Bottega

I came to this code school having experience in python development, and I watched many students around me struggle to pick up the programming mindset, but each of those who kept pressing forward, even some extremely anxiously ultimately had a moment in this course where these concepts clicked and the instructors here did a fantastic job of guiding us to that moment, the technical skills taught here were fantastic, I feel like I can build anything now! The real benefit of Bottega however, was how well the different instructors were willing to teach soft skills, the course spends just the right amount of time, teaching us how to live in the software environment, and in how we can interact with fellow developers the best we can. And the job placement team here is great, super accommodating and helpful. and the benefit of lifetime access to the constantly updating curriculum of our course was just one more layer of icing on the cake.

I love technology and always wanted to code. I went to a university to learn how to code but I wasn't getting anywhere. I wasn't understanding, and the classes had 80% fail rates every semester. There were so many students who, like me, were so hungry to learn to code but the college curriculum wasn't helping students learn. I gave up after 2 years because I was getting more and more in debt with tuition. I ran into an old friend who graduated from Bottega University and told me all about it. I gave it a shot! The hands on experience was exactly what I needed! Bottega teaches in a way that all types of learners can learn effectively. College was never hands on, but this is nothing but hands on. I completed the program in 3 months, and just a month after that I was an online mentor for other Bottega students and now I'm teaching students how to code. All under a year. This is exactly what I needed. I knew I had potential, and Bottega got me to find it and start me off on my career on doing the thing that I'm passionate about; coding.

I'm currently working with this program, and I would like to say that this is a self-thought program where you will need to understand that you will need to put a lot of effort to understand the topics. Also, I would like to say that their current platform has some downsides since you will have trouble communicating with people and the majority of people will not have the right answer to your questions.

Advisors are great, and they are always willing to help at any time. I love this since I don't call too often, but I would like to say that they are a good resource when you have silly problems.

The videos that they sell you are expensive, and you can find those videos on youtube and Udemy for a lower price. However, it seems that you are paying a lot for consulting, but if you find the right people you will feel ok since Google will have a lot of free resources, but one of the best things that you can do is having something that is a good structure to make sure you don't feel lost.

Also, after finish this course, I will help people to know how to code for free instead of charging a lot of money. My recommendation here for the school is to implement a different way to evaluate students, and have a better platform to maintain better communication with students. 

Another thing is that the CEO is answering these surveys and the way he is answering is not the most appropriate way since the only one that will look bad at the end is the school. 

After all, I like the school, and I like the topics from the Coding Bootcamp, but I hope people will do better in the future for future students.

I was standing on my feet, with no lunch breaks at a dead-end job earlier this year. No benefits. Not to mention, I am pregnant trying to provide for my family. I knew I needed to make a big adjustment if I wanted to better provide for my children and help my husband with our bills. Then - out of the blue - I came across an Ad for Bottega. 

After requesting more info, I had gotten reached out to right away. All my questions got answered and by the next day, I decided to enroll into their Full-time Remote program for Full Stack Web Development. All I had was little experience in playing with HTML code when I was a teenager editing my old MySpace profile LOL. I only came to Bottega with some varied computer skills and a background in graphic design.

My online experience was outstanding, compared to my other online school (Full Sail University). Full Sail, I would be lucky to get an email back from my teacher in time to finish a project or the homework assignment. They assigned tasks weekly but there was no video chat interactions like we have at Bottega. We logged into ZoomMeeting every morning, and our teacher Benjamin would guide us through exercises and course work. He made sure we were all on the same page and took the time to help anyone who was stuck. My classmates were also a great support system. We all wanted each other to succeed! I never felt completely lost, and if I had a question – my teacher would spend time one on one whenever I needed it. You can really tell that the teachers and mentors cared about you and your success. It really makes all the difference when you’re trying to learn and pick up new skills in a 12 week window. Which, it is completely doable! I am due about 2 weeks after graduation. If I can do it, then there is no excuse as to why you can’t!

Besides the support in class, outside of class – Career Services have been wonderful to work with. Erika is the Student Success Manager who is on the mission to prepare us all for this career field. She was one of my biggest advocates in doing my best and pushing through these 12 weeks. She motivated me and helped me write my resume, gave me lots of positive feedback on how to present myself in my resume, interview videos and on LinkedIn. Before graduation, my LinkedIn, Indeed and emails were getting messages daily about job offers and opportunities in my area! Even though I wanted to wait and earn my certificate first, it was a good chance to get in some interviews for practice. I know there will be more positions after I graduate, and will be ready for. I couldn’t be more excited for the new opportunities in store for me thanks to Bottega!

Bottega has managed to be a positive influence in my life all throughout highschool. I am 100% glad I attended this bootcamp, and I learned what I learned. I'm convinced everyone working here loves their jobs and is passionate about what they do. When attending bottega, the same principles apply here like any other learning environment. If you're willing to learn what you're being taught, you'll learn it. If it doesn't come naturally; I've seen the amount of help the mentors are willing to give first hand. Even if you're familiar with certain subjects, the mentors give you the tools you would need to go out and continue learning; after all, thats what development is. Right? 

I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

I just finished Bottega's full time in-person course at their Lehi, UT location.  As with I'm sure any other bootcamp in existence, there were pros and cons to my experience at Bottega.

Cons first:

1. They talk about job placement assistance, but aside from their placement lady coming in to class to tell us to update our LinkedIn account a couple of times, there wasn't any assistance at all.  She did tell me one time to come to her office and she would help me out, but everytime I went over she was never there.  The president of the company pulled a few people out of class to look over their resume or try and hook them up with some of his contacts, but I never got included on that.  Not sure how or why those individuals were selected, but I obviously fell short of whatever criteria was being used.

2. I didn't feel like the T.A's were very helpful.  In some cases, it didn't seem like the T.A knew enough to help efficiently, in others the T.A didn't really want to help, or they simply just weren't available.  That said, Bottega has an instructor who is literally ALWAYS available to help, night or day, and is always more than happy to offer assistance.  He's the man.  Hopefully they don't lose him anytime soon.

Pros:

1. They give lifetime access to the curriculum, which was created by Jordan Hudgens - a brilliant developer who graduated college at 15.  Sure, the T.A you ask for help might suck.  But rest assured at least the curriculum is top notch.

2. They are accredited, which means you can get college credit through their course.  That's pretty cool, and not offered by any other bootcamp that I'm aware of.

3.  The campus is right next to the train station, making it easily accessable for people coming from a distance. 

4.  I truly feel that for Bottega's faults and the slightly bitter taste in my mouth in some aspects after graduating, it is a Bootcamp that is run by good people who want to create the best experience possible for their students. 

TL;DR - Bottega has great curriculum that is worth the cost of the part-time program, but I don't think the full-time course is justified in costing twice as much.  Any supposed benefits of the full-time vs part-time (job placement assistance, etc) were essentially non-existent as far as I could see.

If you're looking at and comparing different coding schools STOP. Without a doubt, Bottega is the BEST coding school out there. The curriculum is top notch, always being updated and adding new material. The instructors and TAs are world class. They know the material inside and out and will do everything they can to help you understand it. Even after graduating I still get access to all of the curriculum and I regularly review content I learned in class. 

Prior to Bottega, I felt like my life was stagnant. I hated the retail job I was working and I was frustrated with the traditional college path. After 12 weeks of blood, sweat, and a few tears I learned the foundations of web development and can apply those skills in the real world.

Thank you to Jordan, Andrew, Brayden, and the rest of the Bottega staff for teaching and mentoring me, you all truly changed my life.

Bottega is one of the best things I’ve ever done and I encourage anyone who is interested to attend.