Columbia Engineering Boot Camps

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!

I am part of the first cohort and my experience with the program is overwhelmingly positive. All the staffs are amazing and they tried their best to help me understanding CS even though at times I was just nip-picking on the tiniest details. There are a few things I did not like about the curriculum, like how fast we had to speed through certain topics and how on our second project we were expected to create something to present with the amalgation of knowledge up to that point while still learing new things during class (when we were suppose to be working on the project) and having half the time of our first, argubly easier, project. At the end of the day, I put in about 3 hours daily and sometimes as much as 8 hours trying to learn all I can in CS. The program is amazing but it is not the end point of someone who is trying to start a career in the tech industry, you have to continue to learn on your own even though you might not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm glad I decided to invest in my education with Columbia Engineering and the Bootcamp for Full Stack Web Development.  The course, while fast-paced, covers all of the topics necessary to introduce you to the coding world and prepare you with the skills to continue your education and secure jobs post-completion.  The teaching and support staff were all super responsive and very helpful.  I definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in diving into coding in well organised setting.

I recently graduated from the Columbia Engineering Data Bootcamp, and it's been life-changing. Before joining, I had zero coding experience and low expectations, but now I'm confident in coding and excited about my career path as a data analyst.


The instructor was a standout – patient and skilled at explaining complex concepts to beginners like me. Hands-on projects and homework boosted my confidence and practical skills. I'm now certain about pursuing a data analyst career.


While my experience was great, more networking opportunities could enhance the program. Overall, if you're hesitant about coding, Columbia's Bootcamp is a game-changer. It's transformed me, and I'm ready for an exciting career in data analysis, all thanks to this incredible program.

My journey with Columbia Engineering Bootcamp started in 2021 when I decided to make a career change and started looking into programs that would offer a well written curriculum, reasonable tuition fee and a certification of completion - those were my main criteria. 
I got in touch with their admission office and got all the information and then it took me almost another year to prepare both mentally and financially to sign the contract and be ready to spend most of my time studying. I liked that the admission officer wasn't pushy and patiently provided every single detail I requested without setting the deadlines or any "last chance" manipulations. At the same time they've been checking on me from time to time to see if I needed more information. I'd say that was one the reasons I chose them over other bootcamps.
Once I signed the papers and completed the payment (they also offer payment plans), I started receiving step by step instructions on how to setup my computer to install all the necessary software and create a GitHub account and that alone was pretty exciting already! I was contacted by one of the assistants that answered all my questions and helped with any technical difficulties I had. By the time the course started I was fully ready and prepared to dive in!
The program was pretty intense from the very beginning so I was glad I went working part-time so I could focus on learning and make my time and money worth it. My instructor was great, has a lot of experience as a dev and instructor, TAs were very responsive as well, I appreciate how they were trying to help by guiding you towards the solution rather than giving you a straight answer, that's a very important skill for a teacher and a valuable part of learning process for a student. Whenever I was working on my weekly assessment if I needed immediate help at midnight, student support chat was available to provide resources or a few hints on how to approach my problem.
There were a few times when we have substitute instructors and I loved it because I got to talk to other devs with decades of experience and ask for some tips and advice. And it's also very inspiring to be taught by people who chose to do programming for years and have a lot to teach you. 
Career center also was helpful by organizing workshops, seminars and events to learn about hiring process in tech industry, how to prepare for interviews, tailor your resume for specific companies and what to expect once you're out there. So that's a great way to prepare yourself for job hunting as well. 
Overall, I had a great learning experience, our manager always made sure no questions or concerns go unanswered which was very encouraging and motivating, and I definitely was able to build a solid foundation to keep honing my programming skills! 
I did have to remind myself that this is a bootcamp not a degree program so there's only so much you can learn in a span of 6 months but since you really enjoy programming, it is only natural to take the continuation course and be ready to apply for a job. Once you have your foundation it becomes more challenging but also much more fun to learn more and be able to build something that people might want to use, and that feels very rewarding and motivating!