A review of Bottega as a software engineering bootcamp

Updated in 2023

Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now industry mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream jobs in tech. Check out my review of Bottega.

What does Bottega do?
Who is Bottega for?
What does Bottega cost?
Ratings and reviews of Bottega
Alternatives to Bottega
How does Bottega compare to Pathrise?

What does Bottega do?

Bottega is a bootcamp that helps people develop the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer. They offer full-time and part-time classes online, as well as a full-time program at their Salt Lake City campus. Students can choose between 2 tracks: front-end development and Python + React.

The full-time Python + React course can be taken online or in-person. Classes meet from 9am-5pm Monday-Friday for 12 weeks and require at least 10 hours of homework per week. Before starting the program, students must complete about 50 hours of pre-work in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals. Those enrolled in the online option stream the class via video conferencing. These classes are not recorded. All participants spend their mornings in lecture and working on assignments. After lunch, they continue working on coding projects.

Bottega uses their own online learning platform to facilitate assignments, projects, and communication. That means in-person and online students can easily connect with their peers, instructors, and mentors. Featuring 5 modules, the curriculum covers the basics of Python, such as syntax, loops, and arrays, as well as more complex concepts such as databases, Structured Query Language (SQL), and more.

The remote, part-time Python + React course covers the same material as the full-time course, but students learn at their own pace. Most students finish the program in 4-9 months. They should expect to complete 50 hours of pre-work and 600 hours of coursework. Students can access the material whenever they want. They can connect with their peers, instructors, and mentors through the online learning platform as well.

Those enrolled in the remote front-end program follow the same class structure as the part-time program in Python + React. Working 1-on-1 with tutors, students focus on front-end foundations, system analysis, UML development, as well as security, service architectures, database interactions, and more.

Who is Bottega for?

People who have no experience in Python, React, or front-end development and are looking to develop the necessary skills to land a job as a front-end developer or software engineer could benefit from Bottega bootcamps.

What does Bottega cost? How much work is involved?

Tuition for the in-person and online full-time bootcamp is $12,000. For those in part-time programs, the cost is $7,500.

Prospective students needing financial assistance can take out low-interest, fixed-rate loans, which are available through Skills Fund. Borrowers choose between a 36-month or 60-month repayment period. Interest rates depend on an applicant’s previous credit history. Students in the full-time programs may borrow $12,000 for tuition and $4,000 for cost of living. Those in the part-time program can borrow $7,500 for tuition.

To apply to the Python + React full-time and part-time programs, students fill out a brief online application. Then, they complete a behavioral interview to see if they fit well with the program and take an online or in-person tour of the campus with an enrollment officer. The last step is to take the prep course, which covers the fundamentals of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Those looking to enroll in the part-time front-end program also need to take a technical screening. This assesses their ability to learn and solve problems.

Ratings and reviews

Graduates who have reviewed Bottega online have mixed feelings about the curriculum and job-seeking services. They are on CourseReport’s list of best bootcamps. But, while some feel that they learned a lot from the curriculum, others experienced dissatisfaction with the outdated course materials and the inconsistent job placement assistance.

On CourseReport, one reviewer noted that “aside from their placement lady coming into class to tell us to update our LinkedIn account a couple of times, there wasn’t any assistance at all.” The reviewer also said that “the president of [a] 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 not everyone was included in that networking experience.

Some SwitchUp reviewers said that they benefited from the instruction and curriculum, though one grad from the part-time program expressed disappointment with the lectures, saying “it’s just videos on top of videos on top of videos.” Another CourseReport reviewer from the part-time program echoes this, reporting that “the videos that they sell you are expensive, and you can find those videos on Youtube and Udemy for a lower price.”

Alternatives to Bottega

If you decide not to enroll in Bottega, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and online resources that can help aspiring software engineers.

Students can also consider Kenzie Academy. This full-time tech bootcamp offers in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design and front-end engineering. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
Likewise, Prime Digital Academy has full-time and part-time courses in UX design and software engineering.
Like Bottega, Actualize, App Academy, Nucamp, T u ring, Codeworks, Code Fellows, devCodeCamp, Launch Academy, and Hack Reactor are software engineering bootcamps with on-campus and live online options. That means remote students can get the same experience as those who attend in-person.
One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
Other options are Lambda School, Zip Code Wilmington, Fullstack Academy, Byte Academy, and Altcademy, which offer online bootcamps in software engineering and other subjects as well.
Aspiring software engineers and web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
Another option is Grand Circus, which teaches courses on Java, front-end, and C# .NET. Their campuses are in Michigan, but they also offer online options.
Likewise, Tech Elevator, Epicodus, and Redwood Code Academy are software engineering bootcamps with online and on-campus options.
Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.

More alternatives

Flatiron School, Br a inStation, Treehouse, and Pluralsight also offer tracks in software engineering, as well as UX design, data science, and more.
You can check out Udacity and Springboard. These are online educational platforms that students can use to brush up on the basics or advance their current tech skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
For additional online education tools, students can also use egghead and Coursera, which offer hundreds of courses on a variety of topics under the software engineering umbrella.
SoloLearn, freeCodeCamp, and W3Schools are free online learning tools with tracks in Ruby on Rails, as well as other languages.
You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs online. They provide free courses on many different programming languages. They also offer membership options ranging from $20 to $40. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.

How does Bottega compare to Pathrise?

Bottega is a bootcamp with courses for people who are interested in learning the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer from scratch. At Pathrise, fellows in our program should already have some background in their field of interest so that they can participate fully in our workshops, which prepare job-seekers for the questions they will see in their technical interviews.

Pathrise helps you land the best possible job. Fellows receive 1-on-1 mentorship every step of the way. Pathrise focuses on technical and behavioral interviewing, as well as resume and LinkedIn optimization, cold emailing reverse recruiting lessons, and more.

Our program is flexible. There are only 2-4 hours of sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions whenever they need support. All of our workshops and sessions at Pathrise are live, as well as recorded, so that fellows in our program can review them afterwards and continue learning. The curriculum is personalized for each fellow.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people land their dream job in tech through 1-on-1 mentorship. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to optimize your job search, join Pathrise.