University of Utah Professional Education Boot Camps

• Real-world experience with in-class activities that are geared towards success. 
• The instructor (Mr. F) really complimented the study material well and couldn’t have been better. It was extremely interesting all the way through. I’m usually one to steer clear of the front of the classroom and I enjoyed it enough that I moved to the front row.
• Being able to interact with a cybersecurity expert and get an inside look at the field. We were taught things you simply just can’t learn from a book. 
• Career-focused exposure to all different aspects of cybersecurity. 
• The homework was challenging but the assignments were definitely interesting and applicable to the real world. 
• The career services are a huge help, the one on one meetings on zoom have been very beneficial. 
• ALL of the staff were outstanding. The instructor, the TA's, the tutor along with career services mentor always welcomed any questions I had and were ambitious to help out.

• The classes were three to four hours long (weekends) which weres taxing at times but the interesting nature of the activities made it go by surprisingly fast.
• This program requires a lot of time outside of class to get these concepts down. I really enjoyed the material we were working with so putting in time outside of class was easy. I would average 20-30 hrs a week depending on what we were covering that week.
• One thing that we were told on the first day was how challenging the class was and how it gets progressively more difficult as it goes on, there's no denying that at all. 
• It was stressful and took up a tremendous amount of time but was very well worth it in the end.

I did the full stack program here and it was awesome. I like that they teach front end and back end development so that everyone can see for themselves which they would prefer. That, and it being through the U, was why I chose this boot camp. The curriculum was very good and helped me in my current role and also helped me get a promotion. The information taught is what should be known by anyone working in software development in my opinion, it isn't just for developers. There is a lot you can do with this kind of knowledge. 

In this program we learned to use javascript and frameworks associated with it, including Node, Express, React, and jQuery. We also learned to use Mongo and mySQL databases. I really enjoyed the program, even though it was very fast paced. I think it is important for anyone that is looking into the program to make sure this is something they are really interested in learning, because it is a very intense 6 months. The level of support avaliable is excellent though, and the instructors and other administration want to see you succeed. I think it was very worth it.

I've been doing PHP coding for 5 years and wanted to learn Full Stack JavaScript development but I needed to make sure whatever course I took was rigorous, comprehensive and affordable. I have to say that I couldn't be happier with the results. I have learned so much in just six months. It started out basic and slow to give the inexperienced students a good starting point and it built on the presented concepts very well as the course got going. We learned how to build front-end websites and excellently transitioned into JavaScript which the rest of the class focused on. It was an intense workload at times, but you need to struggle with these things to start mastering them. They force you into that position because it really is educational and develops a plethora of skills well beyond learning a programming language. My only issue is that a lot of the homework assignments were games. Games are fun and engaging, but the real-world project stuff didn't come into play until a fair way into the class. Regardless, at the end of the day I have learned exactly what the course advertised, true full stack web application skills. I'm now transitioning from the small startup I've been employed with to a much bigger company with better benefits, salary and the opportunity to work on entire applications instead of code monkeying scripts. I highly recommend talking to the reps if you are at all interested in software, a stable and upwardly mobile carrer or want a program that is much cheaper than the big name bootcamps in New York and Chicago.

I highly recommend the University of Utah's Full Stack Web Development program. I participated in the 6 month part time program where I comprehensively learned industry standard frontend and backend web dev technologies and languages. My instructor was extremely knowledgeable and consistently took the time to ensure that we were taken care of. I got a job as a Software Engineer right out of the program and I can directly attribute that to the programs quality and a lot of hustle. I will say that the program is not easy and you will have to work VERY hard to get through it but they provide TA's and tutors as a part of the program who are there to help you every step of the way.

My name is Logan Lee and I took this course January of 2018, and finished in July of 2018.  My experience during those 6 months was different than any other education I have had.  I will not lie, it was challenging. One of the harder things I've done in my life.  Especially as someone who had absoltely no prior experience or knowledge on the subject.  The course moves fast, and there are a lot of topics that you will need to absorb to the best of your abilities.  However, all of the tools and resources are there for you to succeed.  This course tested my ability to soak in as much information as possible, and my ability to be self sufficient.  I never knew using google was a skill until I took this class haha! 

I feel very fortunate for two reasons. One, my instrucor Jonathan Bejarano was absolutely outstanding.  You can tell he cares VERY much about his students and their careers following the completion of this bootcamp.  He would take time to individually chat with you about any issues you were experiencing, job opportunities, interview tactics... you name it. He was very good at explaining complicated conepts by comparing them to everyday things that would be easy to associate and understand.  I could tell that he thinks about every lesson plan and finds ways to imporve upon them(he will adapt to the people in his class).I was very lucky to have him leading our class. Two, being my classmates. I have made life long friends from this course.  When I found myself struggling, I knew I had people that I could turn to and chat with about anything.  

I've learned four things from this course. The first, obviously, is how to code... Both front-end and back-end.  Second is how to work with people in a team setting. Third is patience, holding back frusturation when encountering annoying bugs that seem unsolvable.  The fourth being problem solving, being able to have an open mind, taking in all the variables and sorting through all possible routes to take.  Things that would once stump me and make me angry, I now look at in a completely different way. My brain is primed to troubleshoot and find solutions.  

Now that I have written probably the longest review in history let me leave any readers with some advice.  If you are thinking about taking this class, be prepared to face challenges that will keep you up late. Don't be afraid of failing at first, this is how you will improve.  Lean on fellow classmates and push for peer communication, DO NOT be afraid to ask questions.  Take advantage of any outside resources such as udemy, codewars stack overflow etc. as well as any resources that the course provides such as office hours and tutoring.  Six months can completely change your life and your career.  I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to get involved in this industry, but doesn't want to pursue a traditional computer science degree(not saying that you can't do both). 

Thanks for reading, I hope some of you will find this review helpfull.

After completing this full-stack web development course, I can confidently recommend it to anyone who's interested in becoming a web developer. This program lasts for 6 months, and allows you to work during the day and attend classes at night, while completing projects on your own time at home. Now I know that some bootcamps get a bad rap, and it may or may not be for a good reason, but let me tell you why this bootcamp is among the best.

Pros:

• The staff in this department are EXTREMELY attentive to your feedback. If you have any concerns about anything related to the course, they will make sure you're needs are met as quickly as possible. They treat you as a professional, and not necessarily like just another student.
• The instructors, and the TA's are among the best I've seen in any program. They are working professionals who know what they are doing and know the industry well. They don't mess around with selection process either. If an instructor does not meet expectations, they take immidiate action to ensure they find someone who does. They know you pay good money for this course, and they take that very seriously.
• The curriculum for this course robust and covers a wide variety of different technologies that will help you get ahead in the industry. They are also constantly changing this curriculum to match what's being used commonly out in the real world. There were several times during the course where they changed the curriculum in order to teach us more commonly used technologies. 
• There's always help available. If you feel like you are getting behind or are having trouble understanding the material, TA's are always available to help you out. They also offer personal tutors outside of class hours to help you get the assistance you need. No one gets left behind, and the class keeps up a good pace.
• This program recognizes that the tech industry changes quickly. No matter how much you learn about current techs, there will always be new things to replace the current ones. That is why in addition to teaching you current technology, they put a lot of emphasis into self-learning. They make sure that you understand that once you finish the course and venture off into the real world, that you have the skills and the foundation necessary to continue learning and understanding new technologies so that you always stay relevant.
• Unlike other bootcamps out there, this one is offered at one of the most prestigious universities in the state of Utah. This means when you graduate you get a (really nice and official looking) certificate of completion. To me this shows employers that you were serious about where you got your education. And looks much better than getting a certificate from any other bootcamp.
• This program is split into two parts, Technology, and Career. So aside from learning how to code, you are also working closely with your career advisors to help set you up for success in the rough world of employment searching. They help you build up a portfolio, learn how to effectively complete tech interviews, build a complete resume, etc. They do everything they can to make you stick out to employers and have a much easier experience when looking for a job.
• It's just better. I've met graduates from other bootcamps in the area (I won't mention any names) who have felt that their experience wasn't a good one. I've personally worked with some of these graduates and found that some of them really struggle with what they've learned. I personally believe the quality of this bootcamp is far superior to other's I have seen. I've even met individuals who have done other bootcamps, then went through the UofU's bootcamp and have said that this one is the best by far.

Cons:

• The course gets started VERY quickly and with very little initial instruction. When first starting you are likely going to be very confused with how everything works and what is expected of you. These things become clear after a short period, but in my opinion they could have given more instruction and made the startup process a little more organized.
• This is, in my opinion, both a PRO and a CON. But the course is very fast paced (obviously, it's a bootcamp). But it's very important that if you take this course you are motivated enough to use the resources available to you so that you can keep up. If you feel like you are falling behind it's up to you to make sure you get the help you need. Everything you need is available to you for your success, you just have to make sure you stick with it and use those resources.
• Some employers are still a little biased towards bootcamp graduates. It's unfortunate, but it's true. Some employers may dismiss you because of where and how you got your education - but this shouldn't discourage you. I've seen many of these graduates do really well. It's up to us to change this negative stigma, so do your best and make sure your work is top notch.
• The technologies taught in this bootcamp (during the time that I attended) were open source, JavaScript driven technologies, like Node, MongoDB, Express.js. It was very cool stuff, but I quickly learned after being in the industry for a while that there is SO much more out there for you to learn that employers are looking for. .NET developers for example are in very high demand, but you won’t learn any of that here (Unless their curriculum has changed, which it very well may have). We got a small taste of other languages like Python, and Go, but those things were more of an introduction and I can’t say with confidence that any of it stuck. I would have really loved to learn more high demand languages in depth, like C# or Python.
• There are a few things that I believe are extremely important that were not covered in this course for some reason. Here are a few of those things.
  • Environment variables (Very important for security reasons when developing web apps).
  • SASS and LESS (Widely used extensions for CSS)
  • SSL Certificates (Also very important for delivering secure web apps)