Tech Elevator

This decision was a long time coming for me. My family and I suffered from repercussions of COVID and the crazy inflation. I was holding out, hoping for something to open up in my previous field, but it never did. I had looked into online programs for Software dev, but was never confident enough to try. Then I had a few friends complete the TE program and get jobs. What gave me the courage to finally take the plunge was TE's track record for student, job placement, and their promise of continued support. It was a requirement for me to take the course online, which they offered, and it was a compressed period of time. My family had to make huge sacrifices for me to be able to do this, but the promise of gainful employment and the ability to take a real vacation for the first time, was enough for us to power thru. I would absolutely recommend the program and would do it all over in a heartbeat.

Before attending Tech Elevator I was an Ohio State graduate with about 6 years of experience in mostly sales and customer service positions. I wasn't happy with my compensation, the monotony of sales, the work-life balance, or working in the office 5 days a week. After doing much research and conversing with a friend who had graduated Tech Elevator years prior, I decided to take the risk of quitting my job for this bootcamp (I did the full-time 14 week program). 

Tech Elevator was honestly a perfect experience--the program's hardworking, dedicated, and caring employees were all amazing. The curriculum was paced and structured well to help students with no prior experience learn efficiently. Collaborating with classmates on larger projects helped us apply our newfound knowledge while building our portfolio. The support from instructors was fantastic as well and I'd like to highlight my instructor Matt Eland in particular who regularly went above and beyond for me and other students. Matt is incredibly passionate about the tech industry and loves sharing his knowledge with others. He demonstrates that he really cares about his students often and works hard to understand each student to accommodate their specific learning styles and challenges. Matt is just one example of the incredible team at Tech Elevator and I'm sure if you read other reviews here and elsewhere you'll learn about many more brilliant instructors eager to help students begin their tech careers.

Perhaps one of the other biggest highlights of this program was their Pathway Program. Comprising around 30% of the bootcamp, the Pathway Program is focused entirely on empowering students to leverage their new skills to actually get a job. Students undergo several modules and 1-on-1 coaching sessions on all things critical to landing your first tech job (resumes, behavioral interviews, technical interviews, elevator pitches, networking, job applications, working with recruiters, etc). Tech Elevator understands that being able to effectively communicate your skills and experience in the job market is pertinent to landing a role and thus places an appropriate amount of emphasis on developing these soft skills with each and every student.

Upon graduating, my job search was made more difficult by my personal decision to only apply to fully-remote positions (I was trying to move across the country). Despite this self-imposed restraint, I was able to find an entry-level software development position about one month after graduation. I'm about 6 months into that role now, making double what I was in sales in a fully remote position with a considerably better work-life balance. Looking back I can easily say that attending Tech Elevator was just about the best career decision I've ever made!

My career change was successful and efficient thanks to the guidance of Tech Elevator Cincinnati. After being accepted into the full time program, the onboarding process went smoothly. My questions and concerns were always addressed quickly, and the overall organization was very good. In 14 weeks, I gained many relevant tools and skills to apply for my first job. Additionally, Tech Elevator has additional curriculum called the Pathways program that focuses on fine tuning resumes, how to network/apply, and ace interviews. If you stay on the path, trust the process, and ask questions, the experience will be a success. Even during a time where the tech industry is going through mass layoffs, I got a great job with a reputable company 3 months after graduation. Thank you Tech Elevator for helping me with a career change that dramatically improved my quality of living!

Yes its expensive, Yes its hard, and Yes its worth it.
Before TE I was working doing tech support and was unhappy with my prospects in that field. So I made the jump and picked TE for two main reasons. 
First - Success Rate. I'm a fan of data and CIRR report was what tipped me over the edge to make the jump
Second - it was remote and flexible.  Since I have a family I needed to support at home as well. 

The program curriculum you can look up and its challenging for people who aren't technical but it will push you regardless of your comfort coming in. Vue isn't as popular but its a great gateway to other frameworks imo and if you land a job with Vue then you're well positioned. Make time to study and start a discord group as assignments are not just meant to build foundations but also expand your understanding of software architecture. The final project is group based, but a real challenge is to do the project again but alone and in the same time frame.
But what I want so write about is not about the hard skills you build there.
What I want to write is that during the program I found out my wife was pregnant again and the pressure cooker was on. I was on the verge of growing my family and I needed to provide assuming I could find a job at the end of the program. I made it but what I want to say is that its thanks to the staff at TE who helped my with interviews, resume prep, and the network of people who will lead you in the right direction. 
The program got me to where i can support my family and while it wasn't the dream job, it is enough. 

I was in an online class (National Live Remote) but attended the Pittsburgh pathway program via zoom since I live in the greater Pittsburgh area and was looking for a job in my area. If you would like to attend remote classes but live near a campus location I highly recommend that you attend an NLR cohort that coincides with the in-person cohort so that you can attend the local matchmaking at the end of the bootcamp.
The pathway directors did an outstanding job all throughout the bootcamp, offering individual support and advice with resume, LinkedIn, interview prep, job search, and went above and beyond organizing matchmaking. I am currently working as a software engineer associate, a job offered to me as a result of matchmaking. 
Be aware that this is an incredibly intense program. For me, having never done any coding aside from the prework (which I found a piece of cake), this amounted to 80-90 hours a week during most of the bootcamp. If you have prior experience, it will obviously not be as intense for you. In hindsight, I wish that I would have spent time learning the basics of Java in addition to the prework before the bootcamp. It would have decreased the stress level of the first two weeks. 
A typical day for me included 3 hours of technical lecture in the morning, a 1-hour pathway program in the afternoon, followed by several hours of graded homework (many days it took me 6-8 hours to complete the homework), reading several chapters for the next day, completing a quiz on the reading, completing a tutorial, and then it started all over again. Every NLR class had an academic fellow who was available for tutoring in the afternoon. Our academic fellow offered half-hour zoom slots in the afternoon to anyone who was struggling with the homework or any concept, which was super helpful and made a huge difference. The weekends were busy with pair programming and pathway homework. I literally didn’t have time for anything else during the bootcamp. Note that the first two weeks are by far the most intense, so don’t give up, it does get better! 


Was it worth it? 100%! I can totally recommend it as long as you know that you are signing up for the 14 most intense weeks of your life and plan accordingly. 

Before Tech Elevator, I had left my previous job to find my passion and pursue other opportunities. I begain by taking short, free online coding courses, but I knew that wouldn't be enough to have a career in this industry. I reached out to a colleague that graduated from Tech Elevator the year prior, and asked for more information. Ultimately, I ended up applying, interviewing and getting accepted to the bootcamp.

The course was rigorous, stressful and a huge learning curve. The instructors, however, were extremely helpful, patient and motivating. They offered support and reassurance when needed, and guided you to being your best self. The pathway directors helped you rewrite your resume as well as your LinkedIn profile to ensure you would stand out from the rest of the crowd. The matchmaking event held by Tech Elevator allowed me to meet with many different prospective employers, and find the company that best suited me.

After graduation, I received 3 offers from different companies, ranging from small to large in size. I chose to accept the offer from my city's power company as a software developer. Based on my increase in salary, as well as the numerous future career opportunities with my new postion, the money spent was well worth it.

Hey everyone, 
 I graduated from Tech Elevator Java Bootcamp in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago. I suggest you to choose this course if you are still considering it because there are many reasons. First of all, my background. I worked as a caregiver for a couple of years, later became a truck driver, and opened my small logistics business. The industry has been under heavy pressure recently, so I decided to move into IT. I started my education at TE in September 2022. This course provides you with essential knowledge in software development and career development.
 I will start with software development. I had Michael Levy as the main instructor and two academic fellows, Evan Amezcua and Robyn Florentz. All these people were highly supportive and willing to help everyone. Robyn and Evan sometimes stayed late to help me figure out problems or explain fundamental concepts. I never felt like there was no support. You can ask questions through slack if you are away. Michael is always willing to help; there was a moment when we were stuck on some issue on our final project, and he visited us during the weekends and helped us out. Tech Elevator will provide a very informative “book” with all the essential information and good examples of implementing your knowledge. You will have homework to do almost every day. The system of homework is well-built. You can test yourself and get general feedback in a manner of seconds.
On the career development side, I had Carly Trimboli and Monika Royal-Fischer. These people are something. They fight for your opportunities to find a job. They will show you so many hidden secrets of soft skills. They will navigate you in all aspects and give you suggestions in any situation (resume, pitch, behavioral questions). They are looking for hiring partners in Cincinnati that are looking for developers, so if you make it to the end of the course, you might get an offer even before graduation (I was lucky enough to get an offer two days before graduation). You will have homework in career development as well. One of the most important aspects was face-to-face sessions with your career director, where you can ask questions and be provided with essential suggestions.
This course is worth its money, and you will get the best help from the team that it is possible to get. I have no negative comments. If you dedicate all your time to this process, you will get the results! I highly suggest this course! Good luck!

I truly could not say enough positive things about my experience with Tech Elevator. The instructors were all extremely knowledgable and went above and beyond to make sure each student succeeded. The career prep program was also very strong. I came from a completely unrelated field and a few months worth of self-teaching with FreeCodeCamp and Codecademy, and was able to secure a full-time job as a software developer before graduation.

In terms of technical instruction, the basic structure includes a lecture from 9am-noon (sometimes a little later) every day, followed by daily exercises and weekly pair programming assignments. Instruction is divided into three main units, each ending with a "capstone" project, including a final capstone at the end where you build a full-stack application together with a small group of your peers. Each evening there are readings and tutorials to do in addition to your exercises, which help prepare you for the next day's lecture. The instructors are very available for help whenever needed. My program was in-person, so most students would stay on campus all afternoon to complete the homework, this way you could ask instructors any time you got stuck, and your classmates were there for support as well. In my experience, the instructors were great at giving pointers when you got stuck to help you find the solution on your own. Any time I needed help grasping a particular concept, they were always happy to spend the extra time with me one-on-one to make sure I understood. In my opinion, the quality of instruction at Tech Elevator is top notch, and absolutely worth the cost of tuition. I am a relatively self-motivated person, but learning coding on my own was much more difficult than having instructors available for questions, and having a well-structured curriculum to follow. The "capstone" projects were also an invaluable part of my technical learning. They really helped me tie concepts together and put my learning into practice.

The "Pathway Program," Tech Elevator's career prep program, typically had workshops, panels, and presentations in the afternoons. These were extremely helpful in eventually landing a job. They really make sure you understand how to best market yourself, and give you tons of opportunities to network with people in the field (hiring managers, recruiters, and alumni and others working as software devs or adjacent roles). There are also plenty of one-on-one meetings, both formal and informal, to help you prepare your resume and get ready for job interviews. The pathway directors were by my side every step of the way, and were absolutely instrumental in helping me get a job so quickly. I know not everyone gets a job right away like I did, but they are truly lovely people who are committed to making sure that everyone gets a position they are happy with, and they will not give up on you!