Hi, I’m Elle! I work as a product designer at Getaround and as an industry mentor here at Pathrise. I help our fellows land great jobs in product design through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of Berkeley Bootcamps.
- What does Berkeley Bootcamps do?
- Who is Berkeley Bootcamps for?
- What does Berkeley Bootcamps cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Berkeley Bootcamps?
- Alternatives to Berkeley Bootcamps?
- How does Berkeley Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
What does Berkeley Bootcamps do?
Berkeley Bootcamps is a program with full-time and part-time courses for aspiring web developers, data analysts, UX/UI designers, and digital marketers. No prior experience is required. That is because all students complete self-paced pre-work before starting their chosen bootcamp. In addition, all courses are now offered remotely because of Covid-19.
Berkeley Bootcamps web development and data science
The web development program teaches people the skills they need to start a career as a full stack web developer. Students in the 12-week full-time course meet Monday-Friday from 10am to 2:30pm. Alternatively, the 24-week part-time program meets two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm, plus homework and other assignments outside of class. The curriculum includes live lectures, hands-on workshops, and projects. Throughout the program, students learn to build full stack web apps using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Node.js, C#, and React.Js. The curriculum also includes responsive design, Heroku, Git, user authentication, ASP, MySQL, MongoDB, and more.
The part-time data science course lasts 24 weeks and meets two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, with additional Saturday classes from 10am to 2pm. During the course, students learn to analyze and visualize data using Excel, Python, JavaScript, SQL databases, Tableau, and more. They participate in live lectures, 1-on-1 coaching sessions, hands-on workshops, and much more. For their final project, students work in groups to build a data visualization application that can be added to their portfolios. This will help them land entry level data science jobs.
Berkeley Bootcamps UX/UI and marketing
Students in the 24-week part-time UX/UI design course meet two weekdays a week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2:30pm. The course teaches students design principles, HTML/CSS, Adobe, SketchApp, Invision, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Git/GitHub, and much more. In addition, students prototype and iterate their own designs to produce polished user interfaces, interactions, and user experience projects. Finally, the course culminates in a final group project. Students can add this work to their portfolios to help them become a UX designer.
The 18-week part-time digital marketing course teaches students the skills they need to become a digital marketer. The bootcamp meets two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. The course features live lectures, office hours, hands-on projects, networking events, and workshops. The curriculum teaches students the ins and outs of digital marketing strategy, campaign development, social media advertising, SEO, and more. Students also use in-demand marketing technologies to put together real campaigns, working with Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, MailChimp, HTML, CSS, and CRM systems. In the end, they graduate with a polished digital marketing portfolio to show employers.
All Berkeley programs include career services. In fact, students participate in portfolio reviews, resume workshops, mock interviews, demo day showcases, networking events, and 1-on-1 career coaching.
Who is Berkeley Bootcamps for?
People with little to no experience in web development, digital marketing, UX/UI design, or data analytics who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from Berkeley Bootcamps. In addition, the program is especially helpful for people based in the Bay Area.
What does Berkeley Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for any Berkeley course is $12,495. Interest-free monthly payment plans are available. In addition, students who pay upfront or register early receive a discount. Berkeley alumni are also eligible for a $500 discount.
The admissions process begins with a brief written application or a call to admissions. Next, candidates have a behavioral interview over the phone. Then, select candidates take a critical thinking and problem-solving assessment. People do not need prior experience.
Ratings and reviews
Berkeley Bootcamps have received fairly positive reviews. The program is rated 4.22/5 stars on Course Report. It also holds a 3.3/5 star rating on Switchup. Graduates praised the program for its hands-on learning and supportive staff, but some students had mixed feelings about the fast pace and job placement.
A top review on Course Report mentions he was impressed with the supportive environment and 1-on-1 support. He appreciated that the staff “all wanted to see me thrive, and not just pepper you with information only to leave you to “sink or swim” as the case in some other programs.” However, he felt that the bootcamp was extremely intense, remarking that “many [students] struggled HARD” and that “some essentially failed or gave up.” He also felt that career services could be improved, warning the job support “part of the program is perhaps the weakest” and that Berkeley’s “networks are not the same as your bigger and far more expensive bootcamps.”
Another top review raved about “knowledgeable instructors” and appreciated the hands-on, comprehensive curriculum. She commented, “a LOT is covered so you are constantly learning.” However, she was less impressed by the pace and job support. To illustrate, she explained that “too much is covered and it becomes overwhelming” and “career services is completely useless.”
The program holds a 4.5/5 on San Francisco Bootcamps, where graduates praise the “low cost, good reputation, and excellent instructors.” However, some graduates were critical of Berkeley Bootcamps’ parent company, Trilogy. One graduate on Reddit suggested students “don’t rely on Trilogy’s career services. My experience there was really blah; they gave me very little feedback on my job search.” Another student on Reddit commented, “no one has had anything positive to say about Career Services.”
Alternatives to Berkeley Bootcamp
If you decide not to enroll in a Berkeley bootcamp course, there are a number of alternative courses and resources that can help you launch a career as a web developer, digital marketer, UX designer, or data analyst.
- The full-time tech bootcamp Kenzie Academy has in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design/front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Aspiring web developers can also consider CodeX Academy. This self-paced coding bootcamp includes 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- 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 data science, digital marketing, software engineering, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Similarly, Flatiron School is an intensive bootcamp that teaches data analysis, data science, cybersecurity, and software engineering.
- Aspiring digital marketers can look into GrowthX Academy, which has courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
- Similarly, SDSU Bootcamp, DeltaV Code School, Pluralsight, Pepperdine Graziadio Bootcamps, Bootcamp Digital, NJIT Digital Skills Bootcamp, Digital Creative Institute, Somerville Academy, and InternStreet offer tracks in digital marketing.
- You can also check out Palm Beach Code School, UC Davis Bootcamps, or allWomen Academy, which have courses in web dev and marketing.
- Aspiring designers can consider Designlab, a bootcamp that teaches students all the skills needed to launch a career as a UX designer. Read more about Designlab in our review.
- Similarly, students interested in taking online self-guided or instructor-led product design courses can check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our review.
- Or, they can look at Bloc, Ironhack, Avocademy, and Big Nerd Ranch. They all cover web dev and design.
More alternatives to Berkeley Bootcamps
- edX is one of the most popular 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.
- Aspiring data analysts can look into Data Science Dream Job, which is a self-paced course. Or, consider Divergence Academy, Principal Analytics Prep, 365 Data Science, and K2 Data Science, which have part-time and full-time data courses.
- Similarly, Metis is a bootcamp with introductory data analytics courses. They feature a project-based curriculum. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- Another great option is DataCamp. They are an online resource offering over 300 courses.
- Beginners can also look into Coding Dojo. In fact, their program teaches students the fundamental skills needed to land an entry level data analyst or software engineer role.
- The tech bootcamps Lambda School, Thinkful, Clarusway, and Byte Academy offer courses on web dev, data science, and more. In addition, students can defer payment through an income share agreement (ISA).
- Alternatively, 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 per month for more course options and greater support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
- Just like Berkeley, UC Irvine Bootcamps, Rice University Bootcamps, KU Bootcamps, Georgia Tech Bootcamp, GW Bootcamps, and University of Denver Bootcamps have web dev, data, and digital marketing courses with both online and in-person options. Trilogy also manages these bootcamps. Therefore, that they have similar curricula and job support.
- Similarly, online educational resources Udacity and Springboard offer low-cost, self-paced courses in software engineering, data analytics, digital marketing, and many other tech topics. Learn more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
How does Berkeley Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
Berkeley Bootcamps offer courses to help people launch a career as a web developer, digital marketer, UX/UI developer, or data analyst. While an interest in tech is recommended, most Berkeley bootcamp students start with no experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their field to get the most out of the technical curriculum.
Berkeley Bootcamps does offer part-time courses, but they can be fast paced and require extensive work outside of class. Pathrise is a flexible program. There are only 4 hours of group sessions per week and fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions as needed.
Our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table and have helped 1,000+ people land great jobs in tech. Fellows get 1-on-1 support on their resumes & portfolios, reverse recruiting and cold emails, behavioral and technical interview preparation, salary negotiation, and more. In fact, fellows in our program see their application responses triple and interview scores double.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. If you are interested in working with our mentors to land your dream tech job faster, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
