UC San Diego Bootcamps review

Hi, I’m Patrick, I write about the job search. After graduating from Cornell, I became a content lead at UBS where I helped professionals at Fortune 500 companies understand their stock options, salary, and benefits. When I’m not writing about the hiring process, I write novels for teens. Check out my review of UC San Diego Bootcamps.

What does UC San Diego Bootcamps do?
Who is UC San Diego Bootcamps for?
What does UC San Diego Bootcamps cost?
Ratings and reviews of UC San Diego Bootcamps
Alternatives to UC San Diego Bootcamps
How does UC San Diego Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?

What does UC San Diego Bootcamps do?

UC San Diego Bootcamps is a tech bootcamp that teaches people the skills they need to land a job as a web developer, data analyst, or cybersecurity analyst. Students can choose between part-time and full-time options online or in San Diego. However, all courses are currently remote due to Covid-19.

Before starting a bootcamp, students must complete about 30 hours of self-paced pre-work. Students in the web development program study HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals. The data science pre-work covers the basics of data analysis, Excel, and statistics fundamentals.

Web dev

The 12-week full-time web development bootcamp meets Monday through Friday from 10am to 2:30pm. The part-time 24-week web dev program meets 10am to 2pm on Saturdays plus two weekday classes from 6:30pm to 9:30pm per week. Students participate in lectures, discussions, speaker events, team exercises, and workshops. The program teaches students to build full stack web apps using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, jQuery, and Node.js. The curriculum also covers responsive design, Heroku, Git, React.js, MongoDB, MySQL, and more. Students build polished full stack projects and Java web apps they can add to their web development portfolio to help them find a job.

Data science

Students in the 24-week part-time data science program meet two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. They participate in lectures, workshops, speaker events, and hands-on projects. The course teaches students to visualize and analyze data using Python, Excel, HTML, and Tableau. The curriculum also covers APIs, SQL, CSS, statistics, machine learning, R, Git, and more. Students build data projects like interactive graphs and Twitter bots throughout the program. Grads can add these projects to their portfolios, helping them land entry level data science jobs.

The program includes career services. Students participate in portfolio reviews, resume workshops, networking events, technical & behavioral interview training. Career coaches also work 1-on-1 with students to prepare them for the job search.

Who is UC San Diego Bootcamps for?

People with no experience in web development or data analysis who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from the bootcamps. The program is especially helpful for people who are based in San Diego.

What does UC San Diego Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?

Tuition for the full-time web dev bootcamp is $12,495. The part-time bootcamps cost $10,995. UC San Diego alumni are eligible for a $500 discount. Monthly payment plans and early-registration discounts are also available.

The admissions process begins with a short written form or call to the admissions office. Next, candidates have a phone interview with an admissions advisor. Select candidates are given a critical thinking & problem-solving assessment and accepted based on their score. No prior technical experience is required.

Ratings and reviews

UC San Diego Bootcamps have mixed to positive reviews. They hold a 4.76/5 star rating on Course Report, where a top review described the bootcamp as “a well designed and challenging program.” The grad appreciated the “top notch” instructor support and liked that students build “projects ready to be shown to employers by the end of the program.” However, the grad felt that the course can be demanding, warning “be prepared to work really hard.” Another top review raved that “teachers and instructors are great” but was disappointed by job support, commenting “with my class, about 3 of 25 got positions.” The grad also felt the pace was too fast, describing it as “not ideal for absolute beginners.”

The bootcamp is rated 3.33/5 stars on Switchup. One grad appreciated that the staff “gave the most in-depth answers for all my questions” and that “TAs were very supportive.” However, they were disappointed that the bootcamp “doesn’t come with a job guarantee” and that students “have to put in at least 20 hours a week outside of class.”

The program is also rated 9/10 on Bootcamp Rankings, where a grad described it as “well thought out and organized.” They also appreciated the “structure” and felt like they “gained a lot of confidence from completing projects.” However, students on Reddit were not impressed by the bootcamp’s parent company, Trilogy. Some grads felt the pacing was too intense and many were critical of the lack of job support, commenting “no one has had anything positive to say about Career Services.” Overall, grads seemed satisfied with the tech skills they got out of the program, but some would have liked a slower pace with more help getting a job.

Alternatives to UC San Diego Bootcamps

If you decide not to enroll in UC San Diego Bootcamps, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and courses for aspiring web developers and data analysts.

The popular bootcamp BrainStation offers programs in web development, web design, data science, and more. Like UC San Diego Bootcamps, BrainStation features hands-on learning with 1-on-1 support on projects.
Another popular tech bootcamp, General Assembly has full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on data science, web dev, software engineering, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
Aspiring data scientists can look into Metis. They offer intro data science courses with both onsite & remote bootcamp options. Their graduates also get official certificates to help them land a job. Learn more about Metis in our review.
Similarly, DataCamp is an online resource with over 300 courses on data science subjects.
Students seeking 1-on-1 mentorship can check out Thinkful, a bootcamp that teaches courses in data science, software engineering, and more.
UC Berkeley, GW Bootcamps, Rutgers Bootcamps, UC Davis Bootcamps, and University of Richmond Bootcamps have courses in data science and web development. They are run by the same parent company that manages UC San Diego Bootcamps, meaning their curriculum and career support are similar.
Similarly, Clarusway teaches courses on those subjects as well.
Women, GNC people, and trans people can check out CodeOp, which has courses in web dev, data, and product management. Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
The Menon Labs fellowship helps people learn the skills to become web developers, data scientists, and product managers.
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.

More alternatives

Students on a budget can check out Udemy, an online program hosting thousands of affordable self-paced video courses on web dev, data analysis, and more. Classes cost about $10 each.
Similarly, Coursera is an online learning platform that hosts thousands of videos in a wide range of tech subjects, including web dev and data analytics. Many of their courses come with certifications, often university branded, like UC San Diego Bootcamps.
Likewise, Codecademy offers free self-paced courses on data science and many programming languages. They also have membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for greater course options and extra support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
Another educational resource, Springboard has tracks in data science, software engineering, and more. If students don’t land a job within 6 months of graduating, they get a full refund. Learn more about Springboard in our review.
Similarly, 365 Data Science is a low-cost and low commitment option to learn data fundamentals. In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
You can also check out Boise CodeWorks and DevPoint Labs, which are full-time, in-person coding bootcamps.
edX is another popular online learning platform with university courses. They host self-paced courses from top schools like Harvard and MIT, and tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to learn the fundamentals or focus on specific topics, like front-end web development or data analytics. Learn more about edX in our review.
Finally, students interested in self-paced learning can also check out Udacity, a resource with tracks in data science, web dev, data analytics, and more. Students build polished portfolio projects and work closely with career mentors. Learn more about Udacity in our review.

How does UC San Diego Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?

UC San Diego Bootcamps teach the skills one would need for a career as a web developer or data analyst. While an interest in tech is suggested, most students in that program start from scratch. Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their chosen field so they can get the most out of our technical curriculum.

Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. Our mentors have helped 1,000+ students and professionals land tech jobs, assisting with all phases of the job search like resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation.

Our flexible program features 4 hours of group sessions per week with 1-on-1s fellows can schedule whenever they need. 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 or deposits.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people land their dream tech job. With our training and guidance, fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple. If you are interested in working with one of our mentors to land your dream job faster, join Pathrise.