Bottega

Just like my title says, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! I was a student in this program so I know how awful it really is. They will make you feel like they are going to teach you so much, when in reality they teach you nothing. Most of the graduates aren't getting jobs due to the lack of teaching they do. In fact, they will hire "gradutes" at $15 an hour to shut them up and let them feel like they got a job. All of the positive reviews are those who went in with zero knowledge and were made to believe they were being taught something. YOU WILL LEAVE EMPTY HANDED! They tell you they are full-stack but don't ever go over JavaScript. They tell you to go to CodeSchool to learn JavaScript. You are attending Bottega not CodeSchool. JavaScript is one of the most important languages to learn if you want to get a job at a Jr. Developer! All you do is watch videos and try to keep up with the "instructor" in the video. It basically boils down to a copy and paste program. Good luck trying to get a job, while being $12k in debt, when you know nothing. They even charge more than DevMountain!! Just save your time and $$ and either go to college for it or go to DevMountain. You will thank me!

I "graduated" from Bottega in March and found a job within 2 weeks. However, the hiring team was more interested in my management experience rather than my programming "experience" and they straight up told me they would have hired me even if I didn't go to a bootcamp. At Bottega, you'll constantly hear, "You get out what you put in." I did put in the work; I was often one of the first people to class and one of the last to leave and was always ahead in the curriculum and did lots of side projects on my own time.

We changed instructors twice within 12 weeks. They had different strengths, but they both had sketchy things to say about each other behind their backs-- and they said those things to the entire class. It was very strange, and not appreciated by me or any of my classmates. For the majority of the course, we sat in the classroom with our headphones in and watched videos all day long with little instruction. Many times, I felt that I could have saved myself a lot of money and done the same work at home on my couch. I should also add that the last 3 weeks are just job hunting and "personal project" time. Nobody checked up on project progress or completion and many people didn't even finish their projects. So basically, the bootcamp and curriculum length is only 9 weeks.

On one of the days in the final weeks of class, we got a mass message from our instructor at 9:00pm that we were going to go to a job fair the next morning, so we needed to go get several copies of our resumes printed on nice paper and dress up to look professional. We all woke up early to look our best and to go to a store to pay for our resumes to get printed before class started at 9:00am. Once we all arrived to class, we found out quickly that the "Job Fair" was actually just a Google Doc with a list of tech companies in the area. Our instructor told us to "pick one" and physically walk into the company's office and ask if they're hiring. JOB FAIR?! So that event alone is indicative of how deceiving and unprofessional this bootcamp is.

When you graduate, you have the exact same portfolio as every single person that's gone through the curriculum. So when you're applying for jobs, your application looks the same as 15+ others. I attribute the majority of my success in the job hunt to the fact that I'm a minority female and that I'm an absolute pro at networking-- two things that set me apart from the rest of my cohort.

Bottega teaches primarily Ruby (there's seriously like, 2 days of vanilla JavaScript) and the instructors will flat out tell the class that there are hardly any Ruby jobs out there. Apparently, people that land Ruby jobs will likely stay there forever, so the job opportunities are sparse. Why we learned a language that nobody hires junior devs for, I have no idea.

I heard lots of prospective students touring around the building, and I heard the recruiters saying Bottega has 100% job placement, which is deceiving. Some of the people that graduated in December are just now getting jobs, and many people take teaching assistant positions at Bottega which pretty much allows them to retake the course. Many of my classmates have taken unpaid internships; which I think shouldn't be factored into the job placement percentage. I imagine that it's very difficult to pay off the ridiculous tuition costs with months of unemployment, unpaid internships, or $15 an hour as a TA.

While drafting resumes, we were told many times that it's a good idea not to put Bottega on your resume or LinkedIn. That showed lack of faith in the program and made us believe that they didn't want to be responsible for unqualified candidates in the job market.

The "graduation ceremony" was incredibly inadequate. We pulled up our own chairs around the desks in the office, had kids running around screaming, and had about 2 seconds worth of speeches from instructors and CEO. I was really embarrassed to bring my husband there and for him to see fhow unprofessional it was after we agreed to fork out several thousand dollars.

You are better off using the BILLIONS of free online resources to learn JavaScript. I have yet to see a job opening that doesn't want proficiency in JavaScript. As a female and a Slate employee referral, I was able to negotiate a much lower tuition cost, which I'm thankful for. That said, I still think it's a better idea to learn on your own (for free!) or preferably, get a degree.

All said and done, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the president of the school, Scott. He pushed my resume everywhere and got me lots of interviews and he's truly the best thing about the school.

I moved to Utah to change careers and start something new. I had spend the last 10 years of my life as a Firefighter on the East Coast with a bit of time in the Army. I wanted a change and to honestly make more money. I interviewed and spoke with 2 other bootcamps in the area. This bootcamp was by far the only one that I interviewed with that had any desire to be involved with the pre course work. The other bootcamps were uninterested and despondent during the interviews.

The curriculum is written structured in such a way that you have to be on top of it if you expect to keep up. Reading through the reviews I think many of them seemed like they had unreal expectations based off of their devotion to the process. 

I had a great experience, although challenging. It is a huge time investment. During the program I spent at minimum 2 hours a night doing homework and extra work. You do have to realize though that if you do the bare minimum, you won’t fully benefit from the content. 

All in all, it’s a huge time investment, its a huge financial commitment, and you need to devote yourself but if you do, you’ll have huge success. Yes like anything there are areas to improve on, its a business thats only been around for a very short period of time and its pretty impressive that they have done this much in such a short period of time. Can’t wait to see what they do in the future. 

Well, let's see, where to start... I suppose I will start with my background before starting to learn how to write code. 

For the last 8 years of my life, I have managed high-level call centers and clients. In this role, I was responsible for the training department and the operations floor. So in total, I was over around 75-125 people from day to day operations. I made good money but I wasn't happy at all. In October of 2016, I was laid off from this job and had many companies after me to come and work for them, as I had made some traction in the industry in my tenure through the years. As I was going to interviews something I should have been excited about, I was depressed. I knew that this wasn't what I wanted to do the rest of my life, and I had always loved the idea of learning to code. I would always mess around on treehouse.com and some other free sites to see if I could learn it on my own. Well turns out, those sites are really good for the ABC's of coding, but you really have no idea what goes into the start to finish process unless you are getting trained by people that know what they are doing. Which leads me to my next section, my experience at Bottega Tech.

If you are looking at doing a coding boot camp, my hat is off to you. I have so much respect for anyone that goes down this road. I did it and it was the best decision I have ever made for a couple of main reasons. First reason, I was sick of doing something that I wasn't happy doing at all. It may have been good money, but come to find out, money doesn't make you happy. I really wanted to learn how to code and had for years, I was just scared of failure and I was comfortable. Let me tell you right now, it is okay to be scared, but don't let it consume you. You will never get where you want to in life being scared of failure. So back to my point, Bottega was the best decision I have ever made, they teach a full stack curriculum that teaches you the front and back end of coding. Which is what you will need to land that first jr. level job. Nothing is handed to you in this world, it is hard and very rewarding. You have to put 110% into this, if you don't you will not be satisfied with your results. The school is set up very well for success, but if you're a lazy ass and think things should be handed to you, this school isn't for you. I got to know the upper management at the school very well, and if you are putting in 110% they also put in 110%. They absolutely care if you are successful through their program, and are always striving to get more people in the door that higher jr. devs. If you want a school that is committed to you as long as you are committed to them. Then here is your school, this is a lifetime of connections that can be made, it is just up to you to take those first steps and show that you're motivated to be successful. 

Bottega's teachers are some of the best people and genuine people to work with. They spent many of night with students that wanted some extra help and even assigning me extra stuff as I asked for it to improve some of my skills. You will not be disappointed if you decide to take this plunge. It is 100% up to you though how much you get out of it. The curriculum and teachings of the school were easy to follow and understand. That does not go to say that it wasn't one of the hardest things I have ever done. That being said though, I love where I am at in life right now. If you truly want change and want to do something that you love. Check out Bottega, you will not be disappointed. 

I had a great experience here at bottega. I am a recent grad here and had no problem finding a job. I had a great salary position offered to me IMEDIATELY after graduation(I mean litterally the day of graduation I had my interview and job offer). The course work is thourogh and there is PLENTY of resources to continue your education after the course or even during to go more in depth. The key to this, and any course, is putting in the work. If you go to class expecting everything to be given to you, you will not succeed. That is the way life is though...If you work hard then good things will come. Don't go in expecting to be handed a job without work, you need to prove yourself and your abilities. The teachers have ample knowledge and ability to anwer your questions, provided that you ask! Please ASK questions, it's crucial to your advancement in the languages. Again just to review my experience briefly, I very much enjoyed my time at bottega and took the time to not only do the course work, but to truly try and understand the languages taught. Because of the people I met, the instructors, the curriculum, and the leaders of this school...I was able to succeed and you can too. If you are wanting to go into coding and are willing to work your ass off, this is a very viable option for you. This isn't a get rich quick scheme, it's a place for you to start a career. Be prepared for long hours and hard work. If you are willing to do that, this is a wonderful place and the sky is the limit.

When I first began looking into going to a boot camp, the only thing that was going through my head was "oh boy... another accelerated program to no where". I was put right into my place... This program has no only given me the knowledge to succeed as a software developer.. It has taught me how to problem solve, and think... I have met SO SO SO many WONDERFUL, and certainly INSPIRING people, not just the folks who were in my class (cohort).. But Bottega helped me network with individuals from many different companies. This program is extremely challenging. if you are going to do it. DO IT! However, be prepared to be frustrated, and want to beat your face plate against any nearby surface... The course creator/instructor, is one of the most intelligent human beings I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, as well as all the other instructors/TA's... But I have to say... even though I have completed the program, and have sense found a career making almost double my previous job (to put that into perspective... 25k PER YEAR INCREASE!) you tell me where you can do that?.. well Bottega will give you the tools to make it in any, and all ways possible... The personal support added with the professional is just so magnificent. You will not be disappointed if you give it your all... PLUS... They will stick by your side forever... a wise man once told me when I came across a big career challenge, and felt overwhelmed with fear, and unworthy of the task... "You're not smart, you're brilliant. You playing small does not serve this world. You were placed on this earth to win, and win you will do". Like Richard Branson says, you get an opportunity, you take it. Then you figure out how to solve it. Now look in the mirror, tell yourself you can do anything, and get to work".. You know what he was right. then the next message warmed my heart, and made me feel apart of something bigger than myself, "Bottega isn't just the course we teach, or the placement. We are committed to helping you and all our students now and into the future, from your first job to your last"... So I have to ask... Don't you want to make your goals, and dreams a reality?

I wouldn't have tried the boot camp experience with anyone else. With their tuition back guarantee, Bottega has a staff that is involved and working to ensure every individual student's success. 

The Bottega staff and the dev team at their sister company, Slate have a friendly environment that you don't get anywhere else as well. The experience you get through Bottega's paired programming program with Slate dev gives you the option of applying what you learn to a real life project.

 To put it simply Bottega Tech is involved on a level that few other boot camps can boast of, and is the number one way to set yourself up to a successful coding career! 

Bottega was a an exciting place to learn to code and develop. There was incredible support and individualized instruction. While the curriculum moves quickly, we were able to stop and drill down on difficult concepts and spend time where we needed more focus.

I have no background in coding at all and so was very scrupulous of the bootcamp options out there and felt most comfortable with Bottega's vision and direction. Not only did we receive excellent curriculum and guidance but they continue to provide mentoring and additional curriculum resources as we move into jobs.

Choosing to quit my job/previous industry and redirect into coding & development has been an awesome decision. While I still have much to learn Bottega has pointed me in the right direction and continues to support my success.