UCR Extension Boot Camps

Hello to everyone reading this! 👋 I came into this bootcamp with very minimal experience in programming I come from being a warehouse lead. I wanted a career change I’ve always been a tech person at heart, breaking things down and putting them back together. I wanted to take the risk and go into a bootcamp and being a local looked at all other options but ended up taking this one and I do not regret it. My instructors have been nothing but amazing! From the first day I felt the energy of the virtual room and took in the guidance he had for us, I have spent a lot of time learning this is not easy by any means. What I suggest is having an accountability partner so you can stay on track with your goals you do not want to fall behind. What I enjoyed is when things finally clicked! My instructor emphasized don't focus on the grades focus on the material make sure you understand it instead of chasing the grade and not understanding what you did. I am currently 3 months in and 3 months to go i definitely recommend this if you’re willing to put in the work and have a great experience here I’ve made friends here that will be my best buddies for years to come. Read less

I came from a background with no tech experience when I started the boot camp, but by the end I gained a wealth of knowledge and experience about cyber security. The course was challenging has there were many hands-on activities and projects. The great part was the instructors had immense knowledge about the subjects that were taught and had amazing patience to guide us to complete said hands-on activities and projects! Even outside of class hours, we could reach out and they would gladly help us!  The information they presented was very organized and evolved from easy to difficult. The experience was great from beginning to end and I feel fully confident that I can do this outside of a school environment due to the hands-on projects!

I would like to give a shout-out to my instructors, Lewis, Rob, and Ynah! They made the class fun and engaging all the way to the end! I am grateful for their help, encouragement, and knowledge they imparted throughout the boot camp! Read less

I was looking for a change in careers and I wanted to get back into computers. I talked with an old boss of mine that's in the IT field and he recommended this class to me. After looking it up I decided to give it a go. I had no experience with cybersecurity and I had little knowledge with computers. I took the gamble and enrolled in this class. It has been the best decision I've ever made. This course will challenge you and it will push you more than you've ever been pushed. The teachers and TA care for their students and put in the effort to help each and every student. Our instructor and TA's were amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better instructor or TA. I highly recommend this class if you're trying to change your career or further your knowledge in cybersecurity. You have to put in the hours outside of class and you must have free time to do so. You can't just walk into this class and do the bare minimum, it'll eat you alive if you do this. You get what you put into it, I suggest at least 20 hours a week outside of class. This class is really rewarding and worth every penny. I'm just beginning my journey into this field and I couldn't be more excited to see where it's going to take me.   Read less

• How I decided to pursue this career path and what led me to apply to the Boot Camp

   I have been using the Hack The Box platform for two years and wanted to change careers to Cybersecurity after seeing what skills it took to be a hacker. Using code, port scanning techniques, exploits, and payloads, I have found something I love to do but did not have the skill set or education to get a job in cyber security.      So I started researching schools in Cybersecurity. I had many conversations and took approximately ten months' worth of investigative research to determine that the University of California Riverside's class was suitable for gaining the skills I needed to land a job.      I like the idea that the class was more hands-on and very diversified. Also, one of the significant factors that made me decide to attend the boot camp was what the Career Services department had to offer.      It was not just about learning the skill, but getting your resume and online media to be at the level of Employer Competitive. The Employer Competitive vernacular intrigued me and made the program more valuable than the others.     So I joined the class in April 2021 and graduated with a certificate in a Cybersecurity Boot Camp in October 2021.     

• Your experience with the boot camp and your favorite aspect of the program

       My favorite aspect of the class was transparency through the didactic alchemy of domains the professor and the two teaching assistants conveyed in class. The activities we performed in our assignments also made the class fun, like playing capture the flag activities and applying what we learned towards the three main projects.     Attending over 100 career services events through the boot camp has also helped me polish my online presence, brand statement, and resume while confidently interviewing. This part of the boot was an exceptional piece to help people mold themselves to the roles they were so deserving after obtaining their new skills.     The information the students had to learn was described metaphorically as drinking water through a fire hose. The information came fiercely and in complex notations.       Help was always there for those struggling with these new concepts, and if the students were not able to understand the day's lesson, the recorded lessons were available for further review and understanding.     

• Any advice you would give to other prospective students.

     The advice I would give the other students is that you get what you put into this program. It is a commitment, and if you are not willing or the timing is not correct, do not force trying to take this class.      I would also refrain from taking the class if you do not have more than 20 hours of outside class time to spend on the comprehension and completing of the assignments.      The class alone is worth the investment, but the Career Services professionalism and getting Employer Competitive puts the program over the top compared to other programs. If definitely recommend The University of California Riverside to gain the knowledge or refine the skills you need to become a Cyber Security professional.
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The instructors and TA's were always willing to help, and in the midst of a year like 2020, I really couldn't have asked for more. The entire team from instructors to career advisors were always diligent in their efforts to motivate students to ask questions and achieve their goals. Read less

Going into this coding bootcamp was great I had a short background in web development by using web resources like codecademy or freecodecamp so the 'fast paced' learning was a bit easier to digest. The assignments were fairly easy to comprehend aside from a few of the course materials which were either making the assumption certain environments were configured, or the coursework just wasn't written in a way that was understandable. 

I will say that I have learned a ton of things in regard to programming. The instructional staff were so helpful in learning these concepts by explaining in further detail of what to look for. This bootcamp does teach relevant programming subjects along with a few concepts that seem pretty random but at the end of the day, its just another skill set. 

Over all, I would recommend this camp as an intermediate course where you have an understanding of basic javascript concepts NOT as someone starting from scratch with zero knowledge on programming. Yes the first couple weeks of html/css can be fairly easy but once JavaScript comes up, the pacing gets pretty fast.  Read less

I went into the Coding Boot Camp feeling a little skeptical. This was mostly because I was already in a career looking to transition to coding, but just didn't know where. I needed to take out a loan. There isn't a guarantee, like most things in life, with anything coming from this course. After completing the course, I have to say, I don't feel as anxious about taking it anymore. I learned so much over the 24-26 weeks of class. Instructors were amazing, TAs were amazing, and the curriculum felt relevant and up-to-date.  I should say that I went into this Boot Camp without any prior coding experience, which was really intimidating, but the professor and TAs really made the class accessible. I really would recommend this course to anyone looking for that push to transition careers. I hopefully will be able to come back here in a month or two with news that I am now a developer.  Read less

This boot camp was awesome! I started from having zero knowledge of cyber security to being able to hack into systems and protect them. This class has so much to offer if you're willing to put in the work. If you're a hands on learner, then this course is for you. Starting from day 1, to the very last day you're doing everything hands on. Amazing instructor and TA's, all of them were extremely knowledgeable, patient, and willing to help. I'm a person that is nervous to ask a lot of questions but the class and instructors made it extremely comfortable for me to ask anything. Throughout the course, the entire staff is there to help with building your resume, LinkedIn, and help with interview skills. Before this I was working at fast food and being a barista but after completing the course, I was able to land a job as a Service Desk Analyst to begin my IT career. If you're looking to get into the cyber security field, I definitely recommend this boot camp! Read less

This is a great program if you're looking to start into the security field.  Personally, I like to do alot of hands on and I am a visual learner more so than reading about it from a document or observing a bunch of slides.  There's that too in addition to an abundance of hands on lab work and exercizes. As a student you are provided with TA's that will assist you with any questions or obstacles you encounter and we had a great instructor who was very engaging and knowledgeable.  No questions or comment was too small or too big  I would send emails during off hours and still get a response.  Day one starts with Linux Administration and the last day you are literraly hacking into systems and doing a full presentation on the dedtails on how you did it.  You are required to do this over and over at which point you get pretty comforable with the presentation and hacking process. The support provided is incredible and I would absolutely recommend this to anyone curious about the security field. At first I didn't know if I made the right decision but now I know I did.  The entire staff was bar none second to none! Read less

    I started off as a automotive technician looking to change careers. So I decided to attend a bootcamp so that I could acquire as much knowledge and as quickly as I could. As someone coming into the course with no experience in web development it took me some time to understand it, but I can say with the support that the instructor and TA's gave me I overcame a lot of the struggles I had in the beginning.  Since this is a bootcamp the material will be presented very quick. Be prepared to spend a lot of time reviewing the activities and make sure to ask a lot of questions if the content isn't clear. 
    Overall it was an amazing experience and to look back and realize how much I learned just by taking the course I can say I am thankful I took the leap. One thing I will add is that you get what you put in so make sure you put in your best effort the resources and help they provide will help you make it through. Read less

I am a recent graduate of the CyberSecurity class. Even though I have approx 20yrs of experience it was amazing to see how much there was still to learn. We had a diverse class ranging from those new to IT to those will years of experience. The instructor always kept the class engaged in the topics and pushing us to think outside of the box, to think like an Ethical Hacker. The class starts off showing you the basics and gradually leads you down the rabbit hole of security. We explored forensics and incident response, to building and configuring security appliances. Before we knew it we were learning how to target systems as a penetration tester. If you are considering entering the CyberSecurity field, this is a great place to start. 

Besides having knowledgable instructors we had great TA's that not only provided help and guidance when needed but also made themselves available outside of class time. Read less

This has been, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I've ever made. While simultaneously pursuing an undergrad degree in a field I was slowly losing interest in, I took a leap and decided to try and learn how to code and web development. In short, it reignited my passion for learning. The instructors were amazing, the people were friendly, and the material taught was practical and could always be used in a job-like setting. You learn the fundamentals for what employers are looking for and you build a network of like-minded people to help you tackle any struggles that come your way. Something that was stressed in my class was that who you know is as important as what you know. They made sure students were competitive to employers and were ready to join the workforce right after graduation. Of course, it wasn't a walk in the park, and there are no guarantees. There were sleepless nights and tons of hair-pulling trying to learn and understand how things work. To be honest, I still haven't figured it all out, but I'm still learning and trying to and that's what matters. If you have that inner drive to continuously improve and learn, then this boot camp is a great catalyst to accelerate your future; giving you sought after skills in an exponentially growing industry. Thanks to the people at this boot camp, I've gone from studying towards an English degree with no prior knowledge of coding and development to learning a new skill and eventually landing a job within less than a year.  Read less

I can honestly say going to this bootcamp was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I had always wanted to pursue coding/programming, but college always made it seem like math was essential to the field. This prevented me from being able to pursue the CS degree I originally wanted. Because of this, I gave up on the idea. It wasn't till last year that I decided to look back into it, and I realized that math was never much of a requirement, at least in Software/Web Development. This prompted me to learn a little on my own, and eventually enroll in the bootcamp.

I've learned more in these past six months than I ever had before. I won't lie, it was hard. It was frustrating at times, I felt like giving up a couple times here and there, but if you stick with it, you will learn. The instructor and TA's were fantastic, and the fact that it is an in-person bootcamp meant I could talk to them, as well as my peers, face-to-face. This was invaluable to me, as working with others makes learning more fun, and easier, as you have real people to bounce ideas and solutions off of.

If you feel that this is a field you will truly enjoy and you like learning, I can't recommend this bootcamp enough. Read less

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life..."-Steve Jobs.
        As someone who just came out of high-School, these are great words to follow. We don't even know what's to come tomorrow, so why not start that dream right now and make that dream, reality! Knowing how short our lives our what better place to start than a school that offers this dream to you as fast as six-months to let you get a head start compared to the rest of the world. This class was quite rigorous, so being proactive and not procrastinating allowed for that precious time we have to be used to the fullest in such a small time frame. 

        Another useful trick to managing one's busy schedule with this school was creating a set schedule for the day because you do not want any day going by without coding. Also, the best advice I can give to a fellow future student is always double-checking what you are unsure of from google. You get to learn real fast that google becomes your best buddy.

       This class truly helped me to learn so many valued aspects of life. The best part about this journey was that I was not alone in this endeavor. I had many supporters that helped me varying from the TA's, instructor and classmates. In conclusion, this school was the best decision I could make to help jump start that dream I had into a reality that keeps on giving knowing that there is this vast world out there waiting for me to make my mark. Read less

I experienced a lot during my time at the Coding Bootcamp. Both rewarding and frustrating at times. However, whenever I felt like i needed help, the instructor and TAs were very helpful in showing me how to approach the problem. The program provided sufficient materials and resources to learn the topics in the curriculum. But if there was something I learned from my time at the bootcamp, Google is your friend!  Overall, I thought the program was set up to allocate the students with the materials that they need, and the services to become job ready, and employer competitive.

With that being said, you have to be proactive and put in the effort necessary to learn the concepts. If you ever feel like its frustrating, trust me, you will figure it out.  Be ready to spend a lot of time working on class assignments, homework and projects outside of class. I would recommend YouTube for learning concepts, additional research, and thorough elaboration if you feel confused. Again, Google is your friend.

For the student experience, I will say this. You may feel like you're not understanding it at first, but that is not true. You are learning at your pace, and your pace is good! I felt at times where i just was not understanding something, and I didn't want to turn something in because it was not fully completed. However, I would come back to it a week later, and I would have the, 'Aha!' moment that would give me that feeling of relief and success that validates my growth as a developer. You can do it. Just keep coding! practice, practice, practice!

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I had an intense but rewarding experience with this coding bootcamp. The instructor and TAs were very helpful in showing me how to use documentation and online community resources to learn a new framework or solve a problem. Admin and Support Staff constantly checked in to make sure I was getting a lot from the program. The program also provided sufficient materials and resources to learn the topics in the curriculm.  In general, I thought the program was set up to allow students succeed and be employer ready.

As many of the reviewers have said, you have to be proactive and put in the effort necessary to learn the concepts. Be ready to spend a lot of time working on class assignments, homeworks and projects outside of class. Google is also going to be your friend, as you will get comfortable finding solutions on websites such as Stack Overflow. Most importantly, do not hesitate to ask the instructor and TAs for help when you are stuck.

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Even though I have some IT background I was wondering where to start the Journey of codding world. Thank You for UCR Codding Bootcamp I have completed the 24 weeks program with a lot of class projects to show to my employers. Now I start looking for a job as a full stack developer. Thank you, Mike and Joe, for guiding us to this Journey. Not To mention Ryan Tony and Felipe's unlimited help!

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Everything about the class was amazing. Great support and staff to help you every step of the way. The only thing is that you have to be prepared for the rought ride. Do everything they give you and make sure to have extra time outsde of class to do the assignments given. I've learned alot by taking this class and so will you.

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This is a great course but you need to be prepared. Take the pre-course work seriously and try to understand it. You should do as much studying as possible before starting the course.   The class is pretty fast paced. That can be good or bad. Bad because you might feel overwhelmed at times which is normal but good because they definitely don’t short you on information. With this course it’s all about self efficacy. You get out what you put in. Be prepared to spend lots and lots and lots of time outside of class to absorb the information.   I’m happy with the class and my decision to take this course.  You have to put in the work though! 

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I had a great experience with this Coding Bootcamp and am really glad I enrolled. Like everyone already said, it's an intense 6 months and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel completely burned out at times trying to juggle this course, a kid, and a full time job. But the experience and effort are completely worth it. I learned so much, and while there is still a lot to learn, I feel I have the tools and skills necessary to move forward and learn not only the languages and technologies learned in class, but others as well. 

The instructor and TAs were amazing. They were always willing to help even outside of class and were so patient and helpful on top being being obviously very knowledgeable and experienced. The career services and admin staff are also very helpful. They are not there to make sure you secure a job, but they give you so many resources and guidance to prepare you for the job market. 

I was definitely worried enrolling after reading some of the worst reviews about bootcamps in general, but my experience here was completely on the other end of that spectrum and I'm glad I took the leap. Trying to learn all of tis on my own as was my original plan would have taken infinitely more time. I also met some great people and made some great connections so I'm ver grateful for that added benefit as well!

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