- What does Springboard do?
- Who is Springboard for?
- What does Springboard cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Springboard
- Alternatives to Springboard
- How does Springboard compare to Pathrise?
What does Springboard do?
Springboard is an online education platform that aims to that aims to bridge the world’s skills gap. Their data science and design courses are very popular. They also have courses in software engineering, machine learning/AI, and data analytics. Upon completion of a Springboard course, students get a six-month runway to secure a role in their industry of choice. If they don’t get a job after six months, they receive 100% of their tuition back.
Students learn through Springboard Careers Tracks. Each program includes technical 1-on-1 sessions with an expert mentor and access to career coaching and feedback. Springboard also offers prep courses for data science and software engineering students. These courses are best for people who need to brush up on their skills before joining one of these verticals.
Who is Springboard for?
Springboard’s Career Tracks are similar to bootcamps and graduate school programs. Therefore, their target audience is students looking to learn advanced skills and take their career to the next level. Springboard helps students gain the knowledge and experience needed to land a new role. They also provide students with support, networking, and collaboration opportunities. Springboard can be a good option for those interested in working with others while learning online.
What does Springboard cost? How much work is involved?
Springboard’s prep courses in data science and software engineering require a one-time payment of $490. On average, students work to complete the courses in 4-6 weeks. After completion, students can apply their tuition towards the corresponding Career Track. Career Tracks are a bit more expensive, costing around $5,900-$8,500. Students work 15-20 hours per week for 6-9 months.
The application process is straightforward. A recent review for the Data Science Career Track detailed a process involving a series of short-answer questions, mainly behavioral, followed by an online technical assignment with questions on coding and statistics. The statistics portion consisted of multiple-choice questions similar to what you might see in an AP-level class. The coding questions required some background in programming. Springboard’s other Career Tracks follow a similar application process.
Ratings and reviews
Reviews of Springboard found online are generally positive. Most students found their weekly 1-on-1 calls with their mentors to be the most beneficial, where they get help on their individual Capstone projects, in addition to accountability and insights into working in the relevant industry. The message board was also a helpful place for students to get feedback and interact with their peers.
The main complaint issued by students refers to the fact that most of the content in the program’s curriculum can be found online already. But, Springboard does a good job of sorting and organizing the information into lessons. In addition, some students felt like the course timelines are too conservative. Many felt like they needed extra time to finish projects.
Alternatives to Springboard
As an educational program, there are a fair number of alternatives to Springboard.
- Students can check out Udacity, which is a similar online learning platform that hosts thousands of courses on a variety of subjects. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
- 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.
- Coursera, Treehouse, and Pluralsight are similar popular online education tools for people interested in learning tech skills.
- One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly, which offers 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.
- Students can also consider Kenzie Academy, a full-time tech bootcamp that 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.
- 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 interested in taking online self-guided or instructor-led product design courses can check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our review.
- Aspiring designers can consider Designlab, an online bootcamp that teaches the necessary skills to land a job as a UX designer. Read more about Designlab in our review.
- GrowthX Academy is an online bootcamp with courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
- Check out the short courses offered by SEMrush Academy or HubSpot Academy if you are looking for a free online digital marketing resource.
More alternatives
- Lambda School and Coding Dojo are well known bootcamps where students can learn fundamentals of software engineering and data science.
- You can also check out General Assembly, Ironhack, Flatiron School, Helio Training, allWomen Academy, GW Bootcamps, and BrainStation, which offers a variety of courses on similar topics.
- If you are looking for extra help before a bootcamp, First Step Coding has a software engineering prep course.
- The Tech Academy is an online and onsite bootcamp that helps people learn the technical skills necessary to land a job as a (junior) software developer or data scientist.
- Codesmith, Fullstack Academy, and Actualize are software engineering bootcamps with online and on-campus options.
- For people with an interest in data science, Metis has part-time introduction courses as well as onsite and online bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- Coding Temple, RMOTR, and DataCamp are Python data science and web development bootcamps and resources, focusing on the fundamentals.
- Dataquest, Divergence Academy, and Data Science Dojo are also options for current and aspiring data scientists. They offer individual courses, as well as in-depth tracks.
- Free online resources, SoloLearn and the Mode tutorials have tracks in SQL, as well as other programming languages.
- Hack Reactor is a software engineering bootcamp with online and onsite options.
- 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.
- For designers, HackDesign is a free online newsletter with tools and lessons that aspiring and current designers can benefit from.
- UX Pro Academy has courses for beginners as well as more experienced people.
Resources
We created a list of the best resources to learn software engineering and data science, so you can decide what the best option is for you. You can also check out our list of 93 software engineering interview questions from top tech companies to practice.
How does Springboard compare to Pathrise?
The Springboard program is geared towards developing new technical skills. Pathrise is focused more specifically on getting students the best job possible. Both programs give 1-on-1 sessions, but Springboard’s mentor sessions are focused on helping students with their individual Capstone project while Pathrise is more focused on the job search itself.
Pathrise is a full-service program that helps people with each step of their job search. 1-on-1 sessions are flexible and focused on each fellow’s specific needs. Our fellows should already have a background in the field they are interested in. Our technical workshops provide more specific learnings based on what students will see in their interviews.
All Pathrise workshop materials are created in-house and based on data. This means they are constantly being updated and refreshed with each fellow we help land a job. The content is then personalized for the fellows’ specific needs and interests. Our technical workshops include pair programming and assignments that mentors review each week with fellows and grade against actual company rubrics.
Since Springboard is focused more on helping students learn and advance their skills for all aspects of working in that field, you can use a Springboard Career Track in conjunction with Pathrise to help you get both the technical skills you need as well as the career preparation and optimization required to land your dream job.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. With our tips and guidance, we’ve seen our fellows interview performance scores double.
If you want to work with any of our mentors 1-on-1 to get help with your technical and behavioral interviews or with any other aspect of the job search, become a Pathrise fellow.
