Tech Elevator

The staff are absolutely fantastic, they all are deeply invested in their students' success and growth. My instructor was Steve, he was an amazing instructor who is passionate about his job and very effective at teaching, and is a lot of fun to be in class with! You can see the genuine care he has for his students and their experience, which is a breath of fresh air from most learning/training programs I've been through. The instructors are all very knowledgeable and experienced, and I felt comfortable approaching any of the instructors if I needed help or had questions. The program has solid structure, as well as consistent resources for students who are in need of assistance. The Pathway Directors are all committed to helping you find your best path and right fit. 5/5 for the Instructors, Curriculum, and Job Assistance.

I can't give the overall experience a 5/5, as much as I would like to, as some of my classmates and I had serious problems with one classmate harassing and discriminating against multiple people. We submitted written, detailed documentation of everything this classmate had done to us, and the compliance team simply moved the student online (after leaving him in class with us for a few weeks while investigating) and let him complete the program with no actual repercussions for his actions. This student violated the student handbook on multiple points, but they did not care because after we initially reported him and he was first talked to while it was under investigation, he closed himself off from nearly everyone and did not commit any further offenses. Everyone at the school who was aware of the situation was horrified by their poor handling of the situation, but there has been nothing we could do about it. A few of us victimized students had a long discussion with two people from compliance, wherein we expressed our concerns and clarified the severity of what he did and the threat he was posing to our safety, to no avail. Unfortunately, this experience has put a stain on Tech Elevator's reputation.

I had such an warm and amazing experience at Tech Elevator's Pittsburgh in person program. All instructors were all caring, kind, and knowledgeable. They constantly demonstrated that were willing to go above and beyond to ensure every student's success. The Pathway program equally deserves those same merits. Coming from a Social Services background with no Tech Industry experience, I was able to transform my life and get a wonderful career in the Software field. I cant recommend TE Pittsburgh enough!

I would, without hesitation, recommend Tech Elevator to anyone in Pittsburgh who is looking to start a career in software development. My instructor, Walt, was excellent, and the other 2 instructors seemed just as great. It's a wonderful and intense curriculum. I simply cannot believe the amount of knowledge and skills that I accumulated in such a short time. I won't lie; it's a lot of work, and you'll make yourself stick out by spending time at night working on side projects. Finally, the pathway program, run by Ellen and Julie, is the icing on the cake. I went from dreading job interviews to being more comfortable with them than I would have ever imagined. Aside from the robust job-seeking skill building, the opportunities to interact with employers, especially the matchmaking event, are indispensable. About 1 month after graduation, I started my first job in the field, which I am completely satisfied with, and which is with an employer that I connected with while at Tech Elevator.

I've worked in IT for several years and have a BS in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. However, this 14-week bootcamp has been the most rewarding and intense learning experience. With well-versed instructors from various technical backgrounds, the lessons were well-organized and more than prepared us to work in the real world. The real gem was the Pathway program and being able to practice elevator pitches, perfect resumes, and hone our interviewing skills. I will always cherish the incredibly talented people I've met there that transformed me into a better student, programmer, and overall person. If you have any questions, please reach out to me on LinkedIn. -IJ Kauvaka

I attended Tech Elevator at the height of the pandemic so my course was online and remote which came with its own difficulties but the Tech Elevator team did everything possible to make the experience fantastic and inclusive.  The instructors (even the ones you aren't directly working with) were always willing to help and go over material or discuss different applications and real world scenarios.  They really put an emphasis on the students learning the underline material and not just being able to solve the question in front of them.  My 2 qualms with the program were my assigned pathway director didn't seem very interested in my thoughts about what I wanted but there were other pathway directors and campus directors that were willing to help after reaching out. Also, when you get to the end of the course, you get to pick from a list of companies you want to interview with and I had selected a company I was very excited about and prepared heavily for, just to get to the interview and they weren't actually hiring for someone of our level.  That being said, I accepted a position before the capstone project was over and couldn't be happier with my decision to reinvest in myself through Tech Elevator 

I was looking to change careers after years of working in a field I wasn't happy with. My husband did Tech Elevator and loved his experience, so I felt very comfortable knowing I was in good hands! I did NLR which I found to be very well designed for remote learning and interacting with instructors and classmates. The work is intriguing and keeps you pulled in, which providing a challenge with good resources around. Pathway was also a great help in preparing me for the job search. I have recommended it to multiple people and will continue to do so.

Tech Elevator was a great experience. I came into the program with a great deal of college programming experience (no degree CS degree, but a science degree) and found the coursework pretty easy but very good practice. The workload was relatively light most days for someone with coding experience, but the real value was in the Pathway program that Tech Elevator has. Pathway is basically career counseling that will help prepare you for applying, interviewing, negotiating, and starting at your new job. I can't express enough how helpful the Pathway program was, it gave me the confidence that I needed to get a job, and I had one lined up before I graduated, which was a great weight off of my shoulders. The first two thirds of the program are relatively straight forward, but the final part of the program (the truly full-stack portion) was very rigorous and great experience to have. All of the instructors I interacted with were also incredibly helpful regardless of whose class you were in.

I joined Tech Elevator in November of 2020 after being laid off from my job of 21 years as a Director of Operations for a small local restaurant company.  The great people at Ohio Means Jobs offered me an opportunity to join their re-skilling program and make a career pivot.  While the work of learning not only how to write, read and code was difficult in this fast paced environment.  The structure of the program combined with the passion of the staff helped to make it manageable.  The instructors are very knowledgable, the Pathway team does a wonderful job getting you ready for job interviews and the Campus Support team truly cares about your experience.
My experience was only available online due to Covid protocol, I understand that they have opened up in person learning now as well in several midwest cities.
For anyone interested in this program, they have a vast array of information available on their website to help answer any question.  There is an online aptitude test to see if coding is right for you.  They also have online open houses and how to pay for coding bootcamp seminars available to attend on line several times per month.  

My time at Tech Elevator was life changing, and I mean that in every aspect possible. I joined Tech Elevator after graduating in the middle of Covid with a Business degree and no job. I was unsure at where my life was going to go at that point, and I decided to take the challenge and go after this opportunity. I would like to emphasize that this was the greatest decision that I made. Not only did I find the passion for what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I also met some incredible people along the way. My instructors, Margaret Green and Andy Chong helped me learn so much in the world of software engineering! They also helped me grow as a learner and person and were so supportive along the way. They were excellent teachers and mentors, that supported us all so much through the good times, and also the times when I struggled. Peggy Kachevas and Laura Coffee, our pathway instructors, put us in such a good position to land a career in tech. They helped me navigate the interview process, both technical and non-technical, and gave me the keys to success in my interviews! They also helped us with Resumes that would stick out, LinkedIn Profiles, and helped us during the matchmaking process to potential employers. Rita Stall, the National Live Remote director, was the first person I talked to before being joining Tech Elevator. She gave me such a good insight into the program and she's the one who gave me a chance to join the program and for that I am so grateful. She was also instrumental in guiding our careers with resumes, social media profiles, and interview prep. All of the people I mentioned above were so helpful and supportive of the new transition I made. I would not be where I am without them, and everyone else involved in the tech elevator program, and for that I am eternally grateful. I have highly recommended this program to my friends who are also looking to transition into to tech, and I would say the same thing to anybody else. This program will you give you the technical skills to land a job in tech, and also the ability to navigate the career transition through resume workshops and interview prep. They also will give you connection to potential employers and you will land an interview to a few of these employers towards the end of the program. That is actually how I got my first job! There was an employer who came to tech elevator and interviewed me, I was able to land another interview and the rest is history! Finally, you will also be able to meet so many great people in your cohort and keep in contact with them. I'm always amazed to see what my cohort is doing and what they all have accomplished since graduating. This program changed my life, and I would not be where I am today without it. This has BY FAR been the best decision I have ever made. If you're reading this, I highly recommend you take the big step and join Tech Elevator. I promise you; it will be worth it!

Tech Elevator was amazing, I will try to outline my experience in hopes that it will help future students make a choice:
The Bootcamp is mainly split up in 2 parts, Pathway and Coding.

The pathway part is led by a group of talented pathway directors that help you fix your Resume and your linkedin profile as well as provide you with a space to practice your behavioral interview skills. You will come out of the pathway knowing how to present yourself, be confident talking about your newly acquired skills , and how to land and ace your interviews.
The directors also work hard to set up two matchmaking days where they will have a group of hiring companies matched with students depending on student's interests/choice or suitability with location/relocation/remote requests. If you have not landed a job offer by the time the camp ends, you will have the full support of this team and the network of Tech elevator Alumni to fall back on for resources and referrals.

The Coding part is structured in a way to make things simple at the start and then build on top of those first principal knowledge. The instructors are extremely talented and versed in the education material. They will take the time to stop class and make sure that everyone is up to speed and that no question goes unanswered.
You will start the first week with setting up laptops (provided by Tech Elevator) and jump straight into Java or C# depending on what your choice is, the main focus will be learning how to code using OOP (object oriented programming) techniques.
Next part will be learning about SQL and how to manipulate data, and for the 3rd part you will learn Javascript (VUE).
For every part there is a milestone project were you are paired up with another student to work and test your skills. The third and final project is a combination of everything you learned, you will be responsible for creating the Front-end , Back-end and everything in between.

I consider myself lucky to have chosen Tech Elevator for my switch from Civil engineering into Software development. If you are thinking about changing industries or you've just had this curiosity to learn how to code, Tech Elevator is worthy of your consideration. 

During the early months of the pandemic I came to a crossroad of continuing down my existing path or making a career change. I can say without a doubt that attending TE has changed my life in more ways than just professionally. I joined TE with limited knowledge about software development, however the instructors and pathway directors guided all of us through the program and assisted in finding jobs (which is ultimately the goal right?). They provided us with the tools, the knowledge, and opportunities to succeed. 

If you're reading this you're likely looking for experience/feedback and I can tell you that I did my fair share of researching many bootcamps, had many conversations with other bootcamps and none of them passed an initial call for me, that is until I spoke with the knowledgeable intake folks at TE. Join one of their panels for an opportunity to ask personalized questions and see if it's right for you, who knows, maybe you'll see me on there!

If I just think about what I was and what I am now - it seems like a dream to me. And the boat of that real-life dream is Tech Elevator. It helped me to reach my goal. It just not only taught me coding but built me for the coding world. Starting from building my resume, Linkedin profile, mock interview, and whiteboard session to lot and lots of motivational words make my landing in the coding world very smooth. I already referred lots of students to Tech Elevator and will do it again and again. Love you Tech Elevator NLR.