Like many joining Tech Elevator and similar other bootcamps, I was someone who had been teaching myself code through various self-paced online courses and YouTube videos, and decided I wanted to pursue coding full-time. This is something that is probably said over and over again, but BE PREPARED FOR ALOT OF WORK. You will be in class for 3+ hours a day, often spend just as much time on homework, and there's other pair programming projects and not to mention capstones. And then the stress gets a bit more compounded by week 10, when Matchmaking and job applications come along. Despite being stressed constantly and hunched over a computer for 10 hours a day sometimes, it was one of the best decisions I could ever possibly make for my career trajectory, as I was slowly but surely approaching burnout in my previous position. The price tag was difficult to swallow, but after someone I know recommending the experience to me and seeing her succeed, I decided to finally bite the bullet after mulling it over, for more than a year. Instructors are very knowledgeable, approachable, and are more than happy to help with your interview prep and advice on job offers, when that time comes. I ended up interviewing with 2 companies, and had to bow out of one of them after accepting an offer from the other. I'm on track to make more than I was in my previous (reasonably well-paid) job, and my earning trajectory in the next 2 years should hopefully only continue to grow and exceed anything I could anticipate even 5 years down the line in my previous career. So financially, it does pay off, and the work continues to be infinitely more interesting and rewarding. Words of advice for anyone considering Tech Elevator: 1- There are no shortcuts to becoming a good software developer. TE tries to teach you as much as possible in as short a period of time as possible, but you have to do the work. This is really about putting in the hours yourself, doing your own side projects if at all possible, and really just trying to become good at this, in due time. 2-To that end, the best thing you could do to prepare and to get the most out your experience while you're in it, is to LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE beforehand. This may seem counterintuitive, but this will be the biggest favor you could for your future self. With the pace that TE moves at, its easy to get overwhelmed, and having prior exposure to programming and CS concepts will really help you build on your knowledge and perhaps soak in new things you haven't before. And will help you keep your sanity. Not to mention, help you determine if you really like coding to begin with, before biting this expensive bullet. 3- Take the opportunity to collaborate with other students. This is something that took me a while, but doing homework or figuring out a problem with other classmates helped me think in different ways and get me past walls I was hitting. Not to mention, I made great friends along the way. 4-Take full advantage of the Pathway directors. They are a really important resource. Even if this isn't your first time on the job market, they have amazing insight and connections into the interview and placement process. | 