Tech Elevator

Before starting Tech Elevator, I felt dissatisfied and under-utilized in a marketing role at a company with a toxic culture. I did some self-study of HTML, CSS, and other basic programming concepts online, but I got to the point where I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I interviewed at Tech Elevator and in learning more about them, I was impressed by David Wintrich’s experience and his vision for the bootcamp, along with the structured aspect of the career development program that runs in tandem with the technical curriculum.

Tech Elevator did an excellent job of teaching the technical skills AND the soft skills that you need to land a job. The technical skills they teach are directly relevant to what a junior developer needs on the job from day one, and they provide a great foundation for learning other languages. As an example, I enrolled in the Java program at Tech Elevator, but I am now programming in C# at my job. They teach you how to learn quickly, since languages and concepts are continually changing in tech.

For the soft skills aspect, they prepare you through a series of exercises, self-assessments, and practice interviews that not only get you ready for the arduous job search process, but also expose you to industry experts and networking opportunities.

All of this being said, it is called a boot camp for a reason. If you bring your best self to the program every day, put in the hours necessary for the job search and the technical curriculum (which could be 60-70+ hours a week), then you will get great job offers on the other end. Like any pursuit in life, if you expect a job to be offered to you on a platter without putting any work in, then you will be disappointed. Tech Elevator’s staff and curriculum are there to support and invest in diligent and ambitious learners from all walks of life. It was a great experience from start to finish, and I now get to enjoy and learn from an alumni network of bright and motivated friends and colleagues. I highly recommend Tech Elevator.

I chose Tech Elevator because of David Wintrich's experience. He was the architect of Pay.gov (the government's paypal), which deals with $10 billion every year. I knew he had to be good at what he did, and I knew that he had also hired tons of junior-level software developers. He's an excellent teacher and leader. 

Course breakdown:

4 weeks - Java Fundamentals (or C#/.Net, if you're in that course)

3 weeks - Web Apps

2 weeks - Databases

2 weeks - Client-Side Apps

1 week - Security

The pinnacle of the course, however, is the matchmaking event. TE has employeers come in, and you get a 25-minute interiew with each of those you're assigned. They take recommendations, and you'll get your top 3-4 choices plus other randomly assigned companies. This event makes the whole course worth it. I received 8 on-site interveiws from the matchmaking event, and I had a few job offers to leverage against one another before graduation. 

I now make 3.5x what I used to every year.

I learned a ton, made some great new friends, and switched into an exciting new career. The course is smart, exciting, and overwhelming at times, but it really paid off, and I'm grateful I extended the time, money, and effort. It was worth every cent.