The Tech Academy Reviews
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Rachel
JavaScript Course
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I learned about data types in JavaScript, if statements, while loops, arrays, functions and how jQuery is a library of functions that can be used in adding already programmed features. I also learned that using HTML for content, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for more features and functionality, work well for making the front end of websites.
I had learned a little bit of JavaScript before this course and this course really seemed to cement those concepts and I felt more comfortable with JavaScript after this course. Also, there was an opportunity to work on debugging skills.
Learning JavaScript is not only good for developing a nice front end for a website but with it also being an object oriented language really lays the foundation for learning other object oriented languages.Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
Lead Job Placement Director
Sep 30, 2016
Thanks for the review Rachel! I know how important learning more JavaScript was for you because you're such a creative personality. I can't wait to see more of your awesome projects! -
LG
Great Experience Working On Live Project
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I have gained a lot of experience from my live project. I have modified most of the webpages in the Tech Academy’s website to be more attractive and functional using JavaScript, PHP, Bootstrap and CSS methods in HTML. Solving issues with xamp port setting by myself was an awesome experience. I have got experience with both group project environment and working independently to find solutions. Continuously monitoring our progress in shared work sheet and using version control in GitHub improved our overall productivity. The experience I have gained through the live project will be very beneficial in my future career as a software developer. Even though I am looking forward to a career concentrating in data analysis sector, the experience I acquired from the website development and Live Project overall is directly applicable to any field related to a programming career.
Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
Lead Job Placement Director
Sep 29, 2016
Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad that you were able to get out of the Live Project what we intended that everyone gets: real-world experience. This is definitely a confidence-booster. I'm sure that this experience will assist you in your future career! -
Tom Toy
How the Tech Academy helped me land a new job
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To be competitive as a Senior Sales or Account person you need to distinguish yourself from all the other Sales people. I decided to take the Tech Academy training to do just that. In my 30 years in this business it was always apparent that Software Sales People lacked the background to effectively communicate with Software Engineers. If you just take orders and don't really sell anything your technical acumen does not matter. If you really have to execute a sales process to win business you need to establish credibility and rapport with Software Developers. You can have technical people help you but to find and initiate new business you need to engage on their level. I've managed to do this for years but as this business evolved my knowledge is dated, and it showed.
I have completed all the courses up through Java Script and found them to be helpful in many ways. First of all I always thought I knew the basics of the business quite well. Wrong. I maybe had 50% of the basics info and quickly discovered that I really lacked fundamental knowledge and so many things have changed. I was able to boost my knowledge in this area to 99%. This and all the subsequent courses have increased my confidence and it really paid off.My job category is that of a Senior person and interviews for jobs like this go on for months. I may not have ever applied for a Sales Engineering job without the coursework I have under my belt. I did apply for one with the help of Danny and Michael. Part of the interview process was a presentation in front of the VP. Michael and Danny made a suggestion about standing up and using a laser pointer and it worked so well that after 10 min they had seen enough and put me through the rest of the process. Thanks to the Tech Academy coursework and Michael and Danny's idea I will be starting my new job on Monday the 11th.
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Jason C
Working On A Live Project
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I served both as a team member and a scrum master during my live project experience, and gained a multitude of valuable team development work perspectives to describe to prospective employers during my job search. I learned how to use Bootstrap and MVC for web development – both skills which have impressed the recruiters to whom I have spoken – and gained extra practice reading and writing in C#. This will help me as I complete the remainder of my C# course at the Tech Academy.
To my credit, I was able to solve a number of challenging issues, especially during my second live project. I was happy to be able to contribute by, among other things, fixing the scroll bar issue on the Bewander home page, improving the home page and review creation pages' formats, and cosmetically brushing up the whole site.
Overall, I am glad to be able to use this teamwork experience, both in my coding work and on my resume, going forward.
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Archana M
The live project helped me get hired!
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I joined The Tech Academy in November 2015 aiming to switch my career to software development from a background in Electrical Engineering and many long years of voluntary work. I had sensed that the growing tech community in the city would be a great opportunity to be hired as a Software Developer. I had been checking out several options and ultimately decided to join Tech Academy because of the curriculum that covered web development using Microsoft Technologies. The self-paced learning environment was another selling point. Although I was aware of some aspects of software development, it was during the bootcamp training that I got to learn and understand a lot more. I believe I gained a solid foundation on the basics as a result of my training at The Tech Academy.
The way the course is designed was of great benefit to me as it helped me to get a firm grip on programming basics starting with terms and abbreviations and then moving on to more complex topics such as databases, data structures, Object Oriented Programming concepts and layered architecture. The video tutorials, starting from WordPress and version control to actual full-stack development using .NET, the follow-along exercises and the short drills at the end of each topic also were very helpful.
The job placement course with the short videos on etiquette and soft skills, resume and cover letter preparation and mock-interview drills helped me to be interview-ready.
Working on live projects was very useful for me, as it prepared me to get a foretaste of what to expect in the real world of programming. In addition to practice in solving technical challenges, I experienced how it would be to work in a team, collaborate, communicate status, and complete tasks in a deadline-driven environment. In fact, in my job interview the focus was on the live project and my contribution in it which eventually helped me get hired!
I want to express my gratitude to the team of instructors at Tech Academy who helped me throughout the course and for encouraging me to never give up but keep on persevering. The journey was long and hard but it was worth the whole time. My experience here taught me a lot that has, I believe, helped me not only secure my first programming job, but will also help in building a career in software development.
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Bill S
I have accepted a job offer as a web developer for one of Portland's largest employers
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I had been working in the semiconductor industry for most of a decade when I learned about The Tech Academy. I had known about code schools for a couple of years and was intrigued by the idea, but I didn't know that they had begun opening inPortland. I had become dissatisfied with my career and I have always enjoyed working with computers, so after researching some of the local schools I chose to quit my job and enroll in The Tech Academy. I chose The Tech Academy because of its focus on the .NET framework and the flexibility of its schedule.
The Tech Academy's curriculum is very well thought out because it does not assume a student has a background in computer science or programming. Although a lot of the Computer Basics Course was a review for me, it was a useful review that I needed. Each course in the program builds on what a student has already learned. Along with all the computer languages and database work, students also learn the basics of project management as well as the skills they need to write a quality resume and stand out during a job interview.
All of the instructors I met were friendly and wanted me to succeed. If I asked a question they did not know the answer to, they admitted it instead of telling me something that was wrong. They also encourage students to attend Meetups so we can meet people that are working in the industry and learn about all of the different kinds of work in which we can get involved.
I have accepted a job offer as a web developer for one of Portland's largest employers and it was only possible with the skills I learned at The Tech Academy. For the first time in a while, I feel positive about my future. Thank you.
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Dennis Kravets
Completing this program has landed me a job with a well-known company
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The Tech Academy has been one of the best choices that I could have made for furthering my education. Going through multiple jobs in multiple fields really put a perspective on what I wanted to do for a career and I know It was with coding and software developing. With The Tech Academy I was able to accomplish this in a faster, more cost effective way without the extra classes that didn't relate to my studies! I was able to go through the courses at my own fast pace and really get a true understanding for the fundamentals. Each course that you go through gives incorporates the past ones so you don't forget and you see real life applications of using it. Completing this program has landed me a job with a well known company making an awesome salary! It even gave me the knowledge to start my own business on the side to help other business owners with their websites! Many thanks to The Tech Academy for doing what they do with highly qualified instructors that help you along every step of the way.
Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
Lead Job Placement Director
Sep 29, 2016
Wow! I would say this is the quintessential success coming from one of the graduates of the Tech Academy. Thank you so much for sharing your win, and very well done on your part on making things go right to be in the career you want. -
Chris Carter
It was fun!
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Twelve weeks ago, I began my studies at The Tech Academyand next week I begin an intellectually challenging job, developing software for one of the biggest names in I.T.!
Software development is a great field to be a part of: it is creative, intellectually rich, full of dynamic people, and in high demand. Plus it's fun! Changing careers has been an exciting process, and I can now say that my training at The Tech Academy has clearly given me the foundation I need to be successful.
The three greatest merits of The Tech Academy are the Job Placement resources, the Live Project experience, and the selfpaced structure. When I refer to Job Placement resources, I don't mean that The Tech Academy sets you up with prospective employers—which will be a disappointment to some prospective students. But the Academy brings in speakers each week, which introduced me to the recruiter who worked so amazingly to place me. I also got great advice in the Job Placement course, which gave me a terrific looking resume and got me in the right forums. Most importantly, the weekly technical Round Tables prepared me specifically for my interview, which was quite technical.
The Live Project gave me the crucial experience I could point to, using the very technologies that are most in-demand. That, of course, is by its design, because the projects are real contracts from the I .T. marketplace. And unlike an internship, where one could potentially be placed in a niche doing entry-level tasks, I worked on the full functional breadth of a large website.
The selfpaced structure of The Tech Academy is its great two-edged sword. It allowed me to start immediately, and to devote myself fully to progressing. In the timeframe that I would be waiting to start the next course at another bootcamp, I was able to complete the Tech Academy curriculum and move on to putting my skills to work.
The self-pacing also allowed me to take sidetrips for a few minutesor a few daysto more fully understand various concepts that I was introduced to in the courses. I would not have passed my technical interview if I had not done this. Although we covered the concept early on, I revisited database normalization repeatedly throughout my training before I really understood it. I spent an extra hour studying garbage collection in .NET, and I spent two days understanding delegates, event handling and the associated Observer Pattern. I was quizzed on all of these topics, so that was certainly time well spent!
To make the curriculum at The Tech Academy work, though, students have to be selfmotivated to a great degree. You will get out what you put in. One of the beautiful things about a self-paced program is that it accommodates competing priorities in peoples' lives—but it is also possible to lose momentum. So you have to maintain the energy. You also have the responsibility for really learning the material. The Tech Academy curriculum is like a freeway—it will get you across the country, but if you just race across the freeway as fast as you can, you haven't seen the country.
You have to pull over at the historical markers and read the plaques. It certainly worked for me, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at The Tech Academy for all their hard work and their assistance! It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun.
Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
Lead Job Placement Director
Sep 29, 2016
Chris, thank you so much for your review! I have to say, you were the picture-perfect student and example here at the Tech Academy! Very well done on your studiousness, and on all of the hard work and effort you put into making this go right. And thank you for sharing your successful tips at one of our Technical Interview practice sessions. Keep up the good work, and we'd love to have you back here again for a Friday Tech Talk! -
Adam
Just finished C# Course
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Everything up to this point at The Tech Academy has prepared me for this language. The progression of the previous courses gave me a better understanding of the C# and .Net programming. It's a functional style program easy to wrap your head around and incredibly useful. With gaining the knowledge of C# basics in the beginning; identifiers, keywords, literals, how to declare variables, and constants. To the program structure of main methods, namespaces, statements and operators the language gave me the confidence to code. After the completion of this course and with a greater understanding of languages, I can now say that I have the knowledge that most languages have the same platform but different syntax and having that understanding for me is amazing. To think, a few months ago I had never written any code. I've since completed the full boot camp and now am working in tech. -Adam -
J
I now am a nerd
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Prior to The Tech Academy, I could operate a computer alright. Type documents, send emails, use Facebook, etc. I never considered myself a nerd and when I heard programmers talking I wanted to fall asleep.
But I was attracted to learning coding because I thought I could do well at it and it pays well. I tried some self-training and crashed and burned. The data was way over my head and I didn't know what to study.
My friend told me about boot camps and I researched a few. I chose The Tech Academy for two reasons: 1. Their staff was friendly, helpful and nice and 2. Their curriculum looked more thorough than other schools.
Four months later, I can now code in seven languages and I have my highest ever paying job.
The program was laid out in a great sequence so nothing was too over my head but at the same time it was challenging. The Instructors and job placement staff were amazing and I couldn't have finished without them.
I'm now working in tech and totally couldn't have done it without these guys. Anyways, that's my story - hope it helps
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Shipra
Excellent Program
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I was introduced to programming 4 years ago when I was studying Business Analysis. Although coding was only a small part of the curriculum, I ended up enjoying it the most. Since then I learned some programming on my own, during my free time until last year when I decided that I wanted to take it up full time and become a software developer. As a result, I enrolled at The Tech Academy.
The courses at The Tech Academy are structured in a way that allows students to build their technical skills from the ground up by starting with computer science fundamentals. I never felt like there were concepts or terminology that I was required to learn about prior to the program, because they were all introduced throughout the courses and explained in a way that was easy for a beginner like myself to understand. The course material covers software development in detail, but also maps out the bigger picture. As you progress through the curriculum, you cultivate your own knowledge base of software tools, OOP concepts, database technologies and programming languages while also developing a portfolio of work to apply that knowledge.
There were plenty of assignments and projects to work on for each of the courses, plus a live project towards the end of the program, and the instructors at The Tech Academy were available every step of the way. Although I was a remote student, they always responded quickly to any questions I had and the constructive feedback they provided was an immense help. In regards to my career, enrolling at The Tech Academy was the best decision I have made because it gave me the technical skills needed to start a career in software development, but also helped me build my confidence and ultimately land a job as a Junior .NET Developer.
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Dylan
Great Experience!
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I am a recent graduate of The Tech Academy and my experience there was fantastic. I signed up for their software boot camp in December and by April I was hired with no prior experience in I.T. The knowledge I gained from doing the course work at the boot camp was invaluable. It didn’t just teach me about programming, but it taught me how to think like a software developer. One of the best experiences of the boot camp was the live project. This entailed working with a team using Agile/Scrum methodologies to complete a two week long sprint. It was very rewarding being able to put what I learned to use in a real world project.
I studied remotely from Maryland and then came out to Portland to work on the live project and search for a job. I was able to find employment promptly with the help of The Tech Academy’s job placement crew. Overall, my experience at The Tech Academy was great and I would recommend it to anyone trying to break into the field of software development. -
Anonymous
I reiterate the mind games
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I had the exact same experience as the other person that spoke of the mind games. However I left a review several months back that appears to have been deleted. So I will repost. You are given a Scientology personality test (first red flag) and also an IQ test. They then call you back and tell you you have a personality flaw but did great on the IQ test, so they are willing to make an exception so long as you sign their waiver. The basics of the waiver are that you cannot ask for a refund of any amount, which actually violates Oregon law, and that you cannot in any way speak negatively about the company or the program on any social media. Just as the other person said, this basically means the school has zero responsibility to the student, and should things not go well, for whatever reason, tough luck. And if you speak negatively about us in any way, expect a lawsuit. I obviously cannot speak to the actual program because I wasn't in any way willing to play their game or sign such a ridiculous contract. No one in their right mind would sign such a document. Caveat emptor. Let's see how long it takes for this review to be deleted.Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
Lead Job Placement Director
Sep 29, 2016
I'm sorry that we did not accept you into our school. There are plenty of other boot camps out there that you may be able to attend.
However, I would like to clarify one thing. You mentioned that we have students sign a waiver that they will never write a negative review. I want to clarify this: we have students take entry testing. One of the purposes of this testing is to locate negative personality types that are hyper-critical and will cause problems on the program. A couple years ago, one of our Registration Directors (Morgan) was using a "loophole" for students that failed entry testing. He created a waiver that protected the school from potentially problematic students and it included in it that these students that failed our entry testing would not attack the school publicly (since it was already clear from their entry testing and our experiences with them that they were highly critical). Very few people ever signed the waiver and our Co-Founder canceled its use over a year ago (I estimate only 10 out of the 300+ people we've signed up ever signed it). None of the reviews on this site are from one of the very few students that signed this waiver. -
Perspective Student Evaluation
BEWARE of mind games they don't play nice
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I made my appointment to interview the staff and experience their learning environment and take their phony "entrance exam" which consists of a IQ & personality test.
They claimed their test results revealed that I would need to sign a wavier because the personality test revealed a red-flag which they said means that I do not "play nice with instructors".....???? I asked why an exception is being made for me and they responded that because I passed their IQ exam with a reasonably high score, that they would, "love to have me as a student". I asked to retake the personality evaluation due to botched initial answersheet during first attempt. When I completed the retake evaluation, they sent me a copy of their wavier. **It had nothing to do with "playing nice" -which was explained to me earlier, that if I should encounter any conflict during my program, that I would follow a structured channel/chain of command to resolve any conflicts that may arise between students, faculty and insturctors" In reality, the waiver was simply a form requesting several disturbing things:
1. I would agree to relinquish all of my legal rights to ask for refunds on tuition or any legal/litigious recourse to protect my investment in the school.
2. That I would not speak negatively of the shool on any social media. (there were more bullet items, but those are the two red-flags for me.)
Why would anybody invest in or take on intellectual debt in a rigged deal where the school has absolutely no responsibiltiy or accountability to your success or even your satisfaction? evidently people do sign and relinquish their legal rights under the guise of some false behavior exam with a supposed "red flag"...... don't be taken advantage of here -I won't do it. Any shool that genuinely cares about your success is not going to ask you to put yourself in such a vulnerable position.
Moving on and you should too! This after narrowly surviving Portland Code School who also tried to rip me off to the tune of $1,000. in tuition as the result of a secretive backdoor business transaction and abrupt school closure with strong resistance to do the right thing and provide refunds. In my case fortunately, PayPal automatically recovered my tuition money for me and Oregon Department of Justice is still investigating the loss of opportunity.
Play nicely with your students and you won't have to worry about lawsuits and headgames.
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Montrell
joinUP!
I'm not done with the training yet, but I must admit that I have learned more (in such a short time) than any class that I have ever taken. This atmosphere is electric and there are so many people to meet and draw from. If you are looking to join a community of developers, this is the right place to start. On that note, let me get back to my studies! ; ) joinUP!...
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Kent Gray
Tech Academy
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As a student here at The Tech Academy, I couldn't be more pleased. The academy covers every aspect of teaching with a very high standard. The instructors here go out of their way to make sure I am understanding the content. I never feel like they look down upon my work nor my questions.
The content in the coursework is wonderful and is designed to help students progress as fast or as slow as they need to. In addition to the course program, Tech Academy's job placement strategy is bar none. They provide two full time staff that daily assist with any job placement needs, questions, concerns, follow-ups.
They also have a sister company that has live projects from jobs that need to be done within the greater Portland community. Every student is assigned to at least one live project where they have hands on working experience that no only builds their resume but helps prepare them for any future work.
In summation, I feel that when I leave this program I will be fully prepared to take on work situations that are thrown my way. I wish that my undergraduate and master's degrees were taught in this format. I will have learned and developed more skils in 15 weeks than an entire year of coursework at major universities.
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Neil Blitstein
Thank you Tech Academy for teaching this old dog a tremendous amount of new tricks
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Whoever said "You can't teach an old dog new tricks", never went to the Tech Academy. At the ripe age of 53, I have taken thousands of hours of programming, development and design classes. The Tech Academy has managed to design a curriculum that far surpasses any of those hours.
As a Veteran, I'm always on the lookout for organizations that proclaim great and wonderful things for Vets, but deliver less than stellar products and seem more interested in getting the GI Bill money than educating us. The Tech Academy is not one of those schools. I would, and I have recommended them to other Vets I know.
At first I was very skeptical about all "Boot Camp" style courses mainly because of the rigorous pace and wealth of knowledge you're expected to absorb in such a short period of time. After researching the Tech Academy, along with many other schools, I was first and foremost impressed with the choice I was given to either follow a self paced program, a more structured in classroom setting or a combination of both. The combination was perfect.
This "Old dog" was taught more in the 5-6 months of real education than I was in years of instruction, and there is a difference in the two. I was very concerned that the beginning classes were too "Basic" for me. I have my A+, Network+, Security+, several Microsoft certifications and started my programming career in Visual Basic 3.0. My first computer ran DOS and windows 3.0 had just been released. I received my computer science degree in 1985 before it was called that and when the horse and buggy was the preferred way to get around. To say the least, my education was dated and needed a serious facelift.
Starting with the very first course, the most basic level, I was reminded of many terms and definitions I had forgot. I was also taught many I had never heard of before. This is a great foundation that makes the rest of the course fall into a cohesive order.
With each course, I learned something new. With most, I learned everything new. The order in which each subject is taught and presented makes perfect sense and builds on the previous subject. With each new language, I was taught the mechanics, strengths and purpose of the language. Something lacking in most other schools. Other schools never seem to teach you the "why" part, only the "how" part. The Tech Academy teaches both. This way you can make an educated decision as to what language to use for the job, why you're using that language and whether or not you are going to inject several other languages to comprise a single project. Most projects will use multiple languages, but knowing why and which ones to use is the important part.
Progressing through each course I was constantly tutored and mentored by a very knowledgeable and competent instructor staff. This includes the "Student" instructors. I was always impressed by their honesty and ability to say, "I don't know that. Let me do some research and get back to you", instead of trying to fumble their way through pretending to know but only confusing me more. Then they would actually get back to me. In most cases in minutes but always the same day. No time was ever wasted unless it was wasted by me.
Most notable of all the staff is Adam Smith. He is in my opinion, the best instructor at the Academy. He never once gave me an answer, instead, he always pointed me in the direction to where I could find the answer but more importantly, he would follow up to make sure I understood the answer, as did all the instructors no matter which one was helping me. He never made me feel I was imposing on him with questions I probably should have already known the answer to. But most impressive is his ability to help me understand the problem I was having, not the problem I thought I was having. Most other teachers I have encountered are not as gifted in this area of education.
When it comes to having a competitive edge, education is always that edge. Any institution can teach anyone, but not very many can educate. The Tech Academy, starting with the first class to the final class, makes sure you understand what you are learning before having you start the next subject. There is an old saying, "Teach to standard, not to time." The Tech Academy teaches to above standard and ensures you have all the time you need to fully understand.
For me, I chose the Tech Academy to refresh my skills and hopefully learn something new to make me more competitive in the market place. I received much more. I received an education and a hard, wide firm foundation which made it possible for me to start my own small software consulting firm before I finished the school.
My first client called me to ask a simple question, but one that is becoming the most important question for all firms, "Do you know how to upgrade our old software to something more dynamic, can handle hundreds of users at the same time and capable of utilizing the different languages that have to run on both Windows and Linux operating systems?"
Because of the education I received from the Tech Academy, I was able to give an answer that impressed them. I said, "Depending on what language your old program is written in and if you have the source code, would depend on whether or not it would be less expensive for you to rewrite the software or just buy an off the shelf tool that will do what you want and then build customized tools to fill in the gaps." I was hired as their consultant before the conversation ended and subsequently was asked to help write the tools to fill in the gaps. None of this would have ever been made possible without the education I received from the Tech Academy.
Thank you Tech Academy for teaching this old dog a tremendous amount of new tricks. -
Jerry
I feel truly lucky that I have discovered this company
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The context:
I picked The Tech Academy from the list of boot camp choices in Portland, because of the sheer number of subjects that they cover. When I met with them for a tour, I had many questions about their approach to teaching, and how they would overcome barriers that may have held me back in the past.
I have been working with electronics and PC hardware/software since the early 90's. Refurbishing computers for my High School; Community College electronics courses; phone support for Windows 95, and other techie roles. Up until April 2015 I was at McAfee/Intel Security for over 17 years, working as a black box (mostly manual) QA Engineer.
The problem:
Having been reorganized out of a job, I surveyed the employment landscape and found most new QA roles to be automation centric or defined more as a hybrid development role (e.g. Agile Tester). Breaking into this paradigm without some coding and scripting experience is worse odds then a Shetland pony in a Gygax dungeon (yes, nerdy D&D reference, but truth none the less).
The challenge:
Let's take an old-school black box QA, and skill'em up into a QA Automation, or a Junior Developer role, shall we? This wouldn't be the first time that I tried my hand at development. I have taken compressed courses in Visual Basic, and C over the years, but nothing ever stuck because those class environments assumed a prior computer sciencey background that I did not possess.
I needed something structured, from the ground up approach, which avoided using all the abstruse terminology that can be a barrier into the field.
The solution:
With all my new found spare cycles, I attempted to do some learning on my own. A video course here, or a library run there... I was getting nowhere fast, but it did lead me to the concept of coding boot camps, so I started to dig into that more.
The courses are designed from the beginning with no foreknowledge of computer science, or computers in general. They take the complex words/concepts, and break them down into a level of understanding that you don't even get in the "for dummies" books. Sure, some of the beginning bits were review for me, but even basics helped me build confidence in my understanding, and my resolve to see this through, and I may just have learned a few things better than I had understood them before.
The Result:
Not everything was easy, boy howdy. There were days that I had wondered what I had gotten myself into. With the effort that I put in on the coursework, the mentoring of the instructors, and the encouragement of The Tech Academy staff, I was able to find that next job. Maybe not exactly in the direction that I was expecting, but that has been the way that my career has worked. Open mind's lead to open doors, is the fortune cookie of my life.
All in all, I feel truly lucky that I have discovered this company, and fortunate to have spent the last 6 months with this quality team of people. -
RW
Was hired as a developer at Salesforce
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I have no doubt that the Portland Tech Academy is the reason I am starting a new job with Salesforce on Monday. When I started, technology was a large, overwhelming field of information. I felt bombarded with opinions and potential directions to move: Should I learn Java right away? What about Ruby? I’ve heard Python is easy…
An argument I often hear against technology bootcamps is that the information is (mostly) available for free or for a fraction of the cost of a bootcamp. I used to think that I could become a developer on my own, but I realized after a year of studying independently that I was nowhere closer to where I wanted to be than when I started. The Tech Academy provided a linear path forward, complete with projects, objectives, and checkpoints for me to step back and appreciate the progress I had made. In addition to giving me a clear direction, the Tech Academy provided me an opportunity to join a community, and to be held accountable for my studying time every week. I made more progress working with the Tech Academy’s specific curriculum in half a year than I could have in three years of independent study. The Tech Academy is also unique in that they were flexible and willing to work with my schedule, allowing me to make progress toward a new career while also keeping my day job. For me, this was invaluable, and the Tech Academy was the obvious bootcamp of choice in the Portland market.
Finally, while the program the Tech Academy offers is officially termed a ‘software developer bootcamp’, there are also many other careers that you can pursue after completing this program. I will be working as a customer success agent for developers, helping to debug code and recommend programming best practices. There are many companies out there looking for energetic coders to fill jobs outside of the software developer role, from QA to customer service to product management. For myself, I’m thankful that the Tech Academy has helped me land this new opportunity with such a large company, and I hope to continue growing as a software developer for my own side projects. -
James
It Worked.
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I was very pleased to make it through this program and land a job shortly after, exactly as intended/advertised. The curriculum was easy to understand and well thought out. Every exercise built upon lessons learned in previous exercises so you always felt prepared with the knowledge to accomplish your goal. The instructors were professional, friendly, and knowledgable and really understood how to steer you toward the solution rather than hand it over freely. Overall, I had a great experience and definitely recommend the program to others. FYI, I went in with no professional computer background. -
Anonymous
From No Experience to Full-Stack Developer
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As a complete beginner with zero coding experience, The Tech Academy's Full-Stack Software Developer program gave me a strong, practical foundation in tech. The self-paced format let me dive in deeply and learn at my own rhythm, covering HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Python, C#, .NET, and more through hands-on projects and pair programming that felt like real collaboration. Instructors were super responsive and supportive via email/Discord and always patient when I needed help. The curriculum built confidence step by step, with clear explanations and plenty of real-world practice—an excellent choice for motivated beginners. I highly recommend it and believe they deserve a 5/5! -
Anonymous
A Great Program for Strengthening and Expanding Tech Skills
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The Tech Academy was a great experience for strengthening my existing tech skills. The curriculum was well-structured and practical, with hands-on projects that reinforced real-world concepts. The instructors were knowledgeable and supportive, and the flexible format made it easy to learn at my own pace. Overall, it was a valuable program that helped me sharpen my technical skill set and grow professionally.
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Anonymous
Self paced software development program
Software development self-paced program. It was a very good course to get a start-up in the tech industry. It will walk you through the very basics about computers to the latest software technologies so you can have all the tools needed to go ahead and jump into tech. -
Anonymous
Good value, empowering and flexible at the same time
I got exactly what I wanted from my time at the Tech Academy. I learned enough about tech, that in combination with my previous education and work experience, I was able to land a job within a few months of graduating. My expectations were managed well both ahead of- and during the bootcamp, empowering me to succeed. -
Anonymous
Good for beginners or as a refresher
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I thought this was an overall great experience. The staff is helpful and friendly. It’s definitely a situation where you get out of it what you put in. They are very upfront about not guaranteeing a job, but will help you as best they can to find one. If you don’t thrive in an online, go-at-your-pace environment… this is not for you. This is great for people who have minimal to no tech experience, or for anyone who is just interested in brushing up on old skills. -
Anonymous
Graduate reviewing experience
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Robust learning experience that covers an extensive amount of software material. It would be difficult to simulate the learning material and experience garnered from this course by one's own means. Instructors were very helpful and available to assist for a good portion of the day. The projects were challenging and helpful in the preparation for a tech career. You learn all of the in demand programming languages that most employers are looking for. The curriculum is self paced so that you can take extra time where needed and speed through the material that already feels familiar. -
Anonymous
Poor program
Basically a copy and paste type of school. Instructor encouraged me to copy another students GitHub code to finish final project rather than problem solving. Company bribes you with money to leave 5 star reviews upon completion of course and helps you manipulate/lie on your resume to trick companies into hiring you. Worst 10k I’ve ever spent. -
Anonymous
Outstanding Boot Camp!
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I'm a recent graduate of the Cyber Security Boot Camp, and I've been very happy with what I've learned so far! I'm new to the industry, and the course starts off assuming you know very little about computers. This builds on itself, and soon you see yourself creating websites, building databases, learning about networks, and of course you get to work with some great Cyber Security tools. The Live Course at the end gives you practical experience in the work of Cyber Security, and the Job Placement module was very helpful in creating tech-oriented resumes and navigating a unique interview process.
The organization is very transparent about costs and expectations. The staff and instructors were always very helpful and positive. The Boot Camp was well organized, and learned information was reinforced through out. This was very manageable with a full-time job. The program was much better than many of my college classes!
I very highly recommend this program to anyone looking to get their feet wet in Cyber Security! -
Anonymous
Excellent instructors - great for people starting from 0.
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I started with ZERO tech knowledge. The Tech Academy (TTA) was a great place to learn the basics and get lots of hands on practice. I completed the curriculum for the Software Engineering and the Cyber Security Bootcamps. The Software Engineering was spectacular - it covered the basics of HTML, CSS, Python, C#, JavaScript, SQL Server, and a ton more. There is so much to learn out there, but if you don't know where to start, I highly recommend TTA.
The instructors were fantastic - they were available on weekdays until 7pm, and I took FULL advantage of that fact. But they were always helpful and friendly- I'm going to miss them now that I've finished. As someone who asks a LOT of questions, I couldn't imagine going through another institution where you get limited access to a support team. Being able to share your screen to quickly debug a problem was essential to my learning experience.
If you are considering the self taught route, but are A- someone who overthinks things and can get lost in details, B- someone who procrastinates, or C-someone who asks a lot of questions then I highly recommend a bootcamp with TTA. -
Anonymous
Awesome bootcamp
The Tech Academy is one of the best platform for game development course. We all know, gaming industry is emerging very fast and have very exciting scope. Course material is awesome. Highly recommended for the student who want to establish themself in gaming industry. -
Anonymous
The instructors and job support make it worthwhile
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I'll start off with the people, because they are the key. There are a lot of free resources available for learning tech, but if you're a relative newbie like I was, the reason you'd want to invest in a program like this is all because of the guidance, focus, and clarity the instructors provide, potentially saving you a lot of time and energy.
The Tech Academy does a great job of recruiting instructors who are not just skilled in software development, but excellent teachers. It's not an easy combination, and I hope they are well-paid, because they deserve it.
Whenever I needed help, whether it was during the classes itself, or afterward during job placement, I invariably found the staff of the Tech Academy to be available, knowledgable, understanding, and helpful.
The job placement program, and the job placement directors, were particularly fantastic. I can't emphasize enough how much more difficult the process of navigating the murky waters of job hunting would have been without their invaluable help.
The bottom line is, after attending the Tech Academy, I am much better equipped to tackle tech projects, even those I haven't had any training in, because I learned how to learn tech, and I also learn how to hunt for tech work, which is an entirely different skill.
The lectures themselves, and the articles, are well-written and well-delivered, but the UX of the website itself is surprisingly clunky, and could definitely use an update.
I did find certain aspects of my particular bootcamp curriculum a bit disappointing, as there was less time spent on some important skills than I had originally hoped, but I believe they may have actually made some changes since I graduated.
The live project was a highlight of the bootcamp, and in fact I wish that it was longer, or at least that the weekly stand-ups (short organizational meetings generally limited to between five and fifteen minutes long, sometimes referred to as morning roll-calls or daily scrums) were actually scheduled throughout the entire camp, rather than just two weeks.
One of the reasons that I chose the Tech Academy was because of the flexibility of being able to either study at home or in-person, and it is indeed extremely flexible.
I do recommend attending in-person when you can. The pandemic was still a big concern during much of my time studying at the Tech Academy, so I ended up mainly studying at home and I definitely wished I had more opportunities to talk to other students. No doubt that could have helped somewhat during the more challenging periods, and for a general sense of camaraderie. Obviously I'm not faulting the Tech Academy for this, but it's something to consider for future students.
The administrative team was great as well. I had some challenging circumstances during the bootcamp and they were very understanding and worked with me to find solutions.
If you are considering attending a tech bootcamp, I think the Tech Academy is a fine choice, but I would definitely recommend the instructor-supported courses if you can afford them. -
Anonymous
The Tech Academy do everything to make you succeed!
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The journey from having little coding knowledge, to graduating the boot camp, to getting my first software developer job has been one of my hardest. But if you use all of the resources that the Tech Academy provides, you will get there. I am testament to that having just accepted a fantastic software developer job offer!
The instructors were always so helpful and if not available immediately to help you would get back to you within minutes.
The curriculum was great, covering all the important tools and topics that you will use on the job. It also covered computer science concepts giving a well rounded education.
It was great having the support of the Job Placement team. It wasn't easy getting my first dev job but they were always there to pick me up, and to practice interviewing with etc.
All new terms were explained before watching a video which made understanding it much easier.
If you use everything The Tech Academy provides and are determined you will succeed just like myself! -
Anonymous
Great bootcamp
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One of the best boot camps you will find out there. They are self paced meant for people with a job and the course ever easy to understand they make it for people that have no experience on it so everyone can understand it. You got the options to do it part time or full time. And there is always someone there willing to help you when you don’t understand a topic or an assignment. 10/10 recommend to everyone willing to put in the effort with them -
Anonymous
Awesome Bootcamp experience
I was very happy with the instructors at the Tech Academy. Any time I needed help or was stuck on a certain checkpoint they always were responsive and took the time to help me with any questions I had. The curriculum is a little outdated as it doesn’t focus on react much at all. -
Anonymous
Overall a great experience
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Overall a great experience. Not only did I learn game development extensively but I also gained a foundation in software development. I came out of the bootcamp with confidence that I can pursue a career in game development. The live projects that I took part of in this bootcamp was very helpful in gaining some real-world experience. The job placement course is also very insightful and is definitely beneficial.Nick W. of The Tech Academy
Job Placement Director
Dec 09, 2021
Thanks so much for the 5-Star Review! -
Anonymous
Everything I thought it would be
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The Tech Academy was everything I had hoped for. I enrolled with the intent of switching industries, but before graduating I was offered and took on my dream job in my current field. In any case, The Tech Academy helped me find a passion for coding and I plan on coming back to the tech industry in the future. This was definitely time and money well spent.I completed three of their boot camps in total: Software Developer, UI / UX, and Data Science. You will be able to land a job if you closely follow their Job Placement Course and listen to their team.
Pros:
Friendly environment, understanding staff, hands-on and real world experience, amazing job support, self-paced curriculum, flexible scheduling; you'll walk away with valuable life skills for any industry
Cons:
If you already know and understand computers pretty well (ie if you've built your own), the first couple of courses might feel slow, however there is still new information in the courses to be gained. Not necessarily a con, but since the school is at your own pace, you need to be self-motivated to stay on top of your study time.Nick W. of The Tech Academy
Job Placement Director
Dec 09, 2021
Hey there! We are so glad that you had such a great experience with The Tech Academy and we're stoked to hear that you took a dream job! At the end of the day, that is the most important thing. Whenever you're ready to get back to tech we'll be here to refresh your skills! Thank you for the kind review. -
Anonymous
Front end web development
I recently graduated from the Tech Academy’s Front end web development course. I learned so much in those two months, enjoyed my experience, and I am currently working on my first professional web contract. -
Anonymous
Good Job Support
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Tech Academy's Front-end web developer course was okay from my experience. When I took the course, the video lectures seemed a little dated (could be different now). The projects were for beginners and were follow along type of projects. The job support was good, they kept you in the loop and sent out job opportunities whenever they find any which was nice. The live project was nice since you get to work in a team environment.
Pros:
-Job support is good, kept you in the loop and stayed in contact with you.
-Live project give you some hand on experience working in a team.
Cons:
-Lecture videos seemed a bit out-dated.
-Didn't learn much from copying code and following along. -
Anonymous
Great Bootcamp
I completed the Software Engineer Bootcamp at the Tech Academy. One of the best decisions I have made this past year other than leaving my ex was enrolling into the Software Engineer program at the Tech Academy. I was able to learn at my own pace and always had an instructor there to help me when in need of assistance. -
Anonymous
Software Developer Bootcamp
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The Software Developer Bootcamp was a great option for me. I enrolled mid-March just when the Covid pandemic hit and I'm so glad this program was self-paced. I was able fit in studying when I had time especially with kids home full time. You need to be self-motivated to get it done. I especially enjoyed the Live Projects which were intimidating at first but once I got the hang of it it was great to learn what it's like to work with a team of developers. I highly recommend The Tech Academy.Danny Condon of The Tech Academy
VP for Quality
Sep 25, 2020
Thanks for the review! I'm extremely impressed you got through the program studying at home with kids there full time! That is quite a feat. Very well done on completing!