| | Luke Jarrett | It took me over a year to build up the courage from researching coding bootcamps, to find myself in a chair at one of Tech Elevator's Open Houses. Throughout that evening it quickly became clear to me that I had to join this program. I did, and it's changed my life. If you find yourself in a similar position, hopefully this will help.
I came from a background of NO college and NO prior coding experience, but I knew I loved technology and solving problems. During that open house (which I HIGHLY recommend you attend) hearing the passion from the staff, the teachers, and their commitment to help you succeed really inspired me. The #1 thing that made it click for me, was the fact that Tech Elevator voluntarily gets audited yearly. You can see the amount of job offers AND the salary brackets of those offers of past students, they aren't trying to pull the wool over your eyes, they aren't making any crazy guarantees like some other programs, you get to see yourself the results for yourself. You can have confidence that when they talk placement rates, it's based of data, and not some crazy marketing plan.
I know what you're thinking; quitting your job PLUS a high cost of entry for the program? That can seem very intimidating, but the result is well worth it in my opinion.
I cannot stress this enough: you will get out what you put in the program.
I had some classmates that, when it was job hunting time, only put in 1 resume a week, others were putting 10. The ones that only put a single resume out a week, well, they got jobs last. You're going to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt out. And that's okay. That's part of it. But on the other side, for 3 months of hard, intense work, you can get a career that is life changing.
For the entire journey, you are being supported by your teachers, you have decades of experience between them, and a fantastic job program (called Pathway) that is run alongside the coding. You get prepped for interviews, soft-skills, resume building, workshop, and technical interviews.
They regularly have panels of alumni, and meetups with free food and drinks.
You'll make friends and it feels good knowing you're all going through the same experience. All of this preparing to launch you into a career of tech.
All in all, if you are looking for a incredible program, amazing teachers, and a staff that wants you to succeed, look no further.
Stay humble, ask questions, push yourself.
I'm glad I did. |
