Washington University Boot Camps

I give my full endorsement to the Washington University Full Stack Development Boot Camp. My only regret is not taking advantage of it sooner, and if you're reading this, hopefully you won't wait as long as I did.

I spent 15 years in my first career, a full-time Middle School English teacher, but despite the time and commitment I was putting into my job, I rarely felt like my compensation matched the effort I put in to my job, but teaching was such a specialized field and when I thought about leaving, I always assumed I would need to spend lots of time and money if I ever wanted to change careers, so I habitually talked myself out of it. Finally, my wife and I reached a point where we realized that we would need some expensive medical help to expand our family through IVF and no teaching jobs where we were located in St. Louis offered insurance coverage for those procedures...I needed a change of career to a field that would support me and my family through this need, and that's what finally pushed me into looking for a change. After interviewing and researching multiple options, I ultimately settled on the Full Stack Coding Bootcamp through Washington University- St. Louis, and boy am I glad I did.

The program appealed to me in a wide-variety of ways. The most convincing aspect of this boot camp was absolutely the program's unique appeal to old-school and new-school methods of thought alike. In a six-month intensive boot camp, I would be exposed to the most up-to-date and groundbreaking technology and languages (sometimes these can go out of date/style during a 4-6 year degree path) while also having the prestige that a well-regarded University like WashU provided in the eyes of more traditional hiring entities. In reviewing upwards of 15 programs, this was a unique combination that was truly only offered by one place.

When the program began, I was worried because so many of the members of my cohort were younger or had done coursework to prep them for this class while I was coming in totally fresh. I quickly learned that the program adapts to fit the unique needs and personalities of the members within it. I cannot say enough kind things about my teacher, Tom, and my TA, Matt, both of whom took the time after their own full-time day jobs in the tech field to give us experienced, competent, flexible, and confident guidance throughout our course. More importantly, as a teacher in my "past life", I was impressed with the instructional style the program offered. The teacher and TA would provide instruction and demonstration of a skill, and then, in a breakout room with one or more peers, I would work through a coding activity with my peers that required the skill just reviewed as a class. This format gave me the support needed on activities that I found particularly difficult as well as the freedom to learn hands-on and "figure it out" when going through the activities with my classmates. Even if my classmates and I couldn't figure something out, our teacher and TA were constantly floating from breakout room to breakout room to ensure support was provided to those who needed it when they needed it.

I also really loved the challenges and group projects. With each weekly challenge, I found myself building full stack applications that could do things I only dreamed about designing before this program. The inclusion of three major group projects similarly allowed me to learn what it would be like to work collaboratively on a development project and truly prepared me for my career. More than that, I got an opportunity to work closely with a lot of people from different backgrounds than my own, many of whom have become valuable resources and close confidants during the boot camp process.

Halfway through my boot camp journey, I began applying to jobs and sending out my resume thanks in part to encouragement from my teacher and TA, who told me it was never too early to start getting technical interview experience. I was lucky to get a couple of interviews and actually got offered a job as a Site Reliability Engineer at Mastercard while my boot camp was still going on! Suddenly, I was making twice what I made as a teacher, working a hybrid position that gave me more time at home, and getting the necessary insurance coverage I needed so my wife and I could grow our family. I was making my dreams come true, and this boot camp had so much to do with that.

I am fully satisfied with my experience, and rather than pivoting away from boot camp and focusing on my new job, I've made the decision to commit myself fully to doing both for the remainder of the boot camp because of how valuable I found the content of the course leading up to my eventual hiring. Advice that I would offer to those considering this program is to do whatever it takes to get yourself enrolled. Make the leap of faith, block out the time in your life, let your support system know you're going to need them pushing you and keeping you motivated for the next half year and SIGN UP. For those who have already taken the leap, my advice would be that you get out what you put into this program, so don't try to skate by and work through the program with as little interaction with your instructors and peers as possible. The people who thrived in my cohort were the ones who talked during breakout sessions, who asked questions when reviewing concepts, who showed up to office hours before and after class each night, and who took advantage of the numerous resources offered by the program's strong support structure. I'll say it again (and a million times if one more person out there hears me): this program helped my change my life and that of my family. I am eternally grateful and can't say enough good things about it. Read less

Boot Camp was kind of special  opportunity for me to come closer to tech world, at the start I didn’t know where to start ,how to go about it, most of my colleague’s  seems to have clues on almost every topic while my world was quite, dark and silent. Through boot camp across well dedicated team  Instructor and TA's  that really help me to overcome all this challenges  and now I see myself starting new career in the tech world. Special thanks will also go to Teacher Assistant (Jessica ) for her patient support and extra time she took to ensure I catch up with everyone God bless you. To anyone who want to join please this the right place to start the team will shape you. Read less

The reason I decided to take the first step into the Data Science Land was because of the reality of the overwhelming influx of data that is being generated now. Many organizations are looking for ways to process information, especially when the content scales to the exabytes! The global economy is plunging into the digital era and the whole chain of supply is transforming the ways of consumption and production of the new society. Front-end and Back-end are concepts that really matter in terms of profits.

I decided to apply to the Data Analytics Boot Camp because I wanted to build my set of skills in predicting performance and designing optimization using algorithms for AI processes.I would like to say that my experience at the Boot Camp was amazing because of the great support system available and the wonderful people who align to the same ambitions as mine. 
My fav part of this Boot Camp was the challenges. Yeah! Are so difficult and the time is so consuming when you are catching back to the deadline but! it is worth it. You can learn so much in just one week if you really are committed and take advantage of all the tools available through the program.

My suggestions are to enroll in these courses with the idea back in mind that time management would be the greatest tool after accomplishing each module. Do not get anxious or discouraged. Ask for help, assist during office hours, never hold a question if you do not know what/how, and never stop learning. Good luck! (: Read less

  I loved the program, everything about it was great. The Instructor and TA staff always went out of there way to help students understand  the topics we were learning. I had previous experience with programming and this programs helped me connect some of those concepts that weren't making sense and improve my coding dramatically . I also experience first hand how many of my classmates just went from nothing to fulllstack developer in no time, and I can thank my instructor and the staff enough for all the effort they put to teach those who are in seek of a career change.  Read less

This program is perfect if you need something part time and cannot make the commitment to a full time Boot Camp. It is fast paced and gives you a solid understanding of all the topics covered. Fair warning though, it demands dedication, but it is worth the effort. I gained so much knowledge throughout the program that I felt the confidence needed to take the leap and change careers. So regardless if you're looking to change careers or just gain new skills, I highly recommend this Boot Camp.

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I enrolled in this course when I realized I had to make a bold move to change my career path. I was stuck in work that was terribly unfulfilling to me. Going back to school was probably at the bottom of my list in terms of things I wanted to do. But this course felt like an opportunity to escape a career I hated... and maybe even gain one I loved.

Turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Less than a year from having my initial phone call with the program, I had my certificate and a new job as a data analytics consultant. It came with a ton of effort and sacrifice for 6 months. Not just for me, but for my family. It's a daunting amount of work. It will take up the vast majority of your time for the duration of the course. But if you're serious about a career in data analytics, this course can absolutely help you get off to the right start. 

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I have worked professionally in the IT industry for the past 5 years in non-technical, client facing roles. I chose this Cyber Security Bootcamp as I was tired of chasing signatures and status updates, and wanted to get my hands dirty with real technical problems. And oh boy, did this course deliver.

From week one through the final project, we were methodically exposed to increasingly complex industry concepts and tools, until we had gone from our first shell command to hacking and defending multiple virtual machines simultaneously- in just 6 months! 

This course succeeds in being extremely lab driven. Individual VM's are distributed with each new unit, exposing students to a bevy of key industry tools and giving them ample time to wrestle with them all. Instructors, TA's and Student Success Managers are all readily available to support students with any struggles they may experience.  And while I have never been an exceptional student by any means, this course made me excited to learn every day. 

While this course is not for the faint of heart (it is a Boot Camp after all), it has the potential to be a hugely rewarding experience for those willing to put in the work. After 6 months of hard work, my efforts were rewarded with a position as a Managed SIEM Engineer at an MDR security company!

If not for this Boot Camp, I would be in the same dead-end job that left me uninspired at the end of each day. Now, I am working with an amazing group of engineers learning every day in a fantastically exciting industry- making this one of the best investments I have ever made. I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone who is ready to take charge of their career. Read less

Sarah Campbell,    When I saw your email I couldn't believe how hard my heart was pounding! When I saw your message "Congratulations!  You did it!",  I'm literally jumping for joy over here!   This course was a wonderful experience for me, but most of all, you are the very right person for the job you have!  Although the rules are important,  the learning is the most important.      Out of all the analytics courses I've taken l've learned the most from this one, hands down!  I'm already using methods I've learned in bootcamp on the job right now.  Doing things I would have never considered had it not been for this course.    Wishing you much future success, James Dodson Washington Univeristy in St. Louis Data Analytics Bootcamp Graduate   Read less

If you're looking for a career in data analytics or simply expand your current skill set, I highly recommend this course. Within a month I was able to take things I had l just earned and use them in my current position. 

Pros: Great instructors and TA's to support you every step of the way. This course does require a commitment of your time, however at no point did I feel I was alone. I would reach out to TA's and the instructor at all times of the day and received quick responses to my questions.

Cons: This course does require an additional 15-20 hours outside of class time each week. Most of it will be spent on weekly assignments. It's fast pace, getting behind makes it hard to catch up, but not impossible.

Overall impression: I learned a lot in short amount of time. If I had choice to do it over again, I would. 

Note: There are many data analytic tools in the market and each job description I've come across requires knowledge of different set. With the skills I learned in the course, I've been able to learn new tools with a minimal bit of studying.

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This boot camp was one of the best decisions I've ever made! The most value I got out of it was the opportunity to learn such a difficult subject, but with help from the best TA's and instructors, you could ask for! The amount of patience they showed us throughout the course, provided me the confidence that I needed to succeed in the boot camp. I highly recommend to anyone who is a curious learner. Read less

WashU doesn't support this course at all. It is highly unorganized and unprofesssional. Save your money. There are much better courses out there for free or paid. 

There are two problems with this course. First, WashU doesn't support or care about this course. It is in name only. They use it to get students who think they can brag about going here but the course is a joke. It has nothing to do with WashU. WashU doesn't support this program. We were kicked out of our classroom 4 times over a six month period for various reasons. WashU had no backup plan for where we should go. Two weeks before graduation they added an addition class and extended the program messing with everyone's schedule. Trillogy the company that actually runs this course shouldn't be partnering with WashU. Its an embarrassment. 

 

The second problem is the Career Services. Again this is Trillogy not WashU and it is horrendous. The Career Service people don't help you with anything. They are spread so thin with students from all over the country in their other programs they have no intention of working directly with you. They will review your resume online and make a few suggestions but that is about it. There is no help in finding a job nor any expertise in your local area. You are better off working with a job placement firm or career conselor in your area. 

 

I completely regret taking this course and wish I could get my money back. It was the biggest waste of $10K. This course is a boaderline scam.

 

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