Tech Elevator

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.