University of Minnesota Boot Camps

My name is Rachel and I am currently a U of M FinTech Boot Camp student.  I want to start my testimonial by stating that this program is one of the best programs I have taken in continuing professional studies.  It is challenging, but rewarding; it is time-consuming, but engaging; it is complex, but incredibly interesting, and I am in awe of how much I have learned and benefitted from this course.  The experience I have gained in this program has opened opportunities in my profession that I never thought I would be able to achieve, including a recent job offer as an Innovation Officer!

I currently work in bank regulation, and with the ever-changing digital landscape and constant buzzwords of “FinTech,” “cryptocurrency,” and “machine learning/artificial intelligence” I realized I didn’t know much about this innovation.  In order to keep up with the changes in bank technology, I needed an avenue to learn as much as I could about it.  I stumbled across the FinTech Boot Camp while I was searching for courses.  The curriculum was intimidating and the time commitment was significant, but I knew this was a topic I needed to dive into.  To be honest, I didn’t even know what Python programming was before I took this course!  Fast forward a few months, I can successfully code with Python, understand financial programming including the use of APIs, use machine learning to predict future outcomes, run artificial intelligence models, and I have even created a roboadvisor bot using AWS.
My favorite part of the program is the hands-on-learning.  The instructors are incredibly knowledgeable and flexible, and they help you to understand how these concepts are applied in real-life examples.  If you are in the financial services industry, this course is a MUST.  My advice to future prospective students is, as my instructor says, “Don’t mistake excitement for fear.”  This course can be intimidating at first and you’ll feel like you don’t know anything, which can be scary, but it’s actually very exciting.  It’s exciting to look at a huge block of complex code and realize that you will be able to write it in just a few months.  You’ll gain skills that are in high-demand and it will open opportunities for you to continue growing professionally.  I am looking forward to the rest of the program, and receiving the professional certification I can proudly put on my resume. 

The course was conducted entirely via Zoom with a teacher and teacher assistants with a combination of lectures, real-life examples, demonstrations, and homework to complement skill cybersecurity skill development. The following is taken from the University of Minnesota Cybersecurity Boot Camp | St. Paul (umn.edu) website and I wanted to put it as the course contained exactly what they advertised. I had a wonderful experience and recommended it to anyone with drive and desire to get hands on cybersecurity skills to use in an existing job or move into a new career as I have done.

• Gain experience with a host of popular tools such as Wireshark, Kali Linux, Metasploit, Nessus, and more.
• Learn skills applicable to certifications such as the CompTIA Security+, Network+, Linux+, Server+, Cloud+, and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
• Advance your skillset even if you’re currently employed or in school through convenient evening and weekend classes.
• Benefit from a comprehensive set of career services to help equip you for success as you work to change career paths or advance in your current position

I am an IT professional with about 2 decade of experience. Most of my experience was in legacy technology and past 5 years I've been playing the role of Business Analyst. I was working for Delta Airlines in Minnesota campus. When COVID hit and impacted Airline business, the great company it is, with great leaders, we were offered voluntary packages to separate from the company with health insurance for a year. I took that opportunity to introspect my career path and retool myself. As I loved art, colors, and enjoyed hands-on problem solving, I decided to take the path of Web development and signed up for the Coding Bootcamp with  University of Minnesota.

The Fulltime coding program was a fast pace program. It was a fun, interesting and a challenging program. The instructor was very knowledgeable, humorous and made the learning process more fun and enjoyable. The TAs were also knowledgeable, encouraging and guided us throughout the program, even providing some weekend sessions from their personal time. 
I couldn't ask for more.

I didn't use the career service during the program. Now having completed the program, I am fully focused on utilizing the all the help career service offers to guide me in job application, networking and landing in a job.

I am so glad I selected Coding Bootcamp with University of Minnesota. Heartfelt thanks to the Program and the Instructional Team.

Syria, 1997. My very first experience facing a PC. It was running on Windows 95, very slow, very noisy, and extremely magical. That was the moment when I said to my father "I will become a programmer". Then, life took me on a different path (financial pressure/survival mode) and I ended up working in the media field for +8 years. But that moment of love, at first sight, stayed with me and I had to remind myself that “IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO BECOME A CODER”.
Apart from the romantic reason behind my decision, there are of course many rational reasons that pushed me to join a Bootcamp. Here are a few: 

• Coding is a massive field full of opportunities and creativity
• Coders are highly required in the market and that’s not going to change anytime soon
• So many opportunities to work as a freelancer and/or work from home
• Coding is a continuous learning experience. It’s like taking your brain to the gym every day. (don’t forget to take your body to the gym too)
• If you do some coding and learn every day. Your only way is UP.

So, why a boot camp? After considering the main options (college/Bootcamp/solo-learning online), I decided that a Bootcamp is the perfect first step for changing careers. The amount of time and money spent on it is a total win when the result is:

• Understanding a wide range of topics that cover almost the full picture
• Finishing 3 major projects and many smaller ones (Big PLUS in your resume)
• So many support sources in addition to a very interactive class
• Interacting with professional coders and gaining insights from their work experience
• Coding with a group just like you would do in a company
• Many great career services that are available for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!!

And many other reasons that make the boot camp a very rich experience full of benefits.
If you decide to take this very exciting journey, here are a few things that I did before and during the course that I believe gave me a great push forward.

• Give yourself about a month to prepare. (mini-tutorials, youtube videos, HTML/CSS/JS basics, articles on problem solving/coding logic ...etc)
• Before the starting date, you will have a pre-work assigned to you, which is a collection of simple subjects and activities to warm up. Take it very seriously and give it an appropriate amount of time. It will give you a great push through the first month, and it will be too late to give up :) Now, your only option is SUCCESS!
• Get yourself a nice-looking journal and keep track of everything you learn on a daily basis, just a line or two on each new concept is enough. And keep some notes on any gaps/questions you have, to ask them during office hours. 
• Try to code/read as many examples as possible on every new concept you learn
• Connect with your classmates, do study groups, ask and try to answer questions. Those interactions are gold! Push yourself out even if you don’t feel like it.
• Never ever hesitate on asking questions. Never tell yourself “I think my question is very basic. I’ll keep my mouth shut and study more after class” this is your time to learn, not to be shy or surrender to self-doubt.
• If you remind yourself that this boot camp is the cornerstone of a new career, you will have more energy and appreciation for it than being in the classic student mentality of “I need to do my homework and pass.”

I still have a lot to say about my experience, but since I’m still halfway through, I’ll save the rest for another review after I cross the finish line.
Best of luck to everyone and BIG BIG shout out to the instructor Dan Mueller and the TA’s. 

I highly recommend Trilogy’s U of MN Data Analytics & Visualization Boot Camp, but only if you are serious about wanting to learn!

If you are new to coding – plan on spending 10 – 20 hours per week on homework, studying and projects.

Did I learn a lot?

The first day of class, I didn’t know anything about coding – not a single line of python – didn’t even know what Git Bash was.

My final project was machine learning classifying SEC 10k Risk Factor text documents for a U of MN Professor. A side project I did on my own was scrapping 65k tweets and performing a sentiment analysis for a UNC Professor!

I learned a ton!

Be Prepared for Class:

Class is fast paced! Classes had two components, instructor led examples and student in-class activities. That was a combined 512 in-class activities in 6 months! The activities are where you really learn – it’s practicing what you were just taught and then getting immediate feedback on the right way to complete the activity!

We had 16 homework assignments and 3 projects. Every one of them was challenging and took hours to complete.

Positives:

Instructors: There were two cohorts that met on separate nights during the week and together on the weekends. The instructors would alternate for the combined Saturday class. Both of my instructors (Paul K and Madeleine F) were data scientists by day, very knowledgeable, approachable, and took time during office hours and throughout the week as time allowed to answer questions. Both on their own time would post relevant articles, job openings, and other resources for the students. If you have an opportunity to have Paul or Madeleine as an instructor don’t pass up the opportunity – I learned a ton!

We also had 4 great TAs – maybe our classes just got lucky…

Not a single person dropped out of the class – I think that had a lot to do with effective pre-screening and a staff that inspired us to be successful.

Surveys made a difference! Every week you are required to fill out a class survey. For the first 6 months, every week I responded – please give us a syllabus! Trilogy never gave us a syllabus, but our instructor finally started slacking out what we were going to be covering in the upcoming week. VERY HELPFUL! I saw this week on our class page that Trilogy posted a syllabus – what’s my point? I felt that they listened to student feedback and made incremental changes throughout the 6 months.

Class Videos – every class session is recorded so you can watch it later. The first few months I didn’t use it at all, but then class started getting more difficult and I referred to the videos quite a bit.

Negatives:

They didn’t provide a syllabus. This was frustrating because I wanted to spend time preparing at home so when I heard about a new function in class – it wouldn’t be the first time. They now provide a syllabus so where it was a negative for me, future students take advantage of this and study before class.

Career Services isn’t what I thought it was when I signed up, but it has been satisfactory after I adjusted my expectations. Career Services is meant to get you ‘interview ready’ – not to help you find a job; although I can tell they are even trying to change that a little bit with a Demo Days, marketing to local recruiters, etc.

What was most surprising?

How much we learned in such a short period of time. You won’t be an expert at any given language or library, but you will know how to find the answers to be successful at coding.

I was also (happily) surprised at how time was spent on html/css/JavaScript. When you think about it, we learned how to take huge data (millions of rows), visualize it with cool interactive visuals (look at https://github.com/d3/d3/wiki/Gallery to become inspired and excited) – so it only makes sense that we would want to learn how to make it easy for non-programming people to access! You will have enough knowledge by the end of the course to make any of the visuals you find on the d3 GitHub link!

Before starting this bootcamp - I was lost, I didn't have a clue on what I really wanted to do but I did know I needed a change.  I needed that nudge to turn on my creative outlet and have a chance to better my future with it.  I absolutely love the routine of having class, working on projects, and building a portfolio.  I have learned so much from this class and created things I never thought I would ever make.  It is a continuing circle of knowledge and development. Having the opportunity to complete this bootcamp has been incredible because I did not have the means of taking 2-4 years of schoolwork, but 6 months flew by.  The pacing of this class was perfect for me - it was challenging but realistic.  I will always be eternally grateful for this class and the people I met along the way.  I will cherish it the rest of my life.

I was ready for a change and ready to take the step to a better life for my family and I. Cybersecurity was it . I had been watching a man on youtube that taught cybersecurity at U of M and the way he taught on youtube was easy for me to understand I knew that was it . Plus U of M has a prestigious reputation . My experience in the boot camp was out standing . There is alot of info to be learned very quickly . But U of M and staff really make it understandable and take the time to help you with whatever is needed and whenever its needed . The support and felling of being welcome was outstanding  . Now i am shineing in the class and able to help others . For others considering this please go for it theres nothing to loose and soo much to gain . the staff will help along the way. Ask questions . The most important advice is get excited for a new life , a new career, and new finincal stability . You will not regret the U of M cybersecurity bootcamp it is truly life changing. That means alot coming from a 37 year old man i do not regret the career change .