UCLA Extension Boot Camps

The Coding Boot Camp experience at UCLA was an amazing experience where I made invaluable connections with both peers and professionals alike. I am known for being very wordy and rambling, so I'll try my best to keep myself concise. Just as a general background information about myself before the program, I'm a UCR graduate of 2015 with a Bachelors of Arts in English in Literature. I had zero experience in anything to do with programming before this experience, and now I'm employed with an established financial tech company in DTLA, and learning tons (DevOps, Full Stack Development, Automation, etc). 

 

 

Curriculum - Being a complete novice with all things web development, this curriculum turned me into a capable programmer qualified to get interviews and getting job offer(s). There was a wide range of students in this program, one was a professor in data science, some in the cohort had also taken other boot camp courses (General Assembly) and/or online degrees (i.e. Udacity), some with a Computer Science degree, and some who already had several years of experience in the tech industry as developers. I felt that for serving such a wide audience, the curriculum was capable of teaching people with no experience and those with experience equally well. If anyone seemed to fall behind, the instructor was willing to set aside time outside of their own regular office hours. 

One thing that one should consider is that the curriculum (even in a part-time program that's extended over 6-7 months), the topics are mainly taught to a point where you will have a good understanding. Mastery or even advanced skills comes from one's own work ethics, and drive to educate themselves on said topics further. One of the many reasons why I think part-time coding boot camp was such as wise decision is that it gave me time in between the lectures to truly absorb the material and study it, rather than cram it in a single day. 

 

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Instructors - I've had Omar as my instructor and it was with his successful style of teaching that I was able to absorb content so quickly, all the while being able to research and create more projects (I went into AR/VR games, a little bit into ML but never published to public repo since it was a pet project, and much more exciting projects). It was through his informative lecture and guidance, that I was able to absorb a great volume of content in a short amount of time. 

Another thing to consider is the fact that Omar took extra time outside of his work hours to help students, something that I think should be commended to the highest degree as it shows true passion and support for students' growth. Many instances of him launching Zoom meetings on Sundays or other days to review and go over any questions anyone had throughout the curriculum (from other schools across the country too). Stellar dedication and wisdom from years of experience in the field, what more can you ask for a mentor? 

 

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Job Assistance: This is the portion that I think many people have been pretty harsh on their reviews with. Without getting too specific, our program initially had another career counselor who was in charge of our UCLA cohort. They were engaged during the first week of the course, but as soon as the third week came around, they disappeared and communication was close to null. It was later announced that we would be getting another career counselor already in charge of a huge program at another school. 

Judging simply from the background story, anyone can guess that only means that this career counselor would be in charge of multiple cohorts, not just a single set like it was designed to be. So why did I give this program's Job Assistance score an amazing score of 5 stars? It's because the individual in charge of various cohorts including ours, Jenna Fuentes, did a stellar job even with double or even triple the amount of responsibilities she had compared to the norm. 

Much like the course (including the curriculum itself), you get what you put into the job search. Jenna set up a comprehensive session that seemed to target as wide of an audience in the graduate pool. I think it's a flawed to rate Job Assistance low based on job placement after graduation since the junior-dev job market is quite competitive with so many other boot camps producing developers, along with the typical pool of CS graduates and self-taught programmers. 


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To be perfectly real with those looking into getting any form of accelerated path into development, if you're in it to get a job as soon as possible. Just know that it's competitive and you need to put in the effort to get as much return on your time invested in this program. But like any other job market, if you have friends/familiy members in the industry, you will likely get an easy-way into the industry yourself via referral (from what I've noticed from majority of those that got employed fairly early). So definitely listen to your career counselor and instructor on networking as much as you can, or be prepared for the job hunt. Good luck to future aspiring developers joining this program, and just realize that taking a program like this will give you invaluable skills that you will likely benefit from even outside of a full stack development position.

UCLA Extension's Full Stack Web Development program is a great way to build a solid foundation in coding while kickstarting your programming career. I'm a 34 year old from New England who's been an Executive Chef by trade for the past 15 years. I've always been interested in computers and over the last few years, wanted to pursue a career change into the Tech industry and wasn't sure where to start. I began by trying the self-taught route, but struggled as I did not have any structure. That's where UCLA Extension came into play. After doing a lot of research on coding bootcamps, this one checked off all the boxes. This course provides a structured way to learn some of the most popular and in-demand languages and frameworks while also providing additional resources such as career development, resume building, and job assistance. This is a tough, fast-paced course - but you'll find it incredibly helpful if you apply yourself. My instructor Sandrine is fantastic, always making sure to take the time to answer any and all questions in great detail. On some occasions, she even organized code-along sessions outside of class hours on her own time to make sure we had a solid understanding of the materials.  We just completed the first half of the bootcamp, and I'm surprised how much this course has helped me grow over the past 3 months. It's pretty crazy how fast the time flies by.

Joining UCLA Extension's Product Management Boot Camp while navigating a full-time career was a transformative experience that exceeded my expectations. The program's blend of a challenging curriculum and practical, hands-on learning was perfectly suited to enhance my skills in real-time. Despite the demands of a full-time job, I eagerly anticipated our night classes, drawn by the engaging content and the opportunity to apply what I learned directly to my work.

What made this journey truly memorable was the camaraderie among the students and the faculty. The shared challenges and successes fostered a unique bond that I will greatly miss. For prospective students, my advice is to embrace the challenge; the balance of work, study, and personal growth is demanding but incredibly rewarding. The skills, connections, and experiences gained through UCLA Extension are invaluable stepping stones in one's career path.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Product Management Boot Camp that left me not only enriched with knowledge but also equipped with practical applications essential for navigating the competitive landscape of today's market. The experience was nothing short of transformative, thanks to the exceptional teaching methods and the invaluable insights shared by the instructors.


From the outset, the boot camp's curriculum was well-structured and meticulously designed to cover all facets of product management. The instructors demonstrated a deep understanding of the subject matter, presenting complex concepts in a way that was accessible and easy to grasp. What stood out most was their ability to blend theoretical knowledge with real-world applications, making the learning experience both comprehensive and relevant.


One of the highlights of the boot camp was the emphasis on practical skills. Instead of solely focusing on theory, the instructors guided us through hands-on exercises and case studies that mirrored real-world scenarios. This approach not only reinforced the theoretical concepts but also allowed us to apply them in a practical setting, preparing us for the challenges that product managers often face in their roles.


The use of cutting-edge tools and applications in the training process was a game-changer. The instructors introduced us to a plethora of tools commonly used in product management, offering insights into how these tools streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and optimize decision-making. This hands-on experience with industry-standard applications was invaluable, providing us with a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving field of product management.


The boot camp fostered a collaborative learning environment, encouraging participants to share their diverse perspectives and experiences. Group activities and team projects not only enriched the learning experience but also mirrored the collaborative nature of product management in the real world. This approach helped build a sense of community among participants, creating a network of like-minded individuals who could continue to support each other even after the boot camp concluded.


The instructors' passion for product management was palpable, creating an engaging and motivating atmosphere throughout the program. They went beyond the curriculum, sharing personal anecdotes and insights from their own experiences in the industry. This not only added a practical dimension to the learning but also inspired us to approach challenges with creativity and resilience.


In conclusion, the Product Management Boot Camp was a pivotal experience in my professional development. The comprehensive curriculum, hands-on approach, and use of industry-standard tools have equipped me with the skills and confidence needed to excel in the competitive field of product management. I wholeheartedly recommend this boot camp to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of product management and gain a competitive edge in the dynamic world of business.

I chose to attend the UCLA training camp with the aim of enhancing my career prospects, and it turned out to be a fantastic decision. I love coding, and I found immense pleasure in the learning process during this course. What stood out to me the most were the team projects at each stage, which provided all students with the freedom to unleash their creativity.

If you're also seeking an opportunity for learning and personal growth, I highly recommend choosing this course. The course is diverse and comprehensive, and there are ample resources available, depending on how effectively you utilize them. I would say that maintaining a curious and open mindset, and wholeheartedly putting yourself in the experience, are the most important aspects of this course.

I am in the 6 month part time program with about 4 weeks left. This course has been wonderful for me. If you are someone who learns better by doing, this is a great program for you. Classes are engaging. You spend some time learning the material, then immediately go into a breakout room and do an activity based on what you just learned. Each week, you have a project based on the material learned the previous week. It's a great way to keep familiarizing yourself with the material. My instructor and TAs are all great and eager to help you problem solve. The class is really what you make of it. It very much has a "you're an adult it's up to you" mantra to it. There are set due dates on weekly assignments, but you can turn them in late and still get full credit. Tons of material is sent out each week to help prep you for the lessons coming up. There is a career engagement network that you have access to throughout the whole program as well as 90 days after. All the resources are there, you just have to take initiative to use them. It's a bootcamp, they're not going to hold your hand (but they're always there to help if you ask!)

As a former project manager and data practitioner who was around highly technical people, I developed a strong interest in better understanding and sharpening my technical skills to be a  more active member with a stronger say in the building process of the product. 
Hence, I decided to join the UCLA Full Stack Coding Boot Camp. I looked into many options before making my decision and selected UCLA because I was looking for a good curriculum, strong academic support, and one-on-one tutoring in a balanced form as this is how I learn best. This is exactly what I found every step of the way. 
To any prospective students, I would recommend taking a good look at your learning style and environment and seeking a community that supports that style because the course can be challenging but if you have a strong community of instructors, peers, and staff helping you get to the finish line there are no limits to your learning. 

Do NOT take this course...Do NOT make the same mistakes I made.

Trilogy people are EXTREMELY helpful, always there to help you  - literally calling you two, three times a day to ask if you made your decision and if you were ready to pay for a deposit...Always helpful until you pay for the class and no longer can get your refund.

We are promised TAs who will be avaiable to help...they were not. I was in the Tue/Thu class and we were not lucky with our "help." Meanwhile Mon/Wed class had the BEST TAs. TAs were not accessible on Slack, and when you asked them questions, they never really had answers. 

We were promised support with the "sucess manager" - ours (JP Alferos) was a liar (caught him lying TWICE and I have records on emails) and he left (got fired?) halfway through the course. We then had NO support for awhile...

The reason I picked UCLA was because I thought that having the "UCLA" on my resume would carry a little weight AND because the office told me class would have about 20 students. I regret it so much and I am still paying for my mistake. Trilogy folks never told me or anyone else that two classes would merge on Saturdays and therefore making the class much bigger and harder to get help from TAs.

Our instructor (Omar Patel) wasn't the greatest either. It seemed like he didnt want to be there at all. Every class, for a lot of subjects he'd teach us, there was always a "I hate this," "this is so stupid" and so on. How can someone who doesn't seem interested at all be there teaching us when we paid 10k to take this course? We had a sub a couple of times (Clark) and he was the best. He was always excited to teach you and had a positive attitude - completely different from our main instructor who seem to hate a bunch of the subjects. He was also never prepared. Once topics got harder, instead of spending a few minutes before class to go over the material, he would troubleshoot and confuse us even more than what we should - he kept saying that it was fine, that we should see him troubleshoot, that we'd go through that in the real world, and I appreciate that, but I didn't pay 10k to watch you move from file to file, trying to find out whats going on and hope that we are following him - spoiler alert: WE WEREN'T.

Save yourselve the headache - save a bit of more money and go take the course at GA. Truly smaller size class and I felt they were WAY more supportive with students.

 

I wasn't going to waste my time reading reviews, but I thought if this review could stop ONE person from making the same mistake I made, than it is worth it! 

 

 

 

 

I took this course from January to July 2017, the instructor was Omar Patel. At the time I was working as a retail manager and thinking to change my career. I thought this is a good chance to learn how to write to code, and chance to get an entry-level job on the tech field. It starts well they send us a homework package for the start I believe I did the ok job since I never write code before, then it started to be more complicated as expected. My problem with the course they only did 10% of what they promised, once you go their website it shows they partnered many tech companies and it may be an opportunity get a job or internship there, it didn't happen. I was never able to have a chance to send a resume or any kind of contact with companies. They promised to tour these companies never happened, we suppose to have people come and talk to us every other week but the only couple of people showed up. It's been told us it needs a lot of self-effort which is true but how come an instructor doesn't follow up his student's progress and development until the end. The instructor only helps people have potential or have previous knowledge, he got paid projects for them, separate them from the class I doubt he has financial gains for that, I was expected to mix people know less and more together to help them learn each other.  The student success manager Alex Garett is another disaster, he doesn't even know whats going on in the class shows time to time and events only. Teacher assistants, they probably joined the class before then you and have some experience but they can insult you every way if you can't write code, those young fellas easy can overlook you without knowing anything about you and your background. Overall it was the worst 10k that spend plus the time, I trust UCLA's name on it but the course held by the trilogy. I accept that it's not everybody's cup of tea but still they have to put some effort into you as well not people have experience with this before. I don't even want to talk about their 'awesome' career services cuz it was awful :). 

The course material is very interesting and the way the class is structured is pretty good, it takes your hand with baby steps even if you have no background about coding or engineering. The instructor "Omar in my case" stressed about the concepts way more than the technology used which is very helpful as you can venture in any language you want on your own.

I would extend the period where we learned ES6 and React but either than that I think the course's pace was pretty good for me. I ended up with 2 Full-Stack web apps and a mobile app, which was a great experience.

I highly recommend the course if you want to learn something new and even take a new career route.

I debated whether to attend the UCLA Coding bootcamp for 2 years before finally pulling the trigger and attending. As a UCLA alumn with a B.A. in Psychology and a 14 year background as a web designer and Wordpress Developer (non-coding), I figured that the bootcamp would be a natural evolution of my skills and would give me a better understanding of development and the further ability to create more meaningful and useful applications. 

Initially, I wanted to to attend the 3 month Full-time course, but when I decided to attend, there were no more spots open in the full-time program (class size is only 25 per class), and thus I was forced to take the 6 month part-time program. I was working full-time at a law firm and it was good fortune that I ended up in the part-time program instead. Between my work schedule of 40+ hours per week, class attendance of 10 hours per week and a minimum study and homework time of 20-30 hours per week, I was exhausted and at my wit's end (more about this later). 

I had about 2 months before my cohort started and I decided to start trying to learn Javascript on my own to get a head-start. Coinicidentally, the book I read was "Headfirst with Javascript" or something to that effect. I already had a background in HTML and CSS after having taken a Macromedia Dreamweaver class at Santa Monica College in 2004, completing the HTML/CSS course on Codecademy, and designing numerous websites in Wordpress and HTML. I figured that I was ahead of the curve in that respect and since the MERN Stack (Mongodb, Mysql, Express, React, and Node.js), the fundamental  of the bootcamp, was based on Javascript, I figured getting a jump on it early would only help and would save some time down the road. It did!

- I would highly recommend learning as much as you can beforehand rather than waiting on the class to start. You will also have prework to complete prior to commencing class. I would recommend paying your deposit as soon as possible to both secure your spot and to get the list of prework to complete so that you can get ahead early -

The course moves extremely fast and you must be highly motivated to stay close behind. I say this because you never quite feel caught up. Concepts are introduced quickly. You are then asked to do activities in those subjects in class, and then you are expected to master those concepts at home or on your own time, before the next class, while required to complete your homework and projects on time as well. In fact, I would recommend at least 4 hours of highly-focused studying every night/day, 7 days a week, with weekends dedicated to studying for most of the day. There is a reason why they call it a bootcamp. 

On the first day of the course, our instructor told us to expect a few things. he said, "Expect to fail and expect to fail often. This is how you will learn. This class is the hardest class offered through UCLA extension. If you have an ego, it will be tested often but you will have to get used to failing often. To be a Full stack developer, your job is to solve problems and come up with solutions and most times there will not be someone with you who will give you the answer. You will have to find it yourself. Part of the course is about teaching you how to learn and thus you will become a master at 'Google-Fu', the art of Googling. As a developer you will spend 90% of your time researching and 10% developing code. This can be frustrating for some and tedious for all but the better you are at mastering this skill, the better of a developer you will become."

These words were so right. I did not matter how much of a background I had previously in web design. That perceived advantage lasted for about 4 weeks and then the playing ground evened out for everyone in the class. I went from confident to panic, about 3 times per week until about the 23rd week of class. I expressed my feelings to the instructors and they explained that it was important to trust the process and do the best that I could, but keep pushing ahead.

2 things here. First, the instructors were world-class. They were extremely knowledgable, confident in their skills, able to convey difficult subjects easily, and after letting you struggle for a while, were able to provide solutions to complex problems (all of them had full-time jobs as developers during the day). One of my instructors was a former student of the same school a year prior and had recently landed a new job paying over 6 figures. That alone was motivation. Before the course, he had no prior experience as a coder. He was an English teacher!

Second, trusting the process was excellent advice. What seemed impossible or extremely confusing in the beginning, became second-nature towards the end of the program. The structure of the course was optimized from past-course experience and research, regarding current trends, to make the learning process flow synergistically, with each subject building off skills learned in prior week's subjects.

In addition, as I'm applying for jobs, the skills that we learned are the ones in the highest demand from both employers and recruiters. Along with the help from the career couselors who are tasked with helping you build your resume, offer critiques on your portfolio (that you build in class), assist with your LinkedIn profile and provide additional critiques regarding your Github account, you quickly see that you attract job prospects even before you graduate the program.

I will say this. Although you learn a ton of information, you are still only scratching the surface, and you must continue studying, practicing and building projects after the course ends because you are still, only a junior, junior developer at the completion of the program. 

The class size of 25 is great because you have time to interact with both your T.A.s and instructor on a one-on-one basis and after attempting to find solutions first, the chance for them to answer questions. I was in the Monday/Wednesday class. On saturdays, we moved from a building in Westwood to a lecture hall on campus and combined our class with the Tuesday/Thursday class. This was cool because we had the opportunity to interact with 25 other people who were in the same predicament. 

Over the course of the class, you end up networking and making some great connections and friendships with the people in both classes and especially the people in your chosen groups who work on class projects with you. You are required to complete 3 projects over the course of the class, and if you are creative or outgoing you can build something unique, interesting or important using the technology you learn in the course. Some people solicited companies for ideas and received a subsequent letter of recommendation. They were fortunate in this regard, and were able to build legitimate business applications for their portfolio. The hard part is doing your research, coordinating with your partners, and completing the projects within the 2 weeks you have available. At the end you must present your project to both classes. 

The projects give you a chance to understand development in a team/work setting using Agile of standard development practices including using Git for version control. You also get a basic understanding of the pressure accompanied with completing a team project on a deadline and all of the stressors that go with it. I personally switched groups several times so that I had the experience and networking opportunity to meet and work with multiple people in my class. I was one of the only people who did this but it worked for me. 

One thing that I really liked about the course that was different from my time at UCLA, was the fact that we were not competing against each other. There was no grading curve and a portion of our grade was based on effort and proof of work, especially in a group setting. This created a feeling of motivation to work together and to help each other out, rather than working in solitude. We formed study groups outside of class. We were encouraged to find solutions to problems by asking other classmates questions on our Slack channels, and solving problems together without the instructors help. It helped foster a bond between everyone in the class and by the end, we all felt as though we knew each other and knew each other's skillsets as well. 

Throughout the 2nd half of the course, we started practicing whiteboarding algoriths that were typically given during interviews at prominent tech companies. We had the chance to try and fail these at least once per week to emulate the environment of an interview. I personally tried to tackle 3 algorithms per week in class, and 2 on my own. I feel more confident as I was able to complete 85% of them in class (with some clues and hints from the instructors) and 15% were so hard, I'm still researching the answer at the time of this review. What I realized is that in practicing algorithms, I had actually learned how to program code! I was slow at first, but grew faster each week.

I'm no expert by any means but I can say that I have become a Full Stack Developer. I know enough to build basic applications and with time and a chrome browser, I can build more complex full stack applications. I know how to use HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JQuery, Git, Restful Apis, Ajax. No Sql Databases like Firebase and MongoDb, Node.js, Express.js, React.js, Handlebars, Sequelize, and when looking at other programming languages, I am able to understand them at first glance, giving me the ability to learn new technologies faster and with confidence. 

There is a lack of developers in the world today, I'm lucky to live in Los Angeles where there is a hiring surge and high demand for developers. There are so many options for employment in so many different fields. I find the field of software development extremely interesting, even more so after having completed the course, I feel like I have gained super powers because I can now build applications to support any crazy idea I come up with. It takes a certain type of person to become a developer. You have to be motivated, detail-oriented, patient, stubborn with the attitude that you will perservere despite difficulty. Motivation will get you further than intelligence in this field.

Out of a class of 25, only 16 people graduated and completed the course. Of those, there were some extremely intelligent people who apparently lacked the motivation or ability to complete the course. I'm not sure, but the people who did finish all had the same motivation. 

As a Bruin, I personally think I made a great decision to attend the UCLA Coding Bootcamp. There are literally hundreds of bootcamps available to attend, but after doing research I found that UCLA offered the best curriculum, in the least amount of time. The price was reasonable. The instructors and staff were top-notch and experts in the field, and the results speak for themself. Other bootcamps were either expensive, explored too many stacks to be effective, were not convenient, did not carry the reputation of a school like UCLA, did not offer extensive career services, or wanted a piece of your salary for a specific amount of time once your were hired. 

I highly recommend the UCLA Full Stack Web Developers Coding Bootcamp for aspiring developers. Be ready to work. Don't quit and keep learning. 

I took the part-time bootcamp online. I think the remote aspect of it made completion more difficult for many of my peers, as a majority of the original students did not finish the program. 

If you're taking the program part-time alongside a full-time job, it can be incredibly challenging to balance work, personal life and the program's demands. This program takes a lot of support and understanding from family and significant others to see through completion. 

Before enrolling, I'd do some preemptive self-teaching, especially of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The course moves quickly, and the classmates who did not complete it often seemed less prepared for what they had gotten themselves into. They may not have done their due diligence to truly know they'd like this new career path. And given the costs and commitment to complete the certification, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. You have to have a degree of love for programming or a piqued interest, I think, to stick it out for 24 weeks.