Pursuit

Pursuit is that kind of place that you would never regret going to, it really feels like a blessing to be a part of such an open and caring community. They work towards the mission of empowering minorities that normally wouldn't have access to a high paying job and they do it for real, you'll get the vibe starting from day one. During the pandemic they had an economic relief assistance for Fellows that were in need, what other bootcamp does that? The support you get at Pursuit it's not just technical and professional, it's truly, deeply human and that alone sets Pursuit aside from the rest. 

Pursuit changed my life! I had to the opportunity to be part of Pursuit as both a student and a staff member. You will learn technical skills to make you a sought after candidate in the field, as well as professional skills to nail the interview. 

Pursuit offers you a community, which is what makes them so much more special than a traditional boot camp. Pursuit truly lives their mission and is there for their fellows! They trained me to be ready to be a software engineer at a top company and they can do the same for you. 

For someone with no prior coding experince Pursuit was a challenging full-time course.  Pursuit requires a lot of determination and hard work but these are skills that most tech companies are looking for.  The instructors at Pursuit do a good job at teaching coding from the ground up.  There is a strong emphasis on working with and helping other peers, and researching questions on your own so that when you get stuck on a piece of code you know how to go about figuring out a solution.  Pursuit also hosts some great speakers and networking events both on and off their campus that give students a truly candid insight into different areas of the industry.  

Though it’s a year program, as of today I have create a couple of apps and created my own portfolio website. This program is not for those who are just trying something out for fun it’s for individual willing to put in the hard work and push themselves to achieve the goals they hold to. The instructors are ever so patient. The staff not only care for our time in the program but they make sure that their fellows are in a safe place mentally and physically. It feels like an extension of a family when one becomes a fellow here. 

Pursuit has been a life changing experience for me. It was a had journey with many ups and downs but it was fun/challenging too. The connections I've made at Pursuit will definitely be maintained for the rest of my life and I am forever grateful for the complete turnaround Pursuit has afforded my life. Staff are all helpful and willing to get on calls at all types of hours just to help you. My fellow classmates were some of the most helpful and supportive people I've ever met and my instructor Alex Paul is the most dedicated and hardest-working person I've ever met in my life. It was a team effort but I completed the program, graduated, and landed a job at Twitter. I recommend Pursuit to anyone who is truly up for a live changing journey.

This program was great for me! I learned enough about iOS to land an apprentice position. Along with this, the program helped me prepare for interviews by giving me resume and cover letter assistance, mock interviews, and DSA practice. That being said, they can only bring you so far. If you are expecting them to hand you a job (which they get as close as possible to doing with their company partnerships) then you will have a hard time getting out of your own way. If you are committed to doing your best, remembering that you are surrounded by people that want you to succeed, then you increase your chances of finding a job. If you are of the mindset that you deserve things that you have not put effort into, I suggest you look into another route to success.

There are much better bootcamps. Your time could be spent gaining a paycheck or going to a real school. This training program puts you in a room and tells you to google things to make your code work.

Yes, people have success with this bootcamp but there are many problems from leadership to organization to curriculum all the way down to the smallest details (disorganized off-hour tutoring, forcing the fellows to take out the trash, ect.)

The only saving grace are the students who are in the trenches with you and the instructors. Those instructors and students that are there for all the right reasons are good people. The rest of the program really isn't worth it. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! 

The Brain Child of Harvard Grad Jukay Hsu, Overall Pursuit, is a great idea!

But...

Though Pursuit seemed to have worked for many of the cohorts, I come to you as one for which it did not.
I feel as though I have fallen through the cracks. Yes, I was able to complete the course but I did not retain much of the information which I attribute to both myself (for we always have a part in everything in our lives) for allowing frustration to get the best of me but I also attribute it to the teaching method that Pursuit chose to employ.

I came to Pursuit excited but quickly found myself frustrated and left hanging as the pace of the course, the teaching style, and the inflexibility in how the course was taught, particularly the way in which my questions were handled when I had problems understanding the material (which were never directly answered but we'll come back to that) were never sufficiently answered.

As for the method I spoke of earlier, Pursuit seems to use a method called Productive Struggle which in part seems to employ teaching not by showing you what to do but by showing how something works and then putting a difficult problem before you and having you figure out the solution. Hence the "Productive Struggle".
The real frustration came when I had a question and was unable to solve a problem. My questions were met with questions that continued until the point of frustration and which for me, made it so that I was actually less productive and found myself shutting down and less enthused about learning.
If you are a product of rout learning...get ready for a rocky ride because this ain't that. You'll in essence have to do sh*t load of figuring sh*t out on your own.
I brought this to the attention of the staff but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
At any rate, another thing I experienced was the cliques that formed.  Those that knew more tended to gravitate toward one another (as human nature would dictate and though Pursuit did their best to prevent it ) and were less amenable to working with or helping those that didn't quite catch on as quickly.

I can go on but that's the gist.

Now, funny enough, and contrary to what I just wrote, I'd still suggest this program but with the following caveats.

If you're considering Pursuit and are at all Computer Savvy, as in you have some understanding (some real understanding) of a coding language, by all means, give Pursuit a shot.

Otherwise, I'd strongly suggest you go to Codecademy.com and get some basic understanding of the following, and do not take any of them lightly!
Though you will be taught to work with others, Rely on no one, and be prepared to help others.  I'm not saying there won't be people that are willing to help but just be as prepared as possible and come with as much knowledge as you can before joining.

Things to focus on
Javascript (Strong Focus)
HTML
CSS
Sequel
Express (Strong Focus)
React (Strong Focus)
Data Structures and Algorithms (Strong Focus)

GOOD LUCK AND BE READY TO CRACK YOUR HEAD OPEN

Attending Pursuit's Full Stack Development course was a demanding, but rewarding experience. It was a difficult program, but there are many helpful people who helped me to learn - from helpful instructors, teaching assistants, and classmates. I felt I completed the program with the skills to get a tech job.  I also like the fact that Pursuit's founders and workers actively foster hiring partnerships with top tech companies and organizations. They also provide career coaching for graduates.  So those of you who find breaking into tech intimidating, take heart. You won't be doing it alone at Pursuit. You will have mentoring/coaching in addition to learning skills to build your technical career. 

In the process of looking at software development I look at multiple programs and came across Pursuit. From the outside looking in, I was very skeptical about a program taking a novice like myself and turning me into a software developer. What stood out however was the culture to be around Pursuit. Looking back as a software developer, and one year of intense studying I can say the culture is what makes the difference. Embarking on this journey is never going, but they try to make it manageable. The staff wants you to succeed everything day. There is help from instructors to other fellows, alums and other professionals in the industry. 

What is Pursuit? Pursuit is a community of people that strive to train and prepare people in the most need for careers in tech. I can't speak for other bootcamps, but Pursuit isn't really a bootcamp. It's a long-term intensive program that feels like more like a community than a bootcamp. What makes Pursuit special is the community and care that everyone has for each other. The space is set-up in such a way that you feel like your home away from home. At Pursuit, you learn more than just technical skills you also learn professional development that is just as essential in the workplace. And the most important thing is you are not forgotten after completing the curriculum. Pursuit actively partners with tech companies to get fellows jobs. I would join Pursuit if you want to transition to the tech field and I would also recommend Pursuit for people that went through College and feel they didn't get enough real world hands-on experience building products. If you are an hands-on learner that loves to learn by building projects and actively using your skills than Pursuit is the right place for you.