Penn Boot Camps

In November of 2021, I decided to take UPenn's FinTech programming bootcamp. As a derivatives trader, I wanted the ability to work with data in a way I couldn't without knowing how to program. Little did I realize that I would get SO much more from this course. The instructor has been one of the most enlightening, energetic, and brilliant individuals I have ever met -- and I learned so much more than just how to write in Python. He broke down concepts like statistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, creating databases -- into concepts I not only understand, but can program myself. Collaborating and delivering worthwhile projects on time, learning how to approach problems and delegate tasks to team members -- this course was much more than just a how-to in python. In 6 months my friends who are programmers are blown away but what I can do now. 

This is a bootcamp in every sense of the word! It ain't easy! But it was worth every penny. So grateful for the team and all the support. Top flight experience; definitely want to explore taking another one in the future.

There are a of things to say about this bootcamp. Although it's affiliated with Penn University, it's worth mentioning that it is run by Trilogy Education services. Despite this, you can still provide the UPenn name on your resume and Linkedin. The certificate will also be from the University of Pennsylvania.

Time frame: I self taught myself HTML and CSS before applying to the program which isn't necessary at all. They enroll students from diverse backgrounds and experiences. I was enrolled in the part time 24 week (6 month) program mostly because you learn a heavy amount of information and I decided that the immersive 3 month program was too short of a timeframe for me to properly absorb and learn full stack web development. Obviously this is a personal choice, but be prepared to learn a lot at a fast pace.
 
Curriculum: Please note I took the 6 month flex course ONLINE. The curriculum was great. The structure of each class consisted of a 30-60 minute lecture by the instructor (Anthony was mine, he's awesome!) to begin. Then we dove into activities where the teacher would go through an activity then we would be split into groups to do the next activity. Then he would explain the answer and this continued until the end of class. This introduces the idea of paired programming which is essential to know in the real world and each activity really lets you practice the concepts. Each week was a different topic. For example Week 1: HTML, Week 2: CSS,....Week 12: mySQL. And each week we have a homework due on that week's learning. There are 3 group projects due. Each applying more skills the more you learn. For the first two, you are paired up into groups of 3 or 4. For the final project, you have the option to work solo or in a team. Again, these are great opportunities to learn how to work with others, bounce ideas off one another and build a great site. You are given a few weeks to build each project and then present during class time. Usually two representatives from UPenn attend. You'll learn how to present and receive great feedback! Overall the course of the class breaks down full stack web development into sections and it all takes place in Visual Studio Code as well as Slack.

Tutors/Support: There are two TAs in the cohort (at least in the 6 month one). The two I had were amazing, kind, helpful and patient. There are weekly office hours where you can sign up to meet with the instructor or either one of the TAs each class. Take advantage of the office hours. I wish I went more and don't be shy, they will be your crutch the entire time! Also, since Slack is also used, you have access to learning assistance (LAs) almost any time of the day. You slack them any issue you're having and someone will respond and help you come to a solution. For the most part they are helpful, but there were times where I didn't find too much help from them. You're also assigned a tutor. You can switch at anytime if you're not connecting with your current one. You get to meet with them once a week for an hour (3 month program is different). Yes, they are free. Lastly, you will have a student success manager to help you out and keep track of you during the course.  Overall lots of support even from your classmates!

Career Services: You have to option to use career services, but you also have to option to opt out. This depends on where you are in your life. I used them. I needed them. A few times throughout the course, you will have "Milestones" to submit. These usually include submitting a resume and getting feedback. The next milestone may be to submit your revised resume and your personal portfolio and along the way you add more and fix your resume, portfolio, LinkedIn and any other accounts or materials. I thought they were great. Whoever reviews the career materials provided great feedback. Not just "change this." Rather they have a lengthly review explaining what you did right and wrong, following a huge list of checkpoints. Toward the end of the course, you are introduced to the career director. This is who you'll be working with after you graduate (90 days). I graduated the program in Feb 2021, it's been 3 weeks and my career director has been very helpful and she's really nice. They go over the career services site and are there for you every step of the way.

Conclusion: Overall this course is challenging, rewarding, frustrating and amazing in my opinion. You truly get out what you put into this program. After the final project, Penn hosts demo day where you can present your projects to industry professionals. This is an amazing networking opportunity and I highly suggest you do it. Experience is what matters and you really want to start building connections right after graduation. I learned a lot during this course, and at times nothing at all. It is fast, so do your best and understand that you may not walk away with everything you learned, but remember it's only been 6 months. You will build a great understanding and foundation to grow from. When I started I only knew HTML and CSS. Now I can confidently say I know HTML, CSS, a decent amount of Javascript, React.js, Node.js, Git, Version Control, MySQL, MongoDB, Express and more! 

I just completed this certificate program operated by Trilogy Education Services under the aegis of Penn. The instruction team was absolutely superb - knowledgeable, organized, always available to answer questions during office hours (before and after class sessions). The support team - a Student Support Manager (throughout the entire course), the Penn faculty (mostly during project presentation times), and the "Boot camp spot" support service (for off-hours technical help) provided a well-rounded safety net to assist in the learning process. The experienced lecturer with years of industry experience did a great job emphasizing the important aspects of the curriculum and de-emphasizing the less central ones. In addition, there is an entire Career Services team working to help one prepare the materials (resume, LinkedIn profile, portfolio page) and hone the skills necessary to have a successful interview or embark upon a successful freelancing career.

Overall, it's a challenging and trying experience that requires significant time commitment and determination to get through several bumps along the learning curve, but one comes out stronger and better prepared at the other end of the course. Learning full-stack programming skills is nothing to sneeze at - the ability to build an integrated application from frontend to backend puts one on the par with, if not ahead of, many other more experienced but more specialized professionals in the IT field. The best simile to use here is learning another language - because one does, a computer language (Javascript) that opens up a whole new world and culture, just as human languages do. The full-stack program engages the entire brain - the more creative right hemisphere for front-end design and the more logical right hemisphere for the back-end database and server coding.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a great entry point to further exploration into more advance topics, such as cybersecurity, fintech, data science and visualization, and so on. 

Learning and developing skills - technical and conceptual - through the University of Pennsylvania and Trilogy Education Services Data Analytics and Visualization curriculum has provided invaluable competencies in the tools being implemented in information systems.  Data storage and retrieval are indispensable in research inquiries and analysis, and fundamental in our everyday interactions with digital technologies.  As a student and professional in Libraries and Information, databases are a large component of it and a career in research methods.  I chose this bootcamp to strengthen and broaden my skills in the communication of information; and I’ve had the opportunity to do that, and so much more.  The educators and support team have been nothing less than extraordinary in creating a positive environment, conducive to learning, growth, and honing our skills as individuals and collaborative teams.  They’ve provided a space where we are encouraged to continue learning outside the classroom and seek out solutions for ourselves, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the material, and comfortable asking questions - confident that they (and we) will be met with positivity by knowledgeable and supportive staff.  

I expected this program to introduce a lot of concepts, programming languages, tools, and techniques but I did not expect the level of detail that would be covered as quickly as it was!  This program is very well planned and structured.  We did learn to jog before we sprinted, but we needed to keep running along to keep up!! 
I’ve learned so much that I ran out of room on LinkedIn!!  This program challenges you to step outside of your comfort zone and to be a part of something and not just watch it being done.  There were failures along the way, which made the successes that much more rewarding.
One of the best parts of this program was learning together as a team!  I never felt alone in any of the classes or within anything I was developing.  It wasn’t just those we were working together with on one of the Projects, but the helpfulness of everyone in class activity breakouts as well as the Homework Help that allowed for some smaller zoom sessions to troubleshoot and learn even more; or simply just the communication through slack itself!  Working through issues, whether my own or someone else’s, was an excellent opportunity to learn.  Debugging offered perspectives and different thought processes into ways of accomplishing something that you don’t get on your own. 
Although I have known that I wanted to develop things using computer technologies since I was 13, the class has helped to reinvigorate my love of development. 

I came into this wanting a change in careers, I was no longer passionate in my current position and I felt I needed a change in my life path. So with very minimal coding experience (small amounts of html from when I was younger), I decided to take the plunge and it was the best decision I have ever made! Quincy was my instructor along with Dan every other Saturday. They, along with the AMAZING TA’s, had made my journey, although challenging, a little bit less frustrating and SO supportive. I will say the program can be exhausting and does move fairly quickly as there is a ton of material to cover in 24 weeks. However, in my opinion in order to be successful and really understand the material, I spent at least 20-25 hours outside of class doing activities, homework, or rewatching the lectures (it helped me so much in reinforcing the material learned in class that week). As long as you are prepared to make the commitment, I strongly suggest taking the plunge, I found my new passion in being creative with code. The support from my classmates along with the instructional staff and Josh would make me want to take this course all over again!

I had zero coding experience before enrolling in this BootCamp. My husband thought I would be good at it and as a teacher (in my former life), I love to learn. Well, it turns out that this course changed my life for the best. Ed and Anthony were my instructors. Ed saw my potential and convinced me to pursue web development as a career. Well, he was right and I ended up getting a job as a developr at a large financial company a month before the program ended. I would not be as successful as I was without the support of my classmates, TAs, resources from Career Services, and, obviously, my instructors. It was an intense 24 weeks where I focused all my free-time in coding activities, homework, articles, exercises, and more, but it was well-worth it. I am beyond happy about this course. I would do it all over again too. 

I was very skeptical about joining the bootcamp but joining Penn LPS coding bootcamp turned out to be a good decision. I am a seasoned Java programmer and this bootcamp gave me the chops to become a full stack developer. The curriculum was well designed keeping the lack of programming experience in students. The program encouraged me to go and explore new technologies and methodologies and better programming standards in the fast changing full stack world. It has given me the chops to coordinate with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. Our Instructor and the TA's are very knowledgeable and are real world working professionals. They did not hesitate to help us out at any time not just during the office hours. I haven't used job assistance program offered but from what I have heard from my fellow cohorts, the professional service people are very thorough in getting the students prepared with their material and prepare them for the real world.

Prior to attending the program, I didn't have much experience with coding. And now, I'm so proud to introduce myself as a Software Engineer to people, thanks to this 24-week program. It was one of the most challenging courses I've ever taken but also the most rewarding experience I've done. With the assistance and dedication of the instructional staff and Bernard (the Student Success Manager), I know a lot of students in my cohort have also landed their dream jobs in Tech. 

You will learn marketable and trending technologies like JS, node, both SQL (MySQL) & NoSQL (MongoDB), and React.js. I would advise you to prepare to put in as much time as you could to work on the homework, but also research and learn more about the materials taught in class from outside resources.

I'm sure there are many good & knowledgable teachers in the program, but if you ask me whose class you should sign up for, I'd say "Ed, Anthony, or Quincy". They are all very knowledgable, dedicated, and caring for their students. You'll be in good hands.

The instructor was an industry professional with 20+ years of experience who managed large dev teams at an enterprise scale. I've taken other courses where the people teaching you are the ones who have graduated from the course only a couple weeks before you started. Not the case here. 

Given his experience, our instructor was able to get his points across and elaborate on more of the why/how behind things that other instructors couldn't. He was able to paint the bigger picture which was super helpful. I think in programming especially you end up in scenarios where you can't see the forest for the trees. which didn't happen here.

The Penn course curriculum was also great. They were teaching full-stack Javascript which made going from frontend to backend much easier. The only downsides I see there is that Node.js is still fairly new, and isn't super widely adopted. You also don't touch on a lot of the concepts that many of the backend languages share like type-safety. However, since you spend less time learning a second language you get to do more, and ultimately I think you're better off. You can always learn a second language pretty easily after learning a first.

The other thing that was nice was the schedule. A lot of courses/bootcamps involve fulltime class work (which I don't think you really need anyway), but since the course was at night you could keep working while you took the class. I ended up getting a dev job (not a Javascript job) about a month after the course finished, but it was nice knowing that you didn't have to gamble everything in order to learn some new skills.

The job search is really on you though. They have a mixer type thing at the end, but it was pretty much just other students that showed up. I doubt that anyone got any real leads from that. 

All-in-all I thought it was great. I would tell others to really make sure that this is something that you're interested in first though. Take some free online courses first and see if you enjoy it and can teach yourself things. You're definitely not going to be an expert by the time the course is done, but it's a good way to get you started. Ideally, I would go into this with as much background knowledge as possible so you can hit the ground running. Starting from zero would be a bad idea.

I am a current student in the Fall/Winter 2018-19 cohort with Penn LPS Coding Bootcamp (run by Trilogy Education Services). I began looking for a coding bootcamp after my sister completed ZipCode in Wilmington, DE and loved it. I currently work as a Speech-Language Pathologist and am looking for a total career change. My current profession has left me so stressed and burned out. I've always enjoyed technology and take to it pretty easily. The problem for me was that I wasn't able to quit my job and go back to school full-time - even just for 3 months like most bootcamps require. 

I loved that Penn offered a part-time program with evening classes. There were 2 options: Tue/Thur or Mon/Wed evenings. Both cohorts meet together on Saturdays. I was able to change my work schedule so that I could attend classes Tue/Thur evenings.

In contrast to Penn, ZipCode Wilmington offers to cover your tuition (minus a deposit) if you get placed with one of their partners at the end of the program (not guaranteed). Penn does not offer this. However, the price of the bootcamp seemed comparable to others in the area. The billing is flexible - which is great - and they offer a couple different financing options. Overall, I'd say I'm very satisfied with the value of the program.

Penn LPS's strength lies in its academic support and network. You will have TA's and instructors who work in the local industry and really care about your growth and success. Many of them have been through the same program you are going through. You will have opportunities to meet people from a variety of industries and backgrounds. 

The class itself is very mixed: all ages, all experience levels, all walks of life. You won't feel isolated, alone, or weird. I myself had some experience with HTML and coding from many years ago. There are some in my cohort who came in with much more experience than me and others who had none. The instructors do a wonderful job of making sure they assess everyone's comfort level and understanding as you go. Your in-class and homework assignments offer different levels of challenge: typically a basic option, a challenge option, and a more advanced option. So no matter where you are in your abilities, you will feel like you're being challenged, learning something new, and yet able to keep up. 

As with any young program, there have been some growing pains - but they've all been understandable and Penn has dealt with them graciously. My only gripe about the program would be Career Services. It seems to be a mostly "hands-off", impersonal part of the program. If you want career "help" from them, there will be Milestones you need to meet and submit materials for. They said they would provide feedback for these materials. However, I didn't find them very helpful or timely. And the people providing the feedback have never met me personally. They send blast emails with advice and guidance. There are, however, ongoing free workshops and events like interview practice that you are able to attend. My issue is that many of them occur on Tue/Thur evenings - which is when my class meets. So that is one area where I feel they could definitely improve.

For me - someone who has 10 years of work experience, has gone on countless interviews, created numerous resumes, been involved in interviewing job candidates, and served in leadership roles - I don't feel like this has ruined the experience and value of the program. I feel pretty confident in my own job-search skills. However, I could see how for someone much more green and inexperienced, career services may be something you highly value in a program.

With regards to the actual curriculum itself, the staff say that it changes based on local and national industry trends. My cohort in particular has focused on the MERN stack (Mongo DB, Express, React, Node). It is very Javascript heavy. You will not be learning Java, Python, etc. - which may be a disappointment to some. However, I agree with the instructors that one of the biggest things you learn from any coding bootcamp is "how to learn" - specifically how to learn programming/coding languages. I'd personally prefer a bootcamp (like Penn) that has more of a focus - where I can really spend time understanding some tools, languages, and frameworks - rather than spreading myself too thin. Not to say that other available bootcamps don't have focus, but, for me...this was a great experience overall.

So far i am enjoying the experience I’m have at this bootcamp.  Everyone genuinely want to help you in whatever it is your trying to do after graduating or any random project your trying to do for your portfolio or even for outside clients.  The course is hard at times if you have a full time job to balance but with the flex option Penn Bootcamp have its not impossible anymore to work full time and also go to a bootcamp.  I'm not currently using any of the job assistance options for the program but i hear good things from the other students.  I’m constantly struggling between wondering is it better to spend more time getting better at the topics of the class or is it better to spend most of my time applying and trying to prep for getting a job.  My free time is very limited so I still haven’t figured this out yet.  Currently I am halfway through the program.  

Bottom line, I feel very fortunate to have made the decision to join the Penn LPS Bootcamp. The topics covered in this course, and the activities and homeworks that we go through in order to learn them are many and in-depth, and I won't deny feeling unsure if I was really getting the hang of it in the beginning.

With that said, the resources provided by the program-- a highly qualified teacher along with four dedicated TAs for each cohort along with free personalized tutoring sessions every week--  along with the attitude of students from various backgrounds with a genuine desire to learn a new field, and the experience of being in a classroom going through each step of every new language and concept in detail, convinced me that this was, at the very least, a solid introduction to a quickly developing and exciting field. 

As a student currently enrolled in the course I have admittedly not taken much advantage of the career services aspect, which is optional, and my sense is that you get back as much as you put in.

You will need to put in between 10-20 hours outside of class per week to complete the homeworks, which are designed to go over the material covered in that week of class, and in the process of trying to complete them you get a chance to really put what you have learned to work. 

Overall, the experience is definitely worthwhile, both for the structure it gives you in learning a lot of what I understand to be key concepts in web development (HTML, CSS, Javascript, JQuery, Node, SQL, etc.) as well as the support from faculty and staff if you seek it out.

Have you ever quietly thought to yourself, “I can do more”?  This thought led me to where you are right now, scouring reviews for answers to that omnipresent question—is [a coding boot camp] worth it?  I started this program on little more than a hunch, a lot of faith, and ZERO coding experience.  Fourteen weeks ago, I didn’t know how to execute a callback in javaScript, or clone a git repository using the command line in my computer’s terminal.  Fourteen weeks ago, I would have told you, “That’s not possible.”  I’m here to tell you that 14 weeks later, it is possible, because this curriculum works—the pedagogy is solid and the academic support is outstanding.  Trilogy wants you to succeed, but the key is your motivation.

Think about your intention before joining a coding boot camp.  You will need this during those times when you want to give up and when you doubt yourself.  Mine was stated on the outset—“I can do more.”  I needed to prove to myself that I could do it.  That meant being ruthless with how I allocated my time.  Social life? Gone.  Free time? Gone.  If you are working full-time, which I am, that means you must to allot 10 hours a week in-class, including Saturdays (say sayonara to your weekends for the next 6 months), plus 15-20+ hours minimum outside of class.  You’re probably thinking, “That’s not possible.”  I’m here to tell you that it is possible, because I am living it.

This program teaches you how to learn these languages, but that doesn’t mean you will understand them right away.  The accelerated pace means you will have to fill in the gaps yourself.  I did this through tutoring, forming study groups, watching videos, etc.  Just keep showing up and be patient with yourself.  Understanding is delayed when you learn at lightning speed.  I’m here to tell you that you can learn something even when you don’t understand it.  Nothing is impossible. 

Is this particular program worthwhile?   YES. 

Is a coding boot camp worth it?  You will have to answer that for yourself.

I am in the part-time full-stack program at Penn/Trilogy and graduate in ~1.5 months.  Thus far I think its been worth it and can be a valuable asset if you want a career in tech. The MERN stack is surely in demand but outside of that marketing yourself as someone capable of diciplining yourself to learn such a large volume of information in webdev can be a great way to show what you are capable of. I have a lot of experience on the business side as a business/data analyst at JPM and have been able to show the SE's I work with on a daily basis my ability to learn compex code in a short period time. The plan is to roll-over to the SE side of the fence and this program has been a great tool to help me get there. 

To those wanting to apply I recommend that they constantly practice javascript outside of the classroom (specifically for the MERN stack). The better you can master JavaScript whether it be through Edabit, Leetcode, etc the more you'll be able to grasp as you start using more and more javascript technologies. If I am not doing homework/review my time is spent doing practice problems.

If you are in a place where you can afford to take a leap and prefer the in-person learning environment this is a solid program with qualified instructors, just know that you will not have any downtime for 6 months. Outside of the 10 hours in the classroom I am behind the computer 20-30 hours a week doing homework and reviewing old topics (the review is often embedded into the assignment which is great).  This is a great foundation but note that it is just that - a foundation.  Coding does not stop upon graduation and the diligence you gained needs to be harnessed when you start building upon the blocks that this bootcamp gave.