Springboard

The Springboard Data Science Career Track course provides more resources than I expected.  These include the weekly calls with a professional for mentoring, career calls to talk about aspects of applying and making contacts and refining a resume and LinkedIn profile, mock interviews that were a great motivation to prepare for, and individuals who can review projects and code.  I was impressed by the number of resources and their quality.  My mentor helped me understand a solid strategy for making contacts with individuals at companies for referrals.  Another resource is the free access to DataCamp during and after the course, which is effective at teaching concepts and code.  The main suggestion I would make to improve the course is providing supplemental resources to deepen knowledge of a topic if one wanted to increase understanding.  Overall, I feel that I advanced a lot from studying the course materials but, of course, expect that I will need to study independently to be effective in my new job.

I'm so thankful I enrolled in this bootcamp.  The curriculum was very comprehensive, delving into statistical concepts, data wrangling, and Python with machine learning applications (and more).  The mini projects and 2 capstone reports really allowed me to hone my Python and analytical skills.  Moreover, the career support and the mentor support were invaluable. Having weekly calls with my mentor  really helped in terms of direction for my projects and with any miscellaneous curriculum questions.  Interviewing skills and networking is part of the curriculum, so you're set up for success from the beginning.  I was able to get a Data Science job (albeit with prior data experience) after 3 months of the the bootcamp; the portfolio I've created through Springboard was a major asset in my interviewing process.

I started out on the Digital Marketing Career Track only to land a job half way through the course so they allowed me to finish the program within the Professional Track.  This alone speakes volumes to the flexibility and support the program brings to bear.  I have over 10 years B2B Email Marketing and Website management experience, but it was dated (early 2000s). Thus, I was looking for a way to upgrade my skill set and also use real-world experiences.  For example, I was able to partner with a local Family Law Practice that was just getting off the ground and use their business as my main project to build demand generation and other Digital Marketing tactics around using real dollars.  It was awesome to see how the curriculum, and great support from an industry specific mentor melded well together to allow me to build and execute a Digital Marketing Plan for the law firm.  I then also had practical experience to apply elsewhere and demonstrate to employers I had some level of expertise in some of the newer Digital Marketing areas I lacked from my past positions.

As a working professional, I've learned that constant learning is essential for career success!  As such, I had a great experience with Springboard's data science courses and was expecting the same out of their business analytics course. I really enjoyed learning about the various concepts taught in the program: data modeling, dashboarding, customer life-time value among many others. Despite being familiar with the basics of these and other concepts (I have a Master's Degree in a program that covered these areas) I was very surprised at how much I didn't know and how much I learned through Springboard.

The course work is challenging and have applied it to my current work on various projects. However, the most valuable aspect of my experience with this program was the mentorship I received as I completed the course. My mentor was someone who provide some of the most valuable advise and guidance with respect to business analytics. Being a business analyst himself it was great to hear about this field from someone who has been working with these concepts at such an advanced level.

I summarize this review by saying that my expectations were exceeded, I learned a lot, and I was able to apply the concepts and advise I received in this course immediately to my work. I whole-heartedly recommend this course if you are interested in learning about (or learning more about) business analytics. Enjoy!

At first, I was a little nervous taking this course due to my limited background in this particular field, but I felt that it was a necessary component to add to my profile to help further my career. 
Following the introduction meeting, before the course started, the student advisors took time to answer any questions those starting the course had and did let us all know that this course was designed for those with limited experience in this field, which soothed my nerves. They also let us know that they (the student advisors) were there for any questions or concerns we may have had throughout the duration of the course, which was also very calming. 
When the course started, your mentor set up weekly Skype chats and you have your first introductory call with them, where you discuss your previous background, what it is you hope to gain from completing the course and ultimately, get to know them.
When starting the course, you are presented with a library of knowledge for Excel with readthroughs and instructional videos ranging from basics to more advanced functions which becomes very helpful as the course moves on. It was also great that you can revisit these lessons, any time you get stuck.
As you move forward into the case studies, you are given all the information needed. Extra material is provided that will help you specifically for the case you are working on complete with mock scenarios. What is required of you in each case study, is laid out in a way that is easy to follow and removes any guessing on your part.
Although I was told to make sure your mentor is right for you and you feel comfortable working with them, mine was very helpful and knowledgable. **Do make sure you feel this way, if not, speak to your student advisor** They are there to help and guide you, not give you the answers and your weekly calls are key to being successful. They will review your progress and give you revisions to make if needed.
Each case study I completed, focused on a different scenario (Forecasting, Root Cause Analysis, and Customer Segmentation) and really help me see the data I work with on a daily basis in a new light and made me think to myself, "I could be doing better at this" and as I was moving along in the course, I felt that my work had changed also, so I was taking what I learned and applying it immediately.
FInal thoughts: It is a great course if you are looking to expand your knowledge in this particular field. The material is easy to follow and you stand to learn a lot from it. 

I thought I'd wait awhile to review this course so I could let everything sink in and see how the post-school support was and job search. Let's start with the beginning though.

I did the 200 hour digital marketing career track program. I went into this program without any sort of degree in marketing to start and I realized it would make it harder to get a job and the site also says this.

Positive things:

In-Course Mentor

-You can meet every week via skype and talk about school, your projects or whatever. Its a great asset.

Career Coach

-Can be very helpful getting your resume setup, linkedin, and interview prep.

End Projects

I had to do several big end projects which were challenging. One was a business marketing proposal as my capstone project and the other was the Google Ad Grants $10k program. Both were good but the Google program was a bit frustrating as it matched me with a very difficult (if not impossible) to market company.  

Support

I'm going to put this in both categories and I'll explain why. In the positive section because the support from the school was great when it was great. I would frequently get e-mailed back very quickly from the school after I had questions. I'll explain more in the negative section later.

Negative Things:

The Course Itself

Quite frankly I was hoping for more customized material for the price I was paying every month ($400). Instead it's nearly all (there are a couple of sprinboard made videos you can watch) curated material from across the internet. I could have gone and read all of the same material on my own without paying for it. Would I have? I'm not sure, there is something about paying for material regardless of it being free that made me more invested in reading it. So on that end it worked out for me, but if you are disciplined enough you could find everything on your own.  

Career Coach

At one point after I was done with the program (you have 6 months of post-career support which is great) I tried to get in-touch with my coach for about a month with no luck. This didn't help as I had job applications and interviews going on. My support was fine during the program when I used it however. 

Support

For the first couple months it was very frustrating. I would have questions, but it would be a minimum of a day or longer before someone got back to me. Questions on a weekend, forget it, they are closed. On a holiday weekend, you are screwed for up to 3 days.  That peeved me greatly as It held me back many, many times in completing things. At the end however, and post-school, they stepped up their game and would respond very quickly to my questions (even way after hours) which I appreciated. I just wish that was there at the beginning. 

Other Students 

There were not a lot of fellow students in the marketing program so it was a bit frustrating trying to colloborate or even ask them questions (when I couldn't get a hold of support).  I would try posting in the forums but the forums are pretty silent. 

Getting a Job

I knew getting a job without a previous BA or AA would be hard. I'm still trying to get something, but it's a chore. I'm applying for the lowest of low marketing jobs and it's still difficult to even get a call back. I have gotten a few though. If you have a degree and are just taking this course to update your skills then you'll probably have a better chance. 

Was it worth it? Only time will tell. 

You can really tell how much work Springboard puts into developing their students- they made sure I was matched with a brilliant mentor, had on-demand mentor calls for extra support with plenty of availability, and they're even starting in-person meetups or recommending events/workshops to go to so it doesn't feel like a disconnected online experience.

It's totally worth the price and will give you the right skills and real insight to fuel your job search after completing the course. The coursework is not unmanageable if you're working full time and if it ever does get difficult, I've personally had a smooth experience reaching out to Springboard and working with them to find a plan and get things done.