Hi, I’m Polina! Formerly, I worked as a senior digital marketing manager and now I am a marketing mentor at Pathrise. I help people land great marketing jobs through workshops and 1-on-1 mentorship. Check out my review of Section4.
- What does Section4 do?
- Who is Section4 for?
- What does Section4 cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Section4
- Alternatives to Section4
- How does Section4 compare to Pathrise?
What does Section4 do?
Section4 is an online bootcamp that helps people launch careers in marketing and product management. Their program is part-time, entirely remote, and led by NYU marketing professors. Despite relying on some pre-recorded material, the course is still extremely collaborative and hands-on. In fact, students participate in discussion groups, Slack chats, and hands-on strategy challenges. Moreover, TAs facilitate discussions and offer support. In addition to joining a 200+ member Slack channel, students get access to an alumni network of 4,000+ professionals from top companies like Google, Macy’s, Walmart, and more.
Product strategy
The product strategy course runs for only 2 weeks. Students learn the psychology, principles, and practices they need to become a product manager who understands what makes products successful. The curriculum includes 2 live workshops with Q&As, 7 recorded video lessons, and 8 recorded video case studies. An NYU marketing professor leads the course while expert TAs offer additional support. Students learn the “how” and “why” behind successful products, identify problems with failed products, inject value into a product, identify market opportunities, and build their product development vocabulary to communicate with other PM professionals. In addition, the curriculum covers practical skills like how to make product recommendations and how to build user-centered product roadmaps that help customers.
Brand strategy
Students in the brand strategy course learn to optimize marketing by making smart branding decisions. The program runs for 3 weeks and features a flexible schedule with lots of self-paced learning. Students get access to 3 live workshops with Q&As, 9 recorded video lessons, guest lectures, and 11 recorded video case studies that explain the branding strategies behind top companies like Uber. The curriculum was designed by an NYU marketing professor, who also serves as the lead instructor. Students learn to identify a brand’s strengths, audit brands, create roadmaps for future brand strategies, improve a firm’s value proposition, and communicate this value proposition through a brand. The curriculum also covers practical skills students can use in their current roles like optimizing their own personal brand and making actionable recommendations for resource allocation based on brand strategy.
Who is Section4 for?
Current marketing, product, or business professionals seeking to change or level up their careers could benefit from Section4. People seeking a short online program with lots of self-paced video content they can review anytime could also be a good fit. The extensive case studies could be helpful for anyone who wants to learn through real-world examples or who wants to better understand successful products all around them. However, people looking for guidance with their job search or personalized, 1-on-1 attention would not be a good fit.
What does Section4 cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for the product sprint course is $750. Students in the brand strategy course pay $875. Unlike many other bootcamps, there is no formal admissions process. While the program is open to anyone, the curriculum may be more accessible to learners with some background in business, marketing, or product management. Since workshops are relatively small and not run often, students may have to join a waitlist to get a seat.
Ratings and reviews
As a relatively new program, Section4 does not have too many online reviews. However, they hold a perfect 5 star rating on Facebook based on just 1 review. A student on LinkedIn praised the curriculum, raving that the “structure and content are excellent” with a “good ROI.” Although the student was satisfied overall, they warned that “live sessions and Slack are disappointing.” But, another student on EduOpinions also described the course as “well organized” with a strong curriculum that covered strategy in great depth. The grad also liked that “all lectures get recorded” and that students get lots of recorded video material like company case studies they can review whenever they want.
Alternatives to Section4
If you decide not to enroll in a Section4, there are a number of alternative courses and resources that can help you launch a career as a product manager or digital marketer.
- Like Section4, edX hosts courses taught by professors from top universities like NYU. Some of their courses even come from tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to learn the fundamentals or dive deeper into specific topics, like digital marketing. Read more about edX in our review.
- The popular bootcamp General Assembly teaches full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses in both digital marketing and product management. The program features 19,000+ hiring partners, mentoring, and a job placement rate above 91.4%. Learn more about General Assembly in our review.
- Similarly, BrainStation is a tech bootcamp that offers courses in digital marketing, product management, and other tech topics. Students build projects, develop their professional skills, and get access to thousands of hiring partners including Google, Facebook, and more.
- Students seeking a remote program with lots of support can check out Thinkful. They also offer an income share agreement (ISA) so students can pay with a percentage of their income after they land a tech job.
More alternatives
- The intensive tech bootcamp is Tradecraft offers courses in product design, growth marketing, and other tech topics. Their 12-week program helps people looking to land a job at a high-growth startup.
- Aspiring product managers can check out the product management community Mind the Product. Their 150,000+ members participate in workshops, training, podcasts, Slack channel Q&As, and networking events.
- Likewise, another product management association is Product Gym. They offer training, extensive job support, and networking opportunities for aspiring product managers. Classes are flexible with remote options.
- People seeking an advanced PM curriculum can check out Product Faculty, a part-time online product management bootcamp. Their program is designed as a career accelerator for product managers with 1-3 years of experience. Students get access to their Slack community, 1-on-1 career mentorship, and advanced product management (APM)(R) certificates upon graduation.
- Finally, students seeking affordable programs can check out Udacity and Springboard. They offer low-cost, self-paced courses in tech topics like digital marketing with hands-on projects and 1-on-1 mentoring. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
How does Section4 compare to Pathrise?
Section4 offers courses to help people grow their careers as digital marketers or product managers. Like most of Section4’s students, Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their chosen field to get the most out of the technical curriculum. Both Section4 and Pathrise have flexible schedules with only a few hours of group sessions per week. However, Pathrise tailors the curriculum to each individual fellow and offers 1-on-1 sessions that are scheduled as needed.
While Section4 prepares students for new tech roles, they do not offer any career services or even help grads land a job. Pathrise is a career accelerator that has helped 1,000+ people land their dream job in tech by optimizing all phases of the job search. Our mentors work 1-on-1 with fellows on their resumes & portfolios, reverse recruiting and cold emails, behavioral and technical interview preparation, salary negotiation, and more. We offer an income share agreement so fellows in our program pay nothing until they get a great tech job. Plus, we never require deposits or upfront payment.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. In fact, fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple, landing a job in just 3-5 months on average. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to land your dream tech job faster, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
