Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now software engineering mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream job. Check out my review of Rutgers Bootcamps.
- What does Rutgers Bootcamps do?
- Who is Rutgers Bootcamps for?
- What does Rutgers Bootcamps cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Rutgers Bootcamps
- Alternatives to Rutgers Bootcamps
- How does Rutgers Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
What does Rutgers Bootcamps do?
Rutgers Bootcamps is a coding bootcamp that teaches people the skills they need to land a job as a web developer or data analyst. Students can choose between part-time and full-time options in Jersey City and Somerset, New Jersey. Due to Covid-19, all courses are now online.
Before starting a bootcamp, students complete 30 hours of self-paced pre-work. Students in the web development program study HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and coding fundamentals. The data science pre-work familiarizes students with the basics of data analysis, Excel, and statistics.
The 12-week full-time web development bootcamp meets Monday-Friday from 10am to 3pm EST. The part-time 24-week web dev program meets 10am to 2pm on Saturdays and 6:30pm to 9pm twice a week. Students participate in lectures, discussions, and workshops. They build polished projects that they can showcase in their portfolios. The program teaches students to build full stack web apps using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, jQuery, and Node.js. They also learn responsive design, Heroku, Git, user authentication, React.js, MySQL, MongoDB, and more. The course features a mix of theory and practice, with an emphasis on peer collaboration.
The data science program is only part-time. Students meet for 24 weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. They participate in lectures, workshops, discussions, and hands-on projects. The course teaches students to visualize and analyze data using MySQL, MongoDB, HTML, JavaScript, Excel, Hadoop, CSS, SQL, Python, and more. For their final project, students work in small groups to build a data visualization application. They can add this project and others to their portfolio, helping graduates land entry level data science jobs.
All courses include portfolio reviews, resume workshops, LinkedIn optimization, mock interviews, 1-on-1 coaching, and more.
Who are Rutgers Bootcamps for?
People with no experience in web development or data science who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from the bootcamps. The program is especially helpful for people who are based in New Jersey or those who are looking to work in the Tri-State Area.
What do Rutgers Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for Rutgers Bootcamps depends on the course. Students who enroll in the full-time web development course pay $12,495. The part-time web development course costs $11,495. Tuition for the part-time data science course is $12,495.
Rutgers University alumni are eligible for a $500 discount. Early registration discounts and interest-free payment plans are also available.
The admission process begins with a brief written application or phone call. Next, candidates are invited to a behavioral interview. If they do well, candidates are given a critical thinking and problem-solving assessment. There is no coding challenge or technical interview.
Ratings and reviews
Rutgers Bootcamps has mixed reviews. They hold a 3.7/5 star rating on SwitchUp and have been listed among Course Report’s top courses of 2017. Rutgers Bootcamps’ students praise the program for its hands-on curriculum and dedicated instructors, but some graduates have mixed feelings about the course’s job placement.
The program holds a 4.53/5 stars on Course Report. The top review describes the course as “the best learning experience I’ve had in academia!” However, another top reviewer was less impressed, warning the program is “bad for getting you a job.” The grad appreciated the positive learning environment and the 1-on-1 support, though. They remarked, “the instructors and TAs are knowledgeable and willing to help you when you get stuck.” The grad felt that pacing was too intense, requiring “at least 20+ hours of outside work per week to understand the material.” The review was especially tough on career placement, warning “there is not a large group of employers waiting to hire you when you finish.”
A reviewer on SwitchUp valued the positive atmosphere and the hands-on learning experience. They commented “The program did an amazing job keeping me engaged and immersed in a learning environment.” While he felt “the pace of the course was intense” and he had to “put in a lot of work outside of class to keep up,” the grad was extremely satisfied with curriculum and experience. Another reviewer was bothered by the pace, describing the program as “not easy for a newbie” and would have preferred a more organized job assistance program.
Alternatives to Rutgers Bootcamps
If you decide not to enroll in Rutgers Bootcamps, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and courses for aspiring data analysts and web developers.
- A self-paced coding bootcamp with a full stack development track, CodeX Academy also includes career assistance and 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- The popular bootcamp BrainStation offers programs in web development, web design, data science, marketing, and product management. Like Rutgers, BrainStation emphasizes project-based learning and collaboration with 1-on-1 feedback for students.
- Bloc offers online courses in web development and web design. Like Rutgers, Bloc’s program emphasizes student support, with real-time instructor feedback and weekly 1-on-1 mentorship meetings.
- The tech bootcamps, Lambda School, Holberton School, and Byte Academy have tracks in web dev, data science, and software engineering. They offer students an income share agreement (ISA), allowing them to pay for the program after they land a tech job.
- Aspiring software engineers and UX designers who are looking for a full-time bootcamp can consider Kenzie Academy. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our program review.
- Another well-known tech bootcamp, Thinkful teaches courses in web development, data science, software engineering and more.
- You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
- Aspiring data scientists can also look into K2 Data Science, University of Arizona Bootcamps, and Divergence Academy. These online bootcamps offer full-time and part-time courses in data science and data analysis.
- 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 Menon Labs fellowship helps people learn the skills to get a job in web dev, data, and product management.
More alternatives
- For those interested in self-paced learning, Data Science Dream Job offers flexible, remote courses for aspiring data analysts. Like Rutgers Data Science, their program includes portfolio building and career assistance. 1-on-1 mentoring is also available. In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
- Similarly, DataCamp is an online resource with over 300 courses on data science subjects. Courses last about 4 hours.
- Metis has introductory data science courses with both onsite & remote bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- For those looking for a data science community focused on project-learning learning, Kaggle can be a good choice. They host 19,000 public datasets and 200,000 public notebooks for people who are looking to get started or join a data science project to build
- Flatiron School teaches courses on data science, software engineering, UX design, and cybersecurity analytics. Students can choose part-time or full-time options, both remote or on-campus.
- You can also consider UC Davis Bootcamps, which has marketing, web dev, and data courses. Or, look into Boise CodeWorks, which is a full-time, in-person coding bootcamp.
- For students seeking lower-cost web development and data science courses, Simplilearn, Treehouse, and Pluralsight could be worth pursuing. While they may not have the same level of instructor support as full-time bootcamps like Rutgers, these programs offer a wide range of courses to learn essential skills for a career in tech.
- In addition, 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.
- Similarly, Udacity and Springboard are online learning platforms that offer thousands of courses on web development, data science, and much more. Learn more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
How does Rutgers Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
Rutgers Bootcamps are for people interested in learning the skills needed for a career as a web developer or data analyst. While an interest in tech is recommended, most Rutgers Bootcamps students start with no experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their chosen field to get the most out of our technical interview training.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people land their dream job in tech. Our program assists with all phases of the job search including resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation. Fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple, helping them find their dream job faster.
Our program is flexible, with only 2-4 hours of sessions per week and 1-on-1s that can be scheduled as needed. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. We never require upfront payments.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. If you are interested in working with one of our mentors to land your dream job faster, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
