Today, thanks to Tech Elevator, I am a junior developer starting my first job in my new career. 

Instruction and Curriculum: It’s not easy to change careers, and the intensive environment of a 14-week boot camp was often challenging, but the supportive environment at Tech Elevator helped ease the transition. First, the instructors I worked with were great professionals with technical knowledge on the one hand and a passion for helping students on the other. We had access not only to our classroom teachers but also to additional teachers who were always very helpful. The format of the program, with reading the night before, class work in the morning, and time to work on homework in the afternoon worked really well for me, and part of the strength of the approach were the variety of ways of learning that it allowed. Our teachers were always helpful, but they also fostered a collaborative environment where students learn by helping each other. 

As much as any 14-week program can be, Tech Elevator’s program was also comprehensive when it came to learning the basics. Obviously there’s a lot still to learn on the job, but with their full-stack approach, I felt like I developed a great foundation to build upon. 

Career Readiness: As good as the technical and teaching portion of the program is, what I think really sets apart Tech Elevator is the robust “Pathway” program. In Pathway, we had the opportunity to learn more about the broader field from numerous panel discussions and “employer showcase” events; we learned and practiced the so-called soft skills to prepare for the interview process; we had many opportunities for mock interviews, including significant practice for technical interviews; we polished our resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and our ability to pitch ourselves and network; we made a lot of great connections with alumni and other tech professionals; and we had great support through the entire job search process. From what I’ve seen, Tech Elevator has done a fantastic job cultivating relationships with tech employers in Cleveland, and this was incredibly helpful. Our two “matchmaking” days where we interviewed with prospective employers was significant not just for the experience it offered us, but I and several of my classmates ultimately received job offers from companies with which we started the hiring process at matchmaking. 

Doing any 14-week coding boot camp is a big commitment and a significant challenge, but I would recommend Tech Elevator without reservation for anyone looking to start a career in software development.

Whether or not to attend a bootcamp was a decision that I agonized over for close to a year. I knew that I wanted to change careers but upfront cost of attending a bootcamp coupled with the lost wages accumulated over the course of a fulltime program gave me pause. As a recent Tech Elevator graduate I can now confidently say that the experience was definitively well-worth both the time and money.

The team at Tech Elevator is incredible. From the instructors to the teaching fellows to the career advisors, I honestly got the impression that everyone was invested in me and genuinely rooting for my success.  While the coding curriculum is rigorous and extremely challenging, there is no shortage of support. Whenever I ran into a roadblock, I only needed to walk down the hall or, if it was after-hours, send a quick message to my instructor.

One of the most valuable things about the Tech Elevator experience is their partnerships with local businesses and their reputation within the community. I attended the program in Columbus, Ohio and their reputation here is pretty incredible. Everyone who works in the tech community seems to know someone who attended the program and is excelling in the field. I also found a lot of value in the matchmaking even that they host towards the end of every cohort. I interviewed with 6 different companies through this event and snagged follow-up interviews with 5.

I received an offer from my top choice company a week prior to graduation. While graduating with a job offer already under your belt isn't a given, it certainly wasn't abnormal either (based on my experience and that of my classmates). I am 100% satisfied with my experience at Tech Elevator and would absolutely recommend it to anyone.

 

Tech Elevator changed my life. I was wandering around the web trying to learn how to code through different courses and subscriptions for over a year, while hated being at my 9-5 office job. I knew I needed in-person concrete guidance to start a new career as a developer, and I’ve looked at all the possibilities in Columbus area. The program at Tech Elevator itself is very well thought out. We started with Java, moved on to SQL, Spring MVC, and then client-side programming (JavaScript and VueJS). All of that was not easy to do in a span of 14-weeks, and I couldn’t have done it alone. My professor, Steve, did an incredible job at explaining concepts in different ways (wouldn’t be where I am without him). He had such an in depth experience in tech and taught our class to be a developer from different viewpoints. The academic fellows were so dedicated at helping you get unstuck (which will happen multiple times throughout the day) during assignments and capstones without revealing the answers.

 

The cherry on top of this Sunday is the Pathway Program. I wouldn’t be sitting as a developer right now without the help of Ben and Laura. I was able to gain knowledge on how to utilize and curate my LinkedIn, resume, and elevator pitch. My cohort went through series of mock behavioral and technical interviews to prep us for the real deal. The Matchmaking event is… priceless. Tech Elevator provided an event where multiple potential employers came to interview us for an available position they have open! The Matchmaking event is where I met my current employer now, without it, I wouldn’t have been successful at securing a position before graduation.

 

Tech Elevator is not only invested in you learning how to code, but they also want you to get a job!!! They want it as much as you do! The whole entire staff is passionate on helping you become successful. I can’t keep my mouth shut on how much Tech Elevator has changed my life.

 

It was an incredibly tough program and you HAVE to be ready for the workload, financial strains, and emotional rollercoaster. If you are willing to do whatever it takes and bet on yourself to change your career into tech, look no further and go to Tech Elevator!

My background going into Tech Elevator:

Before attending Tech Elevator I was a youth pastor at a church in Columbus. I have always loved technology and had an interest in programming, but could not justify going to college for a four year degree in Computer Science. After talking with my brother-in-law (a front-end developer) and learning that he went through a bootcamp I started to look for options in Columbus, Ohio.

 

What Tech Elevator does well:

The staff at Tech Elevator, from the instructors to the career support (they call this the Pathway Program) to the administrators are all genuinely invested in getting every student into their goal job. The staff are all amazing and I have nothing but praise for all that they do on a daily basis to help you.

The curriculum is laid out well for the most part. It is written in a way that you can complete it even if you've never written a line of code, but its also paced quickly enough that you won't get bored if you're a little bit ahead of the curve. I had John Fulton as my instructor and I was continually blown away by his ability to explain complex concepts in a way that a room full of people could all understand. I have heard similar remarks from classmates who had different teachers.

 

What could be improved:

There are some areas of the curriculum that could be improved upon, and were being actively improved upon when I left. The front-end framework that Tech Elevator teaches is Vue, but this is the area where I felt my education was most lacking. Tech Elevator's curriculum strongly emphasizes the core concepts of programming, which is a very good thing because all of those skills are transferable to any language or framework, but this means that front end development gets pushed into a relatively small chunk of time. With the tech world moving more and more towards front-end frameworks and Single Page Applications, I think it would be better to spend some more time on this section. (This section was being re-written during my cohort so I'm not sure what its like now).

Tech Elevator is exactly as advertised: fast-paced, challenging, and life-changing. The course is not for the faint of heart, but it's the perfect place if you're willing to buckle down and push yourself for 14 weeks. Throughout the program you’re told that you’ll get out what you put in, and that couldn’t have been truer. A willingness to not just do the minimum, but to demonstrate an interest and curiosity in coding seemed to pay dividends for those that did so.

To echo many other reviews, the Pathway Program sets Tech Elevator apart from other bootcamps. The staff is dedicated to helping each student finish the program and to land a job at the end. The end result is still up to the student, but the tools and support are in place to allow each student to achieve success. Trust the process…

This success would also not be possible without an incredible team of instructors. Steve was my instructor, and I can’t thank him enough for his unwavering support and encouragement. As someone that has been in the tech industry for a while, Steve was able to keep class engaging and fun by relating course material to real-world experiences. In addition to Steve, each instructor and the academic fellows were always happy to help me get unstuck. There was one Friday when I went to the office for help at 5:30pm and was lucky enough to catch Andrew right before he left. Without hesitation he sat down, unpacked his bag, and helped me debug something for over an hour. This is just one example of how the instructors go out of their way to make sure their students are successful.

I can’t say enough about how amazing the Tech Elevator program was. Not only did it enable me to make a career change from finance to technology, to help me land a junior developer position, and to feel that I have a place to turn when I have questions or need advice, it also provided me with a network of like-minded individuals (my classmates and alumni) also starting their careers in technology. Tech Elevator is the complete package.

I took a chance on them, and in return they took a chance on me - I'm someone who is outside of their demographic, and was a possible risk on their outstanding statistics. But they saw something in me that made them take a chance on me, and believed in me the entire way through the program. Tech Elevator doesn't just give you a 14 week education; they also give you life-long friendship, mentorship, and support. 

The program is rigourous and not for the faint-of-heart, but it challenges you and pushes you in a realistic manner for what you will face going into the workforce. This bootcamp is vastly different from others becuase it provides you with career specific training in an area that is truly lacking in the tech field - the Pathway Program teaches you how to spotlight your emotional inteligence, and showcases that in their students to outside companies. This leads to external relationships that you truly cannot find elsewhere. Each of the instructors genuinely care about their students as people, and want to see them achieve as much as they can. It is constantly reiterated to students that the staff is not just there for students for the duration of the program, but following graduation for as long as we need it.

Tech Elevator also has a phenominal Alumni network that they encourage students to interact with. It provides a crucial aspect of support that you will not find elsewhere. These are individuals who have gone through the same exact thing that current students are experiencing, and provide hardcore evidence that people make it through, and come out the other end successful. Please note that what you put in is exactly what you get out of the program. There were students that spent all their time on phones, and scrolling through random webpages, and those individuals were a part of the percentage that struggled to get a job. Tech Elevator cannot gaurantee a job, but they do a lions share of the work, and those who put effort in see a positive outcome.

I had Steve as my instructor, and I could not have asked for a better individual to lead our class. He guided the class with a lively personality and an opportunistic approach to the topics at hand. He provided enough instruction for individuals to have a skeleton of what we were to be doing, and still allowed for critical thinking to occur whilst completing study and assignments. He never once shut down creative ideas, or routes of thinking, and often times encouraged conversations and discussions that, while not always exactly the topic of the day, furthered our knowledge, understanding, or curiosity on subjects.

He is also an incredibly genuine and caring person. He treated each of us as students and often as peers as well. He never made me feel stupid for not understanding something, and encouraged me to make mistakes. He often provided guidance for newbies in the "adult world" and on this career path. He was a safe space to grow, and ask questions, and stumble, and was always there with a smile to encourage us through the program. I cannot thank him enough for everything he has done for the program, for his students, and for me personally. I am excited to continue on in this career knowing he is available as a mentor and guide going forward, and my passion for the program has grown astronomically due to his presence and teaching. 

As someone who honestly avoided tech and programming for the first chunk of their career/life and who had no skills that were valued in the skill-centered workforce, Tech Elevator changed my life. It challenged me, changed me, and vaulted me into a career that I never knew I could acheive, with a network at my back that I couldn't have ever dreamed of. I owe Tech Elevator a great deal to who and where I am now!