Divergence Academy review as a data science bootcamp

Hi, I’m Olga! I have years of experience in data science, most recently at eBay. Now I work as an industry mentor at Pathrise, helping data scientists land great jobs through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of Divergence Academy.

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

What does Divergence Academy do?

Divergence Academy is a bootcamp that helps people learn the technical skills necessary to land a job as a data analyst or cybersecurity professional. They offer part-time and full-time courses in Dallas, Texas. Due to COVID-19, all courses are now online.

Before starting a Divergence Academy course, students complete up to 50 hours of online pre-work covering the command line, Python, statistics, and other key data science concepts. The pre-work curriculum includes lectures, hands-on assignments, and coding challenges.

Data

The full-time data analytics program meets Monday-Friday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Students participate in lectures, job-seeking workshops, pair programming exercises, and coding challenges. The course includes 200 hours of direct instruction and 200 hours of lab work, giving students an even mix of guided learning and hands-on learning.

The data science immersive course teaches students to work with and analyze large data sets, preparing them for a data analysis career. Students learn to work with Python, statistical modeling, the UNIX/LINUX command line, machine learning, web scraping, databases, collaborative coding, the cloud, visualization tools, algorithm frameworks like Hadoop, system architectures, and more. Students graduate with polished data projects for their portfolios to help them impress employers and land a data science job.

Cybersecurity

Students in the full-time, 10-week cybersecurity program meet Monday-Friday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. The part-time, cybersecurity 20-weekend program meets Saturday and Sunday from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Both the full-time and part-time cybersecurity courses include 200 hours of theory and 200 hours of hands-on lab work.

The cybersecurity programs teach students the skills they need to become cybersecurity penetration testers. Students learn to identify threat vectors, decipher cryptographic messages, put Python to work for cybersecurity, and much more. Graduates leave the program with full portfolios to show potential employers.

All courses offer career assistance. Students participate in mock interviews, work 1-on-1 with industry mentors, and network with hiring partners like IBM, AT&T, CITI Bank, and more.

Who is Divergence Academy for?

People with little to no experience in data science or cybersecurity who are looking to move into these careers could benefit from a Divergence Academy course. The program is especially helpful for people who are based in Dallas. In addition, if you have some background in a quantitative discipline, the program might be a good choice for you.

What does Divergence Academy cost? How much work is involved?

Tuition for the full-time data science bootcamp is $17,000. The full-time cybersecurity program costs $18,000. Students in the part-time cybersecurity program pay $13,000.

Students can choose to pay upfront for a discount, pay in three installments, or pay after they land a tech job through an income share agreement (ISA).

Financing is available through Skills Fund. Rates and repayment plans depend on an applicant’s credit history. Students can apply for scholarships through the Workforce Solutions Office, providing grants and career services to underrepresented communities in tech.

Before applying to Divergence Academy, candidates may want to familiarize themselves with the basics of data science, Python, statistics, linear algebra, and fundamental math. The admission process begins with an online application and an introductory chat with admissions about candidates’ data science background, schedule, and interests. Then, candidates participate in a final behavioral interview.

Ratings and reviews

Divergence Academy has mostly positive reviews. They hold a 9.5/10 rating on Bootca mp Rankings. In addition, they are on CourseReport’s list of top data science courses of 2019. Graduates praise the program for its positive environment and balance of theory and practical instruction, but some graduates have mixed feelings about the curriculum’s organization and job placement.

The top review on CourseReport raves about the program’s fast pace and supportive instructors, describing the course as “the best way to start learning data science!” One grad was impressed by the engaging and varied approach to data learning, raving “practical [exercises] and theory combined together give a very good perspective of data science for anyone who wants to learn this field,” but he felt that the curriculum can be quite intense. He warned, “Homework greatly help, but make sure that you invest the time to do them with due diligence.”

Another full-time student echoed the warning, remarking “This 12 week course is intense but well worth it.” Similarly, a reviewer raved about the passionate instructors and hands-on labs. However, he felt the curriculum had room for improvement, remarking he wished the courses had “committed some time to web scraping, regularization of regression with lasso and ridge regression, and time-series analysis.”

Divergence Academy is rated 4.8/5 stars on Indeed, where students praise the fast-paced, engaging teaching style and passionate environment. However, graduates had mixed feelings about the curriculum and career services. One grad was impressed by the “positive environment” and “hands-on training” but felt the data curriculum “could be more organized.” The program’s career services are only rated 75/100. Overall, however, reviewers were very satisfied with the course and the tech skills they gained from the program.

Alternatives to Divergence Academy

If you decide not to enroll in Divergence Academy, there are many alternative bootcamps and courses that can help you land a job as a data analyst or cybersecurity professional.

The popular bootcamp General Assembly offers full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on data science, web dev, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
Metis has introductory data science courses with both onsite & remote bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
If you are looking for a data science community with hands-on project learning, Kaggle can be a good choice. They have 19,000 public datasets and 200,000 public notebooks for people who are looking to get started or join a data science project to build up their skills and their portfolios.
Similarly, the data science resource DataCamp offers over 300 courses on data science subjects, with an active community of data scientists.
The online learning programs Data Science Dream Job, Magnimind, Principal Analytics Prep, and Practicum offer hands-on data science courses. Like Divergence Academy, these programs include portfolio building and career assistance.
Or, you can consider K2 Data Science and FourthBrain, which are part-time, online programs.
Similarly, QuickStart, Nashville Software School, Georgia Tech Bootcamp, Rutgers Bootcamps, Clarusway, and Zip Code Wilmington have courses in web dev, software engineering, and data science.
Flatiron School teaches courses on data science, software engineering, UX design, and cybersecurity analytics. Students can choose part-time or full-time options, both remote or on-campus.
The bootcamp Lambda School teaches 9-month courses in data science and software engineering. Like Divergence Academy, Lambda School offers an income share agreement (ISA).
Similarly, BrainStation offers programs in data science, UX/UI design, web development, and more. Like Divergence Academy, BrainStation offers a mix of theory and project-based learning, emphasizing practical learning.

More alternatives

Coding Dojo is a good option for those looking to start a career in data science. They teach fundamental skills needed to land an entry-level job as a data analyst, perfect for those who may not have a technical background.
Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
Another well-known tech bootcamp, Thinkful has courses in data science, as well as software engineering and UX/UI design. Similarly, Ironhack has courses in web dev, design, and data.
The Menon Labs fellowship helps people learn the skills to become web developers, data scientists, and product managers.
Students can also check out Udemy, which offers thousands of affordable video courses on data science. Individual classes cost around $10 each.
Similarly, 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 per month for more course options and greater support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
Online educational resources Udacity and Springboard offer low-cost, self-paced courses in data science and many other tech topics. Learn more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
Likewise, 365 Data Science is a low-cost and low commitment option to learn data fundamentals.
Finally, edX is another popular online learning platform with university courses. Their self-paced courses come from top schools like Harvard and MIT, and even big tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to learn the fundamentals or dive deeper into specific topics, like data. Learn more about edX in our review.

How does Divergence Academy compare to Pathrise?

Divergence Academy offers courses to people interested in learning the skills needed to land a job as a data analyst or cybersecurity professional. While an interest in math and tech is recommended, many students start with no data experience. Pathrise job-seekers should already have a background in their chosen field to benefit fully from the technical interview training.

Pathrise works with fellows at all steps of the job search including resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation. Our program includes 2-4 hours of group sessions and 1-on-1 mentoring that can be scheduled as needed. The curriculum is tailored to our program fellows, focusing on whatever skills they struggle with most.

Fellows see a major increase in their application responses and interview scores, helping them land a great job faster. Most fellows find a job within 3-5 months of joining the program. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. We never require deposits or upfront payments.

Pathrise helps people land their dream job through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. If you are interested in working with one of our mentors to optimize your job search, join Pathrise.