A review of Altcademy as a software engineering bootcamp

Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now industry mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream jobs in tech. Check out my review of Altcademy

What does Altcademy do?
Who is Altcademy for?
What does Altcademy cost?
Ratings and reviews of Altcademy
Alternatives to Altcademy
How does Altcademy compare to Pathrise?

What does Altcademy do?

Altcademy is an online bootcamp for people who are looking to develop the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer from scratch. Students choose from 3 tracks: full-stack, front-end, and back-end.

Requiring 5-10 hours of work per week, each track introduces students to the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Those enrolled in the full-stack program focus on React & Ruby and take 21-42 weeks to finish the course. Front-end students cover jQuery, Bootstrap, Git and take 10-20 weeks to finish the program. The back-end track, which teaches Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, databases, and more, can be completed in 8-16 weeks.

The curriculum is self-paced and flexible. Students learn through guided labs, quizzes, coding exercises, and projects that are based on real-world problems. They can message their mentors and peers through the online learning platform for assistance as well.

In addition to selecting a track, students choose between the immersive path or the personalized career path. The immersive path comes with access to the course materials and curriculum, instant chat with mentors and peers via the online platform, and assignment and code reviews. The personalized career path includes weekly 1-on-1 mentorship, career guidance, interview preparation, and portfolio building.

Who is Altcademy for?

People with no experience in programming who are looking to develop the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer could benefit from Altcademy. The program is especially useful for candidates who need additional flexibility or who cannot commit to a full-time program.

What does Altcademy cost? How much work is involved?

For the full-stack program, the personalized career path tuition is $1,590 upfront or 6 monthly payments of $318. Those in the immersive path pay $1,045 upfront or make 6 monthly payments of $209. Candidates interested in the personalized career option for the front-end and back-end tracks pay $990 upfront or make 6 monthly payments of $189. Those enrolled in the immersive options pay $740 upfront or make 6 monthly payments of $150.

To register, students must fill out a brief application. Then they choose their program and track, and select their payment plan and method. They can pay via debit card, credit card, or PayPal. There are no prerequisites, so beginners are welcome.

Ratings and reviews

In general, Altcademy grads felt like they learned a lot from the program’s curriculum and mentors. On CourseReport, one reviewer said that “the content is mostly text based and easy to follow, with lots of exercises and walkthroughs”. Another grad said that “the exercises are just challenging enough to push my limits without being overwhelming.”

SwitchUp reviewers valued the program’s affordability. One grad, who researched a few programs prior to enrolling, selected Altcademy because it “offers pretty much the same syllabus as everyone else, and it’s way more affordable.”

However, one SwitchUp reviewer noted that “the community is not as active as I would like”. That means Altcademy students must be self-motivated. On the other hand, one Reddit student enjoyed the independence afforded by Altcademy. They said, “it’s nice to work at your own pace while still having a recommended schedule to go by and to gauge your process.”

Alternatives to Altcademy

If you decide not to register for Altcademy, you might consider one of the alternative bootcamps or online resources available below:

One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
Actualize, devCodeCamp, Epicodus, and Code Fellows have full-time and part-time options for their software engineering bootcamps.
Aspiring software engineers and web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
Students can also consider Kenzie Academy. A full-time tech bootcamp, Kenzie offers in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
Likewise, Prime Digital Academy has full-time and part-time courses in UX design and software engineering.
Those looking for additional in-person or online software engineering bootcamp options can also check out App Academy, Fullstack Academy, Hack Reactor, Nucamp, Byte Academy, T u ring, Launch Academy, and Flatiron School.
Covalence, Codeworks, and Galvanize offer full-time courses, as well as part-time options, for aspiring software engineers.
Another option is Grand Circus, which teaches courses on Java, front-end, and C# .NET. Their campuses are in Michigan, but they also offer online options.
Likewise, Tech Elevator and Redwood Code Academy are software engineering bootcamps with online and on-campus options.
Similarly, Nashville Software School has courses in full stack web dev and data science.

More alternatives

Full-time bootcamps, Lambda School, Thinkful, Zip Code Wilmington, and Pluralsight offer programs in software engineering, as well as UX design, data science, and other topics.
You can check out Udacity and Springboard. These online educational platforms can be used to brush up on the basics or advance current tech skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
SoloLearn, freeCodeCamp, and W3Schools are free online learning tools with tracks in Ruby on Rails, as well as other languages.
You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
People who are interested in online learning platforms can also check out Udemy, Ruby Koans, egghead, and Coursera. They offer thousands of online videos in a wide range of topics.
If you are interested in a self-paced bootcamp, consider CodeX Academy. They have courses for people interested in front-end and full stack engineering. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs online. They provide free courses on many different programming languages. They also offer membership options ranging from $20 to $40. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.

How does Altcademy compare to Pathrise?

Altcademy is an online bootcamp, with courses for people who are looking to develop the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer from scratch. They offer job search services to those enrolled in the career paths.

At Pathrise, our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table. Fellows receive 1-on-1 support every step of the way. We provide assistance with every component of the job search process. This includes resume and LinkedIn optimization, portfolio building, technical and behavioral interview prep, as well as cold emailing, reverse recruiting strategies, and templates for negotiating salary.

The Pathrise program is flexible. There are only 2-4 hours of sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions when they need help. All of our lessons are live, as well as recorded, so fellows can review previous material and keep learning.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in working with our mentors to optimize your job search, join Pathrise.