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A review of UT Austin Bootcamps as a tech bootcamp

Hi, I’m Elle! I work as a product designer at Getaround and as an industry mentor here at Pathrise. I help our fellows land great jobs in product design through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of UT Austin Bootcamps.

What does UT Austin Bootcamps do?

UT Austin Bootcamps offers part-time and full-time courses to aspiring web developers, UX/UI designers, data analysts, digital marketers, and cybersecurity professionals. No prior experience is necessary, but all students have to complete self-paced pre-work before starting a bootcamp. In response to Covid-19, all courses are now offered online.

Web dev

The 12-week full-time web development course teaches students the skills they need to launch a career as a full stack web developer. It meets Monday-Friday from 9am to 2:30pm EST, with about 20-30 hours of work outside of class. Alternatively, the part-time web dev program lasts 24 weeks. They meet two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm, with only 10 hours of work a week outside of class. The curriculum includes live lectures, hands-on workshops, and projects. Students learn to build full stack web apps using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Node.js, and React.Js. In addition, students learn responsive design, Heroku, Git, user authentication, MySQL, MongoDB, and more.

Data science

The part-time data science course lasts 24 weeks and teaches students all the skills they need to land entry level data science jobs. The course meets two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. It requires about 20 hours of work per week outside of class. Students learn to analyze and visualize data using Excel, Python, JavaScript, SQL databases, Tableau, and more. They participate in live lectures, 1-on-1 mentoring sessions, workshops, and more. Moreover, students build projects based on real-world datasets which can then be added to their portfolios. 

UX/UI design

Students in the 24-week part-time UX/UI design course meet two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. In addition, they do 10 hours of work outside of class every week. The course teaches students design principles, HTML/CSS, Adobe, Sketch, Invision, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Git/GitHub, and much more. Students prototype and iterate their own designs to produce polished user interfaces, interactions, and user experience projects. Finally, the course culminates in a final group project that can be added to their portfolios to help them become a UX/UI designer.

Digital marketing

The 18-week part-time digital marketing course teaches students the skills they need to become a digital marketer. Students meet two weekdays per week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. They also have about 10 hours of work outside of class every week. The curriculum features live lectures, hands-on projects, networking events, and workshops. Students learn digital marketing strategy, SEO, campaign development, and more. Moreover, the course teaches students to work with in-demand marketing technologies like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, MailChimp, HTML, CSS, and various CRMs. Students graduate with a polished portfolio showing off the digital marketing campaigns they worked on in the bootcamp.

UT Austin Bootcamps also includes career services. Students participate in portfolio reviews, resume workshops, networking events, mock interviews, and 1-on-1 career coaching with an expert in their field. 

Who are UT Austin Bootcamps for?

People with little to no experience in web development, UX/UI design, cybersecurity, digital marketing, or data analytics who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from UT Austin’s bootcamps. The program is especially helpful for people based in Austin.

What do UT Austin Bootcamps cost? How much work is involved?

Tuition for UT Austin’s full-time web development course is $12,495. Alternatively, the part-time data science, UX/UI design, and digital marketing courses are all $11,995. Students who register early or pay upfront receive a discount. Monthly payment plans are also available. UT Austin alumni are eligible for a $500 scholarship.

The admissions process begins with a brief application form or a call to the admissions office. Next, candidates participate in a behavioral interview over the phone. Then, select candidates take a critical thinking and problem-solving assessment. There is no formal technical interview or coding challenge.

Ratings and reviews

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UT Austin Bootcamps has received fairly positive reviews. The program is rated 4.63/5 stars on Course Report. In addition, they have a 3.9/5 star rating on SwitchUp. Graduates praise the program for its positive environment and hands-on approach to learning, but some have mixed feelings about the job placement and curriculum.

On Course Report, one grad appreciated the practical curriculum and “the awesome learning environment.” However, the grad wanted people to “be aware that in order to be successful you need a lot of time outside of class to fully immerse yourself in the material.” The top review was critical of the curriculum’s pace and warned that career services are “the exact opposite of everything I was sold on.” Another graduate was impressed with the course’s supportive instructors and learning environment, but felt “the class was sometimes too fast.”

A student on SwitchUp described the course’s TAs as “extremely helpful” and felt the course “gave me a good foundation.” However, the student was critical of job support, describing career workshops as “out-of-date” and commenting “I reached out to one company who had no idea they were still being used in the bootcamp’s marketing.” Another graduate felt she was well supported by the “great instructional staff” and appreciated the 1-on-1 coaching, but was frustrated that she “had to go out of my way and ask for career advice from TAs and teachers to receive support that the employment counselor could not give.” Overall, students seem satisfied with the course’s support and project-based learning, though some would have liked more help with the job search.

Alternatives to UT Austin Bootcamp

If you decide not to enroll in UT Austin, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and resources that can help aspiring web developers, data analysts, and data scientists.

  • The full-time tech bootcamp Kenzie Academy offers in-person and online courses in 2 tracks: software engineering & UX design with front-end engineering. Like UT Austin’s bootcamp, Kenzie Academy features a practical curriculum with industry mentors. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
  • 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 UX/UI design, data science, software engineering, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
  • Aspiring web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
  • Flatiron School teaches courses on data analysis, data science, cybersecurity, and software engineering. Students can choose part-time or full-time options, both on-campus or online.
  • Students interested in taking online self-guided or instructor-led product design courses can check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our review.
  • Aspiring designers can check out Designlab, a tech bootcamp that teaches students all the skills needed to launch a career as a UX designer. Read more about Designlab in our review.
  • Similarly, Bloc is an online program that offers courses in both UX design and web development. Like UT Austin Bootcamps, their program features 1-on-1 mentoring and projects students can add to their portfolios.
  • The popular bootcamps BrainStation and allWomen Academy offer programs in UX/UI design, data science, digital marketing, product management, and more. Like UT Austin, they focus on project-based learning.
More alternatives
  • Metis is a bootcamp with introductory data analytics courses. Like UT Austin, they feature a project-based curriculum with both on-site and remote options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
  • The online learning program Data Science Dream Job is a self-paced data science program to help aspiring data analysts land a job. Like UT Austin, the program includes portfolio building and career assistance.
  • In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
  • Aspiring digital marketers and designers can check out GrowthX Academy, a tech bootcamp with courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
  • Just like UT Austin, UC Davis Bootcamps, UC Irvine Bootcamps, UC Berkeley BootcampsKU Bootcamps, Rice University Bootcamps, and University of Denver Bootcamps have web dev, data, and digital marketing courses with both online and in-person options. Trilogy also manages these bootcamps, which means that they have similar curricula and job support.
  • Coding Dojo and Divergence Academy are good options for those looking to start a career in tech. Like UT Austin, their data science courses focus on fundamentals and skills needed to land an entry level data analyst role.
  • The popular bootcamps Lambda School and Thinkful offer courses in data science and web development. Students can pay for the program using an income share agreement (ISA).
  • Women, GNC people, and trans people can check out CodeOp, which has courses in web dev, data, and product management.
  • Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
  • For students seeking lower-cost web development and UX/UI courses, Simplilearn, Learn UX, Ironhack, and Pluralsight could be good options.
  • The online bootcamp GrowthX Academy offers courses in digital marketing, business development, product management, and UX design.
Even more alternatives

How does UT Austin Bootcamps compare to Pathrise?

UT Austin Bootcamps has courses for people interested in starting a career as a web developer, UX/UI designer, digital marketer, cybersecurity professional, or data analyst. While an interest in tech is recommended, most UT Austin Bootcamp students start from scratch. Pathrise job-seekers should already have some background in their field to get the most out of the technical interview training. 

Pathrise is a full service organization that helps people land their dream job in tech. Our mentors have experience on both sides of the hiring table and work with fellows on each step of their job search. Fellows get 1-on-1 help with resume & portfolio building, behavioral interview preparation, cold emailing & reverse recruiting strategies, salary negotiation, and more. The curriculum is tailored to each individual fellow’s needs.

Our flexible program features 4 hours of group sessions per week and 1-on-1 sessions that can be scheduled as needed. All of our sessions are live and recorded, so fellows can review previous material and catch up whenever they want. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. Plus, we never require upfront payments or deposits.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. Fellows in our program see their interview scores double and their application responses triple. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to land your dream job faster, join Pathrise. 

Apply today.

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Elle Chun

Elle Chun is an experienced Design professional helping Pathrise fellows to ace their technical interviews and succeed in their next design role.

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