Does this look like a worthwhile bootcamp?

Hey, does anybody have an opinion about this program: https://codingbootcamp.unc.edu/? A bootcamp that operates on two weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons for 6 months, with the idea that you can keep your day job. Costs less than most, too, at $9K. It looks like it’s run by the third-party organization Trilogy, which has been providing these bootcamps for a number of universities: http://www.trilogyed.com/.

So questions include:

  1. Does the list of topics they propose covering look like a good list (i.e. is it really worth it to spend time on C#, etc)? (No way to really assess how good a job they do of covering them…)
  2. Has anybody, by any chance, had any dealing with Trilogy and can speak to the experience?
  3. One hesitation in my mind is I’ve already done the FCC front-end certificate, meaning I’ve done the first five technologies they list. I certainly haven’t touched React, Express, Node, or anything else though. Am I far enough ahead that it seems like a “waste” to start a bootcamp from scratch? (Or far enough from the finish line that it’s a shame not to?)
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I was looking at the University of Texas bootcamp in Houston until I saw their curriculum was handled through a third party, and I think it is the same organization. That makes me hesitant. To me, if it was taught by actual university staff then they would have their reputation on the line, and it is likely to be good. I’m not so sure what to think about a third party. That made me back off. Also I saw 2 or negative reviews about the program being disorganized. I can’t remember the link though. That was about 6 months ago.

C# is big. You can do games, console applications, enterprise applications, and it has about 4 different web frameworks of it’s own. Now you can even use ASP.NET (which uses C#) on linux. It’s big. Around where I am, you can find C# jobs with government entities and I see openings with big fortune 500 non-tech companies like oil/gas and large banks. I doubt you can go wrong with C#, but I would find another avenue to learn it other than that bootcamp. There is actually a bootcamp near me that teaches ASP.NET called Coder Camps. I went to one of their meetings, but I found it to be too expensive.

Hi @AbdiViklas,

I’m not familiar with Trilogy or this particular bootcamp, but I’ve done fairly extensive research on coding bootcamps in general and been following them as an educational phenomena for the last year and a half. I was also set to do one but decided it wasn’t for me after doing the precourse. That being said, I don’t know your financial situation, timeline for goals, etc., so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I recommend googling “Hacker news coding bootcamps” and reading through comments from various posts. It’ll give you a sense of how people feel on both sides (there are many employers on Hacker News and there are some informative debates on the value of coding bootcamps).

My overall impression is that bootcamps are helpful and worth joining if you happen to have 8-18k laying around.

We are presently in a time when the skills needed by employees for companies to be competitive are so specialized and quickly changing that the few who can discipline themselves and are willing to adapt to learn those specialized skills are very likely to get jobs - with or without a bootcamp. I feel that coding bootcamps are…somewhat exploitative of this reality in how they present themselves.

I would do a lot of research on this feature showcased on their website: “Benefits from a wide range of career services to position you for success through graduation and beyond.” That’s the one thing they offer that seems to me can’t be easily found online elsewhere for free or cheap (and at a high quality).

I am currently in a boot camp through Trilogy at University of Washington and I can not stress enough how shitty it has been. Do not spend your money with these clowns. Our instructor is some who hasn’t coded in years and shows up to class having not even reviewed what we are learning that day. Currently trying to get a refund. Probably won’t be successful in the endeavor but please don’t spend your money here. It’s a scam.

I am joining a group that has its sights set on a class action lawsuit against trilogy and the schools that partner with them. If you’re interested, I’ll send you the info.

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Hi. I am currently 5 weeks into this scam of a program by Trilogy Educational Services. After letting the SSM know I wanted to exit the program, she refused to do that or give me a refund. I will like to know more about your group and how we can take action against them.

Ami, how did this work out for you? I am into a few more weeks and have a formal complaint with request to withdraw and get a refund. If I don’t get a refund, I will be shouting from the rooftoops about Trilogy Education Services being a scam. For anyone considering doing these bootcamps, DO NOT DO IT!!!