- What does Tradecraft do?
- Who is Tradecraft for?
- What does Tradecraft cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Tradecraft
- Alternatives to Tradecraft
- How does Tradecraft compare to Pathrise?
What does Tradecraft do?
Tradecraft is a tech bootcamp and immersion program based in San Francisco. The program is 12 weeks long. It is designed for people who want to land a job at a high-growth startup.
Students can choose from 4 tracks: product design, growth marketing, sales, and engineering.
Those in the product design track focus on customer development, user research, interactive design, user interface design, prototyping, and writing content & copy. The growth program teaches students about experimentation, research, acquisition, activitation, retention, and copywriting. For sales, students master skills in persuasion & influence, customer development, business operations, pipeline management, and deal crafting. People in the engineering track cover system architecture, prototyping, iterating, debugging, scripting, and process management.
There are no typical days in the program. Students should expect to commit 60+ hours per week to the program. They participate in lectures and assignments, as well as complete real-world projects for actual companies in Silicon Valley. Throughout the bootcamp, students work with career coaches until they land a job in their respective fields. They receive guidance on resume and portfolio building, LinkedIn optimization, interview prep, and more.
Who is Tradecraft for?
People who are interested in working at a high-growth startup in product design, growth marketing, sales, and engineering can benefit from Tradecraft. Since it is based in San Francisco, Tradecraft is a good option for people who looking to break into the Silicon Valley tech scene.
What does Tradecraft cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition is $14,000. Candidates can speak with an enrollment officer to discuss financing options, like loans or payment plans, before registering.
To apply, students must fill out a brief online application and complete an interview with an enrollment officer.
Ratings and reviews
Online reviews of Tradecraft are generally positive.
On CourseReport, people praised the program for its hands-on curriculum and career coaching services. As one grad described the bootcamp, “The beauty of Tradecraft is that it simulates an actual startup environment”. Another reviewer praised the project-based curriculum and the career development resources. They noted that “client projects were invaluable in allowing me to grow and learn as a designer, and to have pieces to include in my portfolio.”
Similarly, SwitchUp reviewers felt like they benefited a great deal from the bootcamp, but warned that prospective students should be self-motivated and ready to commit to working hard. As one reviewer pointed out, “Something you’ll commonly hear is that you’ll get out of Tradecraft what you put in. This is not an easy program, and it isn’t designed to be.”
Alternatives to Tradecraft
If you decide not to participate in Tradecraft, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and online resources for people who are interested in launching a career in tech.
- 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 digital marketing, product management, software engineering, data science, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Aspiring designers can consider Designlab. This online bootcamp teaches the necessary skills to land a job as a UX designer. Read more about Designlab in our review.
- Well known bootcamps, Lambda School, Fullstack Academy, allWomen Academy, and Flatiron School offer courses in product design, software engineering, and other topics.
- 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.
- Students interested in taking online self-guided or instructor-led product design courses can check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our review.
- GrowthX Academy is an online bootcamp with courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
- Similarly, Kellogg Executive Education, Pluralsight, Bootcamp Digital, Digital Creative Institute, Pepperdine Graziadio Bootcamps, Highway Education, NJIT Digital Skills Bootcamp, Somerville Academy, and InternStreet offer tracks in digital marketing.
- Likewise, Loyola University Digital Skills Bootcamp has marketing courses.
- For online bootcamps and resources in product design, people can consider Bloc, CareerFoundry, Design Sprint School, Avocademy, and Interaction Design Foundation.
More alternatives
- 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.
- You can also check out Udacity and Springboard. These are online learning tools that students can use to brush up on the basics or advance their current skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
- With free and paid options, Coursera, Simplilearn, Learn UX, and Skillshare are online learning resources with courses in digital marketing, product design, engineering, and more.
- SEMRush Academy, Copyblogger, QuickSprout, and HubSpot Academy offer free courses in their software as well as other digital marketing topics.
- UX Pro Academy has courses for beginners as well as more experienced people.
- Similarly, Miami Ad School has marketing and design courses where students can build portfolio projects.
- Finally, GW Bootcamps has courses in web dev, marketing, data science, and design both on-campus and online.
How does Tradecraft compare to Pathrise?
Tradecraft is a tech bootcamp for people who are looking to launch a career in sales, marketing, product design, or engineering at a growing startup. Similar to Pathrise, they provide assistance with the job search, including guidance on resumes, portfolios, networking, interviewer prep, and more.
Pathrise is a full service organization that helps people land the best job possible. Our mentors have experience on both sides of the hiring table. We work 1-on-1 with fellows every step of the way. Our fellows learn lifelong skills like how to optimize your resume & LinkedIn, practice and prepare for technical & behavioral interviews, find recruiter and hiring manager email addresses, send compelling cold emails, and negotiate their salary. We tailor our curriculum to meet each fellow’s specific needs and career objectives.
Our program is flexible. There are only 4 hours of group sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions when they need support. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a great job that they love. We never require upfront payments or deposits.
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 get help with your technical and behavioral interviews or any other aspect of the job search, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
