Springboard

I started this program to brush up on my Python skills, as I had worked in financial analysis before and was looking for a data analysis position. Most of my data analysis before had been done in Excel, with some small Python projects.

The 3-month program had a curriculum consisting of mostly third-party materials - Youtube videos, academic videos, code exercises with first-party supplements, and of course a lot of coursework/projects. You also have weekly calls with a mentor who helps you navigate the materials and gives industry insights.

The curriculum definately boosted my Python skills to the next level, while giving a good introduction into Data Science concepts. In my opinion the Machine Learning segment was a little light, but it gives you a good foundation for further research and learning.

And yes, I was able to find a position in the field even before finishing the program!

I had very little knowledge about UX going into this course, which was the perfect fit.  The Springboard UX course took me through each step of the design process, from basic overviews of what UX design is and of job opportunities in the field, to user research, prototyping and user testing.  The curriculum has a nice balance of videos and reading material, and they are good about not throwing too much at you.  Having a mentor to meet with every week was the best part, by far.  My mentor was there to keep me accountable, but never added too much pressure.  He was very understanding that I was coming from basically zero experience, and helped me create a prototype I felt good about.  In the end, I had a project I can build my portfolio with, showing a comprehensive UX design process. The Springboard support team is extremely easy to reach and was responsive when I had questions.  Overall, I'm glad I took the course and would recommend it to others. If you are diligent about making the most out of it, Springboard will serve you well. 

The course materials weren't too difficult to grasp; some were a bit repetitive. 80% of the materials are free – with a few expections such as the Lynda/Linkedin Learning lessons. At the same time, the materials were properly divided among each core topic of UX design. The pace definitely starts off slow but picks up towards the end, with projects requiring more hours and recalling skills you learned in previous modules. It was a good pace for me, someone who didn’t have any professional design or coding background. The course doesn’t touch on any coding languages or skills – but focuses on the research, interpretation of data, and materializing the information into a prototype. Every week, I spoke to my mentor for 30 minutes to go over whatever topics I wanted; ranging from their own professional experience to my course progress. Other than a 1-on-1 mentor, there are also mentors in the community answering and providing feedback to your questions and projects; they listen and care!

Since this course is monthly-subscription based, there aren’t any strict deadlines. However, I suggest doing your best to complete the course over the average 2-3 months. Maybe 5 months at most. I had to take a long break (pause my access and monthly payment) due to fatigue from my full-time job. However, the break was too long and I had to revisit all of the old materials from the earlier modules.

I just completed the course 2 weeks ago and still looking for a job. But I knew it was going to be tough to get a job straight out of any of these ‘bootcamps’ especially since my portfolio consists of just 1 project at the moment. I’m currently working on finding new ‘mock up’ UX projects and also some ‘real’ projects from a few friends, local businesses, etc. This won’t be too bad since I’m currently unemployed. haha.

Overall, a great experience with current course content, mentor calls, and a 6-month job guarantee. The course was organized in a way that it was very easy to learn and follow the design process and master key UX concepts. The mentor calls were extremely valuable! You're paired with the same mentor for the duration of the course and they will offer you insights on your projects, current industry standards and best practices, and help set expectations for your job search. And as an online course, it's extremely flexible, yet intensive. 

This class taught me so much. As a graphic designer, I wanted to further my skills and grow my knowledge base. The course was interesting and compelling but the real WOW factor came from the mentors and advisors. My mentor gave me real life applicable advise to improve on my work, truly constructive critique, as well as commending me when I did things well. The advisors were so helpful as well whenever I had concerns or questions and were very responsive. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in diving into UX! Thanks for everything!

I really enjoyed the Introduction to Data Science course at Springboard.  While the course is self-paced, it is still incredibly challenging.  This course recommends 3-4 months to complete, but I definitely needed the full 4 months.  The mentors at Springboard are great--supportive, knowledgeable, and incredibly generous with their time.
The curriculum itself is tough--some of the programming lessons are in DataCamp, which I found very helpful; some of the stat lessons are in Khan Academy, which I also found helpful; some of the lessons are lectures in a series of YouTube videos, which I found a little bland and hard to refer back to later on in the course; and some of them are articles, which really varied.  The course material is definitely comprehensive, but there is no definitive textbook to refer to, so it's really hard to problem solve when you get stuck (I ended up just going outside the course and Googling for a lot of things).
Completing the course requires a lot of one-on-one mentor time, some of the curriculum, and a lot of determined, creative problem solving when the curriculum just doesn't cut it.  That said, I still found it invaluable for both my current job and my overall career.  I plan to continue with their Intermediate Data Science course next.

The question I always ask myself when providing a review is - could my words make a positive impact in someone's life? I consider concept of Springboard as a leader and pioneers of mentor led UX programs. More than the educational program itself, a genuine and experienced mentor can make all the difference in the world. @Midlife I needed to make the right decision, I did not feel like taking a gamble with time or money.

After 4 months of deep research around the country and even outside of the USA, my resounding selection was the Springboard UX program. Although I did not have the best experience with the first mentor pairing, the immediate correction made all the difference in the world for me. I hit a homerun with an incredible UX professional as a mentor (Andre) for my Springboard UX program. To make it even better was the amazing student support team that was always available to… yes! Great support it’s students.

Pro’s:
- Program Content is very complete.
- Course work can be heavy at times, for good reasons as you immediately get to practice hands-on what’s important.
- Perks as a Springboard Student are excellent and add incredible value.
- Mentor concept and support is probably one of the best features and differentiators this UX Design program.

-  The program has certain custom flexibilities if you are pressed on time or maybe due to other obligations.
- Student support is very agile! They actually listen to students needs.

- Cost is not high nor low. It’s right in the middle. Monthly payments are manageable if you plan ahead and make good use of your time.

- Student community is an asset, it can be slow at times as most students are in fact busy.

Con’s:

• I found none!

What would I make better if I could? The student community could use a more engaging and more dynamic collaboration tool. Is good today, but It can be amazing with the quality of the Mentors/Program and student community the Springboard programs have.

If I would do it again? Absolutely yes!

Robert R  

Overall, the content of the boot camp was directly useful in preparing for data science interviews. I accepted a full-time data science position in the Bay Area recently after 3 months of searching while also having a full-time job. Obviously, you must keep your expectations realistic and be honest about your skill level when transitioning to data science. I had to work on more coding problems via Leet Code and gain speed in completing data science challenges, which was beyond what the course could help me on.

I would certainly recommend the course to those who have technical degrees (I had two engineering degrees up to the masters level) already and just need the extra bump in skills to break into data science. For those from less technical backgrounds, a traditional academic program might be a better alternative because it may be harder to convince those in the industry that you're capable of deeply understanding how the machine learning models actually work from what I've heard.