Columbia Engineering Boot Camps

I must assert that I was not very sure about how this AI training will fit in my current professional career as an Engineer. But considering AI is the new technological era we are in now, I did not want to miss the bus like I did for bitcoins when they first came out. But then, as the program began, I hoped I could integrate AI with my current engineering skills to provide unparallel engineering solutions to complex real life applications in general and to engineering issues in particular. As a Control Engineer, I plan to utilize the AI training to upgrade or improve the current control loops (PID) performances out there in the industry. I am now very pleased with myself for taking the course as I discovered throughout the program that AI applies to all industries, not just manufacturing or R&D (where I have practiced so far) like I had anticipated.

I would recommend doing the AI Bootcamp ONLY if you have a very solid background in Python. A classmate characterized the class as “having a fire hose strapped to your face!” The curriculum is intense. If you don’t have 30+ hours to commit to the course keep your money. The lead instructor and TA’s in my cohort have been amazing; back office support is very lacking. I haven’t heard from any success advisors, scheduling a tutoring session has been a struggle. 2 or 3 weeks out for available sessions is not helpful. 

I am happy that I took the UX/UI Design course at Columbia University Engineering.
Before making my decision, I researched many private courses and programs at other universities. I can tell you that this is the most comprehensive and balanced program at a competitive fee. At others schools, you get a third of the material from this course for the same price. Another important factor is the excellent reputation of Columbia University as one of the most prestigious universities not only in the US but the world. This translates into the quality of its educational programs and teaching staff. Also, this certificate program allows one to attend classes in the evening so as not to interfere with one’s job. It’s very convenient for those working individuals who want to further develop their UX/UI skills or change their profession altogether. 

Why did I choose the UX/UI Design program? I have a degree in web design, programming, and computer graphics. However, I did very little work in this area, more often as a freelancer, as this was not my main job. I received my diploma 10 years ago and a lot of what I learned then became outdated. Back then there wasn’t even a concept of UX/ UI. I decided to go back to doing UX/UI as I feel that this is an area I can excel in. Knowing what I needed to learn for my future job made it easier for me to choose this course. I advise anyone who wants to change their profession and doesn’t know where to start to sign up for Columbia Engineering UX/UI Boot Camp. I can assure you for sure that you will get a good starting base knowledge of UX/UI. During the course, you will create a personal portfolio which is not so easy to do on your own, especially if you are not familiar with web design and user research. I highly recommend Columbia Engineering UX/UI Boot Camp course!

Being passionate in tech, made me seek for a program that will aid in my smooth transition into tech. Attaining a certificate from a respectable institution in the United States is a critical factor, and that's what led me to choose Columbia Engineering Bootcamp. I am now past the half mark of the course program, and the experience is thrilling. The instructors are approachable, the course contents are up to date with the industry demands, they have plenty of resources to prepare you for the job market, and the supporting stuff including the career advisors are always available. I would highly recommend Columbia Bootcamp for prospective students and I would advise them to make use of all the available resources presented to them. Considering the intense pace of the Program, I would also advise them to form study groups and attend office hours to make things easier and enjoyable. Finally, it is all about having fun doing what you're passionate about!

I will recommend this course to those who are interested in Web development and ready to work hard. The past 3 months it was a great learning experience for me because 

• Excellent instructors. Our instructor Ben encouraged and supported us a lot. He explained each concept really well and after that made sure everyone understood that topic. Max (our T.A. ) is also a dedicated instructor. Both of them were available during and after office hours when we had questions. I appreciated their patience and dedication. We were lucky to have them as our instructors.
• During this course, we learned 20+ concepts, that are essential and advanced in web development. We got experience in working on group projects. To those who are planning to join this course:- Every week I spend an average of 50+ hours (including attending class). Still, it was exciting for me to attend the class every morning. I strongly believe the time I spend and hard work is worth enough. 
• I just started to use the career service. So I think it is too early to rate their service. But the feedback I got about my career material was really helpful.
• The support I got from AskBcs and our SSM was also great. 

So thank you so much to the Bootcamp team. All the best to the new students. 

I LOVED my experience in the bootcamp. I had some (self-taught) exposure to HTML and CSS before, but otherwise these technologies and skills were totally new to me. I'm amazed at how much I learned including HOW to learn different languages and tools. I feel set up to continue learning on my own. 
My instructor and TA were incredible - super supportive and knowledgable. They ensured that we grasped a concept before moving on, were available to help with any and all questions (even well beyond office hours), and were just great people. I was excited to wake up and join class each morning, learn, problem solve, and work with my classmates. And I'm genuinely sad that I'm not waking up to do that now!
Some tips/opinions: 

• You will need to dedicate a significant amount of time outside of class hours to assignments, practice material, and continued learning. I think they recommend 20 hours/week, but as the pace of the course picks up, I ended up wanting/needing to spend more time than that to make sure I was grasping the material. 
• You need to participate and be involved to get the most out of this. Be willing to be wrong or ask questions you think are stupid. Someone else is probably wondering the same thing.
• Take advantage of the resources offered to you. Schedule tutoring sessions even if you don't think you need it and get in the habit of doing it weekly early on.
• I personally am glad I chose to do the full time program because it kept me focused. I would have had a hard time picking it up and putting it down over a longer timeframe.
• I honestly didn't have much time to devote to career services while in the program, but am utilizing their services now after my graduation. I'd recommend trying to carve out time for this earlier in the program to get a jump start on your resume, etc. (especially if you are switching careers!)

Overall, I definitely recommend this bootcamp as long as you are willing to put in the work and dedicate the time.

I would say Columbia boot-camp experience has recently been the most invaluable six months of learning, for me. Though I had a MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineering), Data Analytics was totally a new playing field. The class was fast pace, and challenging but with their amazing educational support system (i.e TA, Slack, and 24/7 AskBCS) I'd always catch up to lessons. There were moments I almost quit, then I will remind myself why I started and imagine the light at the end of the tunnel, this will kick in a resilient spirit to keep pushing. My intention was to develop cutting edge skill set to shift my career into the tech industry, have a flexible schedule, like remote role, since I'm more creative working in different scenery - two months into this boot-camp I landed a (tvc) 'remote' role @ Google, with an app release team. 
Columbia Engineering boot-camp provided me the ability to understand strategic tech industry programing languages (HTML, MySQL, JAVA Scrip, CSS, R, MongoDB, Python and more), they’ve helped me ramp up expeditiously at my role, understand my work environment to consistently improve - I'm confident at work while I strive on making quality contribution. Lastly, coding made it into my fun list with the likes of: boxing, traveling, dancing and more. I can recommend Columbia boot-camp to anybody for all it's worth!

A few months ago, if you had asked me anything about code or web development I would've had to plead the 5th amendment. Fast forwarding to now, the Columbia Full Stack Bootcamp has been a life-changing and educational experience. To begin, the instructors that taught us were relentless in making sure we were able to understand the subject before moving on to the next. The instructors played a vital role such as simply making the topics not boring or mundane and making the activities as fun as possible as they could be. The course was very fast-paced, potentially if you lost any focus you could miss something vital; luckily the instructors would make sure that every student would be on the same page before continuing. One qualm I had with the course is the tutors, it seemed like they were also at a beginner level of coding and were not as useful. Fellow cohorts of the full stack Bootcamp were amazing as well, it seemed like we were all on the same team and no one would hesitate to reach out to one another for help. I would like to say that classmates were more helpful than scheduling a tutor, unfortunately, but they did try their best. Office hours prior to and after class were the best. During those times, the instructors would create applications or etc using whatever language we were learning during that week; it helped us to click in our minds what we learned. The instructors also used office hours to give us 1 on 1 help, which I am very grateful for; just overall the instructors were available practically the entire day, so there was always a chance for you to get help whenever you would need it. Ultimately, the Bootcamp was a great choice and I am proud I was able to get through the long 3 months. Now if anyone asks me about coding or anything web related, I can go on and on for hours explaining the nuances and complexities of how an e-commerce website works, what PWAs are, or just plainly talking about how the MERN stack works etc. 

I came into this program knowing just basic HMTL. It was quite a fast-paced boot camp, of course even though it was 6 months long. You learn a lot of fundamentals of coding you need to be a front end, back end or full stack developer, (depending on what you like). I genuinely think this experience is something you should try if you definitely are interested in learning how to make you own apps, websites or even learn the beginnings of creating your own game. It is something you will have to devote immense amount of time to but my specific cohort everyone was really flexible. They were almost always available and always ready to answers any questions we had. I would recommend this to anyone want to start a new career or if they have time on their hands to further their coding journey. Managing your time is essential but do not let it scare you and do not hesitate to ask for any help at all. You will get lost! Be not afraid of asking for help.

Very fast paced, could have done with and extra two weeks to help with things people struggled with. Teacher's were fantastic, very engaging, helpful and kind. The course is a bit expensive for what it is. the tutors were not the best not very helpful and got mad when you didn't know something (asked a few classmates about there's also similar response) also was told that there would be 24 hour assistance and tutoring (as I'm a bartender this was a big factor in me choosing this course but that was not the case) also told that you don't need to have experience before doing this course but you should, if you don't you will struggle a lot. That being said classmates were fantastic. Everyone helped everyone. Waking up for the class everyday wasn't a chore, lot of fun had in the class and a lot to learn. Which when you pick this course that is something you are willing to do. I can not stress again how great our teacher and T.A were the T.A went out of his way to help a lot of people including myself by offering tutoring on my days off. Sometimes this course can be overwhelming but once you get past that and put your head down it is easy to learn.

I definitely recommend this course. The structure is laid out to teach us foundational topics first and builds them into more complex skills that are practical for real world applications. Just be sure to be able to dedicate at least 10 hours per week, and the more time you can spend on it the more you will learn. (there is a lot of material available for practice).
The instructional staff is extremely knowledgeable and supportive. They are very approachable for help and patient with all of the questions students ask. They have made me feel comfortable with the content we are learning and assist in providing additional resources that will be useful now and for future developments.

The Data Analytics bootcamp is structurally well laid out. Though it can be bit fast paced at times, the sheer amount of concepts and skills you master, for me, made it worth it. The range of topics within data analysis covered in this bootcamp are broad yet lay a very strong foundation for you, which lends you the confidence to build up on them (and other topics) quite smoothly post-graduation too. Helps you build a very strong base. All topics were new to me, but my instructor Dave Saranchak and the TAs Angela Ditri, Bomin Kwon, Ellaine Ho, and Jurgen Arias were extremely kind, thoughtful, helpful and encouraging throughout the entire process, which to be honest made it a lot of fun! The Student Success Manager Jeanna Labella is extremely helpful and empathic and does all she can to make this a smooth journey for you. The Career Services offered through the bootcamp are another highlight of the program - especially the generous post-graduation three month offer to help you with your job applications! You'll also meet lots of peers who are either already working in that field or diving in for the first time - great opportunity to network but also make friends!

After completing my M.S. in Marketing, I was looking for somewhere to apply more digital-based marketing techniques. A co-worker suggested a certificate in UX/UI Design and I began looking into various programs across the states. When looking into Columbia's program, it seemed that they focused on providing a strong overview of both the UX and UI techniques in addition to career assistance within and outside of the course.

Having gone through half of the program at this stage, I can confidently say this was the perfect choice! The instructor and TA for the class are professionals in the field who are always sharing industry specific applications for our class subjects and projects. It's been both challenging and rewarding to go through the program thus far and I look forward to getting to craft our portfolios for real-world positions over the coming months.

For those looking to enroll in Columbia's UX/UI Design certificate program, be ready for an engaging, challenging six months where, with each activity and project, you begin building the foundation for a new and exciting career!

I will say, I was a bit skeptical knowing the entry requirements for this course but I was definitely not disappointed. The course itself is a little tough if you’re totally new to coding as a whole. It’s very fast paced and the constant new concepts will keep you on your toes. Everyone part of the administration and instructing team is there to help you and communicate with you whenever you need it. I would say you should join this boot camp to dip your toes within the web/software development industry. It was a blast and looking forward to my new future.

Thanks

Overall, this was an absolutely amazing program. It was fast paced since we had to cover a huge amount of material in the span of 6 months but the support from the TA's, teachers, and peers were unmatched. The focus of these classes were on key concepts and the "how" on cybersecurity and it's tools. Now that I am actually in the field I realized that some of the tools, protocols and conversations were a little bit behind the times. Tools like metasploit, wireshark, Splunk and Autopsy are still used today but what we learned for Splunk just scratched the surface compared to what was asked of me for entry level positions at different organizations during interviews. I also wished we could have utilized different cloud modules like AWS or GCP or gain more exposure to coding with Python but I understand that this bootcamp was focused on getting a student started on the cybersecurity path. It gave enough exposure to each of the core cybersecurity modules and students are highly encouraged to pick a module to pursue further education on after classes are completed. I recommend utilizing all the resources you can get from the class, connect with your peers or teams on linkedin and find a module that peaks your interest to later sign up for additional classes through udemy, pluralsite or cybery, etc. It is not enough to just complete the class if you are pursuing a career in cybersecurity but it was great start to becoming a well rounded, educated, cybersecurity professional.

This bootcamp has been an amazing journey for me! I have been so excited about learning and understanding more about financial programming, quantitative analysis and of course cryptos and blockchain. The instructors were always helpful and went into details in a lot of areas. Now, I am 10x more knowledgeable from when I started and very much motivated to work for a Fintech company one day or build my own :) Anyone who is interested in Fintech, I highly recommend this bootcamp as it is very much worth it and you'll learn a ton! 

There were times I felt overwhelmed from the coursework, but the overall experience was phenomenal. The instructors and the TA's were very helpful with explaining and assisting when there were struggles. The lab environments helped with better understanding the material and familiarizing the technical aspect of the work. I learned a lot in a condensed timeframe, but the journey was very inspirational and aspiring with my developing passion in cybersecurity. 

Coming from a general background in computer science, I spent 10 years working in database management systems. The evolution of the industry leads me to move towards Big Data and the Cloud. Looking for which university to acquire this training, I read on a Columbia University spot: "BIG DATA NEEDS BIG PROTECTION". Why not focus on security? 
We are all threatened, from the individual to the government. How to invest in tools that protect personal information, economic costs, reputational costs, and other sensitives information of organizations that are now stored in cloud.Getting out of my comfort and attending Columbia Engineering Cybersecurity Bootcamp was one of the best decisions I ever made. The Boot Camp was online and the class times matched with my availability. I learned about an area of the industry that I was unaware of, data security. The teachers and assistants have the relevant knowledge. This boot camp requires the availability of the student to get the best out of himself. The program is rich and the activities include practical and real case studies. The professors and advisors listen to the students and push them in their learning to be employer-ready then employer-competitive.

 Columbia Engineering Data Analytics Boot Camp is committed to preparing online data analytics learners for success. With the rise of data in today’s economy, our course focuses on teaching individuals the practical and technical skills needed to analyze and solve complex data problems through an innovative online learning format. 

With a professional background in people, not data, joining this program was quite the commitment for me.  Thus, more than halfway through the ride, it is quite rewarding to share my peaks on this academic roller coaster. Getting to know my classmates, all of whom have varying levels of data experience, is one the many highlights. Although entirely virtual, the prompt feedback on challenge assignments and access to student support 24/7 are factors that have contributed to my personal successes thus far.  At this time, I am excitedly optimistic towards the opportunities awaiting us all.

After struggling with unemployment, during the 2020 pandemic, I realized that I desperately needed to learn a new skill. It wasn't long until I made the decision to do a career pivot into web development. I spent months researching the avenues into becoming a web developer. I weighed the pros and cons between pursuing a Computer Science degree vs being self-taught vs attending a Coding Bootcamp until finally deciding that a Bootcamp would make the most sense for my family's needs. To make a long story short...I enrolled in the Fulltime Coding Bootcamp through Columbia University and 2U (formerly Trilogy) and I am glad that I did!

I went into the course with zero experience and found it to be VERY demanding and unbelievably fast-paced. There were times that I wanted to throw my hands in the air and give up. Fortunately, for me, I had the opportunity to speak with previous graduates before going in...and they all recommended the same thing: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES THAT THEY GIVE YOU! 

So, I struggled along through my course. I allowed myself to be upset with the complexities of the concepts and the pace of the course load...but I also leaned into the resources that were available to me:

• Instructors- I am told that Columbia Bootcamp instructors are highly vetted, and I am convinced this is true. My instructor, Ben, was absolutely amazing!  Not only was he extremely knowledgeable and very experienced as a web developer...but he also exercised the highest level of patience and understanding. I attended office hours every morning before class,  and he always went above and beyond in helping me work through the concepts that I was struggling with.
• Student Success Managers- Every student is assigned a Student Success Manager who will be there to provide support along the way. I can honestly say that I was able to complete the course, largely due to the support that I received from my manager, Danny. Danny remained in constant communication with the class, provided essential resources for upcoming lessons, and made himself available for one-on-one meetings. I took FULL advantage of his willingness to help and met with him regularly throughout the course (via Zoom). In our meetings, he provided the feedback and reassurance that I needed to keep going. I was simply amazed by his eagerness to help.
• Learning Assistants- Along with the Bootcamp, you are given access to the online teaching assistants, or BCS. They are available to "guide" you through finding solutions to problems. While I have mixed reviews on some of my experiences with BCS...for the most part, they were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. And the hours that they were available to provide assistance were very convenient.
• Tutors- For more one on one guidance outside of class, the Bootcamp offers access to tutors. As a full-time student, the course offered 2 tutor sessions per week. I highly recommend taking full advantage of this resource. You will need to invest 20+ hours/wk in studying, outside of class, in order to make it through the course. While BCS is available to provide support with a specific question (and point you in the right direction to find an answer)...your tutor is there to provide more in-depth assistance.
• Career Services- For those who may be looking to find a job after Bootcamp, Career Services is a great resource. They have tons of webinars on various topics (ie Interview Prep, Networking Tips, Resume/Cover Letter Tips). While you do have access to career services resources throughout your course, you will not interact with your career advisor until you get closer to your graduation date. This is so you have the opportunity to focus on your coursework. HOWEVER...as difficult as it may be to find the time, I highly suggest getting involved with career services workshops and completing the milestones as soon as possible. I am working with my Career Advisor now, and I am glad that I got an early start.

All in all...if you have done any research on Bootcamps, you may have seen that Trilogy has a lot of mixed reviews. Take it with a grain of salt. Most of the criticism is old (before they became 2U)...and simply unfair. In my experience, this Bootcamp is exactly what you make of it. Columbia goes above and beyond to give you everything you need to succeed...but they are not going to do the work for you. Apply yourself...and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES THAT THEY GIVE YOU! If you do that...this course will be worth every dollar you spend.

Every week, you're introduced to new topics and expected to gain competence by the end of the week. With no experience in coding (besides Excel) or databases, I struggled to keep up. I wish I'd taken advantage of the tutors & Office Hours earlier - once I did, the homework became manageable and I was able to gain confidence and keep up with others in class who were already familiar with the material. The lead instructor & the TAs are very knowledgeable and were reliable resources throughout the course. 1000% worth it if you have the time and are willing to push yourself. 

This bootcamp was amazing!!!  I absolutely loved the instructor and TAs. There were also a ton of resources available and there was always someone available to help.  What drew me to picking this bootcamp...was the fact that they covered BOTH UX and UI. It is such a competitive market and it was clear to me that I needed to learn both. But if you work full-time...I highly recommend NOT taking on any part-time gigs (or at least use caution). It is a huge workload but every task really does have a purpose. When it comes to the job search- just use the name and sell yourself!  Don't just rely on Career Services, be confident and reach out to companies and show them what you can do for them. It may surprise you, and you may even be able to use the work for an assignment (win-win). So definitely I would recommend using as many career resources as possible. And always be open to learning (especially code).

An 18-week part-time digital marketing boot camp course to learn the fundamentals of online and social media marketing techniques through lectures, projects, and homework assignments to test your knowledge while also creating a portfolio of work you can use for career opportunities. This course was challenging, rigorous, and demanding of your time and energy, but it was so worth it. I learned so much in the 18 weeks about digital marketing and had never had any previous experience in a marketing or business class. I was worried that I would not understand the concepts of marketing, but the beginning of our course started with an overview of the basics of marketing and how they apply to the digital space. Learning about SEO and UI/UX design inspired me to start my own freelancing business where I help small businesses with website optimization and writing SEO content for their site. We learned all the new updates to social media advertising and were encouraged to keep learning about it as we move on from the class since that space is ever-changing. I have so many projects that I got to work on in this class, and I am excited that I have a portfolio to show future employers. Career services are helpful, knowledgeable, and encouraging, and even though they cannot guarantee they will find you a job, they will help you gather all of the materials you will need to make your job search so much easier. And not to forget the amazing instructors I had, who were all smart, engaging, and encouraging throughout the whole course. Each TA had their own specialty in digital marketing that they got to share their experiences about in class and our instructor knew so much about digital marketing and how it has changed over time. The TA's and instructor were available during office hours, always made time for a one-on-one meeting if needed, and always encouraged us to keep challenging ourselves during projects and assignments. I'm so glad I took this class. I'm sad that it's over, but I cannot wait to use all of the knowledge I have gained for my future career path as a digital marketing professional.

• How you decided to pursue this career path and what led you to apply to Columbia Engineering FinTech Boot Camp

I am a 2006 computer science graduate. I moved to the USA in 2019 with the intent to pursue a career in data science and finance, using the knowledge gained from my previous job as a junior data analyst. And to that end, I found Columbia Engineering University with its state-of-the-art boot camp. This boot camp ended up being perfect for me because they offered the opportunity to do this course part-time throughout the span of six months. I went into this course with the intent to gain practical experience and technical skills. I open my career path every Industry including Financial Industry.

• Your experience with Columbia Engineering FinTech Boot Camp and your favorite aspect(s) of the program

My experience with Columbia Engineering FinTech Boot Camp was absolutely phenomenal! Looking back to the past thirteen weeks, I can confidently attest that I have improved a lot in my technical and computational skills. It truly feels like a miracle! First of all, I would like to say I deeply grateful for my mentor and all the TA's, as they have all instructed us in such a professional, organized, and intuitive manner. From all the useful resources gained from each class to the file-sharing and downloading with my peers to the smooth and improved workflow during my projects: I can’t believe I learned so many things. And as part of his, the career director was generous enough to go through and help me update every detail in my resume, to make it fit with today’s job climate. 

• Advice you would give to other prospective students to ensure success.

From my experience, I would tell prospective students to never give up the passion for learning. If you are passionate about coding, financial technology, and many other computational subjects, Columbia Engineering Boot Camp is the perfect place. 

After working in the finance industry for many years I transitioned into the alt data world as head of sales for a start up where I became interested in data and coding. After researching a lot of Bootcamps I was recommended this course by a friend who works in financial recruitment. I literally had no coding experience and truth be told very little computer knowledge other than sending emails and calendar type stuff. So the learning curve for me at the start of this course was extremely steep. For the first couple of weeks it was very stressful and a lot of work, but in the end I can honestly say it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. This is a serious and intense course that requires a lot of work but in the end Im shocked at how far Ive come in 6 months.  My advice to real beginners is to spend a lot of time pre-course getting familiar with your computer and doing any pre-work they recommend. Reach out to the advisor assigned to you and ask for any materials that might assist you getting started, the less time you have to spend learning basic computer skills the better.

This course is an excellent way to start your Fintech journey and get exposure to Python, Quant/Algo Trading and the world of Crypto's. 

I wish I would have learned to code years ago! It will open your mind to a whole new world of possibilities! 

I would thank my instructor Garence Staraci, TA's Aaron Niu and Kyle Smyre, student success manager David Sison and my tutor Lavina Tang!       

Thanks for all the support and patience! 

I had no coding background and was very hesitant upon applying. Right from the start, I received so much support from the staff. It was an incredible experience. I really appreciate how fast-paced everything is and was more impressed with my fellow classmates who were very kind and willing to help each other out. The instructors are very patient as well as TA's. Just keep in mind it is a challenging cohort, so make sure you sign up with tutoring asap ask questions, and try to be well-rested along the way. 

There are many resources available even after you graduated to help you secure employment. Overall would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to chime into the world of coding because it's a great stepping stone. 

Hi, I was part of the in-class Columbia FinTech Bootcamp 2019-2020, with amazing instructors Julia Kim and Adam Behrman. Fantastic duo with an in-dept knowledge mix of business and technology. It was my pleasure working with them and their dedicated TA’s Jeff, Yiqiao, and Aaron. They were very responsive and always available for us, with extended office hours (if we need help).

It was quite a challenging experience at the beginning, as the curriculum was very demanding, having in mind that I am an economist without coding experience. So, if one wants really to gain some new tech skills individual work of 20-25 hours a week is needed above part-time classes.

But as the program goes on, I became more and more confident in my tech knowledge and we created some amazing things on our school projects, like Baby Yoda - Robo Retirer, Algo Trader, and my favorite ML/blockchain combo  Patent Blocks. 

Yep, when one goes through documents and the codes all my buddies are “black belt ninja” holders, as our instructor, Adam said in our first class, we will become technology-wise. (after Bootcamp ends while looking at a bunch of confused faces trying to install required tools).

Along with solid tech knowledge, I met a terrific group of young professionals and we learned a lot from each other. This Bootcamp was an amazing networking tool as you can meet very different interesting personalities with different carriers and experience levels.

On the carrier service side, if you follow the milestones it is an easy task and one can be employer-ready by the end of Bootcamp. I also used the help of the carrier director, highly skilled professional, Colin Lubbe. . Kudos to Colin and his effort to help me reach the employer-competitive stage.

 

For more data on my Columbia Engineering (2U) journey visit my GitHub. https://github.com/NinoslavVasic

 

Overall, a very positive experience, and all the best if you decide to go toward this path.

Nino

This will be the most honest review you read on here. For people considering forking over ~$12,000 please read this first - or consider reaching out to previous reviewers and see if they're employed. If you notice - only a very small percentage of people spoke about being employed in their review. Most of these were likely left at or near their graduation date when students are optimistic about their career outlook in addition to being ecstatic due to an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I was too, but I waited to leave an honest review.

TLDR - This school had good teachers, a poorly planned curriculum (in terms of getting a job), terrible career support and is not worth over $3,000 - $4,000. Graduated 10/2019 - still no job and it's 8/2020. Applied to 323 positions thus far and still no luck after following the advice of career services to the tee.

Teachers - Definitely the high point of this review. I thought the Teachers we had were knowledgeable and made sure those who wanted to learn did. In addition the TAs were some of the strongest I've met. Before deciding to go to Columbia I went to a number of different bootcamp "trial days". It's obviously hard to tell from such a small sample size but I felt that my cohorts TAs were far more knowledgeable than the average TA at some of the other big NYC bootcamps.

Curriculum - I worked my butt off, people are right that this course takes a lot of work outside the classroom if you expect to keep up. I felt the curriculum attempted to lightly touch on far too many subjects rather than specializing on a few important ones. This doesn't make a graduate attractive to potential companies. Yea, it's great you can list 30 skills on your resume but if you've only just scratched the surface on each one how do you expect someone to pay you a fair salary. It's really on you to become an expert - but for $12,000 I don't believe that should be the case.

Career Services - I really appreciated the comprehensive resume review. I thought that was a very valuable service at the time (although my results would beg to differ). The whole career coach process was a joke. I could see this being useful for someone who doesn't know what LinkedIn is. But in my experience it seemed like we just kept going over the same things, it was almost as if every meeting I had felt like the first meeting. Very disappointed with this aspect.

Tutors - Complete joke, they outsource this service and it's hit or miss. I know some students who had a good experience while both the tutors I used clearly embellished their experience as I kept finding holes in their advice which seemed like basic knowledge to me, an inexperienced coder. 

All in all I feel kind of bad writing this review because everyone at this bootcamp was so nice. Literally everyone, the teachers, the coaches, the success managers etc. But being nice doesn't equate to getting a job. There's a reason they wont publish their job statistics like the other reputable bootcamps in NYC. It's because they are taking advantage of this bootcamp fad without using the amount of resources the other bootcamps do (the ones that publish statistics). They are banking on affiliating with well known universities and keeping their barrier to entry low. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought their entry exam was a joke compared to the other schools, like Fullstack Academy (I also applied and was accepted there). As I said earlier, I finished in 10/2019 and I only know of 4 people from my cohort who are currently employed full time. Two of which came into the program with CS degrees and the other one was already working in a tech company in a different capacity.

My advice is as follows: If you are looking to make a career switch, this course is not for you. You're better off spending an extra $5,000 and giving up three months of your life and going to a bootcamp that guarantees job placement. I convinced myself that this cheaper, more flexible schedule, with a lower barrier to entry would be just as good. There were tons of red flags and I ignored them all because, who doesn't want a certificate from Columbia University? If you're someone with some extra cash that just wants to learn with no desire to switch careers - then this course is for you but I would point you to similar online courses that cost a couple of hundred dollars.

That is my brutally honest review.

-Alexander Vellios

I decided to pursue the cybersecurity field after selling my LED lighting manufacturing company looking to pivot into a new career, and after looking into this exciting new growing field, it gave me insight into the vast and lucrative career opportunities offered if you have the right education and credentials.  After extensively researching the various cybersecurity programs offered by many reputable schools, I decided to apply first to the Columbia Engineering Cybersecurity Bootcamp Program for a few reasons;

First of all the curriculum was both diverse and extensive, covering the most important areas of cybersecurity that are the most useful to anyone pursuing their aspirations in this area.  I could tell the educational staff put a lot of time and thought into their topic selection, and yet they remained flexible in incorporating new subjects into the program even during the course of the class, while also taking input from the students.  The industry itself is continuously evolving and this regular updating is essential to keeping the program on the cutting edge in parallel with it.

The program cost is quite competitive when compared to other in-class programs.  From what I've seen from other programs vs. their cost, the Columbia Cybersecurity Bootcamp Program offers the greatest return on your investment.  Midway through the program, the COVID crisis obviously made it more challenging for everyone, including for administrators, teachers and students alike.  But Columbia, in conjunction with Trilogy, made an extensive proactive effort to offset the adversarial effects, including making the TA's more available during numerous scheduled times for student questions, as well as the teacher himself, who also supplemented the student's preparation for career readiness with numerous one on one sessions along with Career Services.

And, the cybersecurity program, part of the Columbia Fu School of Engineering, a department within one of the top Ivy League schools, lives up to its reputation as a leader in academia, and I am proud to display on my resume one of the finest institutions of learning in the US, and the world, and a great differentiator from other schools.

Regarding my favorite aspects of the program, topic-wise I found learning about the benefits of the cloud, the components within a network and how they work together, and the tools and software we learned to protect them against a cyberattack, were all very intricate but interesting, and in fact I will be applying those skills to the technology startup that I will be working with shortly after the completion of the program, to protect their software as well as the environments they will be operating in.  The projects were on balance probably the most challenging part of the program, requiring collaboration, resourcefulness, and creativity to complete them successfully.  The teacher and TA's were simply fantastic.  They were extraordinarily helpful especially in a very challenging environment, and they bent over backwards to accommodate the student's needs.  You can tell they took a lot of pride and invested a lot of emotional energy along with intellectual rigor to make sure the students got the education that they paid for.
 My advice for students considering applying for or entering this program is to be ready for a major challenge.  You will emerge from this experience learning a great deal, if you invest enough time into it.  The program, although foundational from a cybersecurity standpoint, also transforms you and puts you in the shoes of a cybersecurity professional, challenging you all along the way to identify and then mitigate these types of threats for a company. 

Scott Koenig

A very intensive 6 months course, you get to learn a lot of different technologies being used in the industry, one recommendation i have for anyone that's going to take this course is that, you have to be very diligent in doing the work, and do a lot of outside learning as you are going through the course. Many of my classmates where half assing it and it showed. This is a big investment for a lot of you and i recommend taking it very serious and just learn as much as you can if you can put in 40 hours a week learning i recommend doing it as, this will be one time course.

A 6-month course on becoming a full stack developer. Covered all the current topics and tools, finishing with the MERN stack. Course was fast-paced and requires a lot of additional learning to build on the subject matter being presented. Recommend keeping up with homework assignments and use the team projects as an opportunity to learn how to frame a project, assign tasks, and do frequent stand-ups and GitHub pull requests. Instructor was very committed to helping the students and answering all questions. 

I enjoy creative problem solving and am fascinated by figuring out how things work.  I enjoy puzzles and building solutions, and I was eager to learn a technical skill that would make me more marketable while looking for jobs.  My goal was to set myself up on a career path that had me thinking creatively and solving problems while earning a competitive salary with great benefits.  Based on the very little that I knew about Data Analytics, I did some light Googling and stumbled upon Columbia's Data Analytics Boot Camp.  I had never coded a day in my life.  I had some experience working in Microsoft Excel, but that's it.  I got my questions answered by the admissions folks at Triology and passed the intial test to qualify for the program.  I was nervous and excited to begin this program. 

The first few weeks were a huge learning curve for me.  I do not have a math and science background, and we hit the ground running with coding.  I spent lots of time outside of class researching concepts on my own and watching online tutorials while taking lots of notes.  I can confidently say that I have never studied this hard or diligently in my life, but it has really paid off.  Over time, the concepts started to click and with every passing class I feel more and more confident in my abilities as a Data Analyst. 

My favorite parts of this program have been my kind, patient, amazing instructor; building relationships with my classmates and working with them on homework outside of class; and taking advantage of the weekly 1:1 tutoring sessions with my outstanding tutor. 

My main peice of advice to you is this: you aren't good at something until you learn how to do it.  No one is born with an innate ability to code.  You learn how to code.  If you have a creative and analytic mind, this program can be an amazing way to implement those approaches with a technical skill set.  It has been very humbling to learn something new, something that seemed so foreign and impossible to understand.  But it's not impossible.  It just takes a lot of work.  I've had to make sacrifices in order to dedicate as much time and energy as I can into this program, but I know that there will be opportunities for me once it's under my belt.  Anyone can learn how to do this, it just takes time.  Like I said, I was nervous, but after jumping in and dealing with the struggle and the challenge of wrapping my brain around this fast paced program, I feel proud of myself at how far I've come in such a short amount of time. 

I had Michael and Jamal as my instructors! They are an awesome pair because they synergize off each other's strengths. Michael strength is his ability to spark interest ontop of laying the foundational scaffolding of knowledge; while, Jamals is his ability to dive deep to build upon that foundation with best practices to create more efficient and less buggy code. On top of that, there would be many moments of quality comedic timing that really brought us as a class together.

We have dedicated TA's like Casey, Yohann, Pete. Who would be in Mudd sometimes 2-3 hours before actual class time. Socializing with students and making sure that we got the help we needed.

Early on in the Bootcamp, I remember having a memorable experience with TA's Michelle, Ben, and Mike who were with us in the glass study area of campus-level Mudd. I was trying to get this animation library working with my first deployment on GitHub pages. I was probably looking frustrated and Michelle came over and made sure I got help. This was at a time without class or office hours.

Another time early on, I remember Jamal sat me down individually during after-hours just explaining from a question I had. He even missed an earlier train home for me.

Recently during final project-week, EVERYONE stayed in class extra just so we can hit higher goals. It's time like these where you realize the instructional staff really are here to help us succeed in any way they can.

On another note, I think Columbia attracts a really unique and rich student body. We had game designers who wanted to learn to code in our class. We had business owners. We had older 30's something finance people who realized they were teaching foreign developers how to automate their jobs and will be replaced soon if they don't adapt. And of course, we had young people like me who are in their early twenties trying to make something of their life.

I had some gripes with the curriculum in terms of time spent on things that weren't that important. I talked to Michael and Jamal about it and they said they know and were trying to make changes with the higher-ups.

Overall a great experience! A tough experience. A real challenge. If you're doing this you really will need to spend 12-14 hours each week at Columbia AND as much as you can get outside of class to review and build knowledge (10-20 hours+ minimum depending on the person). A ton of perseverance is needed, seriously!!

-Filbert Shi (Finished June 2019)

If you can dream it, you can achieve it. This is what I had in mind before  I started the Full Stack Web Development program. This helped me to perserve against all odds. 

From the time for registeration, I knew this was the program I wanted to attend. The customer service was excellent.  I was thrilled to find out that the program could be run part time, this  flexibilty is a big plus for the program. Also the tuition was one of the most affordable bootcamp in the city. The fact that the tuition could be paid installmentally made the program attractive.

Attending  class the first day,  and the Course Curriculum shared,  simply confirmed to me that I was in the right program. 

The instructors and the teaching assistants were passionate about  their coding  job, and were always happy to help. The SSM made sure students were getting  every the help they needed to succeed. The 50 minutes weekely tutorial service is a great initiative. 

I started the program with no  knowledge of coding, but I completed the program well equipped with so much information to continue in this distinguished journey.

Thank you Columbia Engineering BootCamp giving the tools I needed to succeed in this field. 

This program was great as I learned so much in a short amount of time. 

The instructers and TAs were amazing as they took the time out to help and really go over material. They looked out for everyone and made sure everyone was getting the help they needed! The material was current and assignments were challenging, which helped me learn and solve logical componenets, making me a better coder. I reccomend this boot camp to anyone who is interested in understanding web development!