Tech Elevator

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.... Read More 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 teach you the skills sets and they assist on helping you land a job.

During my time I experienced so many ups and downs it was like I was on a roller coaster. Projects, meetings, lectures, and meetups you had to be on your toes and ready to learn at all times. There is so much information given to you that a times it can be overwhelming but I assure you will not be the only one. With that though, the instructors do a great job of assisting and helping students out when they do not understand a topic or conduct a mini group session over several topics. However, the effort you put into the boot-camp will determine the outcome of your own success.

At first 14 weeks seems like a long time; no paycheck, endless networking, and projects. The classes and outside the classroom activities are what keep you busy and grinding all day. Soon those days turn into weeks and then you are graduating. I enjoyed my time in the boot-camp and learned so much more about technology, networking, and myself.

If you are serious about a career change and you want to get into software programming, consider Tech Elevator.

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.... Read More 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, secure, and modern looking web application. My instructor was extremely intelligent and was always so dedicated to making sure we got the most out of our time together and that we understood the material. You get thrown into the deep end on day 1 and it only gets harder every day. The success rates that Tech Elevator has is really a testament to how intelligent and dedicated the staff are to helping the students succeed through this rigorous and demanding program.

The technical knowledge that is obtained while attending Tech Elevator is astonishing, but the shining feature of Tech Elevator is the Pathway Program®. Having never interviewed for a job, or having never built a resume, or discovering the wonders LinkedIn can do for your career, there were some soft skills that I was seriously lacking. The Pathway Program trains you to be comfortable talking about yourself to other people, build professional resumes that best represent you and your newly acquired skills, develop an online presence that attracts you to more companies, and shapes you into a viable candidate for the numerous job opportunities you’ll have come graduation time.

So, what does this all equate to? For me, it resulted in a job that I couldn’t be more excited about. A 22% increase in salary, full benefits, more PTO than I could use in a year, and all in an environment and culture I’m happy to be a part of.

Tech Elevator truly is a wonderful experience. It’s an opportunity to literally change your life in 14 weeks. You can set goals on week 1 and if you work hard the entirety of the program, you’ll meet those goals near graduation. Something you don’t see in to many reviews is the friendships you’ll make along the way. It’s a special thing to be in the same room with like minded people for 14 weeks who all gave up their past jobs and put their social lives on hold to pursue their passion for programming with the hopes of bettering themselves. I met people who I am honored to call my friends and am excited to continue those friendships with.

If you’re on the fence, do it! You won’t regret it.

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... Read More 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 passion for technology but had no idea on where to begin. I searched for free online coding camps, local coding camps, IT programs, and 2-year degrees but constantly found myself checking out Tech Elevator, over and over again. There was something that just seemed too good to be true, so initially, I was very skeptical about the program.

I signed up to go to an open house and felt a little more at ease when I talked with the campus director and he could sense my hesitation and knew I was thinking it was too good to be true. He reassured me that all the statistics, the graduation rate, the job placement rate, were 100% legit and answered any additional questions I had. After the open house, I took the online assessment and went in for an interview and addition assessment. The process to get signed up and enrolled was easy and Tech Elevator prepared you quite well for the fast-paced program with pre-work prior to week 1.

The actual Java program that I participated in was rigorous but not impossible. My instructor was there to guide me in a positive manner and helped me when I was struggling with certain concepts. The best part was my classmates! Yes at a certain point you are "competing for jobs" but everyone is there for the same goal, wanting to see each other succeed and is there to assist when they can.

The Pathways program was fantastic! They condition you on how to become an interviewing master with mock interview after mock interview. Personally, I was already skilled at interviewing but this gave me a chance to become even better and help my classmates that needed a bit more advice or practice. The big thing with the Pathways program is the career matchmaking, it is stressful but 100% rewarding in making you more comfortable with possible employers and possibly landing a new career!

All in all, if you there is any doubt about Tech Elevator, read these reviews, look us up on LinkedIn and ask us questions! This program has most definitely changed my life by helping me land my new career and I will be forever grateful for the Tech Elevator staff!

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... Read More 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 instructors care about what they do and are always happy to help you. They communicate ideas clearly and are patient when you are struggling. As my instructor said, they are not just teaching you to program, they are teaching you how to think like a programmer, and they are very effective at it if you are ready to learn. It is a massive amount of work and you have to be prepared to commit to much more than what you would call “full time” at a normal job, but it pays off, and it helps that you are working with people who want you to succeed as much as you do. My instructor for the Java class is actually leaving Tech Elevator and still gave out his personal email address to everyone in the cohort and has been available to all of us for help. I saw him a couple weeks after graduating, instructing for a videogame workshop sponsored by Tech Elevator, and afterwards he was enthusiastically encouraging people who were curious about the program to apply and explaining to them what all it entails. This is a guy who strongly believes in the program and everything it stands for and he isn’t even being paid by them anymore.

That attitude is reflected in all of the staff. The amount the Pathway Program staff works with you not just during the cohort but after you graduate is incredible. The Pathway Program is the most obvious example of what sets Tech Elevator apart from other bootcamps. It’s probably hard to overstate the value of actually sitting you down with many different employers all looking to hire junior developers. They call this process Matchmaking and it led directly to me getting hired, something that wasn’t uncommon for the students in my class. Even if these specific interviews don’t lead to that for you they are invaluable interview practice. The Pathway staff do everything you can imagine to make you more “marketable” and prepared, from getting you in contact with recruiters, to helping you revise your resume, giving workshops on how to make the most of your LinkedIn and networking activities, offering career coaching sessions, and giving you all the interview practice you need. They do this for you even after you graduate because they want to get every single one of their graduates jobs as developers. They honestly seem to enjoy watching their students succeed. If you are someone like me who has struggled getting call backs after applying for jobs, this part of the program is part of what you are paying for and I advise you to make the most of it. It’s worth every penny.

Overall, if you have the drive and ambition, and if programming is something you are honestly passionate about, Tech Elevator is absolutely the way to go. Choosing to attend feels like one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and you’ll be working with people genuinely invested in your success. As the staff frequently reminded us, you’ll get out what you put in.

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... Read More 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 into the Fall 2017 cohort, too far into the future to really get amped but close enough to feel the school year wasn't going to kill all of me. And finally starting bootcamp in August 2017 was a dream come true for me--I was finally getting to put to use my coding skills I'd been dabbling in since I was 9 years old.

What's truly remarkable and distinctive about Tech Elevator is the way they weave the Pathway Program, the curriculum related to career development and job searching, into the bootcamp. The consistent advice we heard from alumni was, "Do the Pathway Program. Do what they tell you to do. Listen to the pathway director and do exactly what they say." THEY WERE NOT JOKING. Not only were the Pathway tasks easy to do but I noticed a pretty distinct correlation between people who followed the Pathway curriculum and job opportunities. It is often difficult to balance the challenging and complex coursework in the latter half of bootcamp with the demands of really hustling for a position BUT really pushing yourself to take advantage of all the advice and opportunities pays off in dividends.

All of this is to say that I lined up a number of really exciting interviews and opportunities by the end of the program and on graduation day I signed for a position at a company of my dreams. Tech Elevator not only gave me the enormous boost into the tech field that I'd been wanting for years but it taught me how to function as a professional in the field, how to truly advocate for myself, and brought out the inner hustler in me I never knew I had. I begin my first week of work at a truly innovative and exciting company that is helping make a number of my goals and dreams come true.

The instructors and staff members have a laser-focused goal of helping every single student out and to those to put in the work and hours and focus and drive, much is to be gained. My life has a renewed hope in it all thanks to Tech Elevator!

PROS: thoughtfully interwoven coding curriculum with Pathway curriculum; unbelievable network and workshops on career development; patient and genuinely wise instructors; financing options; extremely strong record of success; the staff is unbelievably helpful and kind

CONS: This program requires real hustle and a desire to dig in--employment options are not merely handed out upon graduation; development is far more complicated than I ever imagined (naivete on my part??) and you will frequently hit the wall;

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,... Read More 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 in tech and coding but would never seem to grasp the concepts fully while I was self-learning. I was looking for something in which I could drastically change my career quickly without a ton of time. My wife suggested a bootcamp. We discovered Tech Elevator and went to an open-house. I knew right there after hearing about the program and the the graduation success rate and job placement rate that this was the program for me. The first day of class, they threw you right into coding. Not a gentle nudge but rather a throw off of a cliff. It was a hard and intense program. For 14-weeks, all I did was code all day and at night, coded in my dreams. Alongside my studies, there is a program called the Pathway Program®. It’s soft interviewing and resume skills to make sure not only do you have the technical skills but also the interviewing skills to land a job.

Overall, I learned so much and owe everything I have to the wonderful teachers and staff of Tech Elevator. I would not have landed a job 5 days after graduation without them. I would HIGHLY recommend Tech Elevator to anyone!

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... Read More 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 mountain to climb. I also considered going back to school to obtain another degree, but that would cost thousands of dollars, would take at least two years, and it wouldn't allow to me fully invest myself into my new line of work. That's where Tech Elevator came in.

Tech Elevator was introduced to me through a friend of a friend and he had nothing but great things to say. I spoke with him at length about the program, learned what was offered, and decided to do some more research. I was skeptical because everything I saw online was 5-Star ratings and glowing reviews. I'm naturally skeptical and it seemed almost too good to be true. Luckily, I decided to call the staff and inquire further, and it turned out, everything that was said online was true. I decided to take the leap into the Java cohort in Columbus and never looked back. I truly enjoyed every day of instruction. The staff was intelligent, helpful, and were willing to stay late every day to make sure no one fell behind. They broke down advanced concepts in a way that made sense and allowed us to succeed through challenge.

The program didn't just provide me with a great foundation in web development, they provided me with the knowledge and confidence to leverage my new skill set and land a job in the industry. Through the incredible network of companies that Tech Elevator has forged relationships with, I was able to connect with employees and recruiters at numerous respected companies here in the Columbus area. I learned valuable networking and interviewing skills, and when the time came, I was given guidance as to how to best negotiate and eventually accept an offer with a great startup in the area.

I'm thankful that I decided to take the leap and trust Tech Elevator with my career change and I can't recommend the program enough. They were there every step of the way to teach, mentor, and guide me. It's been an exciting journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

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... Read More 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 me. I wanted a JOB already. And so I went to a Tech Elevator open house, hoping against hope that this program would be the answer to my prayers, the Hail Mary pass to an actual CAREER, the final pivot in my working life that would deliver me from professional mediocrity/expendibility.
I was sold by the end of the presentation, probably about ⅓ of the way through, actually. My sister works at a startup with developers that spoke highly of the program and that combined with the 3rd party verified stats of Tech Elevator graduates made me ready to go all in. I had taken 2 computer science courses at OSU and so I knew I had the aptitude required and that probably made this a little less scary for me than most, but everything after the first 4 weeks of curriculum was brand-spanking new to me. I knew about loops, and selection statements, and recursion, but I didn’t know jack squat about building a web application/doing anything useful. And the vast majority of my classmates had zero coding experience, so don’t let that throw you.
Tech Elevator was a complete joy after my experience at OSU. You’re in a small class, you get to know everyone, the teacher encourages questions and is always available to help you after the lecture. That’s just the kind of environment I need to thrive. Everyone’s attitude at Tech Elevator is: we are here to help you, please come and interupt me, helping students is our first priority.
Obviously, you cover a lot of material in the span of 14 weeks.. I definitely didn’t feel like I was struggling ALL the time (many days were quite relaxed), but there were definitely days (a couple times whole weeks) when I felt inadequate/ like I wasn’t mastering the material quickly enough. And that’s hard to go through that, but if you keep at it, stuff will almost always, eventually, start to make sense. And then you can breathe again and feel like, OK, I can do this. When you’re struggling, notice those feelings and tell yourself: “get used to it because this is the life of a developer. If you’re comfortable, you’re not pushing yourself enough.”
Now this next part is very important: THE reason that you pick Tech Elevator (and I CANNOT stress this enough) is because of the Pathway Program. That doesn’t mean that the Pathway Program was fun for me. You’ll never catch me saying that the Pathway Program was a complete and utter joy. Resumes, interviews, writing up a LinkedIn blurb that is both honest and positive AND winning AND unique is not (and never will be) my idea of a good time. It’s a little less like torture for me now, but--- not by much. But I NEEDED the Pathway Program all the more because I hate those things. The staff give you very tangible to-do items, concrete specifications for those things, and deadlines (super important). They organize mock interviews (HR, behavioral, and technical) and guide you through the entire process of gaining employment, including assistance beyond graduation if you need it. I can’t even describe how helpful all this is. A couple weeks into the program I went to a Women in Tech meetup and met several graduates from another Columbus bootcamp. They were 8 weeks out of graduation; 1 out of 5 of them had a job and the rest were still looking and I quickly ascertained from talking to them that they were out in the job market wilderness with no assistance from their program. Hopefully everyone will end up with a good job but I’d put my money on a TE graduate every time because the extensive career assistance we receive.
So… where did I end up? Well, I was very, very lucky. Our graduation date was Dec 1st and the time of year made it pretty difficult to have a job offer by then. Our employer matchmaking event was right before Thanksgiving and, consequently, many employers moved a bit slowly to schedule follow ups and some weren’t going to be hiring til the new year. I’m confident everyone will end up with a good job, but some won’t have that job locked down for a few weeks yet. I was, however, able to secure a position a week before our graduation date and I actually started on Dec 4th, the Monday after graduation. I’m working at a start up where I am the 5th employee. If I hadn’t landed this job I’m fairly confident I could have secured a position at Chase. Chase typically hires a TON of people from Tech Elevator. I’ve heard mixed things about working for Chase ranging from awesome/can’t imagine working anywhere else to people hating it. I think it has to do largely with what team you end up on and the quality of your manager as a human being/mentor. It’s a big place. But you really just need that first entry-level job and then if you don’t like it you can move on after 2 years. Anyways, the point is, I jumped at the start-up opportunity because I thought it offered the most opportunity for growth / learning. It’s also kind of terrifying. I’m expected to learn fast, largely on my own (here’s 26 hours of React/Redux video tutorials, GO!) and be able to contribute/navigate/problem solve on a very short time scale.
But I’m excited. And I’m grateful. I was able to secure an excellent job as a junior developer making almost three times what I’ve ever made (most recently before this I worked in culinary and as a nanny) after just 14 weeks of training. It’s kind of incredible.
RANDOM TIPS ( for if you end up enrolling)
-If you’re like me you will never feel like doing the Pathway Program tasks. Do them anyways. Don't ever blow it off. The coding curriculum is very important for once you’re working, obviously, but potential employers aren’t going to know who is kicking ass in the classroom. When it comes to getting job offers the people who have the most options are the ones who dedicate themselves to the Pathway Program.
-Research the companies you interview with (maybe more importantly: research the industry, and then you’ll be able to ask intelligent questions about what sets THAT company apart from its competitors; this is especially important with the small companies and it’ll help you stand out).
-Catch yourself whenever you feel resistance to change (“why do I have to do it THIS way when I already know how to handle it this other way”). To be a good developer you have to ALWAYS be open to (or better yet, actively seek out) new/better/uncomfortable ways of doing things. When we first started doing front end programming I felt a little bit like, what is this crap??? But you have to find a way to embrace it even when it feels very, very wrong. If you don’t become a lifelong learner you will become obsolete in this industry very quickly. If you’re not familliar with Carol Dweck and the term “growth mindset” I suggest you google that sh** right now. I was very much a “fixed” mindset person for many years and even now I must whisper “growth mindset” to myself about 10 times a day.
-if 10 people in your cohort all use the phrase “I want to leverage my skills in...” in their elevator pitches, for the love of God don’t be the 11th person!!! It probably didn’t actually hurt them but you can bet someone like me will be out there cringing.
-Be professional and tailor your message to your audience. The way I’m telling my story here in this review is not how I told it at meet-ups and in interviews.
-It’s fine to want to make more money, that was a not-so-insignificant piece of my own inspiration starting out, but you have to find a way to connect to a deeper motivation, because nobody cares about your bills or that you want to be able to afford to drink kombucha everyday (guilty). For me it was largely just wanting a job that wouldn’t bore the crap out of me within a few months. Then I had to take that, shellac it with positive energy, and serve it as a I’m-crazy-passionate-about-Technology sandwich. Sometimes that felt a little fake, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
-The TE staff will cover this but just for emphasis: work on your ability to solve problems with Google, stack overflow, tech documention sites, etc as soon and as often as possible. The teachers are there to help but don’t run to them without spending at least 10 minutes trying to figure it out on your own. My new boss specifically told me: do not bring me questions I can google and have the answer in 30 seconds.
In conclusion: Tech Elevator isn't magic, you can't just show up and then expect to have a great job at the end. No company will feel like they owe you after this. Like everything else in life, it's up to you to put in the effort and guarantee your success. That being said, it IS kind of magical that this college drop-out/former nanny was able to finally get a promising career started (and in such a short time). There was a time in my life when I was convinced that I just didn’t have what it takes to succeed and that I was destined to be a failure and a disappointment within my high-achieving family. It took a lot of leg work mentally and emotionally to get to a place where I was ready to make the most of an opportunity like Tech Elevator. If you're in that place where you're ready to work hard and do what it takes Tech Elevator is absolutely a wise investment.

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... Read More 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 use the skills I learned here every day. Signing up for this was a life-changing decision.

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... Read More 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.