Tech Elevator

My previous work experience was working in restaurants, working as a maintenance man and every crappy job in-between. I’ve never really made enough money in my life to do more than just survive.
I grew up with very little hope that I would rise above ‘just barely getting by’; and what little hope I had, left a long time ago. Like most of my generation, I was told that college was the only option if you wanted to achieve any success in life. I could barely afford one semester, let alone a degree. Undeterred by my financial restrictions, I went to college and hoped to, somehow, make enough money in my life to pay off a Bachelors’ of Political Science degree. I lasted about a year. What I found at a traditional college was the primary purpose was not to gain information that would help y...

Tech Elevator was the catalyst I needed to get my career in software development started. I'd been dabbling with code in my spare time prior to attending the bootcamp, but didn't know how to transition from the Marketing department into the tech field. The rigorous coursework introduced me to all the components necessary to become a full-stack developer. It is a demanding program, and most-likely you will spend some late nights and weekends mastering the concepts they introduce. It is exciting to be learning something new every day and be able to put it into practice through lots of project work.

Aside from having an outstanding curriculum, Tech Elevator has top-notch people there to guide you every step of the way. The instructors have industry experience and can offer expert guida...

Tech Elevator was the catalyst I needed to get my career in software development started. I'd been dabbling with code in my spare time prior to attending the bootcamp, but didn't know how to transition from the Marketing department into the tech field. The rigorous coursework introduced me to all the components necessary to become a full-stack developer. It is a demanding program, and most-likely you will spend some late nights and weekends mastering the concepts they introduce. It is exciting to be learning something new every day and be able to put it into practice through lots of project work.

Aside from having an outstanding curriculum, Tech Elevator has top-notch people there to guide you every step of the way. The instructors have industry experience and can offer expert guida...

I graduated from the Java boot camp in Cleveland in Dec, 2017. I was previously working as a human resources specialist in the technology industry in Taiwan where I was born and lived my whole life. I always wanted to be a software engineer but it was unrealistic to give up my job and go back to school for another master’s degree. And honestly, I didn’t have the courage to change my career.

I learned about the program at Tech Elevator while planning my move to the U.S. I knew it was a great opportunity for me and I had to take a chance and take charge of my life. I joined the program right after I moved to the U.S. I have to tell you the course was hard, it will absolutely be harder than you think. But learning with motivated classmates who have the same goal as me was the most aston...

I had very little programming experience before starting the first cohort of Tech Elevator Cincinnati. By the end of the course I learned so much - from fundamental Java to front-end technologies. The career development portion of the course helped me with soft skills as well. I had several job offers within 2 weeks of graduating and I ended up accepting a high paying job (nearly doubling my salary). Tech Elevator is a huge financial and time commitment, but it is ultimately worth the investment.

Tl;dr:

I can't recommend this program enough to anyone who is seeking a career change into software development / IT. It is the best of the bootcamps in the Columbus area; the staff, teachers, and fellow students are wonderful. If you can get into this program, commit your life to it for 14 weeks, and put in the full effort needed to succeed, do it. It will pay off.

Long review:

When I entered college at Ohio State in 2007, I had no idea what I was doing, or even what engineering was. Fast-forward a bit, and I graduated with a degree that often makes the "Lowest Paid Majors" charts: Anthropology. (Side note: I highly recommend studying this eye-opening subject, but probably not as your major unless you have a solid career plan.)

Since college, I've worked in corporate custo...

After a 19 year career performing various roles in a factory I suddenly found myself without a job. While looking at my options for what to do next I found the perfect training program for me at Tech Elevator. I attended an open house and I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I have always had a knack for puzzles and problem solving and Tech Elevator allowed me to add a technological aspect to those skills.

As much I liked learning Java, I liked learning Java with my classmates more. The group environment and teamwork was critical to my success in the program. Pair Programming with another student is where I learned the most about how to be a good programmer. You have to be able to listen to other ideas and collaborate with your partner. I often foun...

If you are reading all these five star reviews skeptically and asking "What's the catch? How much Kool-Aid did these people drink?" then I am writing this for you, because I too was skeptical. I had absolutely no coding experience and no sentiment that technology was my passion. I was full of doubt, but also certain I needed a skill that was valuable and in-demand after years of living in Los Angeles and trying futilely to break into the entertainment industry.

Prior to this, I actively avoided getting a full time job. I've worked previously as a delivery driver, server, video editor, fashion assistant, english teacher, petting zoo operator, and experimental medical subject. So whatever your story, don't feel out of place. Even if you took five years off to live in the jungle and stu...

I choose to go to a coding bootcamp because I had been living abroad for the last ten years and was afraid of how difficult it might be to find a good job when repatriating. I also wanted to switch careers from education to IT and the bootcamp model seemed like the fastest and most effective way to do this without having to spend years in school. I choose Tech Elevator because of its location in Cleveland and because of how well it was reviewed. I was really impressed with the focus they put on career and interview development and by how much better at responding they were than other bootcamps. I have to admit that as an educator with 10+ years of experience I was a little skeptical about how well I could really learn a new skill in 14 weeks, well a new language! In case you don’t kee...

I graduated from TechElevator, Cleveland in August 2017. I waited several months to write this review, because I wanted to have time to reflect on the experience including starting a career in software development.

Prior to TE (TechElevator), I was a Behavior Therapist, working with students with autism. I had very little experience with programming. However, I wanted to try something new and pursue my interest in technology. I went to a TE open house and liked that the staff were very genuine and passionate. From my experience at the open house and reading reviews about TE, I could tell this was a quality bootcamp. I looked at other bootcamps as well, but felt TE would give me the best chance of getting a job due to the pathway program.

Let me be clear that this bootcamp is CHAL...

Pros: great staff and instructors, they were there to help, motivate, and guide us whenever we needed during the 14 week boot-camp.
Cons: a lot of information coming in at all angles.

Coming from the world of debt collections I was stuck at a crossroads. For the longest time I have always enjoyed computer software and just never had any formal training. I was hesitant about Tech Elevator; its a lot of money and time, however no risk no reward, right? I did a lot of research looked up information online like this site, went to open houses, and then went out to the tech community. After doing the research, I came to the conclusion that Tech Elevator was the best place for me. They are heavily involved in the tech community, business, and the success of their students. They t...

At the beginning of 2017, I had been a professional video editor for nearly 7 years and the burn out was starting to kick in. In search for a new challenge and the hope of changing my career to something I was more excited about, I started to do my research. Having dabbled in coding in my free time, I knew I enjoyed it and thought it would be something I could pursue. I knew of bootcamps and after a few minutes on Google, I found Tech Elevator along with some upcoming open house dates. I attended an open house unsure of what to expect and left excited to get home and start my application.

As far as the technical side goes, Tech Elevator provided me with a top notch education on how to build full stack web applications. We learned every single step that goes into making a functional, ...

If you're reading these reviews and looking for answers to where you should take the next step in advancing your life and career, stay for a while, read these reviews, it will help with your decision!

All my life I felt that my calling was to become a teacher and to "mold the minds of tomorrow's leaders" or something like that. After graduating college and landing my first teaching job I was in love with my career, maybe blindsided by the fact that I had finally landed my "dream job". I loved everything about teaching and enjoyed getting up every morning to go to my school, but that faded quickly. I found myself enjoying the students, the parents, the other teachers but the bureaucratic red tape of education fed the want for more out of life.

I found myself looking to my initial p...

Tech Elevator is an amazing program. Based on the research I did beforehand, it seemed like the obvious best choice among coding bootcamps in Columbus, and it lived up to my expectations. My background is in education and prior to attending Tech Elevator I had almost no experience in coding. I had spent some time just experimenting with free online resources to see if I could do it, that’s it. The amount I’ve learned and the confidence I feel in my abilities after graduating is astronomical. In addition, I received multiple job offers from an awesome company before I even graduated! I honestly couldn’t believe it and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to go through the program.

The quality of instruction you receive at Tech Elevator is fantastic. The inst...

I had been wanting a change in my career as an educator for years--I had researched boot camps back when I lived in New York City and wrote them off as a long-gone dream, given the prohibitive cost, time without salary, and lack of financing options for the ones in NYC.

After an unbelievably difficult year professionally as a teacher here in Columbus, I explored Tech Elevator as a serious means to finally become the coder I dreamed of, making more money (and thereby escaping the exhaustion of working full-time as a classroom teacher and a bartender on the weekends).

After attending an open house of January 2016, I was impressed by their statistics around job placement, success rate, and the financing options available. I applied within a week or two and quickly after was accepted...

To say that Tech Elevator changed my life would be an understatement. I increased my salary by 41% in just 14-weeks and now have a new career as a Software Engineer. The program itself was challenging to say the least. However, I felt prepared, coached, mentored and confident with myself after the program was completed. I wish I made this decision earlier in my life. No where else can a 30+ year old go back to school and change their life just in 14-weeks.

Prior to Tech Elevator, I was a freelance Sound Engineer on blockbuster movies, documentaries and commercials. As rewarding and fulfilling as that job was, it was a hard unpredictable business that financially kept me on my toes most of the time. I wanted something a little more stable for my family. I have always been interested...

I graduated from Ohio State as a Mechanical Engineer and worked in Detroit as a Design Release Engineer with a major auto manufacturer for a few years after graduation. I had a pretty good job with a pretty good company, but it didn't provide me with the challenge or the sense of accomplishment that I craved. I quickly learned that the auto industry just wasn't for me and I began to look elsewhere. I had learned some basic programming skills in college and remember really enjoying those courses, so I decided to look into that line of work. I decided to pursue a career in Software Development, but I didn't know how to crack the overwhelming knowledge required to get a foot in the door. I considered self-teaching, but with the vast resources available online, that proved to be a tough mou...

I was in the .NET (C#) class in Columbus and I graduated Friday, December 1st, 2017.
I heard about Tech Elevator from my sister. I was going to OSU at the time, working towards a Data Analytics degree, and had been feeling bogged down every step of the way. I was a non-traditional student: 31 years old, transferred from Columbus State, and just getting to the point where I could APPLY to my major and get the reserved spots in the classes that I needed, was proving to be quite a nightmare. I’d been back in school (part-time then full-time, mostly at CS) for almost 3 years. And with the way things were going at OSU it looked like it would take another 3 years to get my degree. I was feeling a little panicked, to tell you the truth, because I didn’t know if I had another 3 years in m...

I can’t recommend this program enough. The instructors were engaging and truly cared about my learning and my well-being. I had a small amount of previous experience in coding but we quickly moved into new territory for me and my mind was blown every day. I never felt like we were wasting time - every day of classes or job-search training was a rigorous level-up from the day before. Special note on the job search stuff - I truly believe Tech Elevator’s Pathway Program is the best in the region. I was never very good at interviews, but their coaching and lots of practice allowed me to absolutely nail the interview that got me a kickass job offer before I even graduated. I started work three days after the bootcamp ended and I’m very happy in my new career. A few months after graduation, ...

I had a great experience through Tech Elevator, the space and people are wonderful. I felt immersed in technology the whole 14 weeks. I felt well supported from a career coaching perspective and a technical one. Be prepared to work hard the whole 14 weeks and be ready to go beyond the minimum. When looking for jobs during the bootcamp the things that got the most attention where not things that where assigned or done as part of the "base" curriculum but were projects I took on while also learning the basics from the program. The bootcamp won't give you a senior level amount of software development experience but it will give you the skills to be confident and move forward with a junior level role in Columbus. They also provide and have the connections you get that first job.

I spent over two years struggling. I was making about $28K a year and I was very unfulfilled with the work I was doing. A personal friend of my father’s recommended it to me. I spent about a week looking into this program and about a dozen or so others. In the Cleveland area there were 4 other bootcamps that I knew of at the time. I think what separates Tech Elevator is this: They care about your success. A lot of these places are run by colleges. My experience after graduating from college was that I was abandoned to search for jobs myself and I felt unprepared. Tech Elevator was with the students the entire way.
Tech Elevator focuses on technical skills as well as soft skills. They work to prepare you to do the job as well as train you how to look, apply, and interview for jobs. The...

The instructors and tutors are excellent at explaining concepts and are always available to help. The 24/7 access to the school is helpful for when you are there late or want to come in on the weekends to get work done. I know space is limited at the Cleveland location, but I would have loved a quite area with desks to work at. It can get a bit loud and you can be easily distracted by other students in the common area and I found myself leaving earlier than I would like to go to a library to get work done or waiting for people to leave before tackling things I knew I needed to concentrate on. I would say it would be helpful for them to add some photoshop and illustrator elements to the curriculum (this is based on seeing employers wanting applicants to have some working knowledge). ...

Tech Elevator helped me pivot in my career to a more technical role, land a great web developer position at a major U.S. university, and fast track my way to a 35% annual income increase.

That's not to say it was easy or for the faint of heart. There's a lot of complex material to learn very quickly - in and out of the classroom - all while gearing up for a job search in a new field. The good news is that Tech Elevator gives you the tools and resources to be successful.

Perhaps just as importantly as learning to code, the curriculum also taught me how to think like a programmer. I found this to be one the most valuable takeaways and a skill I use everyday in my new job, even when I'm not writing code.

Before entering the program, I had completed both undergraduate and gradua...

For seven years I was a high school French teacher. My brother knew I wasn’t happy in education and needed to make a change, so he suggested that I go through Tech Elevator’s bootcamp. He has been a developer for as long as I can remember, so I took his advice and I’m glad I did. The instructors in the Columbus campus are amazing! The ones I’ve met from Cleveland seem great as well, but I never took classes with them. Casey, John and Brian all three work tirelessly during those 14 weeks to make sure that you get your money’s worth out of every penny you pay in tuition. I learned more there during those few months than I had in the previous several years as a teacher. The hands-on approach and the amount of practical tasks they give you combine to make the learning rewarding and r...

Before learning about Tech Elevator, I spent around 6 months learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while working on a blog for my work as a private guitar instructor. I found I really enjoyed the challenge and creativity of programming, and began considering a career change to web development. Though I was making progress through self-study, I knew I needed help building my skills if I wanted to become employable.

It was around that same time that Tech Elevator announced it would be opening a campus in Columbus. I took the online assessment, attended an orientation, took part in an interview, and eventually accepting a spot in the Spring 2017 Java Development cohort. Everything I saw and read about the organization suggested it was the real deal, so I took a bet on myself and went for ...

I had been in sales for 3 years and knew I wanted to do something else. At first I thought there was no way to get into the technology field without getting a second four-year degree and putting myself in a huge amount of debt. But luckily I was wrong!

Tech Elevator is definitely tough as the instructors/ staff will tell you. But if you have the aptitude and are willing to put in the time this program will prepare you for a successful career in technology (but make no mistake the learning doesn't stop at graduation!). The instructors are incredibly intelligent and patient and willing to do whatever it takes to help you along the way. Each day you will learn something new. It's a really incredible experience.

Plus, Tech Elevator does more to get you placed in a job than any progra...

For those seeking to upgrade their skill set or pivot into a new career as a software developer, business analyst, or quality assurance specialist, Tech Elevator (TE) is a solid investment. If you had told me three months ago that I would end up working as an IT consultant for Fortune 1000 companies, I would have called your bluff…and yet here I am today! The company’s CEO, Mr. Anthony Hughes, likens the 14-week course to an “inflection point” for many of its students, and I think his description is accurate. Truthfully, I don’t think I will grasp the total significance of my decision to enroll in the boot camp for several years to come.

Why Tech Elevator?

Dedicated, Experienced Instructors – I was in the C#/.NET class, which originally wasn’t my first choice. However, I am no...

I did a lot of research before choosing to attend Tech Elevator. I met with at least four alumni of Tech Elevator, as well as alumni and staff from all the other local coding bootcamps. I decided to go with Tech Elevator because it was clear each and every member of the staff fully invests themselves in their students. Their priority is on the individual success of each student, not on their marketing or next move.

Two things sealed the deal: 1) they ask for feedback on a daily basis and actually make positive changes based on what students say (change you actually SEE), and 2) career coaching starts DAY ONE.

My expectations were exceeded, especially in the quality of education in my instructor. He picked up on my preferred teaching style from the get-go and tailored each interac...

Tech Elevator was right for me because of the high caliber of instructors as well as the nationally recognized professional development offered through the Pathway Program.

My instructors were experienced, brilliant, patient people who truly wanted every student to understand the concepts. They were dedicated to my success. Individual tutoring sessions were available when I needed extra help. Because of the small class size, you get a lot of one-on-one attention and learning opportunities.

A lot of bootcamps can provide a student with the necessary coursework, but some of those camps aren't dedicated to helping students land that first position in the field. The Pathway Program at Tech Elevator is dedicated to helping students find employment upon graduation. The program is...

TL/DR: The best decision of my life. The instructors are phenomenal and you’re surrounded by talented, smart individuals that promote a fantastic learning environment. I initially wasn’t sold on it all myself, but after speaking with past graduates about their success after graduation I knew this was a solid career decision. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort and adhere to their learning curriculum you’ll be a successful student at Tech Elevator.

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In-Depth Review

Short Personal Background : Again, as much as I hate clichés, Tech Elevator truly did change my life. I’ll provide you with a bit of context on my background and situation before Tech Elevator. I graduated college in 2015 with a degree in engineering and out of college the job outlook for...