Pursuit

Pursuit is nothing like other bootcamps, mainly because it’s about making a change where it’s most needed, helping under-represented communities, not to forget that the Fellowship has no upfront tuition!Additionally, the staff is always there to help and support in any step of the way to achieve your success.
I'll keep it short, I looked many bootcamps when I was planning my career path switch and weighted their pros and cons then decided to go for Pursuit and I'm happy I did. 
I strongly recommend it!

Like many immigrants, I came to the US with big dreams and a strong desire to succeed, but no job experience here. It was only when I discovered Pursuit (formerly known as C4Q) that I found a path to fulfill my dreams. Pursuit's curriculum enabled me to focus on developing the key hard and soft skills to succeed as a software engineer, from learning how to solve problems with app development to (SOFT SKILL). I've never before in my life been so excited to study; and Pursuit believed in me and supported me every step of the way.

My experience at Pursuit was a delight. I had been looking at multiple coding bootcamps before joining and it seemed like it was the one that fit me the best because of their focus on helping individuals from under-represented communities, and also because it allowed me to learn programming without charging me anything until I actually landed a job. While going through the program I found an awesome space that became my home for about 10 months of going almost everyday and with other folks that would make my experience there even better. From the staff all the way to the other fellows going through the program with me, I can't really say I had any negative interactions with anyone. Pursuit's curriculum, in my case (Full-Stack Web), covered as much as it could and it did it in detail. Besides, learning programming they made sure to make time for us to practice professional skills such as interviewing, white-boarding, networking, etc. After completing the program, Pursuit made sure to keep in contact by sharing job opportunities, holding more workshops to offer more opportunities of mock interviewing and white-boarding; convincing me that they really wanted to help me on my job search. I was lucky enough that I received a job offer only 1 month after finishing the program and would totally recommend it to anyone else that wanted to get into tech!

4x full stack cohort member. There were definitely areas for improvement. With that being said Pursuit is very close to being leaders in alignment on their mission. They have been pivotal in helping many transition to careers in Tech with a very well strategized fellowship that enables people from all ranges of technical backgrounds to become software engineers. Overall the coursework is super solid and great prep for transition. The majority of the staff is able to connect to the target community at high levels some have more trouble navigating an intellectual urban crowd but that is expected. The community is the best really supportive and strong. Its a roller coaster ride but if you're dedicated to completing your transition this is a great option. I think the bond agreement can be structured to be less stressful on newly transitioned engineers but understand the need to pay back loans. This leads me to raise the question if the investors were really interested in the success of people from underserved and traditionally poor communities could they not find some other return on investment or a less aggressive payment over a longer period of time so that the fallout from transition is more sustainable? Pursuit does a great job hiring amazing support staff who understand the full picture of running a program for the target community. Some questions arise when it comes to retention with the same staff but from my experience there's amazing progress in upper management with  approach as far as it comes to fellows and staff. I'm betting that there's more progress to come. I would strongly suggest application to this program for people interested in becoming software engineers.

I'm a 6.4 Pursuit FullStack Web alum. I'm now an Associate Software Engineer at Moody's Analytics. The Pursuit application process required no knowledge of coding, but focused on my problem solving skills and whether I could learn to think like a coder. The staff is always available to help and does everything they can to help you succeed. It is still a self-driven process, though. You will get out what you put in and they will always meet you where you are. The Pursuit community of alumni and volunteers is extremely engaged and are always offering assistance or facilitating opportunities where they can. The curriculum focuses on teaching you the FullStack basics, but also makes sure to focus on the current technologies to make you stand out in your job search. The professional development help is top-notch and applies to jobs way beyond the technical field. I would recommend Pursuit to anyone who is looking to kick-start their career whether it's your first or third act. 

Before coming to Pursuit I had no coding experience and wasn't on a career path to be in Tech. I didn't get into Pursuit on my first try but this was something I wanted to do so I was persistent. Being a student of the program was one of the hardest challenges in my life; the nights and weekends cohort was no joke for me because I worked a job through half of my time & dealt with personal issues. In addition to working the course work required a lot: critical thinking, grit, being resourceful, communication, teamwork & emotional intelligence were some of the skills that I needed to graduate. Although the course work was difficult the Instructors and TA's are amazing! They're there to help you, no question is a bad question and there is no limit to how many questions you can ask. They're truly there to help, you just need to speak up and ask for help and also be clear with your question so that you can get the answer you need. Also your classmates are there to help, find those who are willing to help you and don't be afraid to ask. Pursuit is not just a program, it is a community where you build lifelong skills and connections that will be critical to advancing in your career. Pursuit isn't there to hold your hand but it's there to help you open the door. After graduating Pursuit, YOU are the one to help determine the outcome of your job search. You have to be the one to step up and continue to push in order to get the opportunity you want. If I could, I would do it over again and if you're reading this I hope you're ready for a life changing experience! Thank you Pursuit!

I started as 5.1 FSW Fellow in October 2018. Previous to Pursuit, I had very little experience with coding. I had to learn Javascript from scratch and often it felt a little overwhelming at the beginning. I would say instructors provided good lessons on key concepts and intricacy of JS well to someone who just started learning. It also helped the fact that instructors were also from bootcamp graduates who shared their own experience and strategy for studying with students. It does require students to be pro-active in seeking help and degree of self-learning outside of class instruction. 

Program is not an easy journey for sure. You will have to sacrifice your social life, financial freedom and any other distractions to do well in this program as materials that you will learn will sound very foreign to you at first and takes a lot of effort to understand. I saw some students failing to keep up but they were usually the ones who failed to seek resources for help or failed to keep themselves motivated to code beyond assignments. You won't do well unless you develop genuine passion for coding and creating. 

If someone asks me if I would ever go through Pursuit again to get my education, then my answer is yes. Not only I built skills necessary to start a career in tech, but I also met great people who really provided sense of community and support, including fellows, instructors, and outside mentors.

Disclaimer: I am writing this as a former applicant that made it to the final round of inteviews but was ultimately not accepted for this program, so this review is about the admissions process I experienced. I also find it highly suspect that this school changed their name from "Access Code" to Pursuit shortly after another reputable school started a more credible program that also has "Access" in its name.

After a submitting my application online, I was invited for an in-person interview and logic and math evaluation at C4Q's campus in LIC, Queens. Class is located in a relatively isolated part of the city full of renovated warehouses, one of which C4Q also calls home. The closest train station is about a 10-15 min walk away, which was pretty uncomfortable to do in business casual clothes in 90 degree weather. Nevertheless, after getting lost a few times I eventually made it. I waited with a large group that was split into 2, the first half taking the written logic + math examination while the others were interviewed and given an oral/spoken logic test that were encouraged to "talk through" with our interviewers.

Witnessing the herd of mass interviews and logic tests occurring at several tables dispersed neatly in symmetrical rows along a packed room was probably the most dystopian thing I've seen in awhile. I don't think interviews could get more impersonal than that. Either way, I made it through to the third and "final" round in which we were given a 2-day crash course in Javascript led by TAs who were program alumni.

My TA's body language screamed that he did not want to be there, almost as his being there was part of a compulsory obligation upon completing the program. Half the time he wasn't even in the classroom and was out talking to his friends in the hallway, eating snacks or both. When he was in the classroom, a majority of the time he was on his phone texting or scrolling through facebook or instagram and was more or less mentally checked-out unless it came time for us to do our team projects in which we were split into groups of two. TAs evaluate us on our "teamwork", so therefore they need to pay attention to how we perform in groups. Other than that, he wasn't terribly involved. Other tables' TAs took an active part in the lecture and were much friendlier, helpful and attentive. During one of the teamwork modules, when he stopped by to check in on our progress and I had a question about a bit of code I was confused about he had the audacity to say "Are you asking me a question?" Yikes. Afterwards, during evaluations, I was told that I needed to ask more questions which hardly seemed fair. I did ask the instructor a few questions during lecture, however our TA wasn't there to take this into account since he wasn't even in the classroom. 

C4Q Access Code is specifically geared towards minority, underrepresented and immigrant students within the low-income bracket. Because of this, there is no upfront cost or tuition until you complete the program and are offered a high-paying job at the rate of $60000 or more (the average salary for graduates is $85000).Upon completion and hiring, you're obligated to pay 12% of your salary for THREE YEARS. That is 3x longer and more money than any other coding bootcamp. They boast that the average salary for program alumni after hiring is $85000, of which 12% is $10200. That amount for three years is about $30600 total. 

$30600 total for about $15000 of comparable training at a different school. Think about that. For a program that caters exclusively to the lower-income demographic while expecting enrollees to quit their full-time jobs to commit a 10-month full-time program without any other financial assistance, this seems almost predatory. Other schools often also have no upfront cost with scholarships/financing plans for low-income or underrepresented students and probably an even more established, robust alumni network which leads to better job search support.These programs also have less of a time commitment and if they do require a portion of income after program completion with no upfront tuition, it is generally 10% for one year as opposed to three.

C4Q's mission is noble, and I certainly wish them the most success and thank them for the opportunity to interview for their program. However, that being said, there is certainly some room for improvement with their admissions process which I hope the program will take into consideration-

1.) Better program management is sorely needed with admissions. It's great that C4Q has an open policy for diversity and inclusion and I commend them for taking an active stance on closing the race and gender gap in tech. However, there's only so many people you can accept (and also physically have within the walls of your  campus during interviews!) The fact that they were still interviewing more people for round one while our group had already made it to round two only added insult to injury. This also made things feel crowded and somewhat chaotic as there was plenty of confusion between groups of applicants. It almost seems as though they extended the application deadline and brought so many people in for interviews *just* so they could make the 10% admissions rate. 

2.) TA training and evaluation should be on-par with applicant evaluation. Perhaps at the end of the second and final Javascript test, there should be a prompt for applicants to evaulate their TA's performance and helpfulness in comparison to other tables' TAs. I would have certainly had some comments, even if this section would have been optional. Perhaps TAs should be alumni who actually *want* to be instructors, and a TA position could be something like an apprenticeship before becoming a program lecturer. This could certainly weed out unmotivated TAs like the one my group had and also lead to a more positive overall experience for all parties involved.

3.) Be transparent about overall program costs and take into consideration the loss of income students will face should they choose to enroll. If other potential applicants actually looked at the bigger overall picture and total costs many would think twice. Transparency in post-completion hiring statistics and how funding is used would also be appreciated. 

Overall, it wasn't too terrible of an experience and I recommend anyone considering applying to this program to go for it but with ample research. I hope that with my feedback, the application and interview process will improve for future applicants.

I initially found the iOS fellowship program very challenging especially since I had no coding or software programming background.There are tons of new materials and professional skills to learn in just 10 months, which requires a lot of time, commitment and hard work from the fellows.
But because of the support from the instructors, program managers, fellows in my cohort and from the Pursuit’s staff, my experience has been great!Pursuit prepared me with the skills I needed in tech but also made me feel like I belong in the community. It also gave me a large network as today it is part of my extended family.
It opened a new door for me to have the opportunity to transform my career into a tech career and it can do the same for you.