Galvanize

I'll start this review off by saying that I was a die-hard Hack Reactor stan from 2017-2020. I actually published a 5 star review a few years ago on this site, but requested to un-publish the review due to alarming changes in tone of the administration towards its student body. 

Take for example the alumni community: what used to be the most compelling reason to choose Galvanize/Hack Reactor over other bootcamps. In my day it was the most vibrant community of technical professionals I had ever seen that cultivated a purpose-driven culture of compassion and empathy towards one another. This meant that new graduates didn't feel like they were on their own after finishing the program, but instead were joining a strong collective of engineers who were ready and eager to help with resumes, mock interviews, internal referrals and salary negotiation. 

Two of the most integral members of this once-thriving community were Harsh Patel (former CEO) and Marlene Tang (former Alumni Director). Not only would they interact with students and alumni on the ground level, they also demonstrated a rare understanding that transparency breeds trust. Many times the CEO would jump into our communal slack to solicit and listen to people's grievances so that staff may appropriately make informed decisions moving forward. 

Alas all good things must come to an end, and it is with sadness that I report the environment has drastically changed with the last two acquisitions by Galvanize/K12/Stride. Gone is the humble and principled CEO, gone are the founders whose passion for making education accessible to underserved populations, gone is the alumni director who cherished every single student as though they were her own. Following the loss of trust in leadership, the community fractured. Most of the once-active members ceased their participation in the dedicated alum space and moved on, leaving behind a mere shadow of what once was.

So while Hack Reactor still has a decent curriculum (albeit dated and stale per former staff) and can potentially get you to the finish line in one piece, I would personally suggest looking into newer bootcamps that haven't gone through several acquisitions and still put in the effort to live by their mission values and core ethics.

The Good: Hack Reactor's curriculum is very well developed and does an excellent job preparing lay people for a career in tech. Their instructors are also very helpful and very encouraging. You also really feel a sense of community with your peers, even though you are interacting remotely.

The Bad: The JavaScript curriculum is intense and exhaustive. Compared to other prep courses, Hack Reactor expects you to get JavaScript down very quickly and their Technical Admissions Assessment is notoriously very difficult. I had to take the prep course more than once to feel ready enough to complete it.

The Ugly: The parent company Galvanize Inc. sees their students as numbers and not people. They recently began administering non-technical admissions assessments that are required for admission in the form of 'aptitude tests.' The aptitude test consists of a very arbitrary set of logical problems and a typing test to gauge a basic requisite skill sets prior to admission. The problem is: even if you have a lot of knowledge concerning JavaScript, you can still be considered an incompatible candidate for software engineering if you fail the aptitude test.

My advice is save you money and especially your time with this boot camp. My assumption is that they are orchestrating more barriers to entry to have more control of the massive influx of people who are requesting admission. They have made very grandiose claims that many people would have an easier time getting admission to Harvard than their program. If this company spends this much time an resources devising ways to weed you out (than letting employers do it themselves), then they should not be deserving of your time or respect. 

Galvanize was a great experience for me, and I'd recommend the DSI to anyone looking for a career transition to data science. The course material is interesting and comprehensive, staff is engaging and knowledgeable, and my cohort was friendly and motivated. I also appreciate that the curriculum seems up to date with current data science industry standards, based on conversations with people in the field. In terms of structure, the DSI is a combination of structured vs. unstructured and collaborative vs. independent learning. Everyday students have a set schedule of lectures and assignments to work on, both independently and within groups. But at the same time there's also room for self-guided learning and creative thinking. My favorite part of the DSI was applying what we learned in the classroom to real world problems through group case studies and individual capstone projects. We got the chance to dive deeper into areas that interested us, come up with our own ideas, and build our own projects from the ground up.  
Once we covered most of the course material, it was time to apply for jobs. The job search process was made much easier by our career advisor, who consistently offered students advice, support, and overall preparation for the search. He was a huge help guiding us through the entire process, from interview prep to post-offer negotiation. Students are encouraged to start applying a few weeks before graduation, and have access to personalized career support for up to six months after graduation. 
Overall Galvanize does a great job of not just teaching students a variety of data science concepts but also equipping students with the tools needed to get a job in the field and take control of their own learning after the program. The environment is welcoming but also pushes students to go beyond the basics and think outside the box. I learned so much in a short amount of time, and can't recommend it enough!

For prospective students considering doing a bootcamp, let me demystify some things about how they work that will hopefully help inform your decision. Let me first preface by saying that I am a graduate from the Galvanize Data Science Immersive so my experience is anchored to that program and your mileage may vary.

Q: "Is this program going to give me everything that I need to get a job in data science?"

A: Yes and no. Data science is such a multi-faceted and constantly evolving space that it's impossible, let alone in 3 months, for any program anywhere to cover EVERYTHING. That being said, Galvanize does an amazing job of touching on all of the major topics that are making their rounds in the professional data science world today. I would say that going through the program makes you a jack of all trades where you have at least some working knowledge or awareness of any data science subject matter that may come your way. However, by virtue of how they structure their curriculum, there's plenty of extra content for each topic covered that you can revisit after the program if you want to fortify your skills/become specialized in that discipline. In this way, I believe that Galvanize gives you all the tools that you need, so long as you're motivated, to gain the skills required to land a job in data science.

Q: "Is Galvanize worth it? Could I acquire the same knowledge using other resources like freecodecamp, Udemy, Coursera, etc?"

A: In a sentence: Yes, I believe Galvanize is absolutely worth it and I'll explain why. Before starting, I too was apprehensive about committing such a large sum of money when I wasn't sure if I could get the same output from cheaper alternatives. Having done it, I can now say that there's no way that I would be where I am today with my technical knowledge and understanding of data science going through self-taught platforms and online courses in 3 months. Don't get me wrong, these are also extremely valuable and useful ways to supplement your learning (which I still use now). However, the biggest differentiating factor with doing Galvanize is that it gives you STRUCTURE. Before joining, I aimlessly practiced Python, some SQL, and tried a couple udemy courses I saw from articles online. These are good for learning pointed skills but Galvanize picks relevant material and organizes it in such a way that's conducive to building a solid, wholistic foundation for you as a data scientist. This way, they can handle the learning roadmap and topic selection while you focus on the learning itself. 

Q: "Why Galvanize?"
A: Galvanize is about more than just your education. Through the program, you join a community of like-minded and driven individuals. It's a place where you can network, a space where you can learn new skills, and a program which has top-tier instructional staff to teach you about data science. If you're on the fence about which program to take, here's another vote urging you to try Galvanize. It's a hard program - yes, but the knowledge and friendships you gain from pushing through the hardship are everlasting and worthwhile. 

TL;DR Galvanize was one of the best decisions I've made in my career and I can't imagine where I'd be on my data science journey without it. If you're considering doing their DSI program, I can't recommend it enough. 

I want to be clear about what a bootcamp is and what it is not: it's not a silver bullet that will make you employable and professional. Your diploma is not an 8 1/2'' x 11'' ticket you turn in for a job and neither is a bootcamp certificate. What it is is a place to build yourself up and a community that will move there with you.

When the pandemic hit I learned as much programming as I could, but after a while I hit a wall. I found myself without direction or motivation. I decided to join a bootcamp and picked Galvanize because they were the best, simple as that. I didn't just learn the latest and most "need to know" algorithms (though believe me it's all there). You can't just learn data, you need to learn how to be a scientist. I got classmates, I got deadlines, I got new software, I got critical feedback, but I also got the skills to be a team player and to rise to the challenge of all the others. My resume now has all the buzzwords like "responsibility, achieved, passion, leadership." I also can't stress enough how important the community is. My peers and instructors kept me motivated because they wanted to see me succeed. Galvanize knows this and make it a point to foster community.

A note on the technical side though: a bootcamp is baptism by fire, so be ready. Again, I studied on my own for a while and I couldn't have made it through without doing that first. I don't have a technical degree or any tech experience but I can say with confidence that a data science career change is difficult but possible. Some bootcamps have absolutely zero barrier to entry which is honestly a red flag. Galvanize has a pre-course so you can gauge if you're ready, then take on the interview. Good luck!

Came into the course with very little coding experience in Python but some good fundamentals in Math. The prep course was very useful and set me up really well to start the course. Once we began the actual course it held a very fast tempo and you really need to be focused to keep up with all of the material. Lucky for us, the instructors and assistant instructors are dedicated to helping you understand the material and complete your projects! The course, material, and instructors are top notch but you need to be dedicated to the course. 

Once the course is complete and your portfolio is ready its time for the job search. There is a dedicated employment advisor that prepares you for all aspects of the job search throughout the course and then is dedicating to helping you for a year after the course is over. This was such an important part of me finding a job and I could not say enough good things about them. 

This course was one of the best decisions I have made for breaking into Data Science. Thank you all so much! 

I would highly recommend Galvanize to anyone who is looking to change careers and become a data scientist. The instructors were excellent, the pacing was just right, and I really liked all of my classmates. I was able to learn a lot in a short period without burning out. The program provided a great opportunity to work collaboratively on projects, and to take ownership of solo projects from end to end, which are both valuable skills that came up in interviews. I felt that I finished the program with a fairly deep understanding of machine learning and data science concepts. Breaking in to the data science field is difficult, with or without a bootcamp, but Galvanize definitely gave me a leg up. 

Shortly after I graduated, I was able to land a data science job at a prominent tech company. Full disclosure, I have a PhD and I had a connection at the company already, so your mileage may vary. That said, my experience at Galvanize made the interviews a breeze. 

I loved the experience and it has completely transformed my day to day life for the better. Getting involved with the Data Science Curriculum through Galvanize was really tough but equally rewarding. The material presented is not something you couldn't necessarily go find on your own online, but the pace, the structure, the community and the organization of teach/reteach has given me the power to feel like no matter what I come across, I now have the power to quickly teach myself. I left Galvanize, confident in my skills, my resume and my projects. I swear, if you have the stamina to work all day every day in the immersive environment for 15 hard weeks, you will come out of it with some really applicable skills.