BackgroundPrior to enrolling at Tech Elevator I worked primarily in the service industry; I have a BBA in Finance from Temple University, though I never worked in the field professionally. After experience severe burnout as a bartender, I started weighing my options as to what my next move would be. I completed some online programming tutorials around that time, and found myself rather enjoying the process. That went on for awhile before it occurred to me that this was something I could see myself doing professionally. I initially considered going back to school for a second Bachelor's degree, though I didn't think I could tolerate another 2-4 years in the industry before making a change. As such, I felt a boot camp would be a good 'meet in the middle' option.
At the time, there weren't a lot of options for boot camps in Philly. While doing some background research on boot camps in general, I found some praise on Reddit for the Tech Elevator program from an individual that had attended one of their Ohio campuses. I started checking out the TE program and, wouldn't you know, they were opening a campus in Philadelphia that month! I honestly kind of figured it was kismet, and I don't believe in such things, but I digress.
After that I started vetting the program as much as possible, trying to find
anything negative about TE from someone who had attended. It was, after all, a not insignificant amount of money for the program, and I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision. My search turned up nothing substantive, so I decided to take the plunge and apply.
OverallI cannot say enough good things about Tech Elevator. This program can and will enable you to make a career change if you are willing to put the work in. I'm very confident in saying you will get as much out of it as you put in. There's no two ways about it: it's tough. It's intense. But if you grind it out you'll amaze yourself with how much you've accomplished by the end.
The cohort I was a part of started in May 2020. We started off virtually, though we were tentatively supposed to go back in person at some point during the program. Obviously, that never came to fruition. At the start I was admittedly pretty disappointed about the prospect of doing everything online, though in hindsight it actually turned out to be a huge positive, as my Philly cohort was combined with the Detroit cohort starting at the same time. I was pretty indifferent about this initially, though having the opportunity to collaborate with the people in Detroit ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole experience.
InstructorsBoth of the instructors for my cohort were great. During each module, one instructor would lead the daily lecture, with the other serving in an assistant / supplemental role. They switched roles -- so that the primary would be the assistant, and vice versa -- between each module. The instructors made themselves readily available throughout -- always beyond just providing lectures -- which was huge, especially in the early days. There was a very palpable sense that the instructors wanted to see us succeed (and weren't just 'doing a job'), which I found encouraging. One instructor did outshine the other, though both were extremely capable.
CurriculumThe program was split up into four modules:
- Core Java
- Relational Databases
- RESTful APIs
- Front End (HTML / CSS / JS / Vue.js)
A typical day would consist of 2.5 - 3 hours of lecture in the morning, and then an assignment for the evening. This structure works well because learning-by-doing is very much the best (I'd argue only) way to learn programming. Each module would conclude with a capstone project that encapsulated everything we had learned up to that point, including what was covered in the prior modules. This was effective in building a strong foundation as we progressed.
The first module is, in my opinion, the toughest. Not because it is the most complex from a technical standpoint, but because if you're coming in with no (or very little) experience programming, it's A LOT to learn upfront. One of the instructors likened it to 'drinking out of a fire hose', which I think is an apt metaphor. I was able to lessen some of the anguish of the early days due to my self-study prior to enrollment; while not strictly necessary, or even expected, I do think it helped me start off on the right foot.
My only gripe with the curriculum was the final module. We were taught Vue.js, the least in demand of the three most popular JS frameworks based on what I saw while looking for jobs. Overall, a relatively minor complaint as there's a degree of overlap with all three, and presumably if you knew Vue it wouldn't be too difficult to pick up one of the other two if a job required it.
Overall, the material that's covered in the first three modules comprises 80-90% of what's needed for my job on a day-to-day basis, so these skills are absolutely relevant and in demand.
Job AssistanceThe Pathway Program is really what sets Tech Elevator apart from other boot camps. When I was applying I felt Pathway was a nice 'cherry on top', but didn't think much of it. Looking back, the Pathway program was
at the very least equally as important as the technical skills I acquired in contributing to my ability to get a job. Getting experience with mock behavioral / technical interviews prior to real interviews, panels with actual working professionals, employer showcases with companies that are hiring, match making, tracking down job leads (including after graduating) .. I could go on. All of these things were invaluable. Less tangibly, the Pathway director for my cohort was a tremendous cheerleader, and always there to offer a word of encouragement when needed; it was evident there was a very real desire to see everyone in the cohort succeed.
Closing ThoughtsIf you're sure learning software development is what you want to do, I cannot recommend Tech Elevator enough. It is without a doubt a grueling experience, but if you don't give up on yourself, the staff won't give up on you. That's as much as you could ask for.