Hi, I’m Polina! Formerly, I worked as a senior digital marketing manager and now I am a marketing mentor at Pathrise. I help job-seekers prepare for their future in digital marketing. Check out my review of UC Davis Bootcamps.
- What does UC Davis Bootcamps do?
- Who is UC Davis Bootcamps for?
- What does UC Davis Bootcamps cost?
- Ratings and reviews of UC Davis Bootcamps
- Alternatives to UC Davis Bootcamps
- How does UC Davis Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
What does UC Davis Bootcamps do?
UC Davis Bootcamps offers part-time courses to help people launch new careers. They have courses in digital marketing, web development, data analysis, and cybersecurity. Students don’t need any prior experience, but bootcamps may require self-paced pre-work. Although in-person options are usually available at UC Davis’ Sacramento campus, all classes are currently remote due to Covid-19.
Courses include live lectures, hands-on exercises, workshops, group projects, and career coaching. Although classes are part-time and only require about 10 hours of live instruction per week, students should prepare to put in about 30 hours of work per week in total, including projects and self-study. All courses culminate in a final project, which students can add to their portfolios. In addition, they present them to alumni, industry professionals, and potential employers on demo day. Both career directors and profile coaches work 1-on-1 with students to prepare them for the job search. Students participate in portfolio reviews, mock interviews, technical interview training, resume workshops, networking events, and more.
Digital marketing
Students in the digital marketing bootcamp meet for 18 weeks on two weekdays from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm PST. The curriculum teaches students to develop digital marketing campaigns, build brands, craft brand strategies, generate leads, create sales funnels, and other skills they need to become a digital marketer. Students also work hands-on with Google Ads, Google Analytics, Facebook Ads Manager, and even a real website to improve SEO rankings. Grads leave the program with a certificate of completion. Plus, they have a polished digital marketing portfolio full of real campaigns that they can show potential employers.
Web dev
The coding bootcamp teaches students the fundamental web development skills that they need to land entry level software engineer jobs. Classes meet for 24 weeks on two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, plus a Saturday class from 10am to 2pm PST. Coding students build full-stack web apps with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Node.js, React.JS, and C#. The curriculum also covers bootstrap, ASP, Heroku, MongoDB, and MySQL, and even data structure basics. In addition, grads get access to an optional continuation course. In this class, they learn Python, Java, and Amazon Web Services.
Data science
Students in the part-time data science course meet for 24 weeks with classes on two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, plus an additional class on Saturday from 10am to 2pm PST. The curriculum teaches students to visualize and analyze data with Excel, Python, and JavaScript. In addition, students work hands-on with SQL and MongoDB to organize data into easily retrievable formats as they familiarize themselves with databases. Finally, students also work with HTML, CSS, Tableau, Hadoop, and even some machine learning. Grads leave the program with a formal certificate and polished portfolio to help them get entry level data science jobs.
Who is UC Davis Bootcamps for?
People with little to no experience in digital marketing, web dev, or data analytics who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from a UC Davis bootcamp. Their program is especially helpful for people based in California where the UC name may stand out, as well as people seeking a hands-on curriculum that helps students build a portfolio. Although all their bootcamps are part-time, the intensive 30+ hour weekly workload may be difficult to balance with a full-time job or other full-time commitments.
What does UC Davis Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for any bootcamp is $10,995. Students can pay in interest-free monthly installments or pay upfront for a discount. Students who register early and UC Davis alumni get discounts.
The application process begins with a short online form or a call to the admissions office. An admissions advisor then calls candidates for a behavioral interview. Select candidates take a final critical thinking and problem-solving assessment. No prior tech experience is necessary.
Ratings and reviews
UC Davis Bootcamps has received mostly positive reviews. They hold a 4.91/5 star rating on Course Report, where grads praised the practical curriculum and dedicated instructor team. One grad liked that the curriculum was “laid out very intentionally and intuitively”. Plus, they liked the practical assignments and final capstone project students added to their portfolios. However, the grad warned that even their part-time courses could be “very challenging and time consuming”. In fact, students should expect “10-15 hours of homework time weekly.”
Another grad felt the bootcamps struck the “right balance of being immensely challenging, paired with excellent support”. This student also described all of her instructors as “extremely helpful, enthusiastic, and encouraging.” Another student agreed that “the course is a great foundation but it is challenging”. However, they benefited from lots of 1-on-1 support to keep students from falling behind. This student appreciated that “TAs were available almost 24/7”.
While some grads on Reddit were impressed with the course, one student warned “they take anybody with a pulse” and that “It’s billed as a part time boot camp that you can do on a busy schedule but honestly if you work full time it’s a lot.” Another grad was “impressed by the quality of the work the students were able to complete” but was concerned that students might not “retain” everything they’ve learned well enough to perform in a technical interview and land a job. Another Reddit user warned that “no one has had anything positive to say about Career Services.”
Overall, students were impressed with the course’s supportive staff, practical curriculum, and the university’s reputation, although some grads would have preferred a more relaxed pace with more help getting a job.
Alternatives to UC Davis Bootcamp
If you choose not to enroll in a UC Davis bootcamp, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and resources that can help you launch a new career as a digital marketer, web developer, or data analyst.
- The UC Berkeley Bootcamp, University of Denver Bootcamps, and Vanderbilt Bootcamps all teach digital marketing, web dev, and data courses with part-time options available. Their programs feature a hands-on curriculum with portfolio projects and 1-on-1 coaching. These university bootcamps are managed by Trilogy, the same parent company that manages UC Davis Bootcamps, meaning they offer a similar experience and career services.
- Students seeking university courses can also look into Coursera. Their platform hosts thousands of low-cost courses taught by professors at accredited universities, including UC Davis. Their program is flexible, remote, and self-paced.
- Similarly, edX is a learning platform that offers self-paced courses from University of California schools, top universities like Harvard, and even big tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to learn the fundamentals or take a deep dive into specific topics, like digital marketing. Read more about edX in our review.
- Another popular bootcamp with both online and on-campus options is Flatiron School. They have full-time and part-time tracks in data analysis, data science, cybersecurity, and software engineering. Their bootcamps include lots of hands-on projects, career coaching, and a job placement rate above 86%.
More alternatives
- The well-known bootcamp General Assembly offers full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on tech topics like digital marketing, JavaScript development, data science, and more. Their program features 19,000+ hiring partners, a hands-on curriculum, and a 91.4% job placement. Learn more about General Assembly in our review.
- BrainStation is a bootcamp that teaches courses in data science, web dev, and more. Their program is project-based, with networking opportunities and 1-on-1 feedback for students.
- Students seeking a remote program with mentoring can check out Springboard. They have tracks in software engineering, data science, data analytics, machine learning, and more. If students don’t land a job within 6 months of graduating, they get a full refund. Read more about Springboard in our review.
- Similarly, Thinkful is an online tech bootcamp that teaches courses in data science, digital marketing, software engineering, and more. Their program includes career coaching and team projects like UC Davis Bootcamps. They offer an income share agreement (ISA) so students can pay with a percentage of their income after they land a tech job.
- Aspiring data scientists can consider DataCamp. This online tech resource hosts 300+ courses on data science subjects that only last about 4 hours each.
- Although students should have some basic math skills before applying, Metis offers introductory data analytics courses with a project-based curriculum. Read more about Metis in our review.
Even more alternatives
- A full-time bootcamp with the intensity of UC Davis Bootcamps, Kenzie Academy offers in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design with front-end engineering. Like UC Davis Bootcamps, Kenzie Academy features a hands-on curriculum with industry mentoring and a fairly intense pace. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Aspiring web developers can check out CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Read more about CodeX Academy in our program review.
- You can also check out Boise CodeWorks, which is a full-time, in-person coding bootcamp.
- The hugely popular Codecademy platform hosts free hands-on courses on web development, dozens of programming languages, and even data science. Students can sign up for $20-$40 monthly memberships for greater course options and support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
- For people seeking self-paced courses with mentoring on a budget, Udacity could be a good fit. They have tracks in marketing, web dev, and data science with both free and paid options. Students in their nanodegree programs build polished portfolio projects and work closely with both a technical and a career mentor. Find out if Udacity is right for your career goals in our review.
How does UC Davis Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?
UC Davis Bootcamps offers tech courses that help people start a new career in digital marketing, web development, or data analytics. Their program is designed for beginners, with pre-work to get students up to speed. Pathrise job-seekers should already have some background in their chosen field so they can fully benefit from our technical curriculum.
While UC Davis offers career services and mentoring, they only prepare students for the job search, not help them through it. Pathrise is a career accelerator that has helped 1,000+ students and professionals land their dream job. Our experienced mentors work with fellows on their resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation. Plus, our curriculum is tailored to each individual fellow’s needs.
Although UC Davis bootcamps are part-time, they tend to be intense and can require 30+ hours each week. Our program is flexible, with only 2-4 hours of group sessions per week and 1-on-1 sessions fellows can schedule 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. On average, fellows land a job in just 3-5 months.
More info
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. With our tips and guidance, fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to land your dream tech job, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
