| | | I was in TurnToTech for a month before moving to Flatiron School's iOS immersive. The difference is night and day.
PROS:
Knowledgable teachers
Flexible work hours
Friendly environment
Cons:
Self taught curriculum
No pairings/group projects
Not all teachers able to explain concepts clearly
Students can come and leave whenever
TurnToTech is an interesting addition to the mobile bootcamp scene in NYC. There aren't many besides Flatiron School and FS360. TurnToTech is wonderful for the type of student who may have a part time job, or may be less inclined to work with others. They accept virtually any students who express interest in their curriculum, and do not have any sort of technical tests beforehand. These students are accepted on a rolling basis, which means that most students are never on the same page in terms of curriculum. The bootcamp argues that this type of space nurtures an environment where experienced students can help newer students with questions. In reality, this simply means that TurnToTech can get away with having only one or two experienced instructors for the entire bootcamp, which is usually 30 - 40 people. Now, due to the fact that these students are not a cohort working together - there is no sense of collaboration. Why? Everyone is determined to make it through the curriculum by themselves. As a result, the space nurtures separation between the students instead of a collaborative environment.
The curriculum is disorganized, and could be put together by someone in a few hours. Students get a series of documents consisting of "do this" and "do that", while being redirected to google for explanations on new concepts. This is fine - being good at learning via google is one of a developer's most important skills, but the way in which this curriculum leans on it for new students is unacceptable. There are no lectures, labs, paired, and group projects. What this means is that students come out having no experience working in a team, collaborating on Git with multiple people.
There is also the problem of false advertising on their website. Though lavishly designed, there are no "individualized learning plans", because the reality is that each student is given the same series of documents to complete. You could say that the individualized learning plan amounts to a small talk with a teacher followed by more googling of concepts.
There is also no one-on-one mentoring in the traditional sense. They cherry-coat it. They simply have teachers who may be able to answer a question briefly for a few minutes. If the teachers stay with you on a problem for a long time, other students need to wait as well. Their teacher to student ratio is abysmal.
I've seen many descriptions of TurnToTech on various websites saying that they want to make you a well-rounded engineer. Their curriculum does not show this. And unless their students have come in with a CS degree, their students will not have any sort of CS knowledge needed to become a "well-rounded engineer". Sure, they try to host weekly CS talks, but a few hours once a week and is a far cry from what is necessary.
One of the greatest qualities of top bootcamps such as Fullstack Academy, Hack Reactor, and App Academy is the commitment that teachers have to students who are struggling. This mean the teachers constantly check up on students, no matter what level or experience they have - and make sure they are understanding concepts correctly. TurnToTech cannot, and does not do this, because frankly - they do not have enough teachers, and do not possess enough quality within the teaching group to provide such a level of commitment. What this means is that students never know if they've fully understood the concepts. Sure, they may have "done this" and "that" on the curriculum's documents, but such project-based learning means nothing if the students are unable to solidify their knowledge through paired programming and group projects, while being closely facilitated by instructors. Though, this may simply be a downside of TurnToTech's no-cohort model.
TurnToTech is by no means a top coding bootcamp. It's not even a mid tier bootcamp. This is hard, but TurnToTech needs to revamp its teaching style in relation to the amount of tuition it wants from the student. Its students constantly purchase courses from other tutorial sites, google concepts, and even sign up for other part time courses while completing the "full time" program. This is due to a shaky curriculum that does not help students master concepts, and due to the fact that for a steep tuition - the "school" offers no form of structured learning.
Their admissions process consists of a simple written application that anyone can pass, followed by an "interview" onsite. The interview is really just a formality, and as long as the student expresses interest and the ability to pay, then they are in. There is no technical interview.
Why you should go:
*for the highly motivated, highly self sufficient student
-If you do not want lectures, paired programming, lab based learning and can fare well simply googling everything.
-If you have a part time job, but possess the commitment required to basically self study and self teach
*for the normal curious student
-If you can justify paying 12,000 to simply be in a space with others, but never collaborating, and without daily lectures and labs.
-if you can justify paying 12,000 to complete a series of documents without committed instructors making sure you are not falling behind in concept (different from completing assignments)
-if you can justify paying 12,000 to basically learn by yourself with occasional help from teachers and students, in a lax, non-structured environment.
-if you've got 12,000 laying around, got rejected by other top bootcamps, and simply want to be in a bootcamp for the sake of being in a bootcamp.
-if you're too lazy to work a little and participate in technical interviews mandatory for top coding bootcamps.
Why you shouldn't go:
-If you want a strong, structured curriculum that has its focus on student-teacher commitment and student-student collaboration.
-if you want to go to a top bootcamp with established graduation rates and hiring rates.
-If you want to dive deep into concepts, rather than do them once.
-If you want a low student-to-teacher ratio.
-If you want quality instruction, daily lectures, and instructors who are actively committed towards your success.
If you are looking for the polar opposite in terms of an iOS bootcamp, I would recommend looking at Flatiron School's iOS immersive. Although exponentially harder to get in to( 5% compared to TurnToTech's accepts-nearly-everyone), students are also expected much more through a much more rigorous curriculum and a setting that has lectures, paired programming, and group projects. |
