Tech Elevator

I have been looking how to get into the software engineering field from my dead-end career in real estate for about 2 years. Tried online courses, videos, even went to NYC for one week JavaScript Fundamentals class and didn’t like the vibe of that school. Got back to Pittsburgh, keep working in real estate, and one day in July had a really tough day at work and started looking for local bootcamps. Found out about Tech Elevator, read reviews, took aptitude test, scheduled interview with Justin (campus director), passed both interview and another aptitude test, and in July of 2019 I knew I was going to start in January 2020. I had doubts but decided to take a leap of faith and believed it would work out if I were to give it all I had. 

Tech Elevator staff made my heart melt on Day 1. They treat you like family, pull you out of your comfort zone for your own sake, and make you do what they know is the best for you. All you have to do is to trust them and work hard. The campus atmosphere is unbelievable. Somehow people you see for the first time in your life, become your friends very quickly. We worked hard and pretty much spent most of our time together, usually coding and drinking coffee/eating.

COVID-19 happened when we were 3/4 down the program. We were worried and exhausted.  Everyone (our instructors, our Pathway Directors, Campus Director, Admissions Coordinator, teaching fellow) was there for us at all hours. We had to switch to remote learning and kept pushing. By the graduation day most of people from my cohort had offers in their pockets. We still were able to get a job meanwhile other people had to face difficulties during the pandemic. The only thing I sometimes think about is why I didn’t get there earlier but that’s a different story.

This was by far the best educational experience I personally have had and I’m very grateful for that!

Let me start this review by stating I had no coding background before TE. I was a philosophy major in college and never finished my degree. Devastated by my inability to finish I became a career nomad. I tried several different industries including car sales, hospitality, low level management, retail, and real estate. I found myself at a dead end with every move, my income ceiling was a lot lower than expected and any hope for advancement came with a four year degree. I first heard about TE through an acquaintance who had finished a philosophy degree and was now a full stack dev for a local consulting firm. I simply brushed it off as something I could never do. Weeks passed and the daily grind continued. I came home one day to my room mate exclaiming he had been accepted to TE. I got the thought "man maybe I should do this". I was completely terrified, I knew nothing about hardware or software, no more than playing Civ IV and League of Legends. I took a complete risk, and it really paid off. I had no idea if this was something I could do. I was worried about not finishing like college, or not being able to grasp the concepts. I had my interview and to my surprise I was accepted. I still was unsure of myself and struggled through the pre-work. Fast forward to my first couple of weeks and I am really at a loss. I struggled and I struggled hard. Every day was spent putting in the work and listening to every detail the Pathway program presented. Tom A my instructor challenged me to think, he challenged me to overcome my fears of failure. At the start of Module 3 COVID hit. We were disbanded from our normal brick and mortar classroom and moved to Zoom classes. My fear kicked back in. Now the worry was getting a job during the start of a global pandemic. Ellen and Jennifer reassured me that if I trusted the process and did my best everything would be okay. I put my fears aside and trusted the people at TE. I was offered a position before graduation. I have been working in the field a couple months now and couldn't be happier. TE gave me the skill set to work in the tech field but it also gave me a true framework for overcoming those fears of the unknown, failure, and rejection. I still have my moments as we all do. The stat's prove this process at TE works, follow logic and not emotion. I went from a low level real estate position to being a Jr Software Dev with nothing but a chance. TE really did change my quality of life. If you are considering applying, just do it. Set aside those negative thoughts and take the chance. 

My Background: I graduated with a degree in Music Performance six years ago and worked as a freelance musician before Tech Elevator. I was teaching lessons, touring the country, recording, and doing all sorts of musical odd jobs. It was a very rewarding career, but I found that I hit a point where I had hit all of my goals and no longer felt challenged. I wanted a new career that was mentally stimulating and rewarded hard-work and continued learning, but would still allow room for creative problem solving. Last summer, I took a few online courses on Edx in different topics that interested me to explore the idea of a possible career shift. One of those courses was Harvard's CS50, which introduced me to coding. I found that the abstract thinking and deep thought required to code was very similar to the creative headspace of composing music and felt at home. Around that same time, I met Jeff Jeung, Campus Director of Tech Elevator's Detroit campus, at a local event in Detroit and heard him do a presentation on their curriculum. Tech Elevator had just opened in Detroit and their Fall cohort was about to begin so I decided to enroll.

Admission Process:

The first thing I noticed about Tech Elevator was how seriously they took the admissions process. I was surprised that Tech Elevator's admissions process felt more thorough than when I had applied to college. It was clear to me that they only let students into the program that they believe can succeed. I took an online assessment made up of logic puzzles and then attended an open house event to learn more about the program. After that, I went back to the campus for a 60 minute interview where I discussed my story, my goals, what brought me to Tech Elevator, and was asked behavioral questions. The interview was a very pleasant experience and was very conversational. After that, I had to take a more comprehensive 90-minute assessment. After receiving the good news of my admission and deciding to enroll, Tech Elevator sent out approximately 40 hours of pre-work that covered the basics of coding.

Why Tech Elevator?

 I'm inherently not a risk taker in life, so the thought of spending a lot of money on a program that had no guarantee of landing me any job had me skeptical at first. I did several weeks of research on various bootcamps, in Detroit and in other cities, and spoke to bootcamp grads to try and gain a picture of what it would be like, whether it was worth it, and what to look for in a bootcamp. The two biggest things I found in my research were to look for programs that are transparent with their job statistics and look for programs that are selective. Tech Elevator works with a 3rd party auditing company to verify all of their statistics, which made it a lot easier to trust their statistics and I've already mentioned how thorough their admissions process is.

At the time, I was also considering self-learning and going back to college. I thought that four years and spending a lot more money seemed impractical for my situation, and while I'm confident I could teach myself coding with all of the great available resources online, the idea of actually getting a job seemed intimidating.   In the end, one of the final turning points for me was coming to Course Report and reading a review from a past TE student that had come from a very similar background as me and found success, so I hope to whoever is reading this, that this review helps to guide your decision too!

What Part of the Program Helped Me The Most?:

What sets Tech Elevator apart from other bootcamps is that they have what they call the Pathway Program, which is a parallel course to the coding curriculum that teaches you how to get a job. We started with writing and rehearsing elevator pitches, and then moved on to creating LinkedIn pages, going to meetups, learning to network, resume workshops, and doing mock interviews. A lot of these activities put me outside of my comfort zone, but being pushed to do five rewrites of your resume or being assigned to send three private messages to potential networking contacts on LinkedIn was invaluable to getting a job. Pathway was led by Nicole, who did an incredible job making me feel confident and provided invaluable feedback. By the time it came to applying for jobs, I felt really prepared with the whole process so that I could put all of my focus on interviewing and showing off my best side, instead of stressing about the little things.

The Pathway Program culminated in a Matchmaking Event where each student interviewed with a half dozen hiring partners in the Detroit area. Prior to Matchmaking, each company came in to do a presentation about what they do and what they're looking for in an employee, which made it easier to prepare for the interviews. I was lucky to receive an offer that I ended up taking from Matchmaking.

Coding Curriculum:

Tech Elevator's curriculum is divided into four modules: core Java, databases, server-side web development, and client-side web development. Each module is several weeks long and culminates in a capstone project that is completed with one or more other students. Each day begins with several hours of lecture, followed by free time to work on the assignments. Outside of the lectures and homework, the days are also filled with Pathway events, review sessions, and special seminars to learn skills like Test-Driven Development. You'll find yourself staying late most days working on the homework and collaborating with other students and the instructors. Learning to collaborate and solve problems with classmates is invaluable and is a skill that will definitely come in handy in the real world. Andy and Margaret, the instructors, are both exceptional people and have unlimited patience when it comes to answering questions and troubleshooting bugs. It's safe to say that every student's success is very important to the instructors.

Getting a Job:

As mentioned before, I was very fortunate to secure employment during the program during the Matchmaking event. I was hired as an Associate Technical Consultant for a company called Perficient. They came in to do a presentation early in the cohort and returned for matchmaking. During matchmaking, I had what was mostly an HR interview where I was asked about why I was changing my career and some behavioral questions. After that, I was given a coding assignment to complete in one week. My second interview was presenting my project and walking through the code and answering questions. After that, I received an offer.

My job started with two months on-the-job training in a project-based setting and then I was put on my first real project doing web development for a major automotive company. So far in my career, I am wearing a lot of hats every day. I'm doing web development with AEM and React, working as an Automation Engineer writing scripts with Java Selenium, as well as some QA Lead responsibilities.

How Well Did Tech Elevator Prepare For My Job?

An important thing to understand with bootcamps is that no program can teach you everything you need to know to be a successful web developer. There is so much to learn and technology is always changing to the point that someone who has been working for decades is still learning everyday in their job. However, the most important thing you can learn from a bootcamp is how to be a good learner. If you can successfully consume and learn Tech Elevator's curriculum in fourteen weeks, it's a good sign you'll be ready for anything a job will throw at you. When you're new to coding, it seems really important to learn as many languages and frameworks as possible, but really what's important is learning to think like a software developer, using good patterns, and how to ask the right questions. At the end of the day, I'm not necessarily using specific skills I learned at Tech Elevator everyday, but I've learned how to pick up new skills quickly, how collaborate and communicate well with my team, and how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

Advice to Prospective/Future Students:

It's important to understand that simply attending Tech Elevator and completing the assignments will not guarantee you a job, but if you keep yourself accountable and push yourself there is a really good chance you'll find a lot of success. The best thing about enrolling in Tech Elevator is that you've committed fourteen weeks of your life to deep-diving into an exciting new world. It's rare in life to have such an awesome opportunity to focus entirely on one thing, so it's really important to make the most of your time. You'll learn a lot everyday in Tech Elevator, but you should still do your best to follow your curiosity outside of the curriculum. Anytime you see any word or line of code that you don't understand, google it. Any time that you're stuck on a problem and don't know what to do, ask a class mate or an instructor.

Personally, I made a concentrated effort to stay ahead of the readings at all times so that every lecture was reinforcing my knowledge, instead of hearing information for the first time. It's really important to try and work on a side project, even if it's small, so that when it comes to interviews you have something to talk about other than what you've learned in the bootcamp. I made a simple Tic-Tac-Toe game with Java and was able to talk about it in the interview that got me my job. Do your best to attend meet ups and network outside of class, it will be really helpful to have some contacts when it comes time for job hunts. I met someone at a meetup during Tech Elevator who is now a friend and a coworker. The time will move really quickly, so make sure to make the most of it, but also remember to enjoy the journey. Your classmates will feel like family by the end of the cohort and you should expect to form lasting friendships.

Also, I would recommend taking Harvard's CS50 before the bootcamp. It's free, will lay a great foundation, and will let you know if coding is for you. 

Bottom Line:

Tech Elevator was definitely a life-changing decision for me, and a really wonderful experience. I'm incredibly lucky that I was able to successfully shift careers in only a few months and it would not have been possible without Tech Elevator's help. I made a lot of great friendships with my classmates and the staff and always look forward to seeing them. Tech Elevator will be a very difficult experience and at times you may doubt your ability to succeed, but if you work hard and persevere, you will find that you're capable of doing amazing things.

 I choose Tech Elevator after reviewing sites like this one; I was impressed by their outcomes and commitment to independently reporting their results. I decided to make the change, and having completed my coursework, I can say there is no place where Tech Elevator did not meet or exceed my expectations. I’m now about to start my dream job in 2020; That in itself speaks volumes about the quality of instruction and career support. 

Tech Elevator will not be easy for anyone; I came in with a fairly solid technical background and found the work challenging. That said, anyone admitted can complete the work; the point of the immersion environment is to stretch your abilities in critical thinking, commitment, and collaboration skills. Plan for the challenge and be prepared to commit to the work. Soft skills are every bit as important to the program, so expect those to be developed as well. 

I could not be more impressed by Tech Elevator’s dedication to placing TE graduates. Despite having to adapt to a hiring environment where everyone was suddenly going remote or going into a hiring freeze, Tech Elevator’s staff worked tirelessly to help the members of my cohort find jobs, even reaching beyond the usual regional contacts to support a truly national job search for 2020 grads. 

If you feel passionate about technology and want to make a real career in software development, this is the place to go. If you’re just starting out, or looking for a career change, Tech Elevator will help you make it happen. 

6 months ago, I became unemployed and took stock of my life. I hadn't reflected before because I always made a decent income and had never been without work. I realized the world was moving ahead so fast, but I'd been standing still. Without being part of the tech world, I felt I'd become old and out of touch. I didn't complete my Bachelor's Degree, and never had any sort of coding nor computer science in college. After researching education possibilities, I decided on Tech Elevator's 14-week Java program. Personally, there were a lot of reasons their program appealed to me:

• Full Stack: I had no idea what a stack was, nor what front end and back end were. This program has allowed me to see the big picture and discover what kind of career path I'm interested in, what part of the stack I liked, and what technologies I had a knack for.
• Full Time and On Site: I wanted to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible. I had always been a crammer, feeling most interested when I could fully immerse myself into a project or subject without distractions. The amount of time dedicated to this program is NOT FOR EVERYONE. I often spent 60 hours in a week working on campus (and at home during COVID). The best thing the campus director did for my education was to warn my family that I would disappear for 14 weeks, and that their investment in my future was to support the disappearance. I preferred the on site classroom at the time because I felt that networking in person with the professionals and students would be valuable for my future in the industry. I have made lifelong friendships with brilliant people.
• Industry Experts as Instructors: The instructors come from the real world. They knew what current industry trends were, and taught in a way that we could gain a solid foundation while learning how to keep up with tech evolution. They taught us how to identify problems and what to research to find solutions.
• Job Assistance: Tech Elevator's Pathway Program helped us write great tech resumes, create impressive LinkedIn profiles, rehearse elevator pitches, apply for jobs, and interview with companies from a behavioral aspect as well as a technical aspect. This turned out to be the most important thing. I HATED doing this stuff, and the program had us building on these things a little at a time. I had the opportunity to get personalized help from the Pathway director, and she pushed me to complete the things that seemed unimportant while my priority was learning to code. The educational and Pathway support continued full-time even after graduation. The program also set us up with a number of interviews with local companies that were open to hiring boot camp grads. This "Matchmaking program" is where I connected with a great company and was offered a job a couple of COVID months after graduating. I can't appreciate this particular opportunity enough because I was so used to my resume being ignored due to not having a Bachelor's Degree. Given the chance to interview, I was able to prove that my work experience could make up for that. 

I have nothing negative to say about my experience, but want to offer something constructive:

• Detroit is a new campus, so I hope they continue building up the Matchmaking companies. More interviews with both large and small companies will be most valuable.
• There were a couple of summary classroom days that provided light bulb moments that put things together for the slower students (me). I wished there had been a couple more of these (although they have been provided after graduation!).

On a side note, the program was very very intense. I'm not a delicate person, but it broke me emotionally more than once, and I felt angry more than once. The support and encouragement that I received from everyone, especially the instructors (one of whom we dubbed "Mom"), other students, and the Pathway director pulled me through and made me a better person. This was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I feel like the luckiest gal in the cohort.

As a creative person, I always thought that computer programming was way too analytical to be a career option for me. But I went to an event hosted by Tech Elevator in which they showed me how I could utilize my creative genius to create beautiful websites! I took the test and signed up for the Spring Cohort. 
I had several months to hash over my decision... "Did I do the right thing?" "Was the risk going to pay off in the end?" I went through with it and I am so glad I did! 
The instructors are out-of-this-world amazing! The curriculum is incredible. But the best for me were all the amazing people I met that I now call my friends. The pathway program is the best and within a month of graduating I was able to land the most amazing job I have had in my life! 
If you are concerned whether or not it is worth the risk, I can assure you, it is more than worth it! I don't regret a single thing and have already recommended it to a friend who is currently in the program and loving it. Even with Covid-19, they work with you and help you become the best you could be. Thank you Tech Elevator!

When I chose to come to Tech Elevator to become a Full Stack Developer one of the large draws was the in person instruction. After trying multiple online courses I knew I needed that personal connection with an experienced, knowledgeable developer. I was a student in the spring of 2020 when COVID19 hit. When we had to transition to a remote classroom I know there were some reservations by a lot of us in the program but Tech Elevator came through and delivered a great experience like they do in all other areas. I still got live lectures with my instructor every morning and was able to interact with them in the same capacity. They were always available to help out and answer questions I may have had about lecture or an assignment. Tech Elevator also set up several virtual spaces for me and my classmates to collaborate and socialize during a time of social distancing. Throughout this entire transition Tech Elevator was extremely transparent and incredibly supportive to all their students. I couldn’t be more happy with my choice to enroll at Tech Elevator!

Preface: Upon starting the program at Tech Elevator unemployment was at a record low. By graduation unemployment was at a record high. Let that sink in. That’s a BIG deal but not news to any of you. I understand we’ve all been affected by this pandemic.  Tech Elevator...where to start? They have a beautiful campus, absolutely gorgeous but halfway through the cohort I was told that I’d be going remote in response to covid-19. That was a hard pill to swallow. I had many doubts but to my surprise it went very well.  Class still went on, our inside jokes continued, the relationships I had built in the classroom continued to grow stronger. I could also now go back and replay lectures if there was anything I needed to spend more time reviewing (super helpful!).  This begs the questions of why not go to one of the many 100% remote boot camps out there? The reason I’d say is because Tech Elevator has, and continues to build, strong relationships with local hiring partners. Also, the curriculum Tech Elevator teaches is the most valuable for employers and extremely flexible to transition to most roles in software development and/or engineering. I also must mention how amazing their career pathway program is too. LinkedIn, resume, elevator pitch, interview prep, interview practice to mention a few all make landing your dream job that much more promising.  Backing up: my career before TE was in “facilities” aka housekeeping. I was a housekeeping manager at a local university. I had no experience in coding or software development outside of some online tutorials I did before joining.  While working in housekeeping I was deeply dissatisfied for years, I was looking for something more, something I was proud of, something I could say I use my intellectual abilities to solve problems. After some rough times, I was laid off. At that point I felt very low but then realized that it was time for me to make a career change and do something I was proud of, enjoyed, felt challenged, and paid well. I’m a research fanatic so I did all the research in the world and landed on Tech Elevator (trust my research and save your time. This bootcamp WORKS).  I did not have a job offer upon graduation.  Remember this is during record low unemployment. During this time after graduation, Tech Elevator, was so committed to doing what’s best for their students they allocated 2 instructors to run a remote refresher/continuing education classes.  This was running alongside with something that basically mirrored their pathways program.  These dedicated instructors have lecture and office hours to keep students sharp. This was huge, I truly felt Tech Elevator wanted what was best for their students, but this was the true test and they passed.   Fast forward to today I have an offer for my dream job. When interviewing at Tech Elevator hosted - Matchmaking- I told the interviewer my 3-5 year plan was to become a project manager or scrum master. Just 10 days after graduating I received a call offering me a job where I’ll be shadowing a project manager and have their best scrum master as my mentor. As you can imagine I am beyond happy but honestly my journey has only just begun and this time it’s my way, this is my story. How are you going to write yours? 

As stated in the Title, STOP QUESTIONING AND PULL THE TRIGGER!

Hi, My name is Mike and I attended Tech Elevator Cohort 13 (January 2020 - April 2020). Let's start at the beginning, The feeling of "Should I get into this field?", "Should I go to a boot camp or a university?", "Is this really worth the money?".

I get it, I LIVED THROUGH IT AND I AM HERE TO PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE. So let's get started!

I will start off by answering what is probably your first question in your head.....Did I have a background in IT or coding? The answer is a flat no. Although growing up I was always tinkering with computers and just about any electronic I could get my hands on, I never actually coded or had worked in any IT job or field. Let me give you some background. I was and still am a Nationally Certified Critical Care Paramedic and Ohio Firefighter. I have worked for 2 different local fire departments over the course of a few years, as well as working in the emergency room within the Cleveland Clinic as a Critical Care Paramedic. I tell you this because even though I did not attend any coding classes or IT jobs prior to Tech Elevator, the reason you will succeed in this boot camp IS BECAUSE OF YOUR DIVERSE BACKGROUND! Tech Elevator and Coding in general will require many skills that are not related to IT in particular, but actual soft skills I guarantee that you have used in whatever career your are coming from. Tech Elevator and the IT field in generally actually LOVE the people that can come from another career and implement those skills from prior careers and jobs into your new career in software I promise you will love! Good at Multitasking? Communication? Critical Thinking/Analyzing? Love solving problems? Your looking at the right career and the right boot camp.

Alright, I know what my next big thought was when I was in your spot....."$16,000 for 14 weeks? NO WAY!".... Well, WAY, and there is a reason for it and I am here to tell you that I would spend every penny over again if I had to, here's why. When you agree to put your life on hold to start fresh and apply every ounce of sweat for 14 weeks, So does every single staff member at Tech Elevator. The staff at TE are there for you every step of the way....and then some. From your instructor for your class, to Valerie the pathway director,  down to the classmates that are sitting next to your going through the same crazy and nerve wracking experience as you are. You are not in this alone what so ever. You will learn multiple new concepts every single day that you are at class. You will then have that afternoon and evening to grasp the concept, apply it to your homework and be ready to build on that concept the following day in class. Now back to my $16,000 point. You will be fire hosed information on the daily, However you are going to learn everything you need to know to start out as a successful Junior Full Stack Software Developer within 14 weeks. NOT 2-4 YEARS at University.

I want to touch two more bases you need to read this one twice because if there is anything you take from this review in which you are basing your decision, it should be this. This brings me to The Pathway Program and Match Making. Split Tech Elevator into two programs. On the left side is Tech Elevator's Coding Bootcamp/Class in which you will learn, comprehend and apply concepts. On the right side, is a whole another program called Pathway. This is just as important as class. This is a flawless program ran by Valerie and Marty. They work around the clock to help you land a job by the end of the cohort. You will have workshops that will involve working on your resume, LinkedIn profile and even your personal brand or image! I know what your thinking... "Well my resume is good, and i can make a LinkedIn profile"....eehhhhhh but not like these. By the time of weeks 10-14 and you are applying to jobs and attending Match Making events, YOU WILL STAND OUT more than many students across all the universities and boot camps, I guarantee it! Did I mention you will have Mock interviews with instructors and even real recruiters?? Ya, It's for real. I have one important message in which I will close out this rambling review with and please read this about 10 times:

YOU WILL ONLY GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN!

With that being said, You will hear the instructors/directors say one phrase over and over again and that is:
"Trust The Process"
 I stand here still as a Certified Critical Care Paramedic/Firefighter and NOW as a Full Stack Developer/Programming Analyst working in a full-time position in which I accepted on the day of my Tech Elevator Graduation.

I am here to tell you that someone who has suffered with major anxiety their whole life, YOU CAN DO THIS!

If your are on the fence and would like to pick my brain..... Yea, here is my actual email I created specifically for you to ask me anything about Tech Elevator or even the field in general!                                                                                                                         Softdeveloper6698@gmail.com  

 "If it doesn't scare you, your not pushing yourself. No progress in personal improvement was ever elevated by staying within your comfort zone."
-Mike S

For those of you considering joining this program and thinking to yourselves, "I'm not a tech guy, I don't write code, I can barely understand what those errors on web pages mean!" You aren't alone. When I was first told about this program, I brushed it off at first, thinking that it just wasn't for me and that I simply wasn't smart enough, or good enough to get through it. However after I spoke with a recruiter in person, and seeing the high number of graduates that stem from this curriculum, as well as the possibilities at the end of the tunnel, I had to apply. Not gonna lie, the first few weeks are tough, but because every other person in your cohort is there because they're trying to change their lives, you support each other, and you share the struggle. Tech Elevator introduces you to experts in the IT Industry, as well as hosting mock interviews with both staff for practice sessions, and top-level companies to demonstrate what the process will actually look like once you start interviewing for jobs at the end of the program. I went from working a job making less than $20k a year to being offered a job at more than four times my previous salary, working for a company that has global reach and offers boundless career advancement within the industry. I know it's scary to put your life on hold for 14 weeks, to be uncertain of whether or not you've made the right choice in enrolling, but trust me, the process works. Take a chance on Tech Elevator, because if you're able to get in, pass the aptitude tests and interviews, then that's proof you'll make it through to the end, and experience a completely new change in your career.