University of Arizona Boot Camps

As a recent graduate of the University of Arizona Web Development Boot Camp, I am excited to share my incredible experience with this program. Choosing to pursue a career in web development was a decision that has completely changed my life. After thorough research and understanding the need for skilled developers in today's digital world, I knew this was the right path for me. The University of Arizona Boot Camp stood out to me for its reputation, structure, and commitment to student success.

From the moment I applied, the Boot Camp team was supportive and welcoming, making the process seamless. The real game-changer, however, was the quality of the teaching and support staff. Our instructor was not only knowledgeable but also genuinely passionate about helping us succeed. The teaching assistants were equally amazing, always ready to offer guidance, answer questions, and provide encouragement.

My favorite aspect of the program was the hands-on, project-based approach to learning. We tackled real-world problems, which helped solidify the concepts we learned in class. This practical experience was invaluable, as it allowed us to develop a strong portfolio and build the confidence needed to succeed in the industry.

To prospective students considering the University of Arizona Web Development Boot Camp, I offer the following advice:

1. Be prepared to commit: This program demands time, effort, and dedication. Make sure you are ready to invest yourself fully in your learning journey.
2. Ask for help: The instructors and teaching assistants are there to support you. Don't hesitate to ask questions and seek clarification when you need it.
3. Network with your peers: Your fellow students are valuable resources. Share experiences, collaborate on projects, and learn from one another.
4. Stay curious: Web development is a constantly evolving field. Embrace learning and continue exploring new technologies even after the program ends.

In summary, my experience at the University of Arizona Web Development Boot Camp has been nothing short of amazing. The knowledge, skills, and connections I gained have laid the foundation for a successful and fulfilling career. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to dive into the world of web development!

This bootcamp was wonderful. The University of Arizona had incredibly warm and welcoming staff that were there for us students every step of the way! The TA's, instructor, and tutors were consistently available to us. My instructor was very passionate about coding and taught us so much valuable material we will use for life.

This was challenging doing alongside a full-time job, but they helped make it work and I am forever grateful for that.

I've always hated doing reviews. In all honesty, it feels like the equivalent of being asked to wrap an entire chocolate factory into one small candy wrapper. But if it weren't for University of Arizona(UofA) working with my circumstances I would have had precious little positive avenues to focus my attention on. "Worst Year", well, I will let you be the judge. Does the following constitute the term "Worst Year": 1. Major Car Accident  2. Cancer Diagnosis  3. Deaths of dear friends  4. Battle with health insurance for needed mediation  5. Let's not forget the complete loss of employment due to COVID19.  The most important thing to mention, handling all of these with a smile on your face since I care for an elderly relative with Dementia. If I loose my cool than she (elderly relative) gets worse in her condition.  Regardless if you agree or not about the "Worst Year", I am confident that you will agree smelly stuff happens and what you choose to Do with what is given you is the most important. I chose to stay in my bootcamp program and finish. If it weren't for the staff at UofA that would not have happened. I wanted a new future for myself and most of all didn't want my circumstance to dictate how far I would go to accomplish that. Thank you UofA! I will be back eventually to finish my Bachelors! 

For a long time, I wanted to transition out of my career. I didn't know what my options were. Going to school for a traditional degree seemed expensive, and didn't necessarily guarantee that a job would be waiting for me on the other side. I always considered myself a life-long student with a passion for learning. I knew that there had to be other opportunities for someone like me.

I tried getting into programming through some of the free options online that you might have heard of. But I quickly realized that I needed more of a structure and goal to work toward. I talked to a friend that had recently graduated from the UofA Coding Boot Camp for Full-Stack Web Development. It sounded like a really amazing opportunity! 

I enrolled in the boot camp shortly after speaking with my friend. I just graduated a few weeks ago, and can say whole heartedly that this was the best professional decision I have ever made. The instructional staff was amazing! From the tutors to the career services staff. Everyone is there to support you and see you succeed. 

Its going to be challenging! You have to put in the effort and the work. You will get out of it what you put into it. But you're going to be better off for it! This was an invaluable experience. I'd recommend it to anyone who has been thinking about getting into software engineering. 

TLDR:
After going through the full six months Bootcamp and three months of career services, I can 100% recommend this program. However, this is only if you are willing to commit 30+ hours a week to classes, homework, and practice. If not, save your money and stick to cheaper or free options.


Overall Experience:
I entered this Bootcamp with 5 years of agency web design experience and also after having done a Codecademy course and Treehouse course on front-end development. I also spent a month or more on the Pre-Work assignments that they provided. (These are extensive, so do not wait until the week before to begin them.) All combined, these things helped me feel "ahead" the first three weeks or so. After these initial weeks, I was in the same boat as everyone else and everything we learned was completely new.

The material was taught in a way that you can come in with no design or coding experience and be fine. It ramps up in experience level quickly and I often found myself spending hours after class taking additional courses to dive deeper or even understand the initial concepts taught in class.

This is by design though. As a developer in the real world, you don't know everything already. You constantly have to learn each day and knowing where to look is a huge skillset. The Bootcamp teaches you the art of "Google-Fu", as much as it does the syntax of React or MySQL. This is very important.

This program is extremely time-consuming. You get out what you put in and if it is less than 25 hours, you will fall behind. If you put in 30+ hours you will learn more than you could imagine. I did this during the beginning of the pandemic while working a 50-70+ hour a week job. It was not fun. But it was completely worth it. Having the career you want and feeling good about what you get to work on is worth it.

Every week my classmates and I were growing. It was happening so fast that we often didn't even realize it until our teacher pointed out our growth. We went from not knowing what javascript was, to deploying full-stack MERN apps on our own in a matter of a few months. That is huge.

It became so apparent that this program was worth it, that 5 months in, I quit my job to focus on this full time. I don't regret this decision because this program taught me more in those 5 months than I had in 3+ years since getting interested in code. And it taught me how to leverage all of my design experience into fully functional products. I now have an actual career in web development because of it.

Before I mentioned my classmates. They are pivotal to the success and completion of this program. We formed close relationships with each other and helped each other out as each of us got stuck. This was highly encouraged by the instructors. We learned how to work together as a team and months after the Bootcamp I am still talking almost daily with them about code, life, and memes.   


Curriculum:
The material is very structured and covers a lot. I repeat, it covers a lot. You will not become an expert in any one language through this course. Rather, you will get exposed to many technologies and will learn how to teach yourself new ones. From there you can see if front-end, backend, or a mixture of both suits your fancy. After the Bootcamp, you can then go deeper.

While there are definitely presentations and development theory/methodologies discussed, most of the Bootcamp is spent actually coding. The Instructor demos a new concept and then you and your classmates will practice it. Each week there is a large homework assignment that covers those concepts. It is a very effective mixture of instructor guidance and the freedom to try things and make mistakes without judegment.

My only critique is that I wished we stayed a little longer on each core subject. (CSS / JS / Servers / Databases / React) This goes by fast and making this an 8-9 month program instead of 6 months, would have been well worth the money to me.


Instructors:
I can't stress enough how awesome my instructor and TA's (teacher assistants) were. They made everything mentioned so far, actually valuable. Our instructor TJ, was patient, accommodating, and innovative in how he communicated to our class. He was a true pro and in the rare case he didn't know the answer right away to our questions, he was humble enough to say so. Then he would take extra time outside of class to look up and the answer and teach it to us. Our two TA's Ceaser and Phil were also stellar. All three spent so many hours with us after class to debug, answer questions, or give career advice. I don't think I would have learned as much as I did without their support.


Job Assistance:
My Career Director Amber helped me take my newly learned skills, combine them with my past experience, and make the final package marketable to new employers. We worked together for 3 months and by the end, my materials were completely transformed. She helped me in our meetings and offline, by providing many resources and tips on how to interview in the tech space.

I definitely felt the impact of "imposter syndrome" now having to compete in a space that I have 6-8 months of experience in. Amber helped by listening and then encouraging me or challenging my assumptions. Because of that, I felt a lot more confident as I started to apply and interview.

She called our time together "a partnership" and I think this is very well-reflected in my experience. The interview process is rough, but I never felt alone through it.

Career services is a lot of work, even though the actual Bootcamp is over. But let me tell you it is worth investing in. I ended up landing interviews with the two dream companies I have always wanted to work at. 


Conclusion:
Paying thousands of dollars for a Bootcamp and committing over 6 months of time and effort is not a small decision. In my experience though, it was completely worth it.  If you are willing to put in the work, make an effort to form relationships with your classmates, and are lucky enough to get a great instructor—it will change your career. 

My name is Chris and I had not owned a computer for years before signing up for this class. I remember getting to a point and thinking to myself "so javascript is not the same as Java". I remember struggling with HTML and CSS and now Im making full stack applications in React.js and learning about Socket.io. The experience has been incredible and I feel that I have made some connections that will help me continue to become a better developer. If anything the resources I have gathered in this class has truely helped with my professional appearance on social medias like Linkedin. 

 

My instructor is one the best teachers I have ever had. Not only does he care about my well-being but he is really passionate about what he does. Having an actual developer as an insturctor has really made a huge difference in the student experience. He tells us things about how he started as a developer after school and what to expect when entering the developer community and carreer field. His insights have really lowered the stress of learning something new and being worried that Im not grasping the concepts as fast as others or as fast as I should be. It was fun to be a part of this class. 

 

It has always been my dream to go to school at the University of Arizona and I have finally lived my dream while changing my entire life in the process. I'm so grateful for the opportunity given by this boot camp. Im confident that any one willing to put the time and effort in to learning something new to change their lives can do so by attending a coding boot camp. This is not for the light hearted. You will put a lot of time, energy, and tears in to this. It is very fast paced and you will learn a ton of concepts all at once. The beautiful thing about the design is while some concepts you will learn are no longer used in the industy the will teach you a valuable fundamental for the next concept and overall understanding of programming languages. 

I reviewed the University of Arizona Bootcamp as a means to enhance my current job and experience. I noticed, at the time, the core functions of my job were moving to automation and I wanted to be involved. I also wanted to change direction and push towards working with databases.

I looked into the University of Arizona Bootcamp and spoke with recruiters for the program. I was interested and decided to give the program a try. One, because it was a field I had previous interest. Two, to improve my current job situation and knowledge. Three, to get exposure to database work.

First, the program requires dedication. There is a lot to learn and the pace is fast. The pace can be overwhelming at times and there is a fair amount of struggle. Here is the catch, you have support. At no time during the program did I ever feel alone. The support from the instructors and the assistance was always friendly and professional. The support from the facilitators for the program was professional. The assistance from the staff that graded our projects and homework was amazing. A last but not least, the support from your classmates, who are in the same situation as you, in most cases, working a full time job and have a family, was invaluable. 

You will learn more than you know by the end of the class, no matter how much or little you may struggle. You will learn th network and you will find the instructors and classmates are going to become your first contacts into this new world, and they will become friends you keep in touch with.

The program provides so much more than it advertises. You just need to commit to the struggle and stay the course. If you ever find yourself wavering, lean on your team. You will all make it together. I do not and will not regret my decision to take the Bootcamp.

 

-Charles Bess, Jr.

As a designer I never really wanted to learn how to code. I felt it was not ever going to be a part of my career choice. After having designed in the athletics industry for 10+ years, I left my company due to a buy-out. So I began to look for work as a designer. There were none, and I decided to learn code and start a semi-new career. I was terrified I was old. I did not know what to expect.

Today I had my first interview with a leading company in Tucson to be a React front end developer and designer. I admit that I did not know EVERYTHING there is to know about React. But I built my portfolio with the skills that I have and it got me in the door. Our instructor Dave is probably the best instructor I've had in any subject. He cares about code and cares about our success as students and hopefully employees.

But I must admit, I was completely lost in the beginning. The key, in my opinion, is to NOT GIVE UP. Keep going to class, keep not understanding, keep being frustrated. It is PART of the PROCESS. You have to be frustrated in order to understand. It feels weird. It is but guess what, it is WORTH IT.

I am not the best coder. I didn't get A's on every assignment. I missed a couple of sessions. But I tried and I listened and I asked questions. I got a tutor (thanks John D!) - and these couple of things made a difference.

GET A TUTOR. It is included. Once a week for 50 minutes. It HELPS SO MUCH.

I recommend this course to anyone that has ambition and is serious about learning. It works.

If you are if iffy, or if you don't really want to learn code, or if you treat it like "school" and not like an opportunity that can pay off, than skip it.

BUT, if you have a little experience doing css or html, are ambitious and attentive, then go for it. LEARNING FEELS SUCKY, that's why people quit. LEARNING IS UNCOMFORTABLE. 

But man oh man, in the end it is a great accomplishment. And you actually know stuff. 

Get ready to work your butt off! This class is tough and every part of the application process will remind you of that fact. If you're willing to put in the time, the effort, and the sacrifices that will be needed to succeed for the next 6 months, you'll come out with extremely valuable skills and insights into an evergrowing industry. The staff is top-notch, TA and career assistance is fantastic, and projects will push you to extremes that will improve not only your coding skills, but also your leadership, project, and time management skills.

I would encourage others to enroll in the Bootcamp if you're truly serious about learning this industry. All of the experiences that you'll go through from start to graduation will all be worth it and you certainly won't regret it.

The course was rigorous, well thought out and designed, and brutal (but in a good way). The past six months completely changed my life. I was a retail employee who hated his job and now I am a junior web developer making more money with a better schedule doing something I love. 

 

You will get out of this course only as much effort and time as you put in. Lots of homework, lots of activities, and frankly you really can only miss 1 MAYBE 2 classes and still be on track without alot of outside tutoring. They offer tutoring, they have great TAs and teachers, and amazing career services. I had a teacher name David that changed my whole perspective and experience on software engineering and code.

 

Worth EVERY PENNY. Skills I wish there was more of in the course: Redux, JIRA. Skills I wish they focused on less: jQuery, Handlebars (they were usefull just not as much as others).

 

I write react/redux javascript code (with some css and html obviously) every single day at work. I landed my job 1 month before graduating. I had to put in a lot of effort but it was trilogy that provided me with that chance and these skills! Thank you trilogy and thank you David!

Fantastic experience, overall the whole course was fast and heavy with learning of languages. I came in with very little knowledge, originally from the medical field where patients are always asking for more than what you know so you have to be resourceful, it is the same with this course you have to be willing to ask for help and research some of it yourself. It is very helpful to get connected with everyone that is in the class, mainly due to the fact that everyone coming in to the course have different levels of understanding of the content at hand that will help break down the areas that one might be struggling in. Even at the lowest point where I was just about give up and say that I cannot do this, just know that the people there have been in the same spot in the past and now they have succeeded. Use as much of your previous knowledge to understand what is at hand, a new chapter in your life where you will be ready learn a new language every month or less, it is a great skill to  have in any field but way better in the software industry.

This program prepares a rookie developer (with no experience) to be able to understand and navigate any codebase as well as a take on a new tech stack without being intimiated. The curriculum will prepare you to learn 'how to learn' so that whatever job comes your way you can confidently tell the recruiters if their specific stack isn't on your resume not to worry. You will learn the skills that are part of all programming languages and although you may not know the symtax yet, you can read the code and explain whats happening. The tech stack being taught is valuable and has given the foundation needed to interview even during class, and many of my classmates had job offers before the end of the cohort. 

Areas of improvement for this bootcamp lay within preparing students a bit more during early aspects of class in relation to their career search. There are early career checkpoints, but its not a emphasized much in class so it does not feel as important or 'required' -- with this its easy to get stuck in the code working on keeping up with the schoolwork. If it could be integrated into the teaching points a bit more I see students taking these career assignments more seriously. That may be more a reflection on me as a student rather than a fair critique. Replacing handlebars with more React.js or React Native is the one curriculum downfall. It has value, but React is so intense a bit more time with that seems like a greater value than what handlebars provides in relation to jobs in Phoenix. 

Although I initially started this course with a background in programming, I felt like I was missing something when it came to my skillset and knowledge of development. I decided to enroll in the Full Stack Bootcamp course through the U of A and I have to say it was one of the best decisions I've made. Throughout the course I was exposed to a variety of new subjects while also reviewing some familiar ones. I enjoyed the stack that we were learning in this course because it is on par with what a majority of companies want in a developer today. My instructor and TA's were wonderful and tremendously helpful in enhancing my skillset and even helping me land a new job as a Software Engineer. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to change their professional career, or even someone who wants to enhance their development skills. 

I would say that my overall experience was pretty good. My instructor and TAs in the class were extremely knowledgeable in the content presented. However, I do think that the curriculum could use a bit of an update. Considering that React is such an important and in-demand framework, I was surprised that there was only two weeks to focus on this. There were other frameworks that are included in the course that I really haven't seen employers looking for, particularly Firebase and Handlebars. Although it might be different in other parts of the country, these don't seem to be prevalent here in Arizona. Also, even though I took the 6 month course, you will need to spend on average an additional 20-30 hours per week to be successful. This course isn't for the faint of heart. Finding material to supplement what you are learning in class is essential to understanding the concepts in class. Finally, career services is a bit of hit-or-miss. My career services director, Mark, is great. He is really positive and has a lot of great tips. However, the profile coach that I had didn't give me anything that I couldn't glean from reading the career services rubric. From what I have heard, this is a piece of the program that they are focusing on improving. At the end of the day, though, getting a job after this seems like it will be as much hard work as getting through the course (I just graduated a little less than a week ago). I do think that career services will be there to support me along the way, but that will probably have to be a review for another time.

This bootcamp very much changed my life and the way I feel about myself. I was a data analyst for 8 years prior to going through the program. I didn’t hate my job, but I didn’t feel passionate about it. The company I worked for was downsizing and I could feel my time there was limited, so I decided to learn a new trade that seemed much more interesting to me. I had no prior experience aside from dabbling on Khan Academy or Codeacademy.

I graduated in January of 2018 and can proudly say I have just hit my 90 day mark as a Front End Developer, all thanks to what I was able to learn through the UofA Coding Bootcamp. I look forward to going into work every day where I get to build stuff and solve complex puzzles for a living! I am so excited every time I get to explain what I do to new people I meet. I have truly found my passion in life.

This program is absolutely meant for people who are self motivated. The hours are tough. You will be spending 10+ hours in the classroom every week, and if you want to be truly successful you also need to devote ~20 hours a week to homework and activities. It is difficult and tiring, but so worth it that at the end of my 6 months, I signed up to do it all over again as a TA.

The program will provide you with all the materials you need to become a developer. There is an incredible level of support from the instructor, TAs, and student success manager to help you achieve your goals, but it is ultimately up to YOU to make sure you are putting in the time it takes to practice the skill.

Now that I have seen the process from both sides (student and TA) I can honestly say that the people who run this bootcamp truly care about you and your success. The friendships and connections I have made through this program will impact me for a lifetime. My life will forever be better because of this experience.

I am a current student of the Part Time, Full Stack Flex program in Gilbert.The program has really uplifted me personally; it's been a great opportunity to build mastery. The curriculum is great, covering a wide range of topics, and I believe any student of web development should be able to find something they love to do in this course. The experience is also immersive. I've spent a minimum of 20 hours/week outside of class coding every week of the past 4 months. My skill level has grown at a terrific rate due to the availability of many projects and prompts to attempt as well as the rigor of the curriculum. Fair warning: I had dreams about programming for the first month of the course, I was so immersed. It was a tough adjustment, but it's been well worth the investment. 

The instructors and TAs are really great -- they're open and available for questions and support every step along the way. Additionally, there is a team of people who provide career support and advice, as well as a Student Success Manager who is there to offer advice with work-life balance, professional development, and also coding! This program is very challenging and moves at a fast pace, and yet I've never felt unsupported. With 2 months left to go, I'm excited to finish and saddened to see the time going by. I was encouraged to start applying for jobs while still in the program, and after searching for a week, I'm being approached for interviews. I strongly recommend this option for anyone who is comparing boot camps or weighing their options for changing careers to web development.

I graduated from the Coding Boot Camp in April 2018, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about changing your life. As a matter of full disclosure, I returned to the class as a TA and am currently employed here. My opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the school; my employment certainly does not affect the objectivity of this review. Simply put, you will get out of this course what you put into it. Look at the other reviews here and elsewhere; you'll see the difference. That's certainly not to look down on anyone or to reflect poorly on them, but this class is intense, fast-paced, and demands extensive self-driven study and review outside of class. That's not something everyone can do. I would often put 30-40 additional hours after class - in addition to the 10 hours in class - per week. When I went through the class, I had a full time job, a part time job, and a family. My wife was pregnant through most of the class, and we moved the week before graduation. I finished the course with straight A's and was offered a job immediately after graduation, thanks to the portfolio show hosted by the school. They had us display our final projects to potential employers. Now that I'm at my new job (paying nearly double weekday my previous employer paid), I can see they wanted me specifically after seeing my work. You can do this. If you're serious about changing the course of your life, I'd highly recommend it. The support staff is singly outstanding. I didn't have any issues with TAs leaving, and all 4 of mine were absolutely top-notch. The teacher is so exceptional, I asked if I would be welcome as a TA, partially because I wanted to continue a professional relationship with him. I wish they had spent more time off React instead of introducing Java - that's a tiny gripe in the grand scheme of things.

This course was very fast paced but very thorough in their methods. We went from learning the basics of HTML to writing full stack web apps in the course of 3 months... seems outlandish at first, but with amazing instructor support and a lot of dedication, this bootcamp will have you job ready in no time at all! Make sure to keep up with the homework no matter how long it takes. Once you cement the concepts and languages into your head, it makes your life much easier as a bootcamp student.

You know honestly, It was so hard getting into an entirely new job field but i have to say i'm so happy i did it. I didn't quit and i listened to my instructors which made it so much more easy. Coding can be very frustrating, but when you have people that really care about you it just makes everything so special. Not only do i recommend this bootcamp, but i highly suggest enrolling immediately. My life is changed, and my drive and killer instinct is finally back. Thank you University of Arizona boot camp.

I learned a lot about programs that I would not have been exposed to otherwise. However, a big chunk of the bootcamp was focused on JavaScript and Geomapps? Stuff that you most likely don't need to know as a Data Scientist. I can make a website but I can't explain machine learning to you. There is very little emphasis on actual statistics. 

Also, the "career assistance" is an automated bot that does not actually assist you in reviewing resumes and getting a job. This is probably one of the best selling points of the program and it's not even a real person.

Finally, they don't teach you how to code. They "give you the skills so you can learn to code by yourself", which basically means that you become an expert at googling everything they are supposed to teach you. They brushed over things like loops and functions without dedicating the time that these concepts deserve. Honestly, I wish I had read a review like this before enrolling in this bootcamp. Your 10K is better spent at a different course!

I was accepted to four different programs that I was deciding between before I chose to earn a certificate from the University of Arizona Data Analytics Boot Camp. My other three choices were: a Master’s degree in business analytics at the University of Arizona in Tucson, a Master’s degree in business analytics online through Arizona State University, and an online certificate through Harvard University (including a $10,000 scholarship). I asked for advice from some people who work in analytics at the hospital in my community, and both of them recommended the UA Data Analytics Boot Camp because they said the hands-on, in-person learning of this material would be more important in this industry than my other options. This option involved a huge commitment for me because I commute 2 hours each way to attend this class in person.

I chose to study data analytics because of my interests and some previous work experience in marketing research. I worked for Information Resources, Inc. in Chicago, IL, more than a decade ago. I really enjoyed our testing of new food products in grocery stores and analyzing that data. For family reasons, I quit that job but always hoped to return. However, as I saw the increase in the availability of data, I realized that to work in a similar field now, it would be best to learn how to analyze this vast amount of data with new tools.

My favorite aspect of the UA Data Analytics Boot Camp are the resources available to us. Our instructor, Mark, is excellent! We have talked as classmates about the fact that we’ve never gone to him with a problem that he wasn’t able to solve, often very quickly, too. Though he uses a PC in class, I’ve been able to use my Mac for everything, and he’s able to help people with both PCs and Macs. He is very knowledgeable about the topics, but what’s even better is that he loves what he’s teaching. I can’t help but get excited about it, even after my long commute! We also have TAs in class who are willing to help, and access to online tutors, which I’ve taken advantage of. It's helpful to have other classmates to ask questions of and to learn from right there in the class. Finally, there are so many resources available through Career Services. I have participated in many helpful online webinars and have received feedback on my brand statement and resume, with more to come including LinkedIn and Github.

My advice to prospective students is to consider how much time you can commit for this 6-month boot camp. The title “boot camp” is very applicable because we cover the material very quickly. New material and new assignments are flying at us on a weekly basis, and the only way to absorb it is to spend enough time outside of class to apply what we’re learning. I have two part-time jobs while in this boot camp, but I seem to have more time to spend than some of my classmates, and that’s helped me. In addition, I’ve talked with two students separately (one from my class and one from another section) who told me, without me even asking, that the thing they regret most is not having more time outside of class to really dig in and learn this material. In one of the Career Services webinars, two previous graduates mentioned they spent about 30 hours/week outside of class. It was helpful to know that in advance.

So... check it out. I just finished the bootcamp last week. I'm like a freed hostage with Stockholm syndrome. 

Long story short, it's expensive in relative terms (IMO), super fast-paced, and is one of those things where the effort you put in determines what you get out. When you sign up, they kind of beat that into your head (EFFORT) and, of course, you think you'll be fine and then holy shit you're on the bullet train to data town. But, if nothing else, you come out not as an expert in anything but you'll know how to use a cubic ton more tools than you went in with... 

I'd taken numerous college level programming courses in the past so I understood programming concepts (OOP, etc) going in and it didn't really help. Pace is fast as fast. Like, fast. I cannot stress this enough. Fast. I also have toddler twins and a full+ time job. So I had to manage the fuck out of my schedule. My wife hates me but not because of the bootcamp but because I'm the type of dad that would commit to that kind of bootcamp. 

BUT teacher and TA were top notch. Really good. My cohort was a cool group. All kinds of skill levels and backgrounds. 

If you have a longing to like know tech stuff and you're around data or want to be around mounds of data, while expensive, I would literally be shocked if you regretted the bootcamp. Huge investment of money and time. Huge potential payoff for those of you without toddler twins and a wife who hates you for your lust for knowledge. 

Good luck. I'd say God Speed but you don't need any more fast.

I entered this course as a complete beginer. Within the first few weeks I was really wondering if I had made a mistake as I am a very slow learner when it comes to computers. I have confidence in my overall navigation of a windows or mac computer but as far as programing and reading code my only previous experience was copying and pasting code customizing my Myspace profile. Needless to say, I was very intimidated for a good portion of the course. From the first time I requested information about the school on their website to the moment I was handed my certificate was a very smooth experience. During application I was never bombarded with phone calls asking if I was ready to make a payment or felt pressured in any way. The career coaches you speak with in the begining are genuinely interested in who you are and what your goals and are there to give you a honest opinion as to whether this course would be a good fit for you or not. All in all I felt like I had real real resources and not a sales person there for me which is very important when you are about to spend a large amount of money for something you essentially have no knowledge of.

Upon starting the course the environment of the classroom was very comfortable, everyone is there to learn and you all have one thing in common, this mental obstacle course you're both about to start! I feel as though I made very valuable connections because you grow together with people when you share a common goal and along the way you get frustrated and discouraged but then theres the joy you feel when you resolve the issue! We were all very different people with a common goal and we all learned alot together. When you leave the course you have people to connect with who can endorse you, inform you of other job opportunities, give tips or simply reminisce about the program together! The point being is you leave with  a connection of people in a industry you are trying to enter, this to me is something that money cant buy and is a very valuable thing you get out of this program.

The course spans a wide range of material and is a very fast paced. This is as simple or complex as you want to make it. The time management aspect for me personally was the hardest part. You are learning at a fast pace and you have alot of resources but at the end of the day this program is teaching you how to build a website and everything behind the scenes, there is no other way to approach this than to know going in that this will not be easy, you have TA's with unlimited patience but they do not go home with you or constantly remind you to do your work, they're there if you need them but this is about you learning for yourself. Even if you show up physically but not mentally, you are doing yourself a disservice. I say this because I was there. This program is a gold mine but you have to do your part. 

Leaving the program I learned much more than coding and programming languages. This program taught me to be adaptable when it comes to learning something new, to not get stuck in my ways and that its ok to make mistakes. When you are in a certain job position for almost 10 years you become stagnant. I felt like a complete idiot at times and learned how to explain my problems in a simpler more effecient way. I learned a great sense of responsibility and accountability which is something that was missing from my life. These are all things money cant buy and I can honestly say this course is now the reason I walk a little bit taller in my job because now I knoweven though I have not mastered the material we covered in the course, if I continue to learn and learn code as if school never ended I will not be stuck at my job for forever. This is a feeling that I did not have or think I could ever have in my life. This program was worth way more than what I payed for it.

As I am now a graduate I cant comment much on the job market or career services much but I speak with a very happy and helpful career coach weekly who is encouraging and informative. I still communicate and am up to date on al the events that will be happening and still feel connected to the school. The TA's were all excellent and I aspire to be like them as they were supportive, fun and just all around great people. I am going to miss the friends I made at the U of A coding boot camp and encourage anyone who is thinking about doing this to do it. Truly a magnificent program that will forever be a turning point in my life. 

The U of Arizona Full Stack Flex Web Development Program is well worth your time and effort. There are amazing instructors, a challenging curriculum and an enormous amount of challenges. If you are committed to making a change in your life or you are redirecting your career. This is the place to be. You will be challenenged, frustrated and will at times doubt yourself. I did all of those things and still perservered. It was worth it. I feel that I created a remarkable beginning of a new chapter in my life and so can you. If you have the passion, determination and willingness to stretch this is the experience for you.

I am a recent graduate of this bootcamp, I graduated in April of 2018, and in full disclosure I am currently a teaching assistant with the bootcamp. That being said, the following review consists of personal thoughts and opinions:

Let me start off by saying this course is not easy. You will be constantly pushed and challenged, not only by the curriculum, but also by the pace. Although, it is still very doable! 

If you are willing to put in the time and effort, the instructors and TAs will work with you tirelessly to make sure you succeed. But it takes sacrifice and self-study. That cannot go understated. The bootcamp recommends putting in 20 hours of self-study a week, on top of the 10 hours of classroom time. However, I would recommend upping that number to either 30 or 40 hours per week. 

The instructor and TAs were phenomenal. I am frankly shocked how much I learned over the course of 6 months and while I certainly put in the hard work, I know it would not have been possible without such an amazing instructional team. Their ability to break down complex problems and topics into easier to understand pieces was truly top notch.

I wanted to point out that the tech job market here in Phoenix is robust and there are jobs out there for bootcampers. And everything we did in class, from homework assignments, activities and projects, are all geared towards putting together an attractive portfolio to share with potential employers. I lined up a lot of interviews (at least 10+), received multiple job offers, and accepted a software development position with a top tier consulting firm with a great salary and benefits. All of this before the bootcamp even ended. 

I had other interviews lined up that I had to cancel, and I had companies that came to our demo day urging me to reconsider the job I accepted so that I could interview for their positions. Which brings me to my next point - the student success team does an awesome job! They put on a demo day for our final projects that was very well attended by Phoenix tech companies looking to hire developers with the skills learned in this class. The job I did accept was presented to me by the career services team as well. 

I'm a 48 year old who works in IT currently, but the techology changes so fast that I needed a way to advance my skills. 

Because of my age and the fact that all the apps and systems I work on seemed to be moving into a web browser (and I knew nothing about web development); I looked for a Full Stack Developer Bootcamp. After looking at a few I chose the U of A bootcamp because it was in person (I learn better that way), it's a major univeristy and it was a reasonably priced compared to other coding bootcamps.

This is a bootcamp and requires a lot of effort, but they provide lots of support with teacher assistants, tutoring, excellent instructors and a very good curriculum. I've been able to learn so much about Full Stack development and more importantly I feel I have the ability to keep updating my skills on my own.

The best part for me was after telling my employer I was taking this class my manager was able to get me a 6.5% (our normal has been 1.5% to 2 %) merit increase because I was taking this course. The merit increase for this year covers more than half of the cost of the class.  After two years it will have paid for itself!

 

The UA Coding Bootcamp, put on in conjunction with Trilogy Education, is worth every penny.  I graduated from their July 2017-Jan 2018 session (this was their 2nd group offered in Arizona at the time).  The class met at a great tech facility in downtown Gilbert.  They run a concurrent Monday/Wednesday and a Tuesday/Thursday session, each meeting from 6:30pm-9:30pm on their respective nights.  On Saturdays, both groups come together from 10:00am-2:00pm.  Each session has its own primary Instructor and at least two Teacher Assistants.  Saturday classes include all TA's; the Instructors take turns running the Saturday classes. 

The material covered begins with basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and works its way up through a full stack of libraries, frameworks, and tech.  The class is definitely fast paced.  While they market this course as being a part-time course designed to work around your 8-5 job, be warned that the pace of this class will demand significant focus and time.  You will have 10 hours each week in class, and on top of that, I would recommend a minimum of 20 hours of studying and application of new material.  That will likely keep you struggling to breath, but alive.  Personally, I ended up quitting my 8-5 job and focusing on learning and practicing the tech taught in class.  I spent about 30-45 hours/week, and feel that I did quite well with the course material plus additional learning.

The curriculum is great.  It is current and well thought out.  The high up staff at Trilogy are constantly re-evaluating what should be updated or how they should change the pace and content.  They were very open to constructive criticism.  

The support staff was also top-knotch.  They have a Student Success Manager whom is amazing; she was never slow to respond to communication and was always helpful and encouraging.  If a student is struggling while putting in the time and work, they will be certain to match the student up with TA's for one on one time, as well as free tutoring that may better line up with a student's schedule.  

The TA's were mostly awesome.  The struggle with the TA position is that it attracts newer developers whom are in the process of building their resumes/portfolios while attempting to acquire a full time developing job.  As such, my session of the class went through SEVERAL TA's that would join, work for a few weeks, then leave when they began the full time job they'd been seeking from the beginning.  On the other hand, the other session had two TAs that were amazing from day one and stayed committed to the process till the very last day.  So your mileage may very; your class may get lucky with the TA's on the first shot, or it might take a few tries till Trilogy locks in the best ones.  For what it is worth, my session did have excellent TA's, too, we just seemed to get very unlucky with commitment with the initial handful until Trillogy had the fortune of finding people that would actually stay to the end. 

The Instructors were top knotch.  Both the M/W and the T/Th classes had excellent instructors with years of real world experience.  The great thing is that you do have access to both instructors; you can live stream classes to listen in on lectures from the other instructor.  This is an great tip to gaining extra value from the classes when you have the time.  Although both instructors are covering the same material, they may do so in a different way, and hearing it an additional time through oten helps the concepts sink in.  I will say that, as with the TA's, the Instructors face the challenge of spending their focus and attention on the class for six months straight.  At one point, one instructor began a new job; there was a palpable decrease in this instructor's efforts towards the class after that point.  It is completely understandable for one's efforts to decrease as one's attention is demanded elsewhere, but the level of preparation never came back to where it had been before.  So again, your mileage may vary in terms of consistent quality.  

In the end, no matter how great the curriculum, instruction, or continued education services are, it will come down to the effort that you as a student put in.  It is truly possible to go in knowing nothing, and come out with new, in-demand skills that will help you launch a new career!  It is not an understatement to call this an opportunity for one to change one's life, but do not believe that the program itself will change your life for you.  Rather, it provides the opportunity for you to change your own life.  

I whole-heartedly recommend this bootcamp, and encourage future students to consistently apply yourselves and use the MANY resources to obtain success that Trilogy/U of A provides you with here.  It is a worth while endevour! 

 

I have 20+ years of experience in IT, mostly in application support, implementation, and administration.  I was ready for a career switch.  I had a small amount of programming experience with multiple languages and interfaces, and for years, I have desired to explore software development as a full-time job.  With some programming background, I wondered if the course might be "easy" for me; although, I had read a number of posts on Course Report that the course if fast-paced, and it required much more work than people anticipated.

After speaking with an admissions counselor, and telling him I'm not employed but I have a family to care for, he recommended the Flex (Part-Time) Coding Bootcamp.  Taking his advice was the RIGHT decision for me: The course work started out easy enough, but within 2 weeks it was obvious that deep-learning would indeed require a significant time investment.  After four weeks, the breadth and complexity increased dramatically, and the pace and complexity never let up through the end of the course.  It was a constant "drinking from a firehose", and the "part-time" bootcamp often felt like full-time work.

I loved attending the University of Arizona Flex Full Stack Coding Bootcamp.  The course covers then entire breadth of full-stack development.  If you search career sites, such as O-NET OnLine (onetonline.org) and developer job postings, the technologies, paradigms, and practices covered in the bootcamp are listed as "hot" or "in-demand" and found in a large number of postings.  The more time and effort you are able to put into the course will pay off in the learning and confidence you will gain.