UT Austin Boot Camps

As I went through undergrad as a communications major, I found myself being more and more interested in IT, networking, and security, especially after taking an introductory MIS class. After interviewing for an nnternal audit position at a Fortune 500 company, I found myself leaning more towards more technical analyst job positions, rather than communications facing fields. To help myself transition into a more technical mindset, I hoped to take more MIS and business courses, but UT's academic regulations restricted me from delving into them as much as I wanted to. 

Around my senior year, I found the bootcamp online.The bootcamp seemed to put a strong focus on learning the most current technologies and giving students real-life experience instead of focusing strictly on test-taking (unlike most of my undergrad experience). Because of this, you could take away exactly what you wanted to from the bootcamp. If you were interested in Incident Response but hate Forensics, you could spend hours improving on one while putting in the bare minimum learning the other. I felt like it was a worthy investment, so I applied, was accepted, and started in October 2019. I graduated early from UT in December 2019, and continued to take the bootcamp through April 2020 while working a part-time job on the side. 

Taking the bootcamp turned out to be a fantastic experience that exposed me to so many things - new technologies, new knowledge of the field, new projects to get on my resume, and a wealth of resources for professional and career development. Eventually, I ended up landing a job in tech/security that I was very happy with, and I'm very satisfied with the bootcamp for helping me on the journey to land that job. 

My favorite aspect of the bootcamp was how it sets you up to be in a cycle of learning, taking the learning and applying it to small homework assignments and in-class projects, and then using the projects to help build up your professional profile. I also really enjoyed how the TA's and instructors almost always made themselves available to give their advice and personal insights. The class was small and often felt informal, which was a refreshing, down-to-earth experience. The career services were also structured very nicely in a way that gets you working on your resume, portfolio, LinkedIn, and interviewing skills as you get closer to completing the course. 

I'd like to give huge props to Matt Hales, our instructor for the majority of the course, Heather Hans, our career director, and Brett Payne, our student success manager. All three of them stood out to me in terms of providing great personal insight, investing themselves in the success of the students, and being genuinely knowledgable about what they were talking about.

There were a few cons, but they did not outweigh the pros, in my eyes. However, I think they're worth mentioning as feedback. Our schedule changed several times during the first few months of the course, and it was never really documented anywhere, so there were a couple of times where I'd show up to class not really knowing what I was about to learn, which was frustrating. Our first instructor, while a great teacher, sort of abruptly left when he got a new work opportunity, which felt awkward (our new instructor was excellent in taking over and supporting us, however). There aren't true hard deadlines on the homework assignments, so if you're a procrastinator, you might not benefit from the course as much as you could be. The lectures weren't recorded consistently in the first half of the course, so if I wanted to review the demos that our instructor ran in the class for my own reference, I simply couldn't. Additionally, it was sometimes difficult to access other resources, like a solution file for a class activity that simply wasn't where it was supposed to be. Lastly, the feedback you get on homework assignment is very limited, so you have to ask for specific feedback from the teachers if you want it. I don't blame the instuctors for all of these issues, but I do think this is feedback that the bootcamp should use to make sure their students have a smooth experience from beginning to end in future cohorts.

The price of the bootcamp is also hefty, but there are indeed a lot of resources you get to use and keep indefinitely after it's all over. It comes down to how willing you are to put in extra hours studying, documenting your learning, improving your professional materials, and asking questions to your instructors, career advisors, and student success managers. Overall, having landed a job that I'm thrilled to have in a field I knew nothing about 6 months ago, it's easy for me to give the bootcamp a positive review, despite some of the issues I ran into.

UT Austin Data Analytics & Visualization Bootcamp Review
I just completed the 6 month part time Data Analytics & Visualization Bootcamp and it was a total adrenaline rush the whole time! I really enjoyed my interactions with the instructor, the TAs, and the material we learned in just 6 months. The curriculum was quite broad, ranging from basic Excel skills to introductory Python to a deeper overview of machine learning than I expected (this is dependent on the instructor and the program as they update their material over time). I really enjoyed learning all that I did and the homework assignments and group projects were a fantastic way to really cut your teeth on the material (that I spent many nights staying up late for merely because I could not let something go before going to bed). The bootcamp is a great way to broaden your skills should you go in with a clear goal in mind.
What do you learn?I would split the class into 3 parts as it currently is:

1. Basic Python & SQL - learning basic Python skills, data analysis and visualization using pandas, APIs, web scraping, etc. Some SQL training using Docker and Postgres (you may use MySQL depending on instructor). I will also lump Excel in here since it was a pretty short section right at the beginning.
2. Basic web dev - you learn HTML/CSS/Javascript in this section. Enough to put up visualizations on a webpage and how to set up a basic website/application but not as much as the Coding Bootcamp (i.e. Web Dev Bootcamp) of course. This section is a bit weirder to people as it’s not so much analysis as it is learning the web dev skills to put up your analysis on a webpage which can get people lost sometimes because it is so different from the previous section of the course.
3. Advanced topics - this one seems to vary a lot from class to class. My class focused on basic machine learning skills (i.e. supervised learning, regression, NLP, Spark, etc.) and a bit of Tableau and R as well. Can get very advanced if you have had no experience with data science topics. It’s amazing what my cohorts learned and created by the end of it though.

What are the program’s strengths?

• In person classes. Sure, you had to show up 3 times a week and be in class but it was very helpful to go over exercises with classmates and TAs learning alongside with you face-to-face. I personally think it is more motivating too because you have to actually be somewhere and learn for a structured amount of time.
• Networking. Due to the face-to-face nature of the classes, you get to interact with people that may be working in the field already and get to know them. It is a 6 month long class after all and getting to know people over that time period makes for a stronger connection than online classes with Slack/message boards or someone you might meet at a meetup once a month or so. Definitely easy to take advantage of and possibly get referrals or refer them yourself as I did.
• Diverse topics. Before the the bootcamp, I kept getting rejected from jobs because my skill set was not broad enough and I had to keep saying no whenever an interviewer asked me if I had any experience in “X” technology. The bootcamp filled in pretty much exactly what they were asking for while I was searching and I could finally stop saying no.
• Portfolio creation. The homework assignments are like mini-projects and the group projects take a couple weeks plus they give you experience with working on a team. This made my Github go from nearly empty aside from some training exercises to something I could show off to an employer or give a talk for and something I was comfortable with someone going through it to see what I am now capable of.

What are the program’s weaknesses?

• Very structured and fast paced. This is true of all bootcamp programs. It may be part time but you still have to make time for it after work. It’s not as flexible as some online program you can drop in and out of at your convenience. If you miss even 2 classes in a row without reviewing them, you are very far behind due to the amount of material you cover (you don't need to master every single little thing of course but some skills compound on each other). So be sure you have the time to dedicate 6 months of effort for this program.
• Hard to keep up if you do not have some technical experience of inclination. Sure, it’s possible to start from nothing and build yourself up but it’s much harder and I think people who didn’t have that background were more likely to get less out of the class. I think the class works better as a crash course or multiplier of skills rather than a gentle introduction to them (but you are supposed to feel some uncomfortableness when learning something new anyway so that is natural). The initial skills assessment test is too easy to pass. I would suggest at least being comfortable with certain prerequisite skills before starting the course (outlined below) in order to maximize your chances of success (success being defined as being employer ready).
• Costs. Not really a weakness per se but something to consider. All bootcamps cost a pretty penny, especially the in-person ones. Although it is much cheaper than other in-person bootcamps in the Austin area which is nice to know.
• Not enough time spent on visualization analysis. A lot of programming that can get heavy at times but we never really compared what types of visualizations are appropriate for what and that would be a more helpful section than something like the VBA scripting in my opinion.

Prerequisite skills to learnYou can learn these skills on the fly during class but it will reduce a lot of frustration if you play around and become familiar with them before the program. I really do think you can learn it in the month before the program starts honestly.

• Moving around in a terminal. You don’t need to write full on scripts but moving from folder to folder and knowing what simple shell commands do would help a lot. If you’ve only ever used a GUI and have never touched a terminal before, you’re going to be have to ramp up faster than usual after the class starts.
• Git/Github. Just enough to know how to add, commit, pull, merge. You will have some class time to learn it though but it will be less intimidating if you learn basics first. Also, being comfortable with the terminal goes hand in hand with this.
• Basic programming skills. Do you know how to create a loop or if statements? Are you familiar with classes? You get to do some of it in the Python course but it helps to understand the underlying principles so that you are confident you can do it in some other language like Javascript too (because you will end up doing that).
• Basic SQL skills. Just be able to do basic queries and how a SQL table is structured. Helps to be able to think in terms of SQL when working with data.

Job assistanceThe program offers resume reviews and interview prep. I can’t comment on this too much though since I got a new job halfway through the program and stopped using it at that point. I did do a few workshops at the start of the program though and they did seem helpful and there were people from across different cohorts all over the country and at different stages (pre-bootcamp, midway, already graduated, etc.). The coaches gave helpful feedback and seemed to be open to reach out to for help but it was hard to make time during the program due to time constraints so it may just be a better thing to pick up after it in my view. I think it needs to be pushed more though. It felt a lot more like some side thing from Trilogy as opposed to the very attentive university itself. This is a crucial part though because the hardest part of building yourself up for a new job isn’t going through code errors or making a machine learning model work. At least you get guaranteed feedback for those skills, which is not always so true when job hunting. It is to know how to speak to employers and pitch your value, to know how to network for opportunities, and generally how the application process works (or doesn't work) in the first place. 
What is the class structure like?The class meets two times during the week and once on the weekend. There are usually two classes (Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday) that then combine in the Saturday class. Each class you get to go through activities with the instructor and then do a student exercise right after that to practice on your own or with a partner and ask each other or a TA questions as you try to figure it out. It’s a very active learning environment. The lectures are accessible so that you can review them later and you have access to the activities anytime. You have homework to submit each week reviewing the skills you learned and a TA will review and grade them. There are 3 group projects in the course: a Python data analysis, a web application data analysis, and a final project that involves machine learning. Each are about 2 weeks long and you get to present them in class to show off your work and practice how you present them to possible employers.
Was the class worth it?Yes, as long as you have a clear goal in mind and do enough research to know what the bootcamp actually offers and that it matches your goals. It’s not a quick, overnight path from zero to being a data scientist but it can help you get started on that path while making you useful as a data analyst (which is just as well since data scientist is not an entry level role at all). It is first and foremost a data analytics class (hence its title). I had a couple years of data analysis/ETL development going in and wanted a fast way to build up my skills with certain technologies (because I was spinning in circles for a long time) and a usable portfolio which is exactly what I got. Make sure you can answer the “why?” question clearly before going in and it will help you have a better chance at succeeding at your goals.

I have been wanting to try a coding boot camp for a while since in my 4 years of CS degree I didn't learn much.  When I find out about UT Coding Bootcamp and checked their curriculum, I was fully excited about it and decided to apply right away. My experience with the boot camp was amazing and I definitely learned more than in my CS degree. I was surprised at how much support I had and how everybody wanted to help you progress as a full-stack web developer. One of my favorite aspects of the boot camp was that it was a super chill and friendly environment with lots of potential for learning. The structure in which the class ran and the order in which the material was taught couldn't have been better. The activities were fun and the number of resources and tools that the boot camp provided me made my learning way smoother and efficient than I have experienced before at any other learning institution. Something I would advise to people getting into the boot camp is to prepare ahead for it by downloading the tools in the PreWork and reviewing basic concepts to have a strong start.

I had little to no experience with computers before I decided to take this course, I began to dislike the routine I had grown accustomed to with the job I have.  I would go home drained from work and just try my hardest to stay productive.  Sometimes I would be able to other times I wouldn't.  One day something came over and I felt drawn to learning something new, I had googled programming languages knowing nothing about what I was getting into.  I watched a tutorial where this person was teaching PHP passionately. I thought to myself, how is someone so happy about what I thought was just numbers, random characters, and letters jammed together.  In this tutorial they recommended a book to use to teach yourself PHP. I went and bought it the next day.  I would stay up late trying to do a lot of the activities in the book I had purchased.  I didn't even really know what I was doing but The author told me that a message was supposed to hit my email If I did everything correct.  It took me weeks to make this message show up in my emails, but when it did I had never felt so good about myself.

I had managed to put away a small sum of money that I was either going to invest into stocks, or myself.  I chose to invest in myself because Software Development interested me heavily and I had heard and read good things about the part time course offered at the University of Texas at Austin through Trilogy.  They asked me a few questions over the phone and I was enrolled in the class shortly after they had made a decision that I was eligible.  Some of the Questions were intensive and required Critical thinking it wasn't just about my prior education.  It was about the way that I thought, and I liked that about the intake process.  I was afraid they would turn me down because the highest level of education that I had was a diploma I had received from being homeschooled.

Short story told long, this is one of the better things I have ever done with my education.  I thought I was washed up at 23 and would just work the job that I had been working for the past year until the end of time.  This course gave me the drive to want better for myself, The instructors genuinely care about all people in the class learningand the tecahers assisants aren't harsh and they also care about my education.  I am halfway through this course and I have a great understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JavaScript Frameworks, MySQL, Node.js, REACT, and much more.  When I enrolled this course I just wanted the ability to be able to teach myself programming languages, I wanted to understand some of what went on with computers.  I have received all that more, I actually understand what is going on, that to this day baffles me, I write JavaScript off the top of my head and know how to approach complex problems.  The course is intensive and you have to really want it, it conflicts with my work heavily and I lose a lot of sleep trying to understand everything that's being taught to the best of my ability.  I would recommend this to anyone who has the slightest interest in something like this.  It has changed my life and the way I think about things.  The student Success manage is will go above and beyond for you aswell as the instructors and teachers assistants but you have to be willing to reach out and ask questions.  As far as Jobs after this course, you have to be willing to go out on a limb and do the work to receive the desired outcome.  Applying and having an updated portfolio with projects and nice resume.  I am applying to places that meet my qualifications at the moment and have not received a call or email.  It does not discourage me that is all apart of the job hunt I have to be willing to not give up.

I've had many jobs in my life, but nothing close to what I would call a career I could be proud of. I moved to Houston TX and was about to start a job in the service industry when my family convinced me to take the full-stack web development boot camp. Now I am on my way to having the career I always dreamed of having. This boot camp was a ton of hard work and I had to buckle down and commit all my time and energy into completing it, but it was well worth it. If you can devote enough time and energy into this course it will fully change your life. 

I am currently enrolled in a reputable program offered by the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with Trilogy. Recently, I buckled up and ventured into the journey of changing careers. It is a rocky road, but I have gained valuable knowledge and enjoyed the ride so far.

The program covers high-demand markup and programming languages, runtime environments, and database management systems. I love the fact that career planning support, flexible office hours, and part-time and full-time classes are made available to us to ensure we become employer competitive. I am attending  weekend and evening sessions while keeping my current job.

Considering that this is a fast-paced program, I highly recommend everyone to take advantage of the learning modules released to us weeks before the first day of class. In addition, I strongly encourage everyone to join a program that offers a one-on-one opportunity to talk about your code with the experts.  I usually attend office hours before and after class to stay up to date and have greatly benefited from the guidance provided by my instructor and TA’s. My instructor is amazing and very knowledgeable.

Take on the challenge and keep in mind that our city’s strong tech presence on the map is attracting more tech companies to Texas and creating plenty of job opportunities for those of us who are putting in the time and effort to become proficient at coding.

Hi, I'm Shweta. I did my undergrad in computer science engineering. Also, I had 3 years of big-data engineering experience prior to joining the course. 

When I came across the Data Analytics and Visualization course at U.T. Austin's McCombs Business School, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn key skills related to the field I wanted to move to, Data/Business Analytics.

Through the six-months of extensive course, I gained hands-on, programming experience in areas such as VBA Scripting, Python, R, Tableau etc.

It is definitely a fast-paced course which covers a lot of ground, but you can make the best by taking up real-world data projects. The course can get overwhelming at times with so many different topics. What worked for me was to focus more on technologies that were most in-demand in the jobs I aimed for and while learning at least the basics of other technologies.

The lectures and TA's are very helpful and have good command over the subject. Also, they have a dedicated career counseling support team to help you secure a job.

Overall it was a wonderful journey with lots of learnings.

I was enrolled in the UT Austin's Bootcamp back in October 2017 for their part-time, 24-week Data Analytics and Visualization program. I Successfully completed the program in April 2018 and could say that it was one great experience.

Below, I have shared some of the key features of the program. 

• Top-notch curriculum - Covers almost all of the topics that are in high demand in the analytics job market.  
• The program is built on a top-down approach - covers the bare essentials before moving quickly into building applications, data products.
• You will be continuously exposed to working with teams on projects using collaborative platforms like GitHub and Slack which are skills that are really timely and useful to master as the labor market is moving more towards a gig market characterized by short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.  
• A well-structured career support service - continuous monitoring to ensure that students are in full compliance with the requirements given by the career team.
• The program is affiliated with the University of Texas in Austin, an esteemed educational institution in the USA, and this I feel will give you a distinct advantage in enhancing your alumni and network for future opportunities. 

In addition to the above, I have also listed few items that I have personally experienced that might be useful in your decision process.

• In spite the program is a part-time program, expect to give the same effort as a full-time program if you are coming from a non-programming, non-analytical background. Despite the decent exposure I had with most of the topics in the curriculum, I spent close to 60-70 hours a week to really wrap my head around the topics.
• The program is really fast-paced with new topics introduced every week, but almost all of the topics are built predominately on Python and Javascript technologies, hence highly recommend making your feet wet with these languages well in advance to have a better experience. 
• I was fortunate that I had a great instructor who had awesome credentials both in terms of teaching and hands-on experience in data analytics. recommend checking the credentials of your instructor before enrolling in the program. 

Overall, I personally feel this program is highly original, authentic, and economical compared to most of the highly commercialized boot camps out there and will deliver a great experience provide that you passionately put in the time and effort. My portfolio site is a piece of work as a result of the knowledge I gained from the program and the effort I put in.

All the best for a wonderful analytics journey! contact me if you need any further clarification. 

After completing the part-time (6 month) Data Analytics and Visualization Certification course, I can say that I am very happy with the amount of material and the latest technologies I have learned able to use for personal projects and in my profession.

TThe course begins with Excel for the first week only, but quickly picks up pace and covers Python and Matplotlib using Pandas, API requests and accessing social media.  We used SQL with MySQL Workbench, SQLALchemy and Flask to connect to SQLite databases and MongoDB with web scrapping for storage and retrieval using Python scripts. Half-way through, you'll learn basic web development with Bootstrap 3/4 and JavaScript, so you can manipulate the DOM with D3, Plotly and Leaflet for data visualizations on the web and publish web pages on Heroku. We also were able to create a portfolio page for our projects during this part of the course. We covered basics of R and Tableau (they were generous to provide a 1-year Professional license!! ).  Toward the end of the course we used PySpark, NLP, NLTK, and Naive-Bayes with Big Data and neural networks with Machine Learning, which we incorporated into our final project.

This boot camp is challenging but very rewarding. To get the most out of it you must spend 15-20 hours minimum (some people require more time) a week working on the class exercises and the homeworks. During project weeks I spent up to 30 hours a week and I worked part-time (30 hours/week). 

The instructors for the course were great and had extensive knowledge in all the technologies mentioned above. They were easy to approach for help or assistance for homeworks and projects.  The Teaching Assistants were also very helpful before and after class and helped you no matter how much trouble you had.  They are there to help you as much as possible without doing the homework for you.

Overall, I would recommend this course for those who want to learn and apply data analytics and visualization techniques to their job skills.