A review of QuickStart as a tech bootcamp

Hi, I’m Olga! I have years of experience in data science, most recently at eBay. Now, I work as an industry mentor at Pathrise, where I help data scientists land great roles through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of QuickStart.

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

What does QuickStart do?

QuickStart is an online program that partners with 8+ universities to offer bootcamps to help aspiring web developers, data analysts, data scientists, IT professionals, and cybersecurity professionals launch their careers. Their bootcamps pioneer an AI-based learning platform called “CLIPP” that enables personalized learning, live classes, virtual labs, mentor support, and more.

Grads also get a formal certificate of completion from universities like Florida Atlantic University, James Madison University, Hofstra, Becker College, Colorado State University Pueblo, Northeastern Illinois University, Santa Clara University, and Wagner College. In addition to remote university bootcamps, their platform hosts 900+ self-paced certificate IT courses on specific IT technologies and tools.

Web dev

Their web development bootcamp lengths can vary depending on the university. However, most take about 28 weeks and are self-paced. Courses feature live lectures, 1-on-1 mentoring sessions, hands-on assignments, and projects that students can add to their portfolios. The curriculum teaches students to build full-stack web apps. It covers HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Node.JS, client-side web development, bootstrap, open source frameworks, MySQL, Git version control, and more. In addition to working with frameworks like Angular, React JS, Redux, and MySQL, the course also covers Python fundamentals. Web dev students even learn some basic data visualization and analysis. The curriculum also covers conceptual programming concepts and best practices like how to troubleshoot and debug. The program culminates in a capstone project, where students build a polished web development portfolio project to impress employers.

Data science

Their data science courses usually last 28 weeks, though commitment can vary from university to university. The program is self-paced. It usually consists of live lectures, 1-on-1 mentoring meetings, hands-on assignments, labs, and 5+ projects. The curriculum teaches students to visualize and analyze data to create data-driven solutions. Students learn to program with both Python and R programming as they build projects and participate in labs. Students also work with Excel, Azure, Spark, Power BI, and Transact SQL to clean and query data. The curriculum also covers mathematical concepts like machine learning and research techniques students can apply in their data science roles. Students graduate with polished data science projects that they can add to their professional portfolios and help them land entry level data science jobs.

Career services

QuickStart’s bootcamps include job support. The career services team teaches students to ace interviews, craft compelling resumes, polish their portfolios, and optimize their GitHub accounts and other social profiles. Students participate in weekly career prep assignments, 1-on-1 career coaching sessions, and even interview prep sessions with Facebook and Google engineers. QuickStart also sends students and grads a steady stream of job leads and postings. Grads can continue to get support for 12 months or until they land a job. While QuickStart prioritizes getting students a job in their field of study, if students aren’t having any success the career services team can help them land a job in another field of IT. Grads can also switch to the IT consultancy training program if they are not successful in getting a job with standard career counseling services.

However, to qualify for job assistance students have to complete all quizzes and projects and pass with a 75% score. They are also required to live within an hour from one of Quickstart’s 33 approved cities (New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and others). That way, the career services team can help them navigate a well-known job market. Students who pay with an income share agreement (ISA) are not eligible for post-graduation job support.

Certificates

Students seeking short self-paced IT certificate courses can sign up for a QuickStart subscription. The subscription comes with 900+ self-paced IT courses, certificate exam prep, full e-books, blogs, case studies, community access, and more. Students graduate with accredited certificates for emerging technologies in DevOps, Cloud, cybersecurity, app development, ITSM, and even data science. Azure data engineering and Azure data science certificate only take 3 days of hands-on learning and labs to earn, while the Azure artificial intelligence course takes 2 days.

Who is QuickStart for?

People with no experience in web development, data science, data analysis, cloud computing, or cybersecurity who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from a QuickStart bootcamp. The program is especially helpful for people looking for a flexible self-paced bootcamp.

What does QuickStart cost? How much work is involved?

Tuition for QuickStart’s bootcamps ranges from $5,000 to $10,000. The cost also depends on the course, university, learning tracks, and payment plan. For most university bootcamps, students can choose to pay $6,900 upfront, 6 monthly payments of $1,467, or defer payment and pay $500 for 18 months after they graduate.

However, some universities like JMU have unique pricing. In this case, the web development and data analytics bootcamps cost about $7,900 while tuition for the data science bootcamp is $9,900. Students can choose between Master, Specialist, Self-paced, and Upskill learning tracks. The Master and Specialist tracks come with more 1-on-1 support, but they are also more expensive than the Self-paced or Upskill tracks. Financing is also available through Climb Credit. Rates and repayment plans depend on an applicant’s credit history. Students can also pay in monthly installments with an upfront deposit.

A variety of scholarships are available with no eligibility requirements for as much as 30% off tuition. An income sharing agreement (ISA) option has been available with an enrollment fee of $2,000. Students who pay with an ISA owe 10% of their salary for 36-months or until they reach a cap of $20,000. However, students who pay with an ISA do not get access to job support after graduation.

Students who are not looking for a full-time university bootcamp can choose to sign up for a QuickStart subscription instead, which costs $29 per month. All students get a 30-day free trial. The subscription comes with 900+ short self-paced IT courses, e-books, blogs, case studies, community access, and certificates for grads.

No tech experience or coding challenge is required. Applicants only have to fill out a brief online form and chat with the admissions department about their career goals.

Ratings and reviews

QuickStart has mixed to positive reviews. The program holds perfect 5-star reviews on Course Report based on just 1 recent review where the grad liked that the web dev course was “100% online” and “not too expensive.” The student also appreciated that even though students learn “at your own pace” they can easily get “assistance as needed.”

However, QuickStart only holds a 3.8/5 star rating on TrustPilot, where some grads were disappointed by the admin team, job support, and marketing claims. A recent reviewer appreciated that “bootcamps are suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners” and that the cloud curriculum was “easy to understand” with dedicated instructors available for questions. However, another student was bored by the curriculum, saying that “class meetings consisted of watching slideshow presentations.”

One grad was disappointed by what he felt was deceptive marketing, warning that “Quickstart likes to hide behind the reputation of their school partners” and that “besides putting their names on the ads, the schools were never involved.”

Quickstart is also only rated 3.5/5 stars on Switchup. One grad liked the instructor team and felt they made the curriculum “easy to follow”, but was still disappointed by the curriculum itself, describing the web dev content as disorganized with lessons that “are so out of place.” Although the grad tried to contact the job support team, the student reported that “it’s been a few months and nobody responded.”

However, another data science grad was extremely impressed with the course staff, describing them as “supportive, and will listen to your needs.” She was especially impressed with her mentor who “answered all questions” and helped her understand complex data science concepts that she “could not have gotten on my own.”

Alternatives to QuickStart

If you decide not to enroll in QuickStart, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and resources that can help aspiring web developers, data analysts, and data scientists.

Trilogy is another education company that runs university bootcamps, including University of Richmond Bootcamps, KU Bootcamps, UC San Diego Bootcamps, and Vanderbilt Bootcamps. Their programs are hands-on and offer job support, with a full career service team to help students.
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, software engineering, digital marketing, product management, and more. They have 19,000+ hiring partners and a very hands-on curriculum. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
The remote learning program Thinkful also has tracks in web development and data science. Like QuickStart, their program features 1-on-1 mentoring and a project-based curriculum. If Thinkful grads don’t land a job in 6 months, they get a full refund.
Aspiring web developers can look into Bloc, which offers flexible, online courses. Students in their program build portfolio projects and meet weekly with mentors.
Similarly, Prime Digital Academy and Georgia Tech Bootcamp have full-time and part-time courses in UX design and software engineering.
Springboard is another flexible online learning program that teaches data science, machine learning, software engineering, and other subjects. Students in their career tracks build 14 portfolio projects and meet weekly with experienced mentors. They also offer a 6-month job guarantee. Learn more about Springboard in our review.
The popular bootcamps BrainStation, GW Bootcamps, UC Davis Bootcamps, and allWomen Academy offer programs in web development, data science, marketing, product management, and more. Like QuickStart, they have project-based learning environments.

More alternatives

Similarly, Flatiron School teaches courses on data science, cybersecurity analytics, software engineering, and more. Students can choose part-time or full-time options, both remote or on-campus.
Aspiring web developers and software engineers can consider CodeX Academy. Their bootcamp is self-paced, remote, and even features a 10% income share agreement (ISA) so grads don’t pay until they land a job. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
The popular bootcamps Lambda School, Holberton School, Zip Code Wilmington, Tech Talent South, One Month, and Rithm School have courses in software engineering, web dev, and data science.
People seeking data science courses can check out Metis. They offer part-time introduction courses, plus both onsite and online bootcamp options. Like QuickStart, their program is hands-on and gives grads a certificate they can add to their LinkedIn profiles. Learn more about Metis in our review.
Another data science resource is DataCamp. They host over 300 courses on data science subjects. Courses last about 4 hours.
If you prefer in-person classes, check out Magnimind or Principal Analytics Prep, which have full-time and part-time data science courses.
Students may also consider Udemy, which has 100k+ affordable video courses on web dev, cybersecurity, data analysis, and much more. Like QuickStart, their program is extremely self-paced and remote. Classes cost about $10 each and come with lifetime access.
Another popular learning platform is edX. They host 3,000+ courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Their courses cover a wide variety of tech and even humanities subjects, including web dev, data science, and much more. Learn more about edX in our review.

Even more alternatives

Similarly, Coursera has thousands of tech courses taught by professors from accredited universities. Their curriculum features hands-on assignments, video lectures, and community discussions similar to QuickStart’s discussion forum.
Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs on the web. They offer free courses on many different programming languages and even data science. Their membership options range from $20 to $40 per month for greater course options and support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
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.
You can also consider Austin Coding Academy, Redwood Code Academy, and Tech Elevator, which are coding bootcamps with online and onsite options.
You can also check out Boise CodeWorks, which is a full-time, in-person coding bootcamp.
Similarly, Nashville Software School, Clarusway, and Codeup have courses in full stack web dev and data science.
Women, GNC people, and trans people can check out CodeOp, which has courses in web dev, data, and product management. Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
Students seeking a flexible online program with 1-on-1 mentoring can check out Udacity. They offer free and paid courses on a wide variety of tech topics, including web development, data science, and data analytics. Many of their courses come from top tech companies like IBM and Google. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
Likewise, 365 Data Science is a low-cost and low commitment option to learn data fundamentals. In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.

How does QuickStart compare to Pathrise?

QuickStart teaches students the skills needed to launch a career as a web developer, data scientist, or data analyst. While an interest in tech is recommended, most QuickStart students start with no experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have some background in their chosen field to get the most out of the technical curriculum.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people land their dream job in tech. A full service organization, Pathrise works with fellows on all phases of their job search including resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation. Pathrise tailors the curriculum to focus on our fellows’ needs.

Our program is flexible. There are only 2-4 hours of group sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions whenever they need them. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. Plus, we never require upfront payments. Fellows in our program can see their interview scores double and their application responses triple, landing a job in just 3-5 months on average.

Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and training. If you are interested in working with our mentors to ace your technical and behavioral interviews and land your job faster, join Pathrise.