Tech Elevator

Tech Elevator is a coding bootcamp that lends you the opportunity to hunker down and learn how to engineer a full stack web service, from scratch, in as little as 14 weeks! If you take it seriously, practice hard, ask lots of questions, and believe in yourself. You too can finish the program with the confidence you need to bash code from thought and enter the job market your chin held high.
TE hosts a solid curriculum that allows even complete novices to quickly gain traction and jump into programming.
The instructors are very knowledgeable and want you to succeed. Pathway is an excellent addition with university level instruction on how to enter the job market with your best foot forward.
The bootcamp is very intense and fast paced. If you don’t feel comfortable asking for help when you don’t understand, you can find yourself behind the ball in an uncomfortable position.

Tech Elevator was the perfect choice for me and I recommend it for anyone who wants to learn coding in order to make a career change. Before the bootcamp, I had no technical knowledge, coming from a background in the arts and human services. The structure of the program–daily, live remote, module based–made it easy to stay engaged and learn efficiently. It was hard–very hard–but I felt supported by the structure of the day, coupled with the ability to get help from instructors and peers who were available daily after classroom hours.

My instructor was Rich Seeds, an expert in his field, knowledgeable, and with a great sense of humor. Together with my cohort, we created a learning environment that fostered open curiosity, encouraging active questioning and problem solving in order to master challenging concepts. I also appreciated the Pathway Program, which prepared me for the job search with resume reviews, mock interviews, and networking opportunities. I’m so grateful for the guidance that Claribel Quintana–my one-on-one Pathway Director for my post-graduation job search–has already given me, and I look forward to continuing our work together in the coming weeks.

Because of Tech Elevator, I feel confident in my skills and in my ability to continue to learn other coding languages (Python is my next venture!) on my own.  I am excited about the opportunities ahead as I begin my job search as a junior developer.

Everyone involved at Tech Elevator makes it very clear they care about you and your success the whole way through. From when you start to the day you get a job, they are there every step of the way. All you need to do is try and put in the effort and they'll carry you the rest of the way. You'll make good friends and trust me when I say everyone is probably feeling the same nerves and anxieties as you. Just reach out to your classmates or instructors and you'll get the help you need.

As someone eager to transition into a software development career, Tech Elevator provided the ideal in-person learning experience. The instructors and staff consistently supported us, ensuring a solid foundation for our software development journey. The 14-week program was intense but rewarding, covering extensive coursework. The availability of resources, including attentive instructors (thank you, Tom A., Walt, and Tom M.), significantly contributed to my success. Working with Julie Jurich, Pathway Director, significantly enhanced my personal branding, resume, and interview preparation. Despite the workload, the staff took the time to understand my career goals and aspirations. Reflecting on my time at Tech Elevator, I appreciate the dedication of the instructors and staff in fostering success. If you thrive in a traditional classroom setting, Tech Elevator Pittsburgh offers an excellent option for in-person instruction.

If you're considering a coding boot camp, check out Tech Elevator. I went from a web novice to a confident junior developer in three months, and it was an awesome journey. I had previously dabbled in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with the Odin Project and FreeCodeCamp, but I entered the program with minimal experience.  Our instructor was amazing, their passion for code was contagious, and their expertise felt bottomless. No matter how stuck I was, they were always there, patiently untangling the knots in my logic. Another positive to Tech Elevator is its Pathway Program. It might seem basic if you already have an extensive career history but follow their advice. They know what they are doing. My Pathway Director, another rockstar, helped me polish my resume, refine my interview skills, and build a LinkedIn profile that got noticed. Put equal effort into coding and the Pathway Program – it's like a secret weapon for landing your first tech job.Another great aspect of the program is your other cohort members. Everyone brought their unique perspective and experiences to the table. We learned from each other, supported each other, and built connections that will last far beyond graduation. These aren't just classmates; they're your future network. Now, let's address the elephant in the room: the price tag. Yes, it's hefty, but here's the thing – you're investing in yourself. I was fortunate enough to land a Software Developer job through matchmaking in the program and have been using skills I learned at Tech Elevator every day. Overall, I think Tech Elevator is worth it, and if you’re thinking about doing a boot camp, Tech Elevator is where you should leap.

This bootcamp did everything I had hoped for and more, both on the tech side and the job-support side. As a former desktop developer, it was a great refresher for relational databases, plus it checked all my boxes for topics I was dying to learn: OOP, C-based languages like Java and JavaScript, HTML, CSS, how to be Agile, how to code unit tests, and how to use Spring to complete the magic of API calls that make web applications work. Our instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and always available to answer questions. Truly the only limit for how much I could learn was my brain's ability to absorb information. The Pathway side was equally valuable. Our amazing Pathway Director helped me translate my twisty-turn-y job history into a coherent 1-page resume, helped me build a respectable LinkedIn presence, and fed me employment leads appropriate for my interests and abilities--one of which resulted in a job! Tech Elevator is worth the tuition, it's an investment in yourself, but you have to make room in your life, because it's a lot!

I still can't get over how surreal this whole experience was. First of all, the other thirty-something students in my cohort were amazing. Everybody was so nice, helpful and got along so well that it really made it quite sad to leave the bootcamp at the end of the three months.

Additionally, I learned that I REALLY loved to code. I thought this might be true given that I started teaching computer science partway through my 16-year career in education (and generally enjoyed it), but I was afraid that when we got to the tough stuff at Tech Elevator, it might break me down...thankfully I was wrong. I came into class nearly everyday excited for whatever concepts would be thrown at us. I never once dreaded coming into class like I did when I was teaching. Better yet, my wife can attest to the fact that I came home (even on the super long days) from class in a better mood than I had been in for the last I-don't-know-how-many years in my previous career.

Thirdly, I ALWAYS felt supported at Tech Elevator. If I ran into any problems, I knew I could talk to my instructor, one of the other instructors, some of my classmates or rely on our online "textbook" for help. I never once felt alone in any of this. Any time that I was struggling, I could find comfort knowing there was a VERY good chance a bunch of the other students were struggling, too (does that make me evil?). Programming can be difficult!

I worked my butt off at Tech Elevator and you know what? I got a job before the bootcamp was even over. Add this to the list of things in life where you will get out of it what you put in. I sat up front (something I NEVER did in high school or college), I never once used ChatGPT to give me answers, I (almost) always did the readings before class, and I really thought hard about how the code worked as I typed out solutions to the practice assignments. I put tons of time into this class, and the class rewarded me with a job!

Attending Tech Elevator was one of the best decisions I've ever made as a human being on this planet. I cannot wait to start the next chapter of my life as a software engineer!

Tech Elevator is a fantastic program! With their combined technical and career instruction, I was transformed into a complete novice in coding to an employed Software Engineer before I graduated. I believe anyone, with the right attitude, can complete this program and become extremely prepared for a life in tech. The instructors were insanely compassionate, and my instructor in specific was a Tech Elevator alum herself, so she understood our position excellently. Only consider this if you are truly interested in coding because if you are, you will find the work energizing and fun!

Tech Elevator was an incredible experience. The teaching staff was incredible and it is obvious they are passionate about educating people. The support staff is also incredible, from to bottom the entire staff is always available to offer whatever support you need. One of the things that made me feel compelled to write this review, is that during my cohort I face some rather tough personal challenges. Still, I never felt that additional stress because it was obvious I had the full support of Tech Elevator. Overall, awesome experience and great confidence builder as you jump into your new Software career.

I joined the boot camp straight after high school. I have always been a hard worker and a dedicated person who had his life goals set years prior. Although there was a lot of new information every day, I believe I received the help and instructions I sought which then helped me succeed overall. I had zero interviewing experience so going through that I had a lot of practice with the pathway director(s), also had my elevator pitch perfected by the time we stopped presenting them. I had Steve as my Java instructor in Columbus and enjoyed his class every day and the way he explained and answered concepts made it very clear for me. Tech Elevator also made it a comfortable place to get out of your comfort zone (I know it doesn't make sense) so I was able to ask whatever question that came to my mind even if it was just a clarification. Great experience overall 100% would recommend it. It just took me to find my job longer than I anticipated, and the problem wasn't my interview preparations but rather no recruiters would reach out. I followed everything I was taught at the boot camp, but I don't even know how Tech Elevator could've helped a high school graduate with no job or education experience land a job quickly.

My time at Tech Elevator was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Not only does their staff want you to professionally succeed, they care about their students as well. It's hard to believe how much I was able to learn over the 14 weeks. The instructing staff is extremely knowledgable and will always go the extra mile to make sure you are learning and understanding the concepts. The pathway staff is always hard at work trying to weed out more opportunities for TE grads. The current job market is tough, but I was lucky enough to receive an offer through the program's matchmaking a month after graduation. The TE staff will keep working hard for their students to make sure they get a job -  but you do tend to get out what you put in.

I highly recommend this program to those who are willing to put the work in, are wanting to make a career change, and are wanting to connect with others through the process. I would not have had as good of a time in this program if I had not also invested myself in my fellow classmates. Tech Elevator Columbus is amazing. 

I was really hesitant about putting so much money down to join a Bootcamp but I'm really glad I did. The proof of how good this boot camp was is how quickly I got hired which was one month after graduating and the pay was great, way more than my current job. I can't praise this school enough. I went in with a lot of pre-prep and learned a great deal when I entered and the best tip I could give would be to learn by yourself for a couple of months, get familiar with the curriculum, and then apply for Tech Elevator. I didn't have the best instructor but I had access to other materials and help after class that made up for his lackluster teaching. I made some lifelong friends there and loved my time. 10/10 would do it again. 

This decision was a long time coming for me. My family and I suffered from repercussions of COVID and the crazy inflation. I was holding out, hoping for something to open up in my previous field, but it never did. I had looked into online programs for Software dev, but was never confident enough to try. Then I had a few friends complete the TE program and get jobs. What gave me the courage to finally take the plunge was TE's track record for student, job placement, and their promise of continued support. It was a requirement for me to take the course online, which they offered, and it was a compressed period of time. My family had to make huge sacrifices for me to be able to do this, but the promise of gainful employment and the ability to take a real vacation for the first time, was enough for us to power thru. I would absolutely recommend the program and would do it all over in a heartbeat.

Before attending Tech Elevator I was an Ohio State graduate with about 6 years of experience in mostly sales and customer service positions. I wasn't happy with my compensation, the monotony of sales, the work-life balance, or working in the office 5 days a week. After doing much research and conversing with a friend who had graduated Tech Elevator years prior, I decided to take the risk of quitting my job for this bootcamp (I did the full-time 14 week program). 

Tech Elevator was honestly a perfect experience--the program's hardworking, dedicated, and caring employees were all amazing. The curriculum was paced and structured well to help students with no prior experience learn efficiently. Collaborating with classmates on larger projects helped us apply our newfound knowledge while building our portfolio. The support from instructors was fantastic as well and I'd like to highlight my instructor Matt Eland in particular who regularly went above and beyond for me and other students. Matt is incredibly passionate about the tech industry and loves sharing his knowledge with others. He demonstrates that he really cares about his students often and works hard to understand each student to accommodate their specific learning styles and challenges. Matt is just one example of the incredible team at Tech Elevator and I'm sure if you read other reviews here and elsewhere you'll learn about many more brilliant instructors eager to help students begin their tech careers.

Perhaps one of the other biggest highlights of this program was their Pathway Program. Comprising around 30% of the bootcamp, the Pathway Program is focused entirely on empowering students to leverage their new skills to actually get a job. Students undergo several modules and 1-on-1 coaching sessions on all things critical to landing your first tech job (resumes, behavioral interviews, technical interviews, elevator pitches, networking, job applications, working with recruiters, etc). Tech Elevator understands that being able to effectively communicate your skills and experience in the job market is pertinent to landing a role and thus places an appropriate amount of emphasis on developing these soft skills with each and every student.

Upon graduating, my job search was made more difficult by my personal decision to only apply to fully-remote positions (I was trying to move across the country). Despite this self-imposed restraint, I was able to find an entry-level software development position about one month after graduation. I'm about 6 months into that role now, making double what I was in sales in a fully remote position with a considerably better work-life balance. Looking back I can easily say that attending Tech Elevator was just about the best career decision I've ever made!

My career change was successful and efficient thanks to the guidance of Tech Elevator Cincinnati. After being accepted into the full time program, the onboarding process went smoothly. My questions and concerns were always addressed quickly, and the overall organization was very good. In 14 weeks, I gained many relevant tools and skills to apply for my first job. Additionally, Tech Elevator has additional curriculum called the Pathways program that focuses on fine tuning resumes, how to network/apply, and ace interviews. If you stay on the path, trust the process, and ask questions, the experience will be a success. Even during a time where the tech industry is going through mass layoffs, I got a great job with a reputable company 3 months after graduation. Thank you Tech Elevator for helping me with a career change that dramatically improved my quality of living!

Yes its expensive, Yes its hard, and Yes its worth it.
Before TE I was working doing tech support and was unhappy with my prospects in that field. So I made the jump and picked TE for two main reasons. 
First - Success Rate. I'm a fan of data and CIRR report was what tipped me over the edge to make the jump
Second - it was remote and flexible.  Since I have a family I needed to support at home as well. 

The program curriculum you can look up and its challenging for people who aren't technical but it will push you regardless of your comfort coming in. Vue isn't as popular but its a great gateway to other frameworks imo and if you land a job with Vue then you're well positioned. Make time to study and start a discord group as assignments are not just meant to build foundations but also expand your understanding of software architecture. The final project is group based, but a real challenge is to do the project again but alone and in the same time frame.
But what I want so write about is not about the hard skills you build there.
What I want to write is that during the program I found out my wife was pregnant again and the pressure cooker was on. I was on the verge of growing my family and I needed to provide assuming I could find a job at the end of the program. I made it but what I want to say is that its thanks to the staff at TE who helped my with interviews, resume prep, and the network of people who will lead you in the right direction. 
The program got me to where i can support my family and while it wasn't the dream job, it is enough. 

I was in an online class (National Live Remote) but attended the Pittsburgh pathway program via zoom since I live in the greater Pittsburgh area and was looking for a job in my area. If you would like to attend remote classes but live near a campus location I highly recommend that you attend an NLR cohort that coincides with the in-person cohort so that you can attend the local matchmaking at the end of the bootcamp.
The pathway directors did an outstanding job all throughout the bootcamp, offering individual support and advice with resume, LinkedIn, interview prep, job search, and went above and beyond organizing matchmaking. I am currently working as a software engineer associate, a job offered to me as a result of matchmaking. 
Be aware that this is an incredibly intense program. For me, having never done any coding aside from the prework (which I found a piece of cake), this amounted to 80-90 hours a week during most of the bootcamp. If you have prior experience, it will obviously not be as intense for you. In hindsight, I wish that I would have spent time learning the basics of Java in addition to the prework before the bootcamp. It would have decreased the stress level of the first two weeks. 
A typical day for me included 3 hours of technical lecture in the morning, a 1-hour pathway program in the afternoon, followed by several hours of graded homework (many days it took me 6-8 hours to complete the homework), reading several chapters for the next day, completing a quiz on the reading, completing a tutorial, and then it started all over again. Every NLR class had an academic fellow who was available for tutoring in the afternoon. Our academic fellow offered half-hour zoom slots in the afternoon to anyone who was struggling with the homework or any concept, which was super helpful and made a huge difference. The weekends were busy with pair programming and pathway homework. I literally didn’t have time for anything else during the bootcamp. Note that the first two weeks are by far the most intense, so don’t give up, it does get better! 


Was it worth it? 100%! I can totally recommend it as long as you know that you are signing up for the 14 most intense weeks of your life and plan accordingly. 

Before Tech Elevator, I had left my previous job to find my passion and pursue other opportunities. I begain by taking short, free online coding courses, but I knew that wouldn't be enough to have a career in this industry. I reached out to a colleague that graduated from Tech Elevator the year prior, and asked for more information. Ultimately, I ended up applying, interviewing and getting accepted to the bootcamp.

The course was rigorous, stressful and a huge learning curve. The instructors, however, were extremely helpful, patient and motivating. They offered support and reassurance when needed, and guided you to being your best self. The pathway directors helped you rewrite your resume as well as your LinkedIn profile to ensure you would stand out from the rest of the crowd. The matchmaking event held by Tech Elevator allowed me to meet with many different prospective employers, and find the company that best suited me.

After graduation, I received 3 offers from different companies, ranging from small to large in size. I chose to accept the offer from my city's power company as a software developer. Based on my increase in salary, as well as the numerous future career opportunities with my new postion, the money spent was well worth it.

Hey everyone, 
 I graduated from Tech Elevator Java Bootcamp in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago. I suggest you to choose this course if you are still considering it because there are many reasons. First of all, my background. I worked as a caregiver for a couple of years, later became a truck driver, and opened my small logistics business. The industry has been under heavy pressure recently, so I decided to move into IT. I started my education at TE in September 2022. This course provides you with essential knowledge in software development and career development.
 I will start with software development. I had Michael Levy as the main instructor and two academic fellows, Evan Amezcua and Robyn Florentz. All these people were highly supportive and willing to help everyone. Robyn and Evan sometimes stayed late to help me figure out problems or explain fundamental concepts. I never felt like there was no support. You can ask questions through slack if you are away. Michael is always willing to help; there was a moment when we were stuck on some issue on our final project, and he visited us during the weekends and helped us out. Tech Elevator will provide a very informative “book” with all the essential information and good examples of implementing your knowledge. You will have homework to do almost every day. The system of homework is well-built. You can test yourself and get general feedback in a manner of seconds.
On the career development side, I had Carly Trimboli and Monika Royal-Fischer. These people are something. They fight for your opportunities to find a job. They will show you so many hidden secrets of soft skills. They will navigate you in all aspects and give you suggestions in any situation (resume, pitch, behavioral questions). They are looking for hiring partners in Cincinnati that are looking for developers, so if you make it to the end of the course, you might get an offer even before graduation (I was lucky enough to get an offer two days before graduation). You will have homework in career development as well. One of the most important aspects was face-to-face sessions with your career director, where you can ask questions and be provided with essential suggestions.
This course is worth its money, and you will get the best help from the team that it is possible to get. I have no negative comments. If you dedicate all your time to this process, you will get the results! I highly suggest this course! Good luck!

I truly could not say enough positive things about my experience with Tech Elevator. The instructors were all extremely knowledgable and went above and beyond to make sure each student succeeded. The career prep program was also very strong. I came from a completely unrelated field and a few months worth of self-teaching with FreeCodeCamp and Codecademy, and was able to secure a full-time job as a software developer before graduation.

In terms of technical instruction, the basic structure includes a lecture from 9am-noon (sometimes a little later) every day, followed by daily exercises and weekly pair programming assignments. Instruction is divided into three main units, each ending with a "capstone" project, including a final capstone at the end where you build a full-stack application together with a small group of your peers. Each evening there are readings and tutorials to do in addition to your exercises, which help prepare you for the next day's lecture. The instructors are very available for help whenever needed. My program was in-person, so most students would stay on campus all afternoon to complete the homework, this way you could ask instructors any time you got stuck, and your classmates were there for support as well. In my experience, the instructors were great at giving pointers when you got stuck to help you find the solution on your own. Any time I needed help grasping a particular concept, they were always happy to spend the extra time with me one-on-one to make sure I understood. In my opinion, the quality of instruction at Tech Elevator is top notch, and absolutely worth the cost of tuition. I am a relatively self-motivated person, but learning coding on my own was much more difficult than having instructors available for questions, and having a well-structured curriculum to follow. The "capstone" projects were also an invaluable part of my technical learning. They really helped me tie concepts together and put my learning into practice.

The "Pathway Program," Tech Elevator's career prep program, typically had workshops, panels, and presentations in the afternoons. These were extremely helpful in eventually landing a job. They really make sure you understand how to best market yourself, and give you tons of opportunities to network with people in the field (hiring managers, recruiters, and alumni and others working as software devs or adjacent roles). There are also plenty of one-on-one meetings, both formal and informal, to help you prepare your resume and get ready for job interviews. The pathway directors were by my side every step of the way, and were absolutely instrumental in helping me get a job so quickly. I know not everyone gets a job right away like I did, but they are truly lovely people who are committed to making sure that everyone gets a position they are happy with, and they will not give up on you! 

Where Tech Elevator shines is the structure, the instructors and the like-minded classmates you meet along the way. Tons of resources are offered. Mock interviews, help with exercises, help with personal projects. Even after graduation, instructors are eager to help and genuinely interested in what you're working on. A lot of time is also spent on the job-searching side of things but nothing is guaranteed. I did not get many calls back and ultimately got my job through the matchmaking program at TE. If you are on the fence, I advise talking to everyone in your area on LinkedIn and see how effective TE was for them. Also, take advantage of every opportunity that's offered and don't get discouraged.

Tech Elevator was a huge help to my career. I had graduated from college with a degree in computer science a year before but had trouble getting a job and I feel as though the career aspect of the boot camp really pushed me to succeed. All of the help with LinkedIn, Resumes, Interviews, and the great guidance of the Pathway directors and both Tom's was insane. I can't thank Tom Anderson and Tom Medvitz enough for being so good at what they do. The courses really teach you everything you need for a foundation in a full stack environment and I couldn't have been happier with the results. It is a lot of work, and for weeks at a time you may not know what you're doing. Stick with it, ask questions, keep trying and keep digging, and then when you get about halfway through the next module the last 6 or so weeks should make sense, like a switch flipped.

Tech Elevator thoroughly prepared me to enter the tech job market. They taught me the technical skills to be proficient in interviews and junior level positions as well as provided ample resources to find a job that suited me. The staff was very knowledgeable in their areas of expertise and demonstrated this effectively. They did a fantastic job of fostering a challenging yet supportive environment for all the students looking to make a new career in tech. My life has changed trajectory for the better thanks to the Tech Elevator program and the people I met going through it. I highly recommend Tech Elevator to anyone looking to break into tech.

Tech Elevator is a great experience for those who are wanting to change their career path and who are willing to put in lots of work. I worked in education for 11 years and had almost zero programming experience before applying. It's true that Tech Elevator's curriculum and instructors (speaking for the Columbus ones) are so good that you can go from complete beginner to actually building a full-stack app in 14 weeks. Frequently throughout the program, I doubted whether I would really learn all of the concepts, but I did. I owe it to two amazing instructors, Matt Eland and John Fulton, who are extremely knowledgeable, approachable, and invested in their students' success. I asked probably thousands of questions over 14 weeks and they were both so helpful and patient. Tech Elevator's style of instruction helped me internalize new concepts much more quickly than if I was doing self-study. Each day there was direct instruction/lecture on a concept, some guided practice during the lesson, and then a homework exercise to apply the concept. The three capstone projects, while very challenging and often stressful, were great opportunities to bring many concepts together and work with a team. Aside from the technical part of the bootcamp, the Pathway Program helped me get career-ready. The resume feedback and interview prep in particular made me feel more confident entering a new career field. Almost exactly two months after graduation, I started my new job as an associate software engineer. There is no way I would have been able to do this without enrolling in Tech Elevator. There were long days, stressful moments, and many feelings of self-doubt, but I would do it all over again.

I will be upfront and say that while this review may seem a little critical and unyielding in what I perceive to be some of the flaws in my experience and I do not want to convey TE as being a "bad" program. TE does a fine job of touting the positives of their program, as do many of their alum. My job here is to show you what I perceive as the negatives in my experience that I wish was relayed to me before I signed up as that information is far harder to come by.
So why signup for Tech Elevators' bootcamp?..
For me it was to gain insight from industry professionals, learn through an "industry proven" path, and most importantly, gain an edge in the hiring market, hopefully forming connections through hiring partners that would expedite job placement. Unfortunately, while there was many great parts to this program some of that quickly becomes overshadowed by the more important aspects that are lacking. Discrepancies that are touted as quite the opposite during the sign up sales pitch.
Lets be clear... Anything you can/will learn from this bootcamp can be gained from FREE programs online. That is no secret. 
The benefits, educationally, lie in the fact that you are provided a path which to learn (Java->Backend/Database->Frontend); are held accountable to completing the material in a given time frame(not necessarily understanding); and are able to learn and employ this knowledge alongside fellow students / industry professionals. In this respect TE has delivered fairly well given the time constraints of the program.
 Many students come in with little to no programming experience, and they "learn" quite a bit. I say "learn" because to be honest I do not feel the bulk have really came to grasp with the majority of the material, nor will they really be able to retain what they have learned without continued progression post graduation. This is a 14 week program... without prior understanding of CS concepts or technical experience there is no base to tie much of the information together or a way of grasping the nuance to why we are doing what we are doing at any given point. Learning is more, this is the recipe, employ it in this new situation. 
That being said the majority of the teaching staff is very adamant in doing all that they can to help you along the way. I do get the feeling that many of them genuinely care and want to do everything they can to get you through the material (without holding your hand). Unfortunately, there is a definite disparity in the teaching abilities among the staff. All of the teachers know the material, many are great programmers in their own right. This does NOT translate into making them good teachers! My teacher tried very hard and even attempted to adapt when concerns were raised about many in our class not grasping the material presented. Ultimately this did not help and myself, along with others in our class ended up having to watch recordings from other classes most days to get a solid foundation on the homework that had to be completed that day. On this fact alone, I have had many conversations with fellow classmates concerning the fact that we feel like we got ripped off vs other students. We were granted access to resources and the ability to ask for help from other instructors, but that does not give me back the 3 hours per day out of an already tight schedule.
It should also be noted that going into the program it is eluded that you will be "in class" for approximately 8 hours a day. The fact is you will only actually be in class for 3 hours a day. The rest of your day will be spent in zoom breakout rooms. You can ask for help from instructors / TAs but most of the time you will have to wait or no one is available. There is no one keeping you there for the "required time". 
That is only about 15 hours of actual class per week, or 210 hours of class over 14 weeks, or about $80 per hour (per student!) , however you want to look at it.
Let me clarify, while I have personal gripes about the educational experience, compared to other camps I have heard worse, and overall I feel like they realistically delivered with the time constraints.
Now for the bigger issue at hand...
One of the main selling points for TE and one of the main reasons people go to a bootcamp is to expedite employment. For TE this is the Pathway program (aka career program). 
 Like I said above, YOU CAN LEARN EVERYTHING OFFERED WITHOUT PAYING A DIME! People attend a bootcamp so that they can land an entry level tech position in a matter of months vs years, and furthermore so they can have reputable institution back them. This is a tall order and to be clear TE makes no guarantees, nor could they without the possibility of lawsuit. That is understandable. However, the way they pitch the pathway program and their "employer network" has been VERY misleading, at least in regard to my cohort.
I am two weeks post graduation and to my knowledge out of the 80 or so people in my cohort only 4 or 5 have secured employment, of which they did so through personal effort/connections! 
Throughout the program there are mandatory attendance "employer showcases". The unfortunate fact was besides the fact that not one of them are hiring entry level developers, most require bachelors degree or higher (regardless of ability and relevant skills). One employer, after being vague and beating around the bush, went as far as to say that they want some one with either a 4 year degree in CS or 8 years work experience in the tech industry! WHY am I attending a bootcamp if I have 8 years in the industry! At best it was a disappointment, at worst it was a waste of time that could have been better utilized studying or making meaningful connections. 
The main "employer matchmaking" event was a joke! Some students got two 30-minute interviews, some three, lucky couple got 4 interviews. The best part was these "interviews" were not interviews. Most got a 15 minute sales pitch about the company and then asked if there was any questions... which makes sense because none of them are currently hiring!
Beyond the employer portion the highlight of Pathway was they did provide some assistance with resume and LinkedIn profile construction. Albeit the information provided, while useful, was overly generic. Sure they had a couple personal one on ones, but if I am being honest it too was very generic. In fact, I actually received more pertinent resume advice from a recruiter during the matchmaking event than I did from pathway.
I understand pathway has to tend to the needs of 80 students, some of whom are lacking communication skills or are socially awkward, but for around 17 thousand dollars a head I expected better.
The economy is in shambles, tech is suffering, and the outlook for bootcamp grads currently is not bright, but if anything I wish TE had been more upfront and honest about what it can offer instead of making euphemisms, shallow promises, and wasting our time with "mandatory" events that had no relevance/usefulness to many of us.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with TE. I definitely feel I learned quite a bit, made solid connections, and hopefully helped others in the process. 
For those considering joining future cohorts, I implore you to look into it as much as possible and weigh your options. It is likely one of the better options when it comes to bootcamps, but it may not be the best option for you. Either way I wish you all the luck in the world! Stay strong and persistent and anything is possible! 

While this bootcamp is very challenging and time consuming it is one of the most fulfilling experiences I've ever had as it has equipped me with the skills to enter the workforce at a young age, as well as offer personal/career development. What distinguished this bootcamp from others in my mind is the fact that they offered this career development that allowed me to become better at interviewing, and selling myself as a candidate which is invaluable moving forward in the future as a 21 year old graduate from the bootcamp. Their matchmaking service near the end of the camp is another key factor in my decision to go with this bootcamp and it couldn't have paid off any better as I received my job offer from my company through their prearranged meeting thanks to Tech Elevator. While the curriculum is a great foundation and gives you plenty of hands on experience it is designed mostly to be easy to teach and learn about so you should be willing to spend the little free time that you have during bootcamp days to explore what interests you with coding outside of what they teach. Definitely a great experience and I would recommend it to any currently looking for a coding bootcamp.

I cannot speak highly enough about my experience with Tech Elevator.  I will write about my experience in a moment, but first I would like to detail my experience after the bootcamp since that is likely what anyone reading reviews is looking for.  Obviously everyone's experience with a job search will differ, but I graduated towards the end of December and had an offer by the beginning of March.  I firmly believe that the reason that it even took that long was that the beginning of a new year is generally before budgets and requisitions are approved.  I was able to get exactly the job that I wanted and my transition into tech took 6 months (started TE in September, got the job offer in March).  I attended this bootcamp specifically because several friends of mine had already attended and were hired quickly as well.  I know that people sometimes question the validity of bootcamp job placement rates, but I can attest to the fact that everyone I know who attended TE was able to get a job in tech and are still working.

I chose the Java track, but C# is also available.  Everyone who works at TE is incredibly dedicated, nice, and genuinely wants you to succeed.  After graduating from TE, my workplace has rated my development skills as "intermediate", which actually put me in the position to be able to teach back-end development (Java, SQL, RESTful APIs) to other new hires.  I cannot stress enough how little I knew about development prior to attending TE, so this speaks incredibly well of their abilities.  The technical knowledge that you gain is invaluable, obviously, but there are also other huge benefits to choosing this program.  The PATHWAYS program also helps you develop your resume, curate your social presence, helps you present yourself, and gets you mock interviews (and some real ones!) with real senior developers/hiring managers so you can get useful feedback going forward.  I should also mention that presenting your capstone project is great practice for the demos you will inevitably be giving once you start working.

You will see many people online suggest that bootcamps are overrated/overpriced, and that everything can be found online for free.  While that is true to a certain extent, I would make the decision to attend TE 100 times over.  I needed to treat learning like a job, needed the direction in what to learn and the scope of knowledge provided by TE, the practice pair programming, working within an agile structure, the confidence that comes from doing mock interviews and having a solid resume, and the support that I got while facing the inevitable mountain of rejections while applying for a junior developer role.  The sheer volume of knowledge that is available makes determining what is necessary/important incredibly difficult without direction.  If I had been able to make the transition successfully without TE at all, I can guarantee that it would have taken FAR longer on my own.  

I will also detail what this bootcamp is not:
1.  Easy - you will almost certainly believe that you made a mistake for at least the first several weeks of the bootcamp.  Impostor syndrome will kick in and doesn't really go away until you get your first job and work it for a while.  This happens to literally everyone, so don't let being nervous stop you from changing your life.  I was convinced that I didn't really know what I was doing right up until I started teaching what I know to other people in my position.
2.  All encompassing - part of transitioning to development means understanding that learning is just part of your day now.  TE will provide you with the building blocks of a career in development, but the day you graduate is the day you have to start learning on your own to keep focused and growing.  This is probably the biggest determinant of being successful in the field, so please know that going in.  

Also, some advice unrelated to TE for anyone considering transitioning careers:
1.  Hackathons are really, really fun.  They seem very daunting at first, but you need to understand that people from all levels of knowledge and tech stacks will be involved so it is a great way to practice working with a team, get exposed to new technologies/ways of doing things, and presenting your work to people who will question you.  I let fear of embarrassment stop me from doing them for a while and I regret it.  They are a blast.
2.  Algorithms.  Assessments sites like LeetCode, Hackerrank, Codesignal, etc. are the gatekeepers to a lot of jobs.  Despite the fact that a junior developer will absolutely not need to be well versed in algorithms to do their job (this is also true of most senior developers), a lot of companies have started using these assessments as a way to cut down on the number of applicants they need to review, so start practicing these early.

Signing up for Tech Elevator was a huge leap of faith. It was a scary commitment and a lot of effort. However, with the amazing support of everyone at TE, the days inched by until I accepted a full time offer on our very last day.

The instructors were both very knowledgeable and encouraging. They took the time to explain concepts and assignments in detail, always emphasizing to not be afraid of asking questions which is an absolute must in the industry. They genuinely care for the growth of the students, even setting time aside for optional sessions to dive deeper into certain topics. Everyone at TE was exceptional, I never left an interaction feeling disappointed or under supported.

I signed up for the Full-Time remote Java course and looking back, I believe TE made a great decision on the cadence and order of their curriculum. The initial process involved a short online assessment, followed by an interview. The process was simple and seamless, no issues. Upon acceptance, about two weeks prior to the first day, we were given a number of introductory assignments (variables, conditionals, loops, etc.). Once in full swing, the days consisted of class time during the first half of the day followed by coursework and other events on the second half. If I recall correctly, main topic segments included Java/OOP, database, and front-end in that order. Often times, those new to programming are introduced with basic front-end topics like HTML and CSS. While simpler and still important, it's misleading as they don't capture the reality students are stepping into. I appreciate TE jumping straight into Java and programming logic, as it gives a better view of the abstractness and complexity developers deal with day to day. 

A very important part of the TE curriculum is the Pathway program. Absolutely take it seriously, practice what's taught repeatedly, and do everything being asked even if it's optional. At the end of the course comes Matchmaking day, arguably the most important event. It's the day where students will have first round interviews with a number of different companies. When it comes to first time applicants, landing first rounds is the most difficult part. It's not unheard of to only hear back from one out of a hundred cold applications. Being able to pick a few companies for first rounds is an opportunity that should not be taken lightly, even by those with plenty of interview experience. 

The pace is brisk and there is a lot to cover. It's also important to not get complacent and think doing the minimum to graduate is enough. The more you can hone your technical and interview skills, the more likely you'll reach your goal. And at the end of the day, students will get out what they put in. On your own time, besides reviewing and digging deeper into the topics covered, it would be helpful to regularly commit to coding exercises from LeetCode/HackerRank. While they seem like brain-teasers, being comfortable working with those assessments will help when interviewing with companies that use that style of technical screening.

Overall, I had a very positive experience from Tech Elevator. Yes there is only so much you can learn in a span of a few months, the course is not some miracle pill. It will take a lot of effort on the students' part, but I can honestly say students will receive what they put in. Everything I've learned from TE has been applied regularly in my day to day and the curriculum sets a solid foundation for new developers to further build upon. If I had to, I would certainly do it all over again and with Tech Elevator.

I’ve attended several universities, technical colleges, and military schools.  I can say with full confidence that Tech Elevator was the best educational experience I have ever had.  After graduating college with an arts degree, I had a difficult time finding a good-paying job.  After three months at Tech Elevator my career completely shifted gears.  I’m making more money now than I ever have.  My career is now challenging and fulfilling.  TE is the real deal!

Tech Elevator worked for me! I even landed a job at a global technology company before finishing the 14-week program! 
The curriculum is solid, well organized, and taught in a way that really helped me absorb and retain the information, even at the accelerated pace it was being provided. There are a couple of topics I would have liked to go more in-depth on, but Tech Elevator does a wonderful job of teaching you to "learn how to learn", so diving into those areas is much less daunting than before.
The instructors are all amazing, knowledgeable, supportive, and fun people. They are all passionate about their students' success and go out of their way to ensure you understand the material and have all your questions answered. There is also a fantastic group of academic fellows that are always around to help on those long homework sessions or just to chat for a bit and decompress.
The same goes for the Pathway Program folks who do a stellar job preparing you for the job search with resume/LinkedIn reviews, practice interviewing, discussions about job search strategy, and plenty of opportunities to network and connect with current industry developers, recruiters, and TE alumni.
Meeting and working with all the other students was a joy and I have made some great friends along the way. Attending Tech Elevator was easily one of the best decisions I could have made for my career!

I have so much good to say about Tech Elevator, and a handful of things I wish had been done differently. I'm going to share my thoughts on, 1) TE staff and support, 2) curriculum, 3) the Pathway program (career prep/counseling), and 4) the overall purpose of a short-term boot camp and how I feel TE stacks up against that.

First, I want to express just how amazing all of the TE staff is. I truly felt that everyone at TE was both competent to teach the material and genuinely wanted me to succeed. On many occasions, staff members met with me personally to go over concepts I was struggling with, or work through interview and job application anxieties. In my experience, the only time you will ever be lacking assistance is when you don't ask for it. My instructors and Pathway program directors (career counselors) were amazing and I will forever be grateful for the time and energy they devoted to us, students. I believe the staff support is the best thing TE has going for it, and is the program's biggest draw.

Second, the catch-22 of transitioning to software development is that it is hard to know what curriculum to follow when you have little or no prior exposure to the tech world. I assumed that any tech stack a legitimate boot camp was promoting would prepare me for the current job marketplace. In retrospect, I wish I had been more thoughtful about that decision. Here's what TE does a good job at:

• You will have the fundamentals of object-oriented programming (OOP) drilled into you, and this will give you a solid foundation from which to build a great coding skillset regardless of tech stack.
• TE does a good job of grounding you in Java, which is great if you want to work in Java. Having more exposure to other languages now as a working developer I have learned that Java is a very verbose language, meaning you have to write a lot of boilerplate code that is handled for you in other languages. This is not a bad thing, just something to consider. Java is still one of the leading languages in terms of available jobs, and in fact, landed me my first job. So I shouldn't complain, right? (I'm personally hoping to move away from Java going forward.)
• You will have a decent understanding of SQL (relational databases, very marketable), API's (accessing data from a server, specifically with the Spring framework, also marketable), and a high-level understanding of how full-stack applications work.
• The sense of community and connection TE achieves in a remote environment is truly awesome. It does not entirely happen on its own though. I know I had a better experience in this regard than some in part because I reached out to my assigned study group on Slack immediately once we were assigned, and began setting up study sessions from week one. Now, I consider all of those people friends.

Here's what I did not think TE did a good job at:

• Front-end development in general.
• As preparation before your TE boot camp begins they will have you do some Free Code Camp courses on JavaScript, which I think they're expecting will set you up to cover JavaScript in the third and final module of the boot camp in just about a week. Not to make too big a deal out of this, but literally, everyone I spoke with in my cohort felt underprepared to jump into the Vue framework after this week. A solid foundation in Vanilla JavaScript (that's the term for plain old JavaScript) is essential to learn any JavaScript framework, and we did not have that. My caveat to this is that the best learning happens when you get your hands into the code and start using it, but it makes for a very stressful final capstone project as you feel like you still don't understand Vue when you have to use it to build a front-end UI from scratch.
• A note on Vue: I understand TE's reasoning for teaching Vue is that it is easier to teach and learn than other JavaScript frameworks (see Angular and React), from which point you can more easily learn other frameworks. However, in my experience, and by all of the job numbers I've seen, Vue is the least marketable JS framework of the three mentioned, with React being the most marketable, followed by Angular, and then by a large margin Vue.
• If you're interested in front-end development (building out the UIs that people will interact with) I would consider looking elsewhere.

Third, the Pathway program. The one-on-one instruction and career counseling I received, along with mock interviews with TE staff and outside professionals were incredible! The curriculum on the online textbook was good, and the two-to-three times a week hour-long zoom classes covering that material were, honestly, a big distraction from what I felt I really needed to focus on, the coding. Often times these sessions felt like a total recap of what I had already read in the textbook. Probably half of the employer showcases felt like they were from companies that wanted to take advantage of young devs, or regionally specific, which as someone with a family unwilling to relocate was a complete waste of time. However, the other half had some truly stellar companies that I would be excited to work for. The problem is none of them offered me a job... :P Overall, I think the pathway program should refocus its attention on one-on-one development sessions, and cut a lot of the fat.

Fourth and finally, I believe the ultimate purpose of a boot camp should be to make their students the most prepared, and marketable they can be in the time frame they have. As mentioned, my two biggest qualms with the TE program were the unnecessary Pathway program events that got in the way of my studying and learning the technical skills (making me prepared), and the poorly implemented front-end development module (making me marketable). If TE could figure out how to cram more JavaScript into the 14-week schedule, and then teach either the Angular, or preferably React framework on top of that I would consider it a five-star program. As is, they're not doing a bad job. In fact, I landed my first dev internship a week to the day after graduating. Others in my cohort landed jobs upon graduation, and still, others landed jobs a month, two, three, or six after graduating. 

There seems to be some randomness as to who lands a job when, regardless of preparedness and marketability. Ultimately, you just have to take that first step of learning to code. For me, it was Tech Elevator, and it worked out in the timeframe I needed it to. For that I am grateful. This program is expensive, though, and I recognize that I could have taken other steps that may or may not have made me more prepared or marketable for less money. It's impossible to know for sure. I believe you would do well to choose TE, but there are other great programs out there. Do your research and take that step. It's so worth it!

When I started at Tech Elevator, I did not know what to expect. However I knew I would be challenged. 
 
Not only was I challenged with coding, but I was challenged mentally to see how I could push myself through a rigorous program for 14 weeks. I was able to to do this not only from the support of the students who were also in the program with me, but from the support from the staff. Whether it be the Pathway team, the instructors, I never ever felt alone when struggling. 

Tech Elevator was certainly life changing. I met amazing people whom I still stay in touch with. I was able to break into tech which I wasn’t able to do before I joined Tech Elevator. But most importantly, I was successful in completely a bootcamp in which had me learn a couple years of coding into 14 weeks. 

I highly recommend Tech Elevator. I even miss the bootcamp sometimes!  

Tech Elevator was a big step to helping me transition into a career in tech. Previously I dabbled in some basic web development but I knew I wanted to get more serious about it. I researched coding bootcamps and Tech Elevator was recommended almost everywhere I went. Between their reputation on different forums and from the statistics of previous graduates in the CIRR, Council on Integrity in Results Reporting, I went through the process to enroll and take the bootcamp. It gave me a great foundation and prepared me for interviewing. This in turn helped me land my first dev job where I am loving what I do.