By: Mary Bergeron, SwitchUp
This post was written by Mary Bergeron, Director of Product Marketing at SwitchUp.
Before you committed to a bootcamp, chances are you researched different options online. Maybe you read through reviews on a site like SwitchUp, browsed posts on Medium, or even reached out to alumni through social media.
Reviews and feedback are extremely important for future students, thanks to an ever-growing number of options for tech education. According to SwitchUp’s research, there are now over 120 in-person bootcamps and hundreds of part-time and online programs available worldwide. While the growth means that there is more choice than ever, it is sometimes difficult for prospective students to find the perfect bootcamp for them.
A thorough review is important because it gives students a first-hand look at a bootcamp outside of marketing claims or outcomes statistics. Reviews can also shed light on post-bootcamp life at a variety of stages: from the first job search right after graduation, to an alum’s outlook once they are settled in new tech career.
If you are a bootcamp grad (or soon-to-be grad), your perspective can help “pay it forward” to the next cohort of students, and give your school helpful feedback as well. We suggest the following tips to write a review that is valuable to future students:
1. WEIGH THE PROS AND CONS
Reviews are most helpful to students when they equally balance the pros and cons of the experience. Even if you have a very strong opinion about your bootcamp, try to balance out your feedback to make it more constructive. Keep in mind that everyone is looking for something a little different, so something was a big “pro” or “con” for you might not be viewed the same to someone else.
At SwitchUp, we’ve found that prospective students are most interested in the quality of the curriculum, teaching staff, and job support, so be sure to mention your thoughts on these areas. If your school has multiple campuses then you’ll want to list the campus you attended, as these variables change from campus to campus.
2. TALK ABOUT YOUR COMPLETE EXPERIENCE: BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE BOOTCAMP
The entire bootcamp process – from pre-work to your first job offer – is part of your career transformation. As you write your review, include how the program prepared you before and after the bootcamp itself. Did the pre-work give you a useful introduction to coding? Did career services help you ace an interview with your dream company? The complete picture will show future bootcampers how the program can help them both learn to code AND meet their career goals.
3. TELL YOUR STORY
Maybe you embarked on a career change into coding from a completely different background. Or maybe you took a semester off from college to gain UI/UX skills at a bootcamp. Whatever the case may be, your path will show other students what’s possible. This perspective is especially helpful if you do not have a computer science background, since many bootcamp students come from different fields. Your story will show future students that as long as they are committed, they too can switch to tech career.
WHERE TO FIND & WRITE YOUR REVIEW
Many bootcamp alumni are choosing to leave reviews on sites like Quora and Medium, or on a review site like SwitchUp.
If you are interested in writing a review of Dev League, check out their SwitchUp reviews page here. As an added incentive, you’ll be automatically entered to win a $350 Amazon gift card once you submit a verified review.
By taking a few minutes to write a review, you’ll provide invaluable feedback to Dev League and help “pay-it-forward” to future students.