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 UW Bootcamps.
- What does UW Bootcamps do?
- Who is UW Bootcamps for?
- What does UW Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?
- Ratings and reviews
- Alternatives to UW Bootcamps
- How does UW Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
What does UW Bootcamps do?
University of Washington Bootcamps is a coding bootcamp that teaches people the skills they need to launch a career as a web developer or financial tech professional. Students can choose between part-time and full-time options in Seattle and Bellevue. Due to Covid-19, all courses are now offered remotely.
No prior experience is required to enroll. Instead, students complete self-paced pre-work before starting the course. Students in the web dev program study HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other coding fundamentals to prepare them for the bootcamp.
The 12-week full-time web development bootcamp meets Monday-Friday from 10am to 2pm PST. The part-time 24-week web dev program meets 10am to 2pm on Saturdays and 6:30pm to 9:30pm Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students participate in live lectures, discussions, coding labs, group projects, and workshops. The program teaches students to build full stack web apps using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, jQuery, and Node.js. They also learn responsive design, quality assurance, Heroku, Git, React.js, MySQL, MongoDB, and more. Homework assignments are based on on-the-job challenges students will face in the corporate world. The program culminates in a demo day event, where students show off their final portfolio projects to local tech companies and employers.
All UW bootcamps include career services. Students participate in portfolio reviews, resume workshops, social profile assistance, mock behavioral interviews, and technical interview training. Career coaching is also available, so students can work 1-on-1 with career directors and profile coaches to get additional support.
Who is UW Bootcamps for?
People with little to no coding experience who are looking to launch a career as a web developer could benefit from UW’s bootcamps. The program is especially helpful for people who are based in Washington or those who are interested in intense, hands-on learning.
What does UW Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for any UW bootcamp is $12,995. Interest-free monthly payment plans and early-registration discounts are available. Students can apply for a $500 scholarship through Course Report.
The admissions process begins with a brief written application or a call to the UW admissions office. Next, candidates have a behavioral interview over the phone. Select candidates take a critical thinking and problem-solving assessment. No prior coding experience is required.
Ratings and reviews
UW Bootcamps have mixed to positive reviews. They hold a 4.94/5 on Course Report but are only rated 2/5 stars on Switchup. UW Bootcamps’ students were impressed by the course’s supportive instructors and hands-on curriculum, but some graduates were disappointed by the career services and intense pace.
A top review on Course Report describes the program as “an amazing experience”” The reviewer felt she benefited from the small class sizes and support, describing the TAs and instructors as “knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging.” However, she warned that pacing can be intense, saying that the course “requires a lot of hard work and studying outside of class.”
Another grad felt that the instructors and TAs “were incredible people” who made the curriculum “easy to digest.” However, he also described the pace as “grueling.” Similarly, another student felt that the pace might be too fast for some, warning that the course “requires an immense amount of time!” He only described the career services as “decent” and gave job support a 3/5 star rating.
UW Bootcamps are included in Value College’s top 35 university coding bootcamps of 2020 and hold a perfect 10/10 rating on Job Support Hub. However, users on Reddit were critical of UW and their parent company, Trilogy. One user warned “this code bootcamp is not put on by UW, but by a company called Trilogy.” Another student on Reddit was not impressed by Trilogy’s job support, commenting “no one has had anything positive to say about Career Services.”
A review on Switchup is more critical of the career services, remarking that “Job support means they ask you to submit resumes” and “The only good thing is occasionally they will connect you with a company during a one-hour info session.” Overall grads were satisfied by the tech skills they gained from the program, but some would have liked a more relaxed pace with greater job support.
Alternatives to UW Bootcamps
If you decide not to enroll in UW Bootcamps, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and courses for aspiring web developers.
- The popular bootcamp BrainStation offers programs in web development, web design, data science, marketing, and product management. Like UW Bootcamps, BrainStation emphasizes project-based learning and 1-on-1 support. Their hiring partners include Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and more.
- Aspiring web developers and software engineers can check out CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- Bloc offers online courses in web development and web design. The program emphasizes student support, with real-time instructor feedback and weekly 1-on-1 mentorship meetings.
- The full-time tech bootcamp Kenzie Academy offers in-person and online courses in full-stack software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. They offer an ISA so students don’t pay until they land a tech job with a salary of over $40k. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Similarly, Lambda School and Byte Academy are online bootcamps with courses on web dev, data science, and more. They also offer students ISA option.
- Northwestern Bootcamps and Georgia Tech Bootcamps have courses in web development, data science, and more. They have the same parent company, Trilogy, that also manages UW’s bootcamps.
- Coding Dojo is a coding bootcamp with full-time, part-time, and even self-paced courses in software development, data science, and product management.
- Another popular tech bootcamp, General Assembly has full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on data science, software engineering, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- The online resource Skillcrush teaches a 12-week self-paced bootcamp. They offer 13 different tech courses including coding tracks in front-end development and full stack development with Ruby. Like UW, they feature lots of 1-on-1 instructor support and project feedback.
- Students on a budget can consider Udemy, an online program that hosts thousands of self-paced video courses on web dev, cybersecurity, data analysis, and much more. Classes cost about $10 each.
- Similarly, Codecademy is a free online coding program with free courses on web development with dozens of programming languages. They have membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for greater course options and support.
- People seeking low-cost tech training can also check out Udacity and Springboard. These programs offer affordable, self-paced courses in web dev, data analytics, and many other technical subjects. Both resources feature 1-on-1 coaching for students in paid programs. Learn more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
How does UW Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
UW Bootcamps help people learn the necessary skills to become web developers. Most of their students start with little to no coding experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have some background in their chosen field so they can get the most out of our technical interview training.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people find their dream in tech. Our expert mentors assist fellows with every phase of the job search including resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, salary negotiation, and technical and behavioral interviewing.
Our program is flexible, with just 4 hours of group sessions per week and 1-on-1s that can be scheduled as needed by fellows. We offer a 9% income share agreement (ISA) so our program is free until you land a great tech job. Fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple, landing a great job in just 3-5 months on average.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. If you would like to work with one of our mentors to land your dream job, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
