UC San Diego Extended Studies Boot Camps

I got a ton out of this course, I'll try to highlight some of the best and worst things.

 

Pros:

1. Top tier instructors. These guys know their stuff and are always extremely helpful. They even began to take pride in us and our coding towards the end lol.

2. TA's have your back. I remember before the class started someone asked something like "how patient are you guys if I can't learn fast enough?" a TA replied "I can stare at a wall for 12 hours and not get bored". This is true.

3. The career support throughout the class is optional, but you'd have to be insane not to opt in. They will teach you skills that will help your career. Even if you aren't looking for a job, you need to take advantage of this knowledge and support. You don't need to wait until the end of the course to start testing your career skills. I was receiving job offers before the class was even over. If you feel ready, tell your career instructor and they will happily point you in the right direction.

4. The class content was amazing. They don't just teach you content, they train you to use your resources to be able to teach yourself. In my opionion this is what being a developer is all about.

5. Academic support. There is an entire group of people dedicated to helping you if you ever start to feel behind, all you have to do is ask. I never took advantage of this perk but I know a few people who got private tutoring sessions.

Cons:

1. The cost. This isn't a cheap course. I was able to justify the cost by thinking of the salary potential. I got a promotion at my work as a result of this course. Because of this I didn't take advantage of the post-course job assistance.

2. The time. You can't get the benefits without effort. You need to dedicate not only time but also a ton of frustrated learning hours. Hang in there.

 

If you have the time, money, and dedication, this course will teach you skills that you can use for the rest of your career. You get out what you put in so jump in with both feet and be ready to work hard.

As a nerd, I've always wanted to learn how to code seriously. There are many coding boot camps in San Diego, but I find this one to be the right price point and a bit cheaper than most (about 2k-3k). It's also part-time during the evening so it fits my busy schedule.
 

I've already had a Bachelor's and Master's degree in education policy, so I wanted coding to add to my skill set and not just a second Bachelor's in Computer Science.
The boot camp was a great experience. They really found instructors and TAs who are masters at their coding and software development craft. The most important thing is that there were really patient with me while I attempt to learn some of the basics of HTML/CSS/Javascript. They didn't make me feel stupid at all! 

I was also able to find employment due to this program. I can do things like tinker with a github account and know what the heck folks are saying on StackOverflow and other coding help forums. 

I also wrote more about my experience here: https://medium.com/@minhtuyen/ucsd-coding-boot-camp-projects-63e3127d4f88

I thought the bootcamp was overall good. I feel that I learned a lot, and in fact I am going to be TAing for the next session. My only piece of feedback, and something I plan on bringing to my session, is that there should be a little more stratified challenges. I get that it is difficult to cater to each individual student's skill set, however, I think it would be beneficial to the students on both ends of the spectrum to have a little bit of bonus material, to challenge the students who are excelling and to reinforce concepts for students who are struggling. 

The Cybersecurity bootcamp through 2U education was quite the disappointment. I am at individual in my early 30s with no cyber security experience who was looking to invest my money to become a cyber security professional and land a new career path.  I made it through the course at the top of my class, fully participating and devoting time to studying.  However when leaving the course I felt extremely underwhelmed and underprepared for a real job.  At the price of around $12,000 and marketing for the course advertising to "become a  Cyber security Professional in 24 weeks", I ended up feeling misled.  Post program, I was able to obtain my Security+ but the knowledge for this test was largely gained outside of the course from free online study sources. The career services are relatively weak outside of someone that tells you to apply to jobs every week etc. I was hoping to at least be connected with people withing in the field so I could prove myself. 

The instructor of my course was really knowledgeable and caring. I learned a lot from them just not enough to really help me get a job. I ran into many barriers of not having security clearance or not having enough of a technical background when it came to the job search.  Shoutout to my instructor because I do feel that the individuals I interacted with cared, but ultimately were victim to the larger organization they were working for.  I am still looking for my first job in Cybersecurity and gaining a lot more detailed, and hands on knowledge through free-training cyber security communities and cost-friendly learning platforms like TryHackMe and HackTheBox.  What I know now is that organizations don't think that highly of bootcamps, they are specifically looking for people with experience and networking connections.

If I had to do it again I would look elsewhere and save my money. 

This boot camp is definitely something you have to really think hard about. If you are serious and willing to put in 30+ hours of work AFTER class this is it for you. There is just so much information that you learn that it would be impossible to only use class time to learn. One great thing about this boot camp is the support they offer after the camp is over. You are allowed to keep the curriculum for an additional  year so you can go back and re watch and learn things over again. Overall, I would recommend this boot camp to anyone one who is willing to put in the hours.

The power of data is remarkable and I've grown excited for because of this bootcamp. Frankly this course was exactly what I needed. I had recently finished a general MBA and did not select a concentration, I bet if that school had this bootcamp I would have chosen it for concentration. The program was rewarding because it taught me a new kind of discipline, a new way to learn, and challenged me to change my habits for the better. The curriculum covers an incredible amount of content and opens doors to other parts of data and coding. I'm very proud of myself, which doesn't happen often. If you have the time, the time, the effort, and enjoy logic, take this course. The Instructors are passionate about this subject and want you to succeed. Thank you Peter and Alan. 

I am about half way through my boot camp and have learned so much but nearly not anywhere near all of what we've been taught. The boot camp is really fast so my advice is to really commit to it so that you can take full advantage of your time in school. Go over each and every activity a couple of times after class in between trying to soak up all of the  resources the instructor and teaching aids give you. 

At this point, our instructor has been encouraging us to start applying for jobs and he's been taking the time to do mock interviews with us which is an awesome value added resource in and of itself. As much as I'd love to start applying, I am still trying to catch up with what we're learning so like I mentioned above, you really have to be committed - because even if you are, the content may or may not come easy for everyone. If it does, great. If you're like me where it takes a bit to sink it, you're going to have to really put in the time. 

I am a 2018 graduate of the UC San Diego Extension Data Science and Visualization Bootcamp. This course is great if you want to jumpstart a career in programming or just expand your skillset. The curriculum is well designed and updated regularly to keep up with the current technologies used in the industry. The bootcamp is fast paced and could be difficult to keep up with if you are completely new to programming. Although not necessary,  I would recommend taking a little time to learn some coding fundamentals before starting the course. You'll need 20 hours a week to study at minimum. The more you put into it the more you’ll get out. Everyone on the staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. The structure of the class and the opportunity to work with other students on group projects were invaluable to my coding experience.