Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now industry mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of web developers and software engineers to help them land their dream jobs in tech. Check out my review of TrueCoders.
- What does TrueCoders do?
- Who is TrueCoders for?
- What does TrueCoders cost? How much work is involved?
- Ratings and reviews
- Alternatives to TrueCoders
- How does TrueCoders compare to Pathrise?
What does TrueCoders do?
TrueCoders is an online coding bootcamp that teaches people the skills they need to launch a new career as a software engineer or web developer. Students participate in lectures, mentoring sessions, career workshops, hands-on assignments, and projects that they can add to their portfolios. Classes are completely virtual.
Software engineering students learn full-time for 9 weeks or study at their own pace with the flex program. The full-time course meets Monday-Friday from 9am to 3pm CT. While the course’s flex version is completely self-paced, it covers the same content as the full-time version. Both curricula cover C#, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. In addition, students work with ASP.NET to build dynamic apps, SQL to connect to databases, and Git for version control skills they’ll use on the job. The course culminates in a project that students add to their portfolios.
The full-time web development course meets Monday-Friday from 9am to 3pm CT. There is no flex option for web dev. Students learn to build responsive web apps with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Node.js. The curriculum also covers app deployment with React, version control with Git, and even some basic data analysis via SQL. Students spend their final weeks building a polished web app that they can add to their portfolios to impress employers.
All students participate in career services. Mentors are available for unlimited 1-on-1 meetings. Students also participate in resume optimization workshops, LinkedIn networking sessions, and mock interviews. Industry experts also host weekly seminars on topics like job search skills, career development, and personal growth.
Who is TrueCoders for?
People with little to no coding experience who are looking to launch a career as a software engineer or web developer could benefit from TrueCoders. The program is especially helpful for students seeking a small personalized classroom setting with unlimited mentoring. People who live in Birmingham as well as those who want to work there in the future would be a good fit.
What does TrueCoders cost? How much work is involved?
Full tuition for the live course is $6,500, while the self-paced course costs $4,500. Students who pay full tuition upfront get a 27% discount. An ISA is available for self-paced learners, while education loans are available for both the self-paced and live programs.
While an assessment has been required in the past, all courses are currently open to anyone. Students only have to fill out a brief form to enroll. No prior experience is required.
Ratings and reviews
TrueCoders has mostly positive reviews. They hold a 4.9/5 star rating on Course Report where they are listed among the best bootcamps in Birmingham. A recent grad praised the “great curriculum” and appreciated that “1 on 1 help was always available.” Another recent grad also liked that instructors were “always there to help out.” He raved about the speaker events and workshops which he felt “helps in so many ways from interview skills to getting your resume nice and shiny.” However, one student “would have liked it to be a little more strict on deadlines” with a slightly more organized curriculum. While the student felt the career services prepared students for the job search, he was disappointed that they don’t “put you in front of jobs” and “at most, they might set you up with the handshake and pass you off.”
The program also holds a 4.95/5 star rating on Switchup. Grads were impressed by the “regular career coaching each week, which is so valuable.” Many students agreed that the “generous one-on-one assistance” was helpful, especially when coupled with the engaging learning environment that catered to complete beginners. Hands-on assignments were also a big hit. The bootcamp is rated 4.6/5 stars on Career Karma, though the curriculum is only rated 84/100 as some students found it imbalanced with “too much concentration on C#” and “low focus on HTML, CSS, and Javascript.” Their job assistance only holds a 78/100 rating. However, all their Facebook reviewers rated the bootcamp a perfect 5/5 stars. Grads liked the “pragmatic learning” with “friendly” instructors who were always available for 1-on-1s. Many students describe the course as perfect for people with “no coding background at all.” Overall, grads seemed very satisfied with TrueCoders’s hands-on learning experience with unlimited coaching, though some students would have preferred a more organized curriculum with more help finding a job after graduation.
Alternatives to TrueCoders
If you decide not to enroll in TrueCoders, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and resources to help aspiring web developers launch their careers.
- Another self-paced tech bootcamp is Springboard. Their online platform helps people launch a career in a wide variety of tech fields, including software development. Students in their career tracks build more than 14 portfolio projects with weekly mentorship meetings and a 6-month job guarantee. Read more about Springboard in our review.
- People seeking self-paced courses with mentoring can also look into Udacity. They offer free intro courses, as well as paid “nanodegree” programs for a more intense experience with greater support. Nanodegree students meet 1-on-1 with both a technical mentor and a career coach as they build projects. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
- The popular bootcamp General Assembly teaches full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of tech topics including software engineering. Their program features a hands-on curriculum, a job placement rate over 91%, and an income sharing agreement (ISA) so students pay nothing until they land a tech job. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Another tech bootcamp with ISA options is BrainStation. They run courses in full-stack web development and many other tech topics. Like TrueCoders, BrainStation features lots of 1-on-1 support and project-based learning. Their many hiring partners include companies like Facebook and Google.
- Similarly, Kenzie Academy is a tech bootcamp that offers an income sharing agreement (ISA). They teach in-person and online courses in 2 tracks full-stack software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Aspiring web developers can check out CodeX Academy. Like TrueCoders, they offer self-paced options that include 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our program review.
- Another popular tech bootcamp is Flatiron School. Their software engineering program is hands-on curriculum, with career coaching and a job placement rate above 86%. Students can learn online or in-person, with both full-time and part-time options available.
- People seeking an affordable self-paced program can look into Udemy. Their platform hosts thousands of self-paced video courses on software engineering, web development, and many other tech topics. Classes only cost about $10 each and come with lifetime access to the content.
- The flexible online platform Bloc hosts online courses in web development and web design, with lots of instructor feedback, a project-based curriculum, and 1-on-1 mentorship meetings.
- Students seeking affordable university courses can look into edX. Their online platform hosts thousands of self-paced university courses from top schools like Harvard and MIT, and even big tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to learn the fundamentals or take a deep dive into a specific topic, like JavaScript and object-oriented programming. Learn more about edX in our review.
- The extremely popular online platform Codecademy hosts full-length coding courses for free. Students can learn web development, dozens of programming languages for software engineering, and even data science as they work through hands-on projects. Optional memberships only cost $20-40 per month for greater course options and support. Learn more about Codeacademy in our review.
How does TrueCoders compare to Pathrise?
TrueCoders is a bootcamp for people who want to start a new career as a web developer or software engineer. Their program is designed for complete beginners and most students start with no coding experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their chosen field so they can get the most out of our technical curriculum.
While TrueCoders offers a self-paced option, many of their courses are full-time and intense. The Pathrise schedule is flexible. Fellows in our program only have 2-4 hours of group sessions per week. Like TrueCoders, fellows in our program can schedule 1-on-1 mentoring sessions as needed. Pathrise mentors help with all phases of the job search including resume and portfolio optimization, reverse recruiting, cold emailing, technical and behavioral interviewing, and salary negotiation. Our experienced mentors have already helped 900+ fellows land great jobs.
TrueCoders students pay tuition upfront or in monthly installments. Pathrise offers income share agreements (ISA) so fellows can pay with 9% of their first year’s salary after they land a great tech job. We never require upfront payments or deposits.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. Fellows in our program can see their interview scores double and their application responses triple, landing a job in only 3-5 months on average. If you are interested in working with our mentors to land your dream job faster, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
