Springboard

As a postdoc looking to transition from academia to industry, I came across Springboard's data science program and decided to give it a try. I was impressed with the program's career training, which not only taught me data science but also prepared me for a career in the field. The program provided me with the necessary tools to build a portfolio of projects, practice mock interviews, and get my resume reviewed, all of which helped me secure a job offer within a few months of completing the program. The program's curriculum is comprehensive and well-structured, covering topics such as data analysis, machine learning, statistical inference, and data visualization. The self-paced nature of the program allowed me to work at my own pace and take as much time as I needed to understand the material fully, and having a mentor to guide me throughout the program was incredibly beneficial. Overall, I highly recommend Springboard's data science program for postdocs looking to transition from academia to industry.

I really loved the self paced nature of the course. It took away stress of outside life events. I think colt Steele provides great course videos that are easy to follow and broken down in a way that’s easy to understand. I would recommend doing it full time, as I can imagine it being pleasant to do on top of working. 

Springboard has a robust curriculum with industry expert mentor support and career services. It helps to have a little bit of IT and basic Web development knowledge prior to starting this course. Prepare to immerse yourself in the world of full-stack development, networking, resume building, behavioral interview preparation, data structures and algorithms and coding interviews. You will work on 2 Capstone projects in 2 different stacks: Flask / PostgreSQL / Jinja2 for first project and then Express / React / PostgreSQL or MongoDB. You will learn how to build applications and deploy them online to a service like Heroku. The curriculum could use a refresher for 2023 as it was originally created before 2020 looks like. But it gives you a good foundational knowledge nonetheless.

This program was really helpful for anyone beginning a career change! The overall support from mentors and other advisors was greatly appreciated. There was a lot of great projects and content for those who are trying to learn how the design processes. I would highly recommend to anyone.

Overall, this course is fantastic if you find yourself looking to switch careers like I did. Beforehand, I had some experience with SQL but none with python, machine learning, or really any data science. At the end of the day, I feel comfortable apply, interviewing, and actually doing the work for any intro/ mid-tier data science job. 

This program is pretty intense and you have to keep yourself on a pretty good routine to stay up with the lectures and projects. The student community, advising, mentorship and career coaching were great. Being new to all this, it was nice knowing there was always somewhere to turn when I had questions about any aspect of the program. If you are serious about learning a new skill or making a career change, this is a great way to get there! 

Springboard's Data Analytics Bootcamp has exceeded my expectations, offering a comprehensive curriculum covering essential data analysis skills, invaluable one-to-one mentorship, and career support, making it a worthwhile investment despite its relatively high cost. Although it is self-paced, it offers flexibility in time management, and the job guarantee program is reassuring, though the limited networking opportunities are a minor drawback. Overall, I highly recommend this bootcamp to anyone looking to advance their career in data analytics.

Springboard was a good self-paced online option for beginners.  I went in with zero knowledge about coding or software engineering and I feel as though I am leaving with a really good overall knowledge of full stack development.  

I felt as though the materials were good and easy to follow and understand, but there was only one instructor for every single lesson and section and it did become quite monotonous.   There is support offered from the TA staff which is helpful and also the mentorship program is really good.  I was matched up with the perfect mentor for my needs and it really made all of the difference.   

Springboard was a fantastic way to learn UX/UI design at my own pace. You have the opportunity to connect with career coaches and mentors as much as you need to. You also complete 4 big projects that are used as your portfolio when you are finished with the program. 

Springboard is an excellently curated program for people who are motivated enough to learn independently. It's true that a lot of the material can be found for free online, but there's so much information online that it would be hard to curate only high quality materials as they have. There was one part of the course that was a learn along video mini course, and there were a few challenges like this as well. I wish they would incorporate more of those, as most of the material is article reading. If you're a distracted reader, this can be a challenging, frustrating way to learn. But they are also really great about making you practice the new things you learn, so you're actively doing UX/UI work from very early on instead of just consuming information. My mentor was incredible and helped me grow tremendously. The career coaches are great too, and my internship was such an impactful thing for my career. I learned a ton and really felt like I was working in the field - collaborating with other UX researchers and presenting to stakeholders. I would definitely recommend this course to people who are diligent and can manage a self-paced, independent curriculum. I would have liked it more if there had been more collaboration with other students peppered throughout the course, instead of just at the end. And of course having professors would be ideal. But all in all, I felt the content I learned was top of the line, relevant, up to date information that left me with a competitive edge for my new career. I'm very happy with what I got out of it and felt the material was very in-depth, just as I had hoped.  

Springboard UI/UX design track was a very fulfilling and mind-blowing experience. I started this course to have a career change, and It provided me with so much in-depth information to be successful in this career. I started without experience creating a beautiful portfolio with four different case studies. I finished this course in a year more than it says in the course. The course provides multiple pauses and breaks if you feel overwhelmed and have family emergencies. I took breaks and paused whenever I felt I needed a break. It provides support throughout my course with mentors, career coach calls, advisor calls, and even provide office hours. My mentor helped me with all my design problems and was there for me when I was stuck. My advisor was my support system for my mental health. She helped me create tools for me to build healthy habits and time-management skills. It was a wonderful experience and Literally changed my life. 

This program is great .Springboard give me self confident and they prepared me for getting my first job as a data analyst. They taught me lots of skills to succeed. 
I've improved my skill and  I highly recommend Springboard. they care of you and help you in this way.student support team are extremely professional and supportive.

Best experience could have had!  Mentors, hiring managers, student support, career services and everyone are professional and knowledgeable. Springboard has the whole system down!  From start to finish you are supported and taught everything you need to start a career. 

Very thorough curriculum, consistent mentorship, and great career support... Would highly recommend for people transitioning in their career! Lead us through the curriculum and process very methodically

Definitely had a positive experience with Springboard. 
My mentor, career coaches, and student support team are extremely professional and supportive. Students are all talented and I worked with some real talents on the internship project. My only wish is for the curriculum to be more specific and up to date as technology is growing too fast. 

The best part of this program for me was the mentorship. The curriculum is definitely something you could learn on your own just by seeking the information online. Being able to get feedback from my mentor was incredibly helpful and he asked questions that allowed me to start thinking like a designer. I wish they had more industry design projects since the one thing that I was told in interviews was that I had a “good design eye” but lacked experience. My career coach was also great in helping me set myself apart in interviews. The info I got from her definitely helped me land my first job. 

Deciding factors for choosing Springboard:

• After trying to map out my learning journey, I was very overwhelmed and decided a bootcamp would provide the structure I needed to have a well-rounded base education.
• I knew I needed a bootcamp with flexibility.  Prior to joining, and throughout the course, I was working through the burn out of my previous career, and needed to also work on my personal and mental health.  The in person / virtual bootcamps I looked into had very demanding schedules, which I didn’t feel would allow me the time to absorb the information as well.  This was also confirmed after speaking with students in those programs.
• Prior to my decision to join a bootcamp, I had been studying from Colt’s videos, and enjoyed his teaching style.
• Having career support was a huge bonus, as this is something I knew I needed additional help with, and was not something I saw in other programs.
• Having the job guarantee was a nice bonus safety net, and was something that would keep me accountable.

Other things to note after completing the course:

• While completing assignments/projects on my own, my peers in other programs were completing similar projects as a team.  I think I learned more by completing the assignments on my own, but I do feel I missed out on the group work experience.  This being said, I think there were opportunities to fill this gap, if I participated more in the Slack community.  I lean more towards the introverted side, so I tended to prioritize learning on my own instead of being proactive in these conversations.
• The Springboard Support staff (relating to all things outside the curriculum) was always very helpful and responsive.
• The Career staff provided great support.  Being able to speak candidly with recruiting experts greatly boosted my confidence.  Also speaking with these experts reduced a lot of the informaiton overload from searching the internet.
• Breaks and Pauses were extremely beneficial in allowing me to successfully complete the course.
• In my experience I found the Peer Mentors in the Slack community to be more helpful than working with the on-demand mentors for assignment questions.

What I would change if I were to do it again:

• Coming into the program with little experience I wish I had planned for the course to take the full 9+ months.  Many materials required additional research outside the course, multiple views of the videos, and additional time completing the exercises.
• Participated more in the Slack community. 
• Having 1:1 meetings with a mentor in the professional community (separate from the Peer mentors, and on-demand mentors) was a great learning opportunity, although I feel I did not utilize the experience enough.  Looking back, I wish I had spent more time developing this relationship and put more focus towards practicing technical interviews.

This program is great - comprehensive, thorough, logical, and well-designed. If you are able to be self-motivated and manage your own milestones/progress/education, you can gain a ton. They will definitely not be micromanaging you at any point, so it's something to be aware of if you work better with more oversight. I found that support and guidance was available when needed, but that ultimately I had to answer most of my own questions for myself (which is a good learning experience, in the end!). I feel ready to do well in a data scientist role.

Springboard is a great schooling experience for self starters who are looking for career advancement. Everyone I spoke with whether it be a mentor, advisor or job coach approached their job with passion and empathy and excitement for my design and growth. 

I recently completed the Springboard Data Analytic program and I am a happy student. The program and curriculum are wonderful. In the beginning, you’re learning new terminology and concepts thus will feel overwhelmed but once you get adjusted to the business and technology lingo with the support that is provided by the mentors weekly study sessions, other students, and the curriculum, it makes the material understandable. From thinking with a business mindset, to Excel, Economics, Power BI, Tableau, SQL, and Python. Everything is covered, and more, to provide you with the knowledge to secure a position and to grow in the field. The platform that is used for our learning is wonderful and have never frozen on me and was available 24/7. The resources put in place to ensure your success and job placement is exceptional. I have secured a position with the assistance of the knowledge that I learned through Springboard, the career coaches, and the vast resources that are provided with the program.

My mentor, Chris Hui, is the best. He cares about your learning growth in the material and you as a person. I looked forward to our weekly meetings and I always leave motivated, reassured, and with more knowledge of the respective topic for the week.  If anyone had any doubts about Springboard, please reconsider.