Rutgers Bootcamps Reviews
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Louis Ritter
Great Experience that Delivered On All Fronts.
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First off, I just want to start by saying that this was the best academic experience of my life. I have struggled with staying excited and motivated in the traditional university experience for years. Ahmed, my instructor, was the best teacher I have ever had. The TA's Peter, Faisal, Dan, and many others were some of the best mentors I have ever had. Career Services has brought me so many different exciting opportunities I would have never been able to find on my own. And my fellow students were some of the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met. Okay, with that being said, here is my breakdown of the 6 month adventure that was Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. I was in Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and graduated about a month and a half ago. It was a great experience. I felt like I have a group of people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life. That includes the students,teachers, TA's, and career services people. On top of the great social experience, I had a great experience academically as well. I am definitely at the level of a junior level web developer. When going into this I did a lot of research on coding bootcamps and a few pieces of advice I listened to helped me a lot. Many people that had negative reviews on bootcamps said that the pace was too much (not from RCB but from other bootcamps). I am in no means the fastest learner. Going into a 6 month part-time program and coming out a competent full-stack developer was definitely a daunting task. What I did that helped with the pace of the program was actually did all the prework, plus I went over the curriculum and did some of my own additional work (html, css, light js). So going into the program it was if I took a prerequisite for the bootcamp. So in the program I definitely struggled but with the help of my fellow students as well as TA's and awesome instructor Ahmed. I can't describe how amazing they were. So before the program was over I had one freelance job and than since the program was over I have done contract work with one company, have had numerous clients contacting me for freelance work and have went on two interviews. Remember that this has only been a month and a half out of the program. Nalani and the rest of career services have been working their a**es of to get us jobs and it really shows. Ultimately, it has been said time and time again. These people are giving you great resources and amazing staff and providing you with a great platform and experience... What you do with it is what will determine your success during and after the program.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Sep 12, 2016
Thank you, Louis! Best academic experience of your life...that's a pretty awesome endorcement and we are so appreciative. Our staff work tirelessly to provide an incredible classroom experience that allows for a huge amount of learning in 6 months. Seeing these reviews really makes our day! Congrats to you for all of your hard work and fast success. -
Whitley Horn
An amazing experience (if you put in the work!)
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I graduate from this bootcamp next month (October 2016) and am proud to say that I've learned a ton over the last ~5 months. The TAs and instructors really care and do what they can to help us succeed, our Slack community is very active and they are always on there answering people's questions when we are not physically in class. All the classes are recorded and you can go back and watch them any time. And the vast majority of the people in the class have kept up with material, so one can derive that the pace is ideal, even for those with full-time jobs (of which there are many). The biggest testament to this fact are the recent round of group projects, which we presented for the class and were so cool. I'm talking beautiful, fully-functional websites with payments, databases, etc.
We have classes 3x a week, with the students being split between Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday classes, and everyone meeting on Saturday. I'm in the Tuesday/Thursday group and our instructor Matt Kim is fantastic. He never gets frustrated and has a real talent for teaching the material and simplifying it based on our levels of understanding. We meet from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM, with a ~30 minute break on the weekdays, and 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM on Saturdays, sometimes with a guest or career presentation afterwards.
The instructors are very helpful and stay late after each class to help those who need it, and are very responsive online as I've said, but we are expected to do our best to reinforce new concepts and research things we don't understand. This is how coding works: StackOverflow and Google are huge parts of the job. Your future employer can't (yet) install new knowledge directly into your brain via some microchip, or spend hours explaining every nuance of a new concept. You will be expected to know how to learn, and self-reliance in this area is crucial.
We started off learning front-end design, including HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, Javascript, jQuery, etc., and moved on roughly half way through the course to back-end development, focusing on Node.js. Now we are going back to the front-end, learning React. I feel as though I have a solid, balanced understanding of web development, and feel I've built up the necessary base of skills to teach myself any new programming concepts or languages that I need to know in the future. These days I have a strong sense of optimism about my future, being excited to take what I've learned and apply it to create something awesome.
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All that being said, there are a few categories of people who might fall behind to the point where they need to drop out:
1) People who aren't willing to put in the work. The instructors can't do the work for you. It requires a significant input of time and energy, but this is true of learning any new skill to such a high degree in six months.
2) People who are already very busy. This is simply a consequence of time being a limited resource. If you are working a full time job, trying to start a business in your free time and raising young children, you very well might not be able to handle the bootcamp, but that should be obvious. You need to have enough time available to complete the coursework.
3) People who know nothing about computers or coding. The course doesn't assume much foreknowledge, but it would be very wise to study HTML, CSS and Javascript to some degree before coming in, even if that means just taking the corresponding Codecademy classes. This will give you a good head start, and prevent you from getting overwhelmed, freaking out and starting to believe that you're not smart enough to learn to code.
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I started learning HTML, CSS, and Ruby on Rails a few months before the course, so the first few weeks weren't too challenging for me. I worried that the class would be too easy, but the pace quickly picked up, and the work became quite challenging, and continues to be so. That said, challenge is how we learn, and I am grateful to be learning so much in a relatively short amount of time.
I have yet to begin the career services part of the Bootcamp, which begins after we technically 'graduate' and is something we have to apply for and meet certain requirements. I gave "job assistance" 4 stars because I would have liked the job assistance requirements to be less intimidating--but they are still manageable. Based on my experience with the class, I expect that the career services will be very helpful for landing a job after the course ends. We have had career services talks on various Saturday classes which have provided us with great resume and LinkedIn advice.
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Overall, I would definitely recommend Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, and am happy to have found such a great bootcamp in New Jersey. I'm wholeheartedly grateful for my experience here.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Sep 09, 2016
Whitley - so great to hear from you and thank you for this very detailed review. It is so helpful for future students to hear what they can expect and how they can succeed directly from our past students. We are rooting you on as you take this next big step in your career. Congrats! -
Student_Jan2016_MWClass
True to life experience
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I recently graduated from the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and I couldn't feel more proud of myself.
Going into this, I knew the program would be intense and a lot of responsibility would fall on me to keep up with the workload. I was able to complete this program while attending work full time and dealing with the many ups and downs that life likes to throw at us.
The first two months of the program were met with feelings of hope, excitement, frustration and an overall feeling of being lost.
While the instructors do their best and will go above and beyond to help, it is up to us as students to help them guide us. I realized this a few weeks in. Learning to code is nothing like sitting in class for four years to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
In order to make the most out of the class, reach out to the instructor, go to office hours and practice a little every day. If you do this, you will be off to a great start. Also, reach out to your peers and learn with them; they are probably just as nervous as you. The work can be intimidating, but let go of the fear and be open to having your mind challenged in the best of ways.
Halfway through the program is when I started feeling a little more comfortable and looking back at everything that I had learned and accomplished. Take pride in even the smallest steps because they will push you even further. At times, I still felt lost on some concepts, but all I needed to do was put in more time to learn on my own and ask the instructor for a one on one.
Towards the end of the class, almost everyone was still nervous and worried about being prepared for a job in this field. This feeling is okay, after talking to people in the field, even they still feel lost sometimes. Coding is about accepting the fact that you will never know everything, but being open to learning anything. Follow what your interest are and stay passionate. Even if you don't find a job right away, keep at it and stay positive.
All of the instructors for this program have been amazing. I have worked mostly with Ahmed and he has been an inspiration to me. He was always positive and helped lift my spirits when I was ready to walk away. Don't be afraid to reach out to the instructors if you are having a hard time and need support, they are understanding and want you to succeed.
As for the career services portion of the class, they put together a lot of networking events to attend; however, I personally couldn't make some of them due to work constraints. Even with this, they do offer many networking experiences to take advantage of as well as assistance with your resume and portfolio.
Something to keep in mind is that this program is constantly developing and growing stronger with every month that passes and every class that graduates. While the program isn't a smooth easy ride into the hands of a successful job offer, I would definitely recommend it to everyone interested in coding. This program challenges you as a person, as a coder and as a student. There are many lessons to be had. Take advantage of all the resources they provide to you and make the most out of it. You get what you put in, much like the garbage in garbage out expression.
Another huge positive for me was the flexibility of the course and being able to work full time while furthering my education. I’d also like to add a personal note from my experience as a woman in this field/program to other woman. There is a great amount of support for us in this field if you know where to look. Reach out to the instructors and career services as they will guide you to helpful resources. Don’t be intimidated if you walk into a class with only a handful of woman. Once everyone gets to know each other and the walls come down amazing things happen. Everyone was great and willing to help. Even if you do happen to come across a not so pleasant person just remember maybe they are having a hard time themselves.
For anyone interested in this class, don’t let your mind trick you into thinking you are less than and that you can’t do it. I know I struggled with that and looking back now, I am very proud of myself for the applications that I have built and the knowledge that I take with me. As well as the friends and long term support that I have come away with. Don’t give up - follow your dreams.
Update: I was able to find a lucrative job shortly after the program, while the job doesn't focus on coding alone, it is in the IT field and there will be times that I can use my coding skills. The decision to take this job over a strictly web based development job was a personal one, as it combined another passion of mine. I am very grateful for the coding bootcamp as this showed the interviewer that I was dedicated, hardworking and willing to put in effort. The excellent recommendation from the instructor helped greatly!
I’ll leave you with a cheesy yet feel good quote - I know they have helped me keep going when I least expected it.
"If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough" - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Sep 08, 2016
Thank you for your review of RCB. You gave our future students some great advice: work hard and utilize all of the support that we offer. We're wishing you all the best in your new career! -
Jeremy
Very good instructors teaching a well-designed cirriculum
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I can definitely reccomend the bootcamp to anyone who is roughly in my position -- I had a little prior experience doing programming, and a little bit of familiarity with the unix command line, but that was it. I had never worked in IT, and hadn't touched a programming language or tried to hand code HTML since high school. The only javascript I knew was learned from a couple days of working through tutorials on Codeacademy before classes began.
My point is that I had to rely on the two lead instructors (and the TAs) to learn Javascript, Jquery, SQL, React, MongoDB and Node/Express from scratch. They did a very good job of guiding students such as myself through some very demanding, arcane, sometimes frustrating technical subject matter. They did a great job of patiently working through students' questions on everything from CSS positioning to callback functions to general questions about web development as a career. And yes, it definitely showed that they were professional web developers rather than, say, CS researchers.
Anyway, they got the job done, which for me was to learn how to sit down at an IDE and be able to write a basic 'MEARN' stack web app from scratch.
Also, I found the cirriculum was pretty well-designed. It follows a pretty sensible trajectory from HTML, CSS and JS/Jquery through nodejs server programming/routing/etc, then databases, and then finally JS frameworks, interrupted by three 2-4 week group projects. It's all javascript/node js, so you get a good opportunity to learn a very popular language intensively. I really could not imagine putting together a similar learning experience for myself through self-study or taking an assortment of online courses.
So, again, I definitely reccomend this program if you've made the decision that you 1. enjoy programming but aren't an expert and 2. want to work as a web developer. Don't do it (or any bootcamp) if you can't answer yes confidently to 1 and 2.
To address one last thing -- the job assistance so far has been pretty good. I've gotten plenty of helpful feedback on cover letters, and have found that they take a very active role in checking in on the job search process. Much much better than what I experienced in my four years as an undergraduate long ago.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 29, 2016
Thank you for your detailed review, Jeremy. Our Instructors and TAs are incredible teachers and people, and it definitely shows in the classroom. We are happy to hear how great your experience interactiing with them was. We will continue to follow up, but please reach out if you need anything specific from Career Services. We're here for you! -
Karina
ROI
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Return on Investment. Keep that term etched on your memory when you sign up for any bootcamp, when you enroll in a university, when you join a gym, etc. You will get exactly what you put into this. Just as your personal trainer can't lift for you and give you an eight pack, the staff can't MAKE you learn the material- that will be up to you.
Time for the review: There are no books, but then again this is a web dev course. Market reasearch was conducted (and is constantly being conducted for future cohorts) in order to put the curriculum together so there's that. The instructors and the TAs are excellent - they really want to see everyone succeed. I've never experienced a more accessible and encouraging staff both inside and outside of the classroom. The most awesome part is that for the TAs and the instructors, it doesn't seem like it's over post graduation. There's hackathons that are planned and they're still available and eager to help. As far as the career help goes, I'm still riding out out my current contract to completion so I momentarily opted out.
Now, back to my annoying "ROI" statement above. You get exactly what you put into this course. For some people the course went too slow, for others it went too fast- but it's really up to you to make it just right. There are a lot of comp sci grads that take this course as well as people who studied things and have worked in fields that had absolutely nothing to do IT - I'm one of the latter. That means that I had to put in double or even triple the effort than some of my peers (this was exceedingly difficult to accomplish with a FT job) but it's what I signed up for.
To me, the course went extremely fast in terms of the 6 month life span. Again, it's not due to a problem with the curriculumn but more of the fact that I still feel uneasy with my code as, yet again, this has been a complete change for me. However, the learning doesn't start and stop in relation to class- you really have to put in the work. The instructors and the TAs truly care and make themselves available but it's up to you to make those 10k count.
Also, I'd like to give a quick shout out to my peers- they are truly a great bunch. I made lots of new friendships, was exposed to many ideas and differing ways of approaching programming through the minds of other budding developers.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 29, 2016
Karina, we are loving this ROI theme and you are absolutely right. So many reviews mention our incredible Instructors and TAs for a good reason -- they are truly awesome, they care about their students and they're incredibly knowledable about what they teach. We love reading this! Congratulations on graduation and thank you again. -
JAMES L
Made knowledge and friends for a lifetime
Met some of the greatest people while learning significant knowledge of the latest technologies in building web and mobile applications at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. Every class was an enjoyment. The instructors are extremely knowledgable and are there for you the entire way. Post-class I've accomplished my career change into the tech field. These guys give you the tools to succeed!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 25, 2016
Yes, James! We feel the exact same way as you do -- the connections and friendships made during the 6 months of the program will last a lifetime. Congrats on your new career in the tech field and thank you for trusting us with your education. -
Vincent
Life changing experience
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I'm a recent RCB graduate and I had a wonderful experience. The instructors are always there to help and guide you and the TAs stay late to answer your questions. You will learn a lot. Their curriculum is solid, but it's up to you to show up to class ready to work. All of the class lectures are recorded and available for students to view at anytime (even after you graduate!) along with the corresponding lesson plan. Each week there is a new homework assignment. Take these seriously as they will account for your portfolio. The job assistance is great, too. The career department motivates you to connect with employers leading up to graduation and well after you've graduated. Overall I am satisfied with RCB and I would recommend the program!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 25, 2016
Thanks Vincent! Reading through all of our reviews there is certainly a theme - awesome, knowledgable and helpful instructors and TAs. We certainly think they're the best, but it really means something when our students think so too. Thank you for recommending the program to others and for all of your dedication and hard work. -
Analben Manakiwala
Awesome RCB
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I wanted to change my profession and thats why I joined RCB and that was the best decision ever. I had zero experience in computer programming before I joined RCB but after six months of intense course I feel very confident and proud of myself. My instructor Ahmed Haque was very enthusiastic and always available to help students. The TAs are very very good. There were so many times they had sacrificed there personal time just to help me. At one point I needed some extra help and they actually schedule two extra virtual classes for me .
The timings and location of the classes are such that one can continue their job and study at the same time. They cover so many things in short time so the pace is little fast, but bright side of it is we get to learn so many things. They provide lot of information and help. Practice will make you successful. I would totally recommend this course.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 25, 2016
Hey Analben! It's great to hear from you and thank you very much for your review. We are always working incredibly hard to support our students both in the classroom and out when they need extra help. Way to go for putting in all of your hard work and changing your profession like you set out to do. Thank you for choosing RCB - we are humbled to be a part of your education. -
Jeremiah Scanlon
Amazing Learning Experience
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I could not be happier with my experience at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. I would not have changed a thing.
I chose this bootcamp for a few reasons: 1) It was not in NYC or Philadelphia (commute from central NJ was a turn-off), 2) I did not want to quit my job (2 weekdays and a Saturday every week meant I still had plenty of time to work a full-time job and do work for the class), and 3) I didn't want an intense timeline (the program is 6 months instead of 6 or 8 weeks so I had time to let the info settle in and review between classes)
I was extremely nervous going in that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with the amount of learning needed to become a programmer in 6 months. The first few weeks were pretty intimidating, but with the help of the instructors, the TAs, and the other students I was able to find my rhythm. I’m a month past the end of the 6 month program I am an employed full-stack developer.
The curriculum is well put together. Many people felt overwhelmed the first few weeks because there is a lot of info covered quickly. However, it’s done quickly because the stuff learned during this time will be used throughout the program, so these skills continue to grow throughout the class. After the web development intro stuff the program teaches you how to learn new technologies. The class work and projects encourage learning of a new technology or framework within the confines of the main weekly goal. This type of process taught us how to learn new things for ourselves instead of relying on being taught by someone else.
The instructors and the entire team at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp is amazing. My instructor didn’t just teach the class he connected with everyone in the room to make sure that our needs were being met. He was inspiring and found ways to make the content more digestible. The TAs were always reachable and their real world experience with the stuff we were learning was invaluable. I never hesitated to reach out to anyone involved in the program because I always felt like they were there to help me. The student support and preparation for the job market is awesome.
At the end of the program I took a programming job with my current company and could not be happier. To do my due diligence, I did take one job interview that came as a direct result of the partnerships set-up by the job search team at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and the demo day at the end of the class.
Overall it was an amazing process and I got more value than expected from the experience. I have already talked with a few people extremely close to me about doing the program because it was so great. I would definitely recommend it to you (whoever is reading this review).
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 25, 2016
Jeremiah - thank you very much for your review of RCB. You should be incredibly proud of your hard work -- we certainly are! Big congrats on your new career as a programmer. -
Jeff
Great career decision
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I had graduated with a masters in biotechnology two years prior and knew I didn't want to continue with it. I played around with the idea of coding for a while, and finally decided to pull the trigger when I learned about RCB. Truthfully, the coding bootcamp concept didn't sit too well with me at first but as I got to talking to the people who run the program in the interviews I felt that it was a good investment.
I was part of the very first cohort- the instructors and TAs were dedicated every step of the way to making sure that we think like engineers and problem solvers. They were available for questions outside class time and were always excited to help us understand and diagnose the things that were blocking progress.
Since I was working while I was doing the bootcamp I wasn't rushing to find a job and didn't really rely on the job support aspect of the bootcamp. I applied around to a few different companies after graduation and kept in contact with the awesome career advisor to talk through my thoughts in navigating the murky waters of interviewing. She always listened carefully and gave me good advice.
About two months after graduating from the program I left my job at a global pharma company to work as a developer. I'm really happy that RCB helped me make that change in my life.
If you are looking to add a new dimension to your career or change up your career, and are also hungry to learn, then this program is definitely for you.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 23, 2016
Thank you for your review, Jeff. We're always happy to hear about how impactful and helpful our Instructors and TAs are. They love what they do and it is very easy to see that as one of their students. Congrats on your career change and new job. We're so happy we were able to help you make the change. -
John Reda
Rutgers Coding Bootcamp
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I enrolled in Rutgers Coding Bootcamp's Full-Stack Flex program with very little experience in programming. Having gone through the program, I can't begin to recommend this bootcamp enough. I feel as though I've been given all of the tools necessary to not only get begin my career as a developer, but to become extremely successful as I continue on in the field of software development.
The instructors for my section of the class were incredibly knowledgeable and were always willing to go the extra mile when I was feeling lost. I always knew that if I got stuck I could ask any instructor at any point in the day and they would go above and beyond to make sure that the core concepts were clear and that I felt comfortable applying these concepts to the projects I was working on. At certain points, some of the instructors were even willing to drop what they were doing to start a Google hangout so that we could share screens and walk through code line by line together.
The biggest reason for recommending Rutgers Coding Bootcamp is because they worked extremely hard to make sure we had the confidence necessary to go into our first round of challenging technical interviews. They were quick to point out strengths in your work and provide constructive feedback for areas of opportunity. Despite the many points of frustration that come with learning to code, the instructors were always there to keep you on track.
All in all, my experience at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp gave me the skills and confidence needed to start a career in software development, and I strongly encourage anyone looking to break into the field to apply for this program.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 22, 2016
Hey John -
Big thanks for your detailed review of our course. We hear over and over how incredible, dedicated and caring our Instructors are and Ahmed is an amazing asset to our team. At the end of the day, it's our goal to provide the tools, content and instruction necessary to allow our students to graduate from the program and begins their new careers. Reviews like yours tell us we're accomplishing those goals. Thank you again and wishing you all the best! -
Anthony Rowe
Very disappointing/ find a better school.
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From beginning to the end it's broken promises. They fly through the material and don't get through the lesson plans and tell you if you have any questions to google it. The instructors don't help you at all . During the admission process they make it seem like it is a very selective process but no one is turned away. Any one who can pay the tuition will be accepted . The people in the class are mostly high school drop outs looking for a fast way to make money. So there is no way a person will be successful in theat type of environment.
I found the same course online which is totally free and you can learn at your own pace . Homework is not graded, feedback is not given, and when they do help they do the work for you which defeats the purpose of learning . Save your time and money don't make the same mistake I made. During the entry process they make coding some easy and it's not. They don't offer books and everything they teach is not even used in today's market. I graduated received my certificate and every job offer I received was 14-16 Dollars an hour as a entry level developer. Spend the extra money and go to a real school
The student success manager is very manipulative she will sweet talk you all the way through and let you continue drowning . Once the course is over they will tell you, that you do not qualify for job assistance since all the course requirements were not met. The rules are made up as the course is made. The name is Rutgers but is actually a 3 Rd party who runs the course. They offered me to teach the course after I graduated which goes to show how desperate they are for help. I have a masters in mathematics so I know I am not dumb. My instructor that was teaching the course was a front end developer which is a entry level developer.
The instructors and tas come in 5 minutes before class starts when they are suppose to come in 45 minutes earlier before class starts to help students but they don't . The deadline to drop the course is 2 weeks. The first 2 weeks are the best, after 2 weeks when you are locked in to the contract that is when they really show you the course is going to be.
I have shared my experience read all the reviews before making a commitment. The positive reviews look like inside reviews.
Marc of Rutgers Bootcamps
Rutgers Coding Bootcamp
Aug 30, 2016
Anthony - We are disappointed that your experience at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp did not meet your expectations. We are passionate about education and would love to discuss this further to find out what we can do to make it right. Please call me directly at (732) 430-2144. Thank you. -
Kelly
Fantastic experience
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Going to RCB was honestly one of the best decisions of my life. It isn't an easy program, it's challenging and exhausting, but in a really, really good way. The way this program is taught forces you to not only learn the class curriculum, but also spend a significant amount of time out of class learning on your own. This program made me feel confident enough in my skills to quit my job and have a complete career change. It was a terrifying risk to take, but it was the best decision I've ever made and I wouldn't have done it without this program. Looking back to where I was 6 months ago, I am absolutely amazed at the things I can do. The instructors and TAs were excellent. They actually cared about the success of each student in the class, which is extremely important when you are doing such a challenging program. I highly recommend this program to anyone who has the drive and enthusiasm necessary to become a web developer.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 22, 2016
Thanks, Kelly, for your review of RCB. True, the program is challenging and you get out what you put into it. All of your hard work is paying off as you embark on your new career as a developer and are so happy that our Instructors were there to help you at every step. We applaud your dedication! -
Steve Graboski
Engaging Course for Grasping Full-Stack Development
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Full-Disclosure: The boot camp hired me toward the end of the course as a part-time curriculum consultant.
I enrolled in this course to learn the process of creating web apps with Node.js. There's a lot of technology involved when building out a full-stack project: markdown files, JavaScript logic, API routing, database management, version control and so on. I tried relying on online resources to study this info, but the vast amount of content available made it arduous to chart out a clear learning path on my own. This led me to seeking out a nearby coding boot camp, Rutgers being the closest (30 minute drive to New Brunswick vs 90 minute train to NYC).
The course focused on the various components of a modern web app and moved through this material in a cohesive direction (database management before the Express framework, essential full-stack tech before trending libraries like React and Angular, etc.). My instructor, Ahmed Haque, taught each lecture with a friendly and energetic tone—his speaking style brought down to earth the abstractions and complexities inherent to web development.
The instructor and TAs always provided exceptional assistance whether I needed a quick clarification or a more in-depth rundown—they always made sure I understood the material before helping the next student. Ahmed even created video tutorials for us to view on our own time for some of the tougher concepts.
While 24 weeks makes for a lengthy course, the wide breadth of client- and server-side technologies covered in this span gave the boot camp a brisk pace. Still, by paying attention to the lectures, studying outside the classroom and taking advantage of the one-to-one support, I came out able to build full-stack apps with different frameworks and databases. Would recommend to anyone looking to do the same.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 22, 2016
Steve -
Thanks for your review of the course and of your Instructor, Ahmed. We know how much time and dedication he puts into his teaching and to his students and are always trilled to hear what an impact he is making in the classroom. We're incredibly proud to hire some of our grads because, just like other companies are looking for talent, we are too (and we think you're pretty great!). Thank you again! -
Eric
This is the place to go if you want to learn Javascript.
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I'm going to make this review as detailed as possible, I feel as though there aren't many testimonials for RCB out there and thanks to some SEO magic, this pops up first.
First of all, long story short, I was in the January 2016 cohort of the New Brunswick class and by the fifth month of the program I was fielding a number of job offers by a number of companies ranging from small startups to big corporations. I came into the program with zero coding experience and took this course along with my college coursework (I was in the final semester of my senior year at Rutgers). No, my degrees were not in computer science. Yes, my offers were more favorable than a number of my friends who graduated with a degree in CS.
Every single line of code I typed was taught to me by my instructors: John and Ahmed. John was my main instructor while Ahmed instructed both sections of the January cohort on Saturdays. It cannot be overstated how incredible these two were at teaching us the beast that is Javascript. John was extremely patient with all of the students and kept us all engaged into the wee hours of the night on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He even stayed after class was finished on most nights to further aid students that needed extra help. John's teaching abilities surpassed that of the tenured professors that I studied under at Rutgers University. He also has a sense of humor that helped keep things light when Node or MySQL were beating us into the ground. I would not be at my job, in my apartment or in my social standing right now if it were not for John.
This sounds like a cinderella story, which is why you're probably wondering about the one-star in the Job Assistance category. I would give it zero stars if I could. The reason why I decided to pay $9,000 for this program was to not only learn how to be a software developer but to also enmesh myself into the network of connections that was advertised to me when I inquired about the program. At my initial inquiry, I was told that we would eventually be working with companies on projects to see what it would be like to be a real-life developer. Didn't happen. During the first few weeks, we were actually shown PowerPoints listing various companies who were connected as hiring partners to the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. It pains me to say that these hiring partners were non-existent when it came time to look for jobs.
During the entirety of the program, career services would take literal WEEKS to answer my messages about any topic at all. No matter how small or big the issue. By the fourth month, I felt as though I was ready to begin applying for jobs. Due to the negligence of career services, I sought advice from Ahmed about how to approach employers, how to negotiate a fair salary, and other important things about the technological job market in which I was not familiar. Thanks to Ahmed's advice - I was able to prepare myself for technical interviews, salary negotiations, as well as just giving me a a confidence boost when I initially started at my new job and started feeling overwhelmed. Ahmed, John, and Quincy (John's teaching assistant) were the sole proprietors from this entire experience of getting me from noob to full-time, salaried software developer. It is because of them that I personally felt that this program was worth it.
It truly is a shame that the incredible work done by these men are overshadowed by the incompetencies and utter disorganization of the career services. I was under the impression (and given the impression) that we would be connected with a wide array of companies to hopefully be placed with at the conclusion of the program. "Career services" has consisted of students being told to apply for ten jobs a week and a Google sheet with seemingly Google'd job postings for software developers. A big number of the postings actually ask for candidates who are seeking a mid-level developer with years of experience or a developer who has experience with frameworks that we were not taught at all in the program. Absolutely NOTHING like the connections they boasted about at the beginning of the program.
In conclusion, I am grateful for this program. Only for the fact that I have learned so much and have enjoyed every bit of learning during this experience. It has provided me with a skillset that will aid me for the rest of my life. At the end of the day, my gripes are very specific and if I could go back I would absolutely choose the same path that I chose in the beginning of January. But, hypothetically, I would hope that I would possess the knowledge I have today about who in the program actually cares about each student's learning / overall success in life and who simply does not care and will feed you anything on a silver platter to get your check in the mail.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 22, 2016
Hi Eric -- Thank you very much for your feedback. We're sorry that you had a hard time getting in touch with our Career Services team, and that your experience with our Career Services support team did not meet your expectations. We're very proud of the work that you put into your job search and want to congratulate you again on your new role as a developer.
When we reviewed the companies that your classes interacted with, we found that your classmates had the opportunities to meet top-level executives from a number of companies included StackOverflow, Genius and Mozilla. Were these sessions helpful?
When we invite employer partners to the class, we expect these opportunities to be chances for students to network and meet with employers in our network. Is there anything we could have done to make these sessions more effective? Feel free to reach out and let us know. We'd be happy to hear from you again. -
Nick West
RCB Gives You Superpowers
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I was once like you: a boringly normal human with a lame, mostly administrative job and a random array of self-taught tech skills, from HTML & CSS to the most rudimentary Ruby and Java.
After enrolling in Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, all of that changed. I moved up in my job, I can charge a significantly higher $$$/hour rate for freelance work, and I haven't even finished the program yet!
After just a few months with RCB's instructors, I could write fluent JavaScript, model databases, and I no longer have to search HTML and CSS attributes every five minutes while working on front-end projects.
My career now has direction, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like my life has direction.
In addition to its great instructors, RCB also provides you with amazing career-focused guest speakers and an awesome career coach who will connect you with prospective jobs while equipping you with the skills to create stand-out tech resumés.
If you want a better future, register today!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 17, 2016
Go Nick, go! Your review made our day and it's stories like yours that help to fuel all of the hard work that our team puts into the program. You should be proud of all your hard work....I know we are! We'll keep cheering you on as you finish the program. Thanks again! -
Amreeta Choudhury
RCB Review
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I'd like to write a review about the April 2016 cohorts. I feel that this has been an amazing experience. The environment, teachers and TA's are all very understanding and it feels like how college should have been. I have a Masters in Statistics but I wished I had more challenging programming courses in the tools used. After some experience as a Statistical analyst, I thought I should go back to a program and learn applied programming (Rather than just theory) in a deeper level. I feel like I can apply my skills to a much broader field now. It is a pretty tough program but the environment makes a difference. It's a bootcamp so expect to be doing a lot of hard work. I am happy that it's not a traditonal lecture. I was always good at it but I never had enough hands on experience. I think compared to other schools, 6 months is perfect yet just challenging enough.. Recently, a couple of people have started getting jobs as well within 4 months!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 17, 2016
Thank you for your comments, Amreeta. We work hard to provide an environment that promotes a deep level of learning with Instructors and TAs that are top notch, so we are incredibly happy to read your review. Our hard work pays off when students are successful in the program and have the opportunity to change their careers and lives. Wishing you all the best in the last 2 months of your cohort. -
Neena
So blessed.
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(For reference, I was in the January 2016 cohort at New Brunswick). I have to say, that I am so blessed that I applied, was accepted, and had the experience that I did. I will admit, prior to starting the course, I was scared. Not only scared, but anxious that I would fall behind, nervous that I didn't have the "brain" for this kind of work, and regretfully filled with "what ifs" about my personal success in the course. But guess what? I did fall behind - and I got through it. I must say, that though these past six months were incredibly challenging, and through the tears (yes there were tears!), I came out more successful than I ever had expected after just six months. Rutgers Coding Bootcamp was an amazing experience. It's super difficult to learn new material, especially material that you have never once seen or touched before (my background is in Clinical Counseling), and so you have all these anxieties that you won't succeed. But trust me, you will. At RCB, you have the MOST help and support, not only by the teacher (I had Ahmed, and I will say he is a fantastic teacher! I don't doubt that John, the other teacher, was great, but I can only speak for Ahmed), but also by the TA's. I have never felt more sense of security and generosity than I did in this course. With also the help by the career team, you can be sure you will be helped every step of the way. If you are stuck on a homework assignment, or just need help, or even if you're having a break down and need a pep talk, you will have access to your teacher and TA's every single day (trust me, I know from experience), and I can promise you, you will come out the other side more successful, confident, and capable than you ever thought beforehand. If I could re-do these past six months, I would do so in a heartbeat. Go RCB!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 08, 2016
Thank you so very much for your thorough review. It has been a pleasure watching you learn and succeed along the way and we will surely miss you! Best of luck! -
Jordan Biason
Success
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I was working at a dead-end job, with a pointless degree. My life was starting to spiral out of control and I didn't know what to do. Then I happened to stumble upon Rutgers Coding Bootcamp. The name Rutgers alone caught my eye, since I graduated from Rutgers in 2013. The admission process was smooth and everyone was quick to respond during the intro stages.
I came in with very little coding experience, but from beginning to end, the instructors and staff were there for me every step of the way. The program itself is intense, meeting multiple times per week and dedicating time to homework, all while working a full time job (definitely doable). The instructor (Ahmed) and TAs (Peter and Faisal) were extremely knowledgeable and helpful in every possible way. They take their time and make sure you do not fall behind, and they definitely go that extra mile for their students.
The curriculum is fine-tuned, well thought out, and will have you job ready in 6 months’ time. From attending classes to spending countless hours on homework and projects (all while making friends in the process =P ), I’m happy to say that my RCB experience was an amazing and successful one. I was able to land a position at a very reputable company right before graduation. Thank you to everyone at RCB for everything!
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 03, 2016
We are so happy to hear about your awesome experience, Jordan. You were a stellar student and it comes as no surprise to us that you landed such a great job. Wishing you all the best in your new career. -
Chen Liu
Halfway through the course feedback
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First of all. I would like to thank all of the instructors and teaching staff's hard work. It has been an amazing experience with Rutgers Booting Camp so far. I really like the instructor's teaching style. The whole program is very well designed. Not only on the teaching part, but also mange to show us how fun and powful code can be in our real life.
My major is not computer science. I started on my own in the begining and found it is really something I am passionate about. Going back to school is the best choice I ever made. Becasue it is the only way for me to become more professional. Surounded by all the people who also share the same interests keeps me moving forward.
Special thanks to Pavan my advisor and my instrutor Matt. It is really appreciated!
Respectfully,
Chen
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Jul 28, 2016
Thanks Chen! We really appreciate all of the time you put into this review, and into the course. We can't wait to see where you land! -
Louis Delia
One of the best experiences I've had in my life.
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After graduating college and working in some full-/part-time opportunities, I reached a point where I wasn't sure what to do with my life. When I most needed it, an advertisement for Rutgers Coding Bootcamp appeared on my Facebook feed one day. I applied and waited for a response, not realizing that I had made one of the best decisions of my life.
As a bootcamp, this program is intensive. You meet 3 times a week, for 3-4 hours each class, and will need to invest at least 20 hours a week to develop a firm understanding of a variety of technical concepts, frameworks, and languages. If you put in the time, you will only boost your potential for success. The academic support in this program is second-to-none. The instructors (especially Ahmed, Faisal, and Peter) and staff all work tirelessly to help you reach your goals. The insight and the skills you develop from this program are invaluable, not only to the Technology industry, but also, to life.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Jul 26, 2016
Hey Louis! Thank you so much for your review, and for the hard work and dedication that we have seen you put into this program. You've been wonderful to watch through this process and we are looking forward to following along on the next steps in your journey. -
Alvaro Martinez
Life changing experience
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I am two weeks away from graduating from the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp and can honestly say that it has been a life changing experience. I entered the program nervous and doubtful of my ability to become a full stack software developer. Now six months later, I am exiting the program with a valuable set of skills and confident that I will be successful in the tech industry. I highly recommend this program. The support of the administration, the dedication and compassion of the professors are unlike anything I have ever experienced before.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Jul 25, 2016
Thank you very much for your review, Al. Your hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. You have been a wonderful student to work with and have demonstrated excellence and professionalism throughout your time with us. Wishing you all the best and the whole team here is excited to see where you end up. -
Matt
Rutgers Coding Bootcamp
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As a Rutgers alumni, I can say that the quality of education at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp exceeds the standards of education that I received as an undergrad. Between the high quality instructors with a wealth of experience in the industry, the extra support provided outside of class throughout the week, and a curriculum that adapts to the constantly changing field of software development, RCB is a program that I am proud to have been a part of.
Beyond learning about software engineering principles, RCB teaches valuable skills, such as how to prepare a resume specifically tailored to jobs in the IT industry, how to market yourself on social media, as well as how to ace the coding interview. The career advisors helped me seamlessly transition from a career in a completely different industry to one as a full time programmer.
In addition, the partnerships that the program has developed with IT companies in the Tri-State area exceeeded my expectations. It was refreshing to see the quality of employers at our demo day - I actually received an interview directly from this event and started my career as a software engineer two weeks later!
Reflecting back, it's hard to believe that only six months ago I didn't even know basic HTML & CSS. With RCB's help, I was able to to learn the skills that I needed to become a full-stack developer and transition to a new career that I enjoy working in each day.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Jul 12, 2016
Hi Matt and thanks so much for your review. We are blown away by your kind words. As you've seen throughout the course, our staff works tirelessly to deliver curriculum that is both current and engaging. Securing partnerships with some of the biggest names in the area and helping our students prepare and market themselves for their next role is so important to us. Not only do we offer a high level of academic curriculum and support, but we also do an incredible amount of work to assist our graduates in getting hired. Of course, your commitment and hard work was always noticed and we are cheering you on in your new career. Wishing you all the best, Matt!
-
Greg Gallant
Delivered on the promise made
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I will be completing the RCB in about 4 weeks. The program is excellent and the staff has an enormous energy and ability to teach dense and detailed subject matter. Anyone considering the RCB must realize that it will take real dedication and a lot of hours but the payoff will be worth it. This curriculum can turn you into a full-stack developer in a mere 6 months. Try doing that on your own!
Besides a dedicated staff and a well-organized curriculum, the career services component and staff is second-to-none. They go the extra mile to make sure you are setting yourself up for success in the job market.
All in all, the experience has been very hard work with many, many hours of learning on my own, going to many classes, and doing tons of coding for homework and group projects. But at the end, there is tremendous satisfaction that the RCB delivered on what was promised.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Jul 07, 2016
Hi Greg, thanks so much for your review. We think you're pretty great, too! I am absolutely blown away by how far you've come in the last 6 months. You have been such an inspiration and support to so many of your classmates and the staff at RCB. Wishing you all the best and cheering you on as you take this next step in your career. -
Anonymous
Learned Alot!
This 12 week course was extremely challenging, but I had so much support between my classmates, the instructor, TA's, tutoring. Overall I feel that it was a great success and encourage others to try. -
Anonymous
Challenging and rewarding
I started out frustrated and somewhat overwhelmed but once I caught up and started really understanding the material, I found my experience to be very rewarding and absolutely worth the commitment.Boot Camp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Apr 10, 2023
Thank you for your review! We're thrilled to hear that you benefited from the bootcamp materials. We commend you on your hard work throughout the program and wish you all the best as you move forward. -
Anonymous
Full Stack Developer
Good to start learn coding.Bootcamp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Oct 27, 2021
Thanks for your review! We're glad to hear you're enjoying the program and wish you all the best as you move forward to graduation. -
Anonymous
Full stack development
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Rutgers Coding Bootcamp was one of the best decisions I have made when it comes to expanding my education. the Course Materials consisted of cutting edge technologies employers look for in candidates, allowing us to stay up to date in our skills. Teachers and Assistants made learning fun and were very clear on topics many would find diffucult or confusing at first. The Bootcamp is a great way to begin getting real world skills that can tranfer to a company setting, working with fellow students and teachers to complete projects.Boot Camp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Oct 27, 2021
Thank you for your review! Like you mentioned, the bootcamp focuses on the most in-demand skills so learners can confidently transition or start their career. We're thrilled that you found the experience to be engaging and rewarding, and we can't wait to see what you do next! -
Anonymous
Rutgers Coding Bootcamp Full Stack Flex
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When I first started this Rutgers Coding Bootcamp I thought to myself that it would probably be tough and very face paced. Turns out I was right, this bootcamp is very fast paced and can be very difficult if you fall behind. The good news is, the professors and teaching assistant's are phenomenal!! Joe and Manoli made things very easy to learn and were also willing to help and and every student who needed it. Their constant support and encouragement was very helpful and I would recommend this course to anyone looking to pursue a career in web development. Not only was this course educational but they even set you up for success after graduation. I couldn't be more grateful for my experience and professors at this Rutgers Coding Bootcamp.Bootcamp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Feb 18, 2021
Thank you! Like you noted, this is a fast-paced course but by taking advantage of the available support, like reaching out to your instructional team, can help you stay ahead. We also have to agree that Joe and Manoli are pretty fantastic. Congratulations on successfully graduating and best of luck in all your future coding endeavors! -
Anonymous
Over Promised and Under Delivered
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It's been five months since I graduated and I've only had two job interviews with barely any assistance from the career center. The recruiting team over promises and under delivers stating that they have "career partners" on their website when those individuals hired could not be found on LinkedIn and we did not have contact with anyone from Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, etc.
When you're first starting, it's exciting and challenging. There are high hopes for learning all of these new skills that employers are looking for and you're on the leading edge of that. While the instructors were able to convey the information to the best of their ability, it was almost as if they forgot how to be a beginner again learning all of these tools and frameworks for the first time.
I've applied to over 150 positions and have barely heard a thing. I did everything I could to keep my GitHub updated and later ended up burning out. The career center had no resources to assist me to fortify my skills and that just ended up putting a sour taste in my mouth.
I would truly suggest going to a school that's closer to NYC or an online boot camp that doesn't make you pay up front.
Boot Camp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Jan 25, 2019
We appreciate you sharing your feedback with us, Anonymous. We commend all the hard work you dedicated to completing this rigorous and fast-paced program. Our main priority is and will continue to always be the success of our students.
Based on your feedback, we understand that you have not yet achieved your desired job outcomes, and we regret that you were unsatisfied with your career services experience. Our career support is built on the principle of empowerment. We try to make it clear that while we do not secure direct employment for students, we work hard to prepare individuals to step out into the job market. We empower students the best we can with the necessary tools and support, including resume and portfolio reviews, 1:1 coaching, virtual tech panels, and technical interview training. We take input like yours seriously and would like an opportunity to help you attain your goals. Our career services team is committed to your career success and would like to partner with you to amplify your own job search efforts. We would like to activate your partnership with career services today.
Our instructors are professionals with a minimum of five years of experience in the field; we hire industry professionals in lieu of traditional professors to best simulate real-life working environments. Every instructor is vetted by Rutgers University and trained in instructional best practices before stepping inside the classroom. To ensure individuals are properly learning the course material, we require students to submit feedback on instructor clarity, engagement, and knowledgeability every week. However, we understand not all teaching styles will resonate with every student.
It is our goal for all students to leave our program feeling equipped and confident, with the knowledge and resources they need to step out into the tech industry. We would welcome the opportunity to hear from you personally and discuss what else we can do at this time to best meet your expectations. If you would like, please reach out to us at (732) 361-4853. -
Anonymous
Data science bootcamp
I’m currently in the data science class. And I’m not impressed as to say the least! Classes are super fast-passes as materials get more complex. No support. Teacher is recent graduate of the same bootcamp (!) TA’s are same recent graduates.. this is ridiculous! Very unprofessional.. doesn’t worth the money that I payed.
Boot Camp Team of Rutgers Bootcamps
Community Team
Aug 23, 2018
Hi Anonymous, thank you for sharing your review. We regret that your current student experience is not meeting up to your expectations. Like you mentioned, the course material is rigorous and fast-paced, designed to cover multiple topics in a limited amount of time. We do our best to communicate to students that topics are introduced at a higher level in-class, after which individuals are expected to dive in, and not only gain a deeper understanding of the concepts but practice their skills outside of the classroom. Each lesson iteratively builds on the last, and we find that as the curriculum progresses, students feel more and more confident in the material. This helps individuals learn how to problem-solve and self-teach; crucial abilities needed in any data role. Because we know this is a challenging program, we do offer several means of support including office hours, Slack, and free tutoring sessions. Were you able to take advantage of these?
Our course has an intensive vetting process and requires a minimum of three years of experience in the industry. We encourage individuals who successfully complete and commit themselves to apply for our instructional positions, as they are able to assist and guide other students first-hand, having prior experience with the rigorous boot camp journey themselves. Before introducing themselves in the classroom, every instructor receives training and is continually evaluated based on video audits of their teaching and classroom assessments. Based on what we believe to be your cohort, your instructor did previously attend our Data Science Boot Camp, but arrived with extensive knowledge in the field, holding a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and over a decade of data experience. Additionally, we request students to submit feedback on instructor clarity, engagement, and knowledgeability in order to ensure all individuals are receiving the best experience possible. As you noted, your cohort's TAs are graduates of the program, returning to offer their support and advice; not only do they provide personal experience as recent alumni of the program, but can empathize with the demanding bootcamp student experience. We value our instructor's skills and efforts toward keeping our curriculum in-line with the latest market demands, however, we understand not all teaching styles will resonate with every individual student.
It is our goal for all students to complete the program feeling prepared with the proper assistance and resources, so we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you to determine what additional support we can provide at this time. If you would like, please reach out to us directly at (732) 361-4853. We look forward to helping you through the completion of this course and further address any concerns or questions you may have. -
Anonymous
Complete waste of time and money
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I attended with almost no coding experience. Going in I was very optimistic about achieving a career change and was willing to put in the work to do so. I found myself quickly overwhelmed by a work load that I was not being trained to meet properly. I have now graduated almost a year ago and in retrospect it was the single largest waste of time and money I have ever spent. The career services were virtually nonexistent. The instructors, though nice, would not adequately help students with no prior experience. The group projects were a joke. I achieved and learned virtually nothing and worst of all spent a lot of money on nothing.
Funda Istvan of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
May 21, 2018
Hi, Anonymous, thank you for sharing your feedback. We regret your experience did not live up to your expectations. Our program serves a mix of students ranging from those with zero coding experience to computer science students as well as graduates of other bootcamps. We do our best to emphasize to potential students that this program is true to the bootcamp name—fast-paced and challenging. We start slow, with the intensity and difficulty of the course material ramping up to advanced topics rather quickly. We are proud of our dynamic curriculum and do find that as the course progresses, students begin feeling more and more confident in their mastery of the material.
We work hard to select instructional staff who are passionate about helping students succeed. Our program has an intensive vetting process, requiring a minimum of five years of experience in the tech industry, however, instructors will come from a variety of backgrounds and often have different teaching styles. As such, we measure our instructor success based on student feedback, video audits, and classroom assessments. Still, we understand not all teaching styles will resonate with all students. In order to aid individuals who are struggling with the coursework, our instructors and TAs are always available for extra support, spending up to two hours after class providing assistance in any way they can, in addition to our free tutoring network. Did you find this to be helpful?
Our career support is built on the principle of empowerment, and we strive to be clear about expectations. While we do not secure direct employment for students, we empower them the best we can with the necessary tools and support for entering the job market, including resume support, 1:1 coaching, and technical interview training. In regard to the group projects, we strongly encourage collaboration to promote teamwork as well as decision-making within a group setting and to simulate what you can expect in future tech roles. We do take student feedback like yours most seriously, and continuously work to provide students with the assistance they need to be successful.
We want our students to feel empowered and supported as they continue their studies in our course and beyond, no matter the circumstance. We would welcome the opportunity to provide you with any additional learning or career support that you might need at this time in order to equip you for success. Please contact me directly at (732) 430-2144 so that we may discuss your concerns further. -
Anonymous
Good start if you have some prior knowledge
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I attended the somerset campus and I'm writing this review a month after class has ended.
Course
First off, I reccommend attending FreeCodeCamp.com during the duration of this course to get the most out of it. This 6 month course will quickly go through the fundementals of programming to the moderately complex web development frameworks, development environments, package management, version control, quality control, database management and many other important programming tools. Since the tech industry is a very fast paced world a 4 year degree in computer science could mean nothing, by the time you get out you may have a steady foundation but with older programming languages or using outdated technology. Many languages don't last long and will phase out within a year or even less. This type of program avoids this problem by teaching you cutting edge languages in a short amount of time while also brushing over the fundementals. However, there is a catch. If you don't put in a minimum of 20 hours a week at home then all you will know how to do is create basic projects. This is a problem because in the work force they will want you to create applications that may have not been made before or require more complex knowledge. If all you know is how to build one type of app then your kind of screwed here. Also, many big companies do not want anyone without a 4 year degree because you are a risk. It is easy to find a tutorial online and follow it using the basic knowledge you gain from this class, stick it in your portfolio and luck your way through an interview and they know this. You may find yourself fired when they see you googling everything they ask you to do. If you put the time in and build a strong foundation along with the knowledge to build sturdy applications you will benefit fully from this course and land some great projects or even a job.
Classrom Experience
This course was treated as if it was a college classroom with a similar grading system and strict attendance rules. You will not end up working for IBM by just taking this course with the minimum effort. That goes for college or anything you do in life as well though so this should be obvious.
To be honest this is meant to be either:
- a course you take after you graduate with a related degree to catch up on the most current programming languages and practices
- a course you take when your currently working in the field using obsolete languages and need to transition into a more modern form of programming to avoid being made obsolete
- a course you use to build your foundation for starting a freelance career to build applications and websites for people so you can google in peace while you keep learning
- a course to bring your application idea to life and take that chance at becoming very wealthy if your lucky enough to have an excellent idea at the right time
Personal Experience
I worked full time during the course with an intention of transitioning careers from IT to web development so my workload was full but I was still able to put in the extra time after class. I didn't have a great classroom experience at this course though. I have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to socialize. Normally this isn't a problem but I felt very ostracized here. The TAs and teacher were standoffish and rude with an exception of some good days scattered throughout. The instructor also didn't come off as well educated most of the time and fumbled through a lot of the course material. Google was my true teacher. However, I did hear good things about other instructors so maybe I just didn't get lucky here.
Job Assistance
The career advisors are still sending me opportunites and were very helpful before, during and after the course. They can be slow with responding during the course but that should be expected since theres like 3 of them and so many students.
Conclusion
Most people won't have the same struggle I had with the students, instructor and TAs so I'll end with this: If you know the basics of computer programming plus willing to put in the time and effort outside of class then you will benefit from this course while possibly landing yourself a decent job and the $10K cost is a good deal for what they give you. For what it's worth, I currently work full time. I'm very happy with the outcome despite the classroom experience.
Kalimah Perry of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Dec 22, 2016
Hello, We are thrilled to hear that you are very happy with your experience at Rutgers Coding Boot Camp. It is no easy task to both balance a full time job and succeed at a coding boot camp like Rutgers. We appreciate you pointing out that this course does indeed require a great deal of time outside of the classroom for success, so that one can truly immerse themselves within the topics covered each week. Your assessment that RCB is treated as a college level course; with the same expectations of commitment and homework requirements is accurate. Our curriculum is designed to be cutting edge and provide our graduates with the core competencies to succeed. Along with the high level of expectation, we have established multiple loops for our students to get additional help and provide feedback on all aspects of the program. This includes chat, email, phone as well as surveys, feedback forms. We encourage all students to take advantage of these features to help improve their experience. RCB has been working hard on expanding our Career Services offering and are truly happy to hear your Career Services experience has been supportive. RCB believes it is very important to support each student individually. By doing so, we help make sure each individual has the best chance of accomplishing their individual needs and goals. RCB has recently implemented cutting edge technologies to ensure the best instructor experience for all our students. We now record and audit our classes for both quality control and data analysis. This has enabled us to successfully provide real time oversight of the curriculum, constructive feedback to our instructors and the highest level of student support in the industry. The entire RCB team loves hearing success stories and appreciates you taking the time to share yours. We believe in all our students and wish you the utmost success! -
Anonymous
Bad for getting you a job
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SUMMERY
This is a great course for meeting like-minded students interested in web development and building a strong foundation. If you’re main goal is to get set up with a job (by the bootcamp) after course completion, you will be disappointed.
THE GOOD
The instructors and TAs are knowledgeable and willing to help you when you get stuck
The instructors & career services will give you advice on how to make yourself marketable, make an appealing portfolio, and how to answer common interview questions.
THE BAD
You will need at least 20+ hours of outside work per week to understand the material as you go through the course. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but they tell you that you will only need 10 hours per week. That is simply untrue, even for the brightest students.
Hiring partners are virtually non-existent. Despite what they will keep telling you, there is not a large group of employers waiting to hire you when you finish.
Career services has input on the curriculum. This sounds like a good idea until they try to teach you three programming languages in 10 hours of class time and expect you to be confident enough to put it on your resume.
THE UGLY
The instructor we had might be the most unprofessional individual I have ever met. He told us he was there because he got fired from his previous job and it was obvious why.
The curriculum director and those assisting him have little regard for the quality of the material they push out.
The post bootcamp job assistance was atrocious. The
Would I do it again?
no
Have more questions?
See this reddit thread for a Q&A from an alumni.
Kalimah Perry of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Dec 22, 2016
Hi Anonymous, We truly appreciate you taking the time to write a detailed review and provide your honest feedback. We love hearing that you found the instructors and TAs knowledgeable and helpful throughout the course, as we strive to create an environment that promotes dynamic learning with excellent instructors. You are correct that this program requires a heavy time commitment for outside work each week. We try our best to communicate the level of commitment required and do tell our prospective students to expect to spend a minimum of 15-20 hours per week outside of class in order to excel. In regard to the volume of learning, while we do cover several programming languages in a short period of time, that is done with the goal of exposing students to the material so that they may dive deeper and become confident in the language post class. We’re sorry that your experience with career services was not what you were expecting. While Rutgers Coding Boot Camp does not guarantee job placement for students, we do work to prepare students through interview coaching, technical interview training, resume building, cultivating your online presence, employer events and more. We engage with hundreds of employers in the region who wish to review portfolios from students like you. As we uncover new opportunities, we connect our grads to these jobs and provide coaching to support them throughout the application, interview and job offer processes. Employer engagement happens both during the program and after graduation. We invite guest speakers from across the industry to interact with our students on topics such as How to be a Successful Developer, UX/UI Design, App Ideation, The Tech Landscape, How to be a Competitive Applicant and Life at a Startup. Guest lectures are designed to be a chance for students to build their networking skills from the comfort of the classroom as they prepare to launch their job search in the real world.
Our course-end events are also great opportunities to build a network of contacts in the industry that might be the key to your new job. We recently held a Demo Day event where employers were encouraged to attend and both watch students demo their final projects as well as conduct on-the-spot interviews with top candidates.
We highly encourage our graduates to focus on relationship-building throughout the course (both within the classroom and beyond) as our experience shows that the more connected you are the more likely you are to get a job.
Thank you again for your feedback. We would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you further about your experience and discuss how you can take advantage of our extensive post program services. You can reach me at (732) 430-2144. -
Anonymous
Looking Back; Changed My Life
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I graduated from Rutgers Coding Bootcamp a while ago and have settled into my new life as a junior developer for a few months now. As a woman changing careers, I knew the experience would be a big change for me. I also had to work full time during this course.
Both the instructors and my classmates were great; offering support both during and after class. It really made a difference on those days I needed a few extra pointers. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed to be honest. The work load is high and some people in my class had strong coding experience. But, I kept my focus throughout the class and believed it could be done.
So, it took a while for me to get comfortable with the material and pace. Be prepared to spend many hours outside of class studying, reviewing and learning on your own.
I'd love to say I got a job the week after class. It didn't happen. It took me almost 6 weeks. Like anything in life, to get the help you need; you need to be proactive. I kept calling and emailing the support team; asking for advice and help throughout my job search.
I also kept working on my projects; developing them further. This really turned out to make a big difference in finding a job. To that end, I really need to give a shortout to my instructor. Amazing person; even if I felt I probably was annoying at times; he always provided support and great coding advice.
I was lucky to find a great job with a tech startup that also leveraged upon my previous career experience.
I'd recommend RCB to anyone. But, be prepared to invest the time and energy required for success; just like anything in life.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Nov 07, 2016
Thanks for your review of RCB and congrats on all of your hard work, persistance and on your new job! Our staff works tirelessly to support our students both in and out of the classroom, so we are thrilled to hear that you felt that support during your time with us. Congratulations again on changing your career and on graduating from RCB. -
Anonymous
Research before you sign on
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Do yourself a favor and do some research before agreeing to enroll in this program. I graduated about two weeeks ago and only recently found spot-on reviews from students who went through the program before I did. From the beginning, it's shameless lying and overall indecency from the student success department. The instructors were great but it is absolutely embarrassing how manipulated I was looking back, especially by the student success manager who never replied to any of my concerns or messages.
If you're interested in this program and find this post, I implore you to do your research before agreeing to anything especially not some measly $500 'scholarship'
Kalimah Perry of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Dec 27, 2016
Hi Anonymous, We are truly happy to hear that you had a great experience with the educational aspects of the program. RBC is very proud of our exceptional instructors and cutting edge curriculum. RCB works very hard to provide the highest level of boot camp education available.
We are sorry to hear that your particular experience with student success did not go as well as the other aspects of the Boot Camp.
We absolutely believe that the RCB student success team is fanatical about providing the highest level of service available. As we take these reviews seriously, we went back to review some data for this course to see how we could improve for the future. Our team strives to respond to students within 24 hours. We sincerely apologize that you did not experience that same responsiveness. During your cohort, we had a staff member transition into a new role. The transition period delayed our communications, causing us to miss our mark. We’ve used this as a lesson learned and are continuing to work toward reducing our response times to ensure all students feel supported.
We pride ourselves on our centralized academic support, which allows us to identify and support students who are struggling. We do weekly feedback forms and often make changes based on what we learn. Beginning in July, midpoint and EOC surveys were implemented to add to these efforts.
It is important to understand that succeeding at the curriculum portion of the Boot Camp experience is only part of the journey. Taking the skills you have learned and applying them in the business world is just as important. Going the extra mile by participating in Demo Days, joining your fellow students in group interview preparation, and spending time with student success on developing your resume all are part of the RCB experience.
During the program, we work to prepare students through interview coaching, technical interview training, resume building, cultivating your online presence, employer events and more. But our program doesn’t end at graduation. We support our alumni and offer student success services post-grad as well. We engage with hundreds of employers in the area who are interested in reviewing portfolios from students like you. As we uncover new opportunities, we connect our grads to these jobs and provide coaching to support them throughout the application, interview and job offer processes.
We would like to hear more about your experience and discuss what we can do to provide you with additional support. Please reach out to us at (732) 430-2144 and ask for our Program Director.
Congratulations again on graduating from RCB and we wish you all the best! -
Anonymous
Former student
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Save your timer and money if you dont have prior experience. I graduated even though I did not learn anything more than HTML, CSS, and BOOTSTRAP which was pretty easy. Career day was a waste becuase only 3 employers showed up and wanted people who really know what they were doing. Alot of students other than my self did not learn much, because the course is rushed and the "teacher" is not very experienced.
Save your time and money.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Nov 02, 2016
At RBC, we strive to offer a high quality experience for all of our students. We are sorry to hear that your expectations were not met.
While the first week your cohort did learn HTML, CSS and Bootstrap, we then moved on to a variety of advanced technologies including JavaScript, jQuery, Node.js, Responsive Design, Heroku, Git, User Authentication, React.js, MySQL, MongoDB, and more.
The cohort received 26 weeks of intensive coding practice, 14 career modules, and personalized follow-up on all aspects of application materials. We also offer all of our graduates extensive career services support post graduation which has already begun!
Our Demo Day for Somerset was fantastic. We had over 25 different employers in attendance, with group interviews being conducted during the event. Our employer partners were looking to employ graduates of our immersive program. We were thrilled at how many fellow students creatively implemented their new skills for a variety of amazing projects.
Finally, RCB is proud of our instructors. In addition to being great instructors, all 3 have between 5-10 years of direct coding experience.
We would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you further about your experience and ensure that you are taking advantage of all of our post program services. -
Anonymous
Absolutely a waste of time and money
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This so called bootcamp is such a dissapoitment. I should have done my research before starting. This school only has about 20 reviews when other schools have thousands of reviews which are all mostly positive. Evertything that was thought, was thought from google. When I asked where the restroom was they told me to google it. That is their answer to everything. No books are provided and the instructors and assitants dont know much about coding. The whole course should be re evaluated.
Save your time and money go else where or teach your self. Please dont make the same mistake I made.
The student success manager really needs to be trained better or she should find a new job. She is the main reason why the course is runned the way it is.
What a dissapointment. I cant understand how they have any positive reviews.
Marc of Rutgers Bootcamps
Rutgers Coding Bootcamp
Aug 30, 2016
We are truly disappointed to hear your on-campus experience at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp did not meet your expectations. As coders ourselves, we know that being adept at researching new technologies, extracting information and successfully applying it to problem solving is a core part of being a modern developer and a critical skillset expected at most companies. We have added multiple options for our students to provide direct feedback during the course as well as engage centralized support services for both course related material and student success. We are passionate about education and would love to discuss this further to find out what we can do to make it right. Please call me directly at (732) 430-2144. Thank you. -
Anonymous
Overall great experience
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I graduated from Rutgers Coding Bootcamp in July, and overall it was a great experience. The program moves pretty quickly, so you must be ready to put in the hard work. The instructors and teaching assistants definitely made you feel like family.
I can not say the same for the career development and student success team. There were countless times where many students tried to get in contact with people who are part of student success and did not get a response for weeks. I understand that there is a lot going on, but not hearing back for weeks is unacceptable.
Career services held a couple workshops to help people get prepared for the job market. We only had one mock interview with very limited feedback from career services. At the end of the program, they hosted a Demo day where students can showcase their portfolios to recruiters. Many of us noticed that the number of partnerships that they told us they had at the beginning of the program and the number of that showed up were not remotely close. I also noticed a lot of favoritism during demo day. Instructors were pointing recruiters in their favorite students direction. Many of us stood there with less than a handful of recruiters stopping by to see our work. We were all told to print 100 copies but handed out less than 20.
This program will greatly broaden your coding knowledge, and you will come out of it with tools that will help you succeed in web development. On the other hand, don't rely on career services to find you a job; work hard and find one on your own.
Jamie Farrell of Rutgers Bootcamps
COO
Aug 31, 2016
Thank you for your feedback. It always makes us happy to hear that our instructors and TAs have provided a great classroom experience for our students. We are sorry that your experience with Career Services and Student Success was not ideal. Students are always invited to schedule an appointment with our Student Success Managers at any time during the course. Not hearing back in a few days is definitely not what we strive for as our goal is always to respond in 2-3 business days. Career Services did hold a mock-interview for each cohort and provided immediate feedback as well as written feedback as a followup. -
Anonymous
Former Student
The name is Rutgers but it is really a third party who runs the school. The instructors and Tas arent much help, they tell you to google everything. Save your money and go to another school. 70% of the time they dont get through the lesson plans. The classes are part time but you have to study full time to be successfull. I would not recommend this course to my worst enemy.
Stacey Maresco of Rutgers Bootcamps
Student Success Manager
Aug 17, 2016
We're sorry the experience wasn't what you were hoping for. The the truth is that learning to code and become a successful web developer is extremely challenging. As you probably discovered it takes many hours of sometimes grueling effort to master the skills required. We try our best to communicate the level of commitment required -- and tell our prospective students to expect to regularly spend 10, 20, or even 30 hours of outside class time to prepare.
Because we are so focused on building our students' mastery, we do indeed ask them to "google" a lot of answers. Internally, we actually call this "Google Fu". The reason it's such a significant part of our program is because, as every professional web developer will tell you, learning how to "find answers" is as important as learning any specific technology. This is likely a big reason why your instructor spent time teaching concepts that strayed from a black-and-white view of what mattered most.
Our instructors and TAs are all professionals who care deeply about the success of every student. We're sorry to hear about your experience, but we'll take your input as a means to become better.