Springboard

Prior to enrollment, I favored Springboard because they seemed to offer the best bang for the buck -- their syllabus covered as much or more than other bootcamps and also promised to help with career strategies (interviewing, prepping, algorithms, etc). Having just completed their 9 month Software Engineering track, I am glad I went with them.

Be forewarned, this track covers a lot of material! As with anything tech related, you'll likely find the material covered for free elsewhere or cheaper courses. However with Springboard, you are paying for a well structured comprehensive course AND active mentorship by industry professionals and career advisors who are actual hiring managers. You gain insight into what technologies companies are currently using.

I had real people reviewing my assignments, giving me feedback on my projects, and showing me how to use the knowledge gained to plan and develop a full stack capstone project. In addition to technical learning, the career advisors helped with creating resume, LinkedIn profiles, networking, and practice interviews. Read less

I really liked the program, especially working with the mentors. The mentors, career coaches, and other support staff were all very knowledgeable. It's important to acknowledge that this program does take a lot of time, and requires you to be highly self-motivated. They give you everything you need to succeed, but you will only get out as much as you put in. I researched several different programs before deciding on Springboard and I'm glad I did; ultimately, the mentor experience was incalculably valuable. Beyond UX, Springboard really showed me how to make myself a marketable job applicant. Read less

PROS: Totally online, great curriculum, expert mentorship, really helpful career coaching, and helpful events.
CONS: Totally online, so the human element of learning and socializing while gaining skills isn’t there so much. It happens through Skype / Zoom / Slack, but if you want to have informal random chats with peers or mentors as you pass by them and everyone’s definitely at the same part of the curriculum, that won’t happen here. Read less

While the technical data science curriculum with Springboard is outstanding by combining Datacamp with dozens of hand-selected resources online, there are endless resources online for learning the technical aspects of data science and machine learning. If you just want to learn the technical side of data science, just get a Datacamp membership.

However, if you want to take your professional career to the next level, join Springboard. Weekly mentor calls hold you accountable with the curriculum, and the career coaches guide you through networking, polishing the LinkedIn profile, building a focused resume, and writing cover letters. Springboard is not the least expensive bootcamp out there, but the networking, mentoring, and career coaching resources more than make up for the cost. It's an incredible value given the opportunities for salary growth afterwards.  Read less

I had a great experience in UX/UI Design bootcamp at Springboard! I highly recommend this bootcamp for anyone looking to shift careers. I signed up for the Design Career track, as this includes career calls after the course to help you find a full time position. When I was deciding on a UX/UI bootcamp, I was hesitant to sign up for a longer/more expensive bootcamp, but am very glad I went with Springboard. Here are some of the key reasons why:

The weekly mentor (an industry professionals) calls are super helpful and help you get immersed into the UX/UI field. My mentor helped me understand UX/UI concepts, and helped me refine the deliverables to build my case studies up! You come out of the course with a full portfolio (essential for getting a job!) with four case studies including an Industry Design Project, which is essentially an internship with a company. This real-world experience is really helpful coming out of the course! The curriculum does a good job teaching you UX/UI concepts and slowly building those up.

Career guidance is prompted throughout the course, which was extremely helpful. Throughout the course, you are prompted early on to start building career skills such as networking. You also have calls with a career coach while you are simultaneously going through the technical material. This early prompting to start thinking about how you are going to get a job and slowly building skills necessary for this were extremely helpful for me. You come out of the course with an updated UX/UI resume as well as a updated and revised (by career coach) Linkedin.

You are assigned a student advisor which helps you keep moving along. Having someone to keep me on track was essential for me. She gave me weekly deadlines that I needed to meet in order to complete by the date I gave her. Having this was a game changer for me. 

Finally, you are connected with a Springboard slack community, so you are able to meet other students in the course. This is really helpful as the course is remote, and helps you stay connected to others and meet new people who are in a career shift as you. I met a lot of wonderful friends along the way, while also building up my professional network. 

If you are wanting to shift careers, Springboard is a great choice! I feel very prepared for the working world and am glad that I still am able to meet with a Career coach on a bi-weekly basis, who will help me land a full-time position.  Read less

The Springboard program does a great job to creating a "springboard" into the UX Design Field. You are taught the fundamentals of the industry and provided coaching along the way. The industry design project is the most valuable aspect to the course, as you have a chance at really industry work and experience. Overall wonderful program, people, and content.  Read less

It's hard to find a Bootcamp that cares. I won't mention the other one I almost took, but let's just say that the mentor I would have been working with for the duration of my time, IMMEDIATELY gave off vibes of wanting to get off the initial call once 30 minutes had gone by and it rhymed with Splinterfaction Resign Crownbation. Again, don't want to mention names. 

Then I came across Springboard, as skeptical as ever and was given a list of mentors to choose from and have an initial conversation. After our first call, I KNEW this mentor cared. My mentor never stopped giving me his full attention for 9 months and Student Support is UNBELIEVABLE. There's literally nothing they wont do to make sure that you have what you need to finish the course. Seriously, they have your back. I'm sure some of you are reading this and saying, "this was definitely a paid review", but trust me, if you actually knew me, you would know that you couldn't pay me to write a good review about a SCHOOL if I didn't like it.

If you're on the fence, look no further, trust me!!! Don't waste your time at another BootCamp that may or may not have your back the ENTIRE WAY THROUGH. It's a hard journey and a long grind so keep that in mind when making your selection. 

Sincerely,

- A fellow student who suffered and clawed his way to a finish line Read less

I started back in April 6 months ago and I finally completed my course.
I had full-time job as apparel designer for the day 9-5 and helping my daughter's home school so I had already my plate full and I am so proud of myself finishing this UX design course now !! 
I have learned so many new exciting skills and they really help you to build great portfolio.
so I am already getting many calls for interviews already !! My mentor was very detail oriented and very helpful for me to learn step by step !! I will recommend to anyone who is interested to learn UX in your own pace with fully remote classes.

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Honestly, I don't see any cons with Springboard. Staff is great and mentors are fantastic. When they say that the mentors are experts in the field, they mean it. The pros that I felt are note worthy are flexibility, mentors are VERY knowledgably and helpful, Springboard site is very easy to navigate, and Springboard does a great job at keeping track of your progress. Many bootcamps have great offers but not the flexibility. I was not ready to drop my job to go back to school. Springboard allowed me to take the courses at my own pace. Although that may not be most people's cup of tea, if you're motivated to succeed, you'll graduate in less than 6 months. Read less

I am a recent Springboard grad with 2 years of experience studying Computer Science in college prior. I decided that I'd prefer to learn in a safer and more secure format with Springboard's job guarantee than potentially not get hired post college and be drowning in student loans -- even though tech is definitely a field in which most will do absurdly well financially. When everything is already online, you really don't miss out on much in comparison to university. College really only has one big advantage still and that's the experience of being around other students of different disciplines, belief structures, etc.

I'm happy to say that for me, it was an excellent decision. No one thought it was though -- my family, friends, and even some of my CS student peers thought it was a poor decision, some probably still do. That said, I started the program in late Oct. of 2020 and finished in early Oct. 2021, almost a full year, which honestly I did not expect as I have a bit more background in CS and figured that'd make it go quicker. Here's why it took me a bit longer, in April, I got hired as a software engineer! I worked part time to pay for my living expenses throughout the rest of the course and am now transitioning to a fulltime role. My advice, don't listen to others even when they may have your best interest in mind. They hardly know what they're doing with their own lives, forge your own path. If you want it and are ready/willing to put in the work, you will more than likely find success.

I recommend this bootcamp heavily. I think it's an excellent choice for those who are confident that they want to be software engineers. The mentors, career advisors, and other resources are definitely excellent, but at the end of the day, all the best programmers are mostly self-taught.

It's important to be sure you are ready for this though. While I do believe that anyone can be an excellent software engineer, the profession/industry is not always for everyone. Learn some basic programming first and make sure you really do enjoy the process of debugging, googling, and sitting for hours day after day, that is exactly what you're signing up for. If you're okay with that, then sign up, you won't be disappointed! Read less

I did Hack Reactors prep, and I also did Springboards prep! Springboard did a better job of explaining the concepts and gave me better understanding of all the programming languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). Hack Reactor did not review HTML nor CSS, and they also did not have a 1-on-1 mentor to help with any questions. I was lead here from a guy who attended and graduated from both schools, and he told me to go with Springboard over Hack Reactor! I think Colt Steele is really good at teaching Software Engineering! I plan to continue to learn from him. I also was able to move at my pace which really helped me remove the pressure of getting done in a certain timeframe!  Read less

I enjoyed the prep course. However, I think there were some aspects of the course that can definitely be approved. I often times felt like my questions weren't answered when it came to the actual skills test being taken. I was just told to try again. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the course. Overall it was organized very well. Read less

Springboard is a mentor lead Bootcamp that helps people make the transition into the tech world. I love that I get to talk to my mentor every week and got a chance to work with the real clients at the end of the cohort. It was a great experience and exposure! Throughout the course, I can schedule calls with mentors or career coaches at any time to get more support for my projects and job search.  Read less

I just finished the Springboard UX Career Track and have begun my Job Search as of today.

I first heard about Springboard when I was looking at changing my career path, and my friend suggested I look into UX and the course Springboard offered (they had never gone to Springboard, only heard of it). From my research, UX ended up being a field that intrigued and excited me but finding an online course that would work for me was the hinge-point - specifically because I've had poor experiences with work alone and remotely. Springboard's mentorship program and Job Guarantee (which I was eligible for) were the two factors that led me to choose them over other schools. Initially, the admission counselors told me that the course would be completely achievable within 6 months while continuing to work, which cemented my decision.

The course is laid out in way that really grounds you in the concepts of UX and leads you through step-by-step. You learn the processes of research, interviews, affinity mapping, user personas, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, testing, and more, all on your capstone project. When that's completed, you take all the skills you've learned and create a new project with a week in a modified Google Ventures design sprint. And lastly, you dip your toes into the real world as you're partnered with a real company to meet their UX needs over the course of a couple weeks. All this is laid out in an easy-to-follow curriculum that shows you exactly where you are and what's coming next.

To me, the most effective and helpful part of Springboard is the plentiful mentorship they provide you and the Slack community of other students. Not only are you partnered with a great mentor who has spent years in the field (shout-out Noemi), but you have access to all of the other mentors at Springboard to pick their brains and talk to them about the industry and field. Not only are there mentors for the curriculum, but for your career search too. And the Slack community allowed me to connect with plenty of other students where we could examine each other's work, commiserate about our projects, and give us a better sense that we're not doing this alone.

For me, the negative of the course was the time estimate for how long the course would take. To be fair, I may be an 'over-worker' and putting more time and effort into some projects than was necessary, but I finished the course nowhere near the 6-month mark that was originally pitched. I was working on the course while working a remote job at the same time, and I finished the course nearly 4 months after my original end date. To Springboard's credit, they do have safety nets for those in my position. Because I could show I was actively working and had the support of my mentor, they had some extensions available for people in my situation. Thankfully, I was able to complete the entire course within the extensions that were available without having to pay for extensions or losing my job guarantee.

Ultimately, I feel that the course has given me the tools and the mindset to enter into this new career and actually get a job. The mentorship program was essential for me to do my best and stay on track, and I don't think I would have had nearly the same experience without it. Their time estimates are extremely optimistic (unless maybe you're doing the course full-time) but they do support the students who need it. If you are looking for a UX course, I would highly suggest Springboard. Read less

There is a lot of material online that teaches data science concepts such as machine learning and deep learning. Anyone capable of completing an online boot camp could probably successfully learn on their own. Springboard gives benefits beyond the actual curriculum. There are no concerns about the curriculum - they curate online sources so that you don't have to worry about assessing quality. While there were occasionally problems with dead links, these always seemed to be fixed relatively quickly. Springboard was the strongest in career coaching. I'm confident in my technical skills, but have always felt uneasy while networking. Springboard's coaches offered plenty of assistance in that regard. I have no regrets about taking this course. Read less