Springboard vs General Assembly

Springboard is a largely self-paced bootcamp, though there are still milestones that need to be met by the student. The pro of Springboard are that the program offers you more career support than any other program out there. The con of Springboard is... Read More that there are no live lectures, so if that's the environment in which you learn, then the nature of this program can be difficult for you.

I completed Springboard's Cyber Security Career Track course in April 2024 and am very happy that I decided to go with Springboard. I am a former coach/teacher with zero IT/Tech experience, minus building and maintaining my PC during COVID and teaching... Read More the older coaches how to use a laptop, lol. I had researched and talked to multiple boot camps offering a cybersecurity track but needed a course that would allow me to work at my own pace and not be confined to pre-determined meeting times. After much deliberation, I decided to go with Springboard and am very pleased with my experience. The enrollment process was very easy, they offered a deferred tuition plan and also had a job guarantee program. I ultimately choose Springboard because of the deferred payment option and also the job guarantee.

The units were very informative and a good mixture of reading, videos, writing projects, and interactive labs that allowed you to deepen your knowledge regardless of your prior knowledge/experience. Each unit also concluded with a short quiz to test your knowledge and allowed you the opportunity to go back and relearn any material. The writing projects often comprised of researching a particular vulnerability, breach, and/or company and answering questions about the particular unit. The hands-on labs were my favorite part of the course as they allowed you to put learning into practice with detailed steps. I do wish the labs were more detailed in terms of explaining exactly why you were taking a particular step, but post-completion labs have allowed me to fill in those missing pieces. I also liked the personal mentor they provided and my mentor was extremely helpful throughout my two+ months within the course.

As far as aspects of the course I disliked; I do wish the career coaching calls were more personalized. The Effective Networking call was extremely informative and I did get a lot of great information from that particular call, but I felt the Career Kick-Off, Career Planning, and Career Branding calls could have been better. The Resume and LinkedIn call was also a little disheartening as the coach had not researched or looked into my information before the call. I felt like the resume building was just copying and pasting my name onto a cookie-cutter resume that had been used multiple times. I didn't feel like that call was designed to tailor my resume specifically to me, but that it was designed to simply pass for a grade. We also did not even talk about my LinkedIn and I was rushed off the call as the coach had another student's call after mine (she also used my time to respond to that student). I also felt that I was not being commended for the pace in which I was completing the course. They (Springboard) do state that they recommend taking six months to complete the entire course and I finished in two. I felt that my mentor was the only person on my side and that when I got on a coaching call it was as if I was making a mistake with how fast I was progressing. Lastly, I also never heard from my student advisor. I'm not sure if that was intended or their role exactly, but I know I never heard from him throughout the two+ months.

I was very satisfied with the mock interviews and the coaches that conducted them. All three gentlemen were professional, asked tough questions, and provided amazing feedback for me to use. Applying for completion was also very easy. I am happy with my current career coach post-completion and look forward to her mentorship during my job search. I would highly recommend Springboard for those self-motivated and determined individuals. Thank you, Springboard!