Constructor Academy

I did quite a bit research before investing in this option for my career change. My main focus was on the return on investment. There are many ways you can measure the value of a bootcamp. Can you learn what they teach for cheaper? yes. Can you learn... Read More it faster? no. Can you get a broad understanding of the software landscape in as short of a time? no. You could do the same technical tasks on your own, yes, but what you don't get is immersion in the industry, confidence in your skills, a team of people who have been in the profession who can act as consultants on your path. This support system is invaluable. You are paying for expertise, and insider knowledge as well as what you get in the classroom. I believe that the personnel at Propulsion Academy are top notch and they are invested in your success. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have a job in industry, got an 80% raise from my previous position, and am really enjoying the challenge and it is all due to Propulsion Academy.

First of all, a big thank you to the whole Propulsion Academy team, as they made me better every day. Coming from another working area, I even found a data science job during the time of the bootcamp!!

It's a perfect program for data science starters,... Read More as students practice all different kinds of data science activities - from data cleaning and statistical analysis to deep learning.
Although pre-work and the first few days are about getting everyone to the same starting coding level, I would recommend basic coding knowledge (Python), even if its applications dates a bit or it is only acquired by attending some free online courses.
Bootcamp summary: understanding theoretical concepts, many hours of hands-on experience, helped by motivated assistants, preparation for technical interviews, having a good time with the class mates.

Contacts remain for a lifetime and I enjoy every time visiting new classes.

When I was applying for bootcamps, I was interested in finding something that would have a high calbre of teaching and cover the groundwork in statistics and data analysis rather than just jumping straight into machine learning magic. I applied for Propulsion... Read More because it ticked these boxes, and was small enough to provide a personal experience, rather than feeling like a data scientist factory.

The Propulsion staff are really outstanding. Nitin, who was at the time managing the course and teaching a fair section of the curriculum, is extremely knowledgable and an excellent teacher. The TAs that we had at the time were patient and helpful, striking the right balance between allowing students to solve problems on their own and not leaving people to get frustrated for too long.

The staff are very well-connected to the community in Zürich, which means that they have an ear to the ground with upcoming jobs. They are invested in your success, and pull out all the stops in helping you find positions.

I learned a huge amount in the 3 months, especially from the project phase. Propulsion finds students interesting projects from local companies, so we were able to work on real-life problems and meet people from local industries.

Since graduating from the course, I have been working as a data scientist for a local start-up. Propulsion provided the ground-work that I needed to get started in this industry, so that I had a starting point to learn and grow on-the-job.

Absolutely no regrets in taking this course. I would say, the more effort you put into Python and statistics before you arrive, the more you will get out of it. There is a huge amount to learn, and having the basics in place means that you can concentrate more easily on the higher level concepts.

After looking carefully for valuable courses in Europe and Switzerland that would have allowed me to get hands-on experience in the Data Science field, I decided to leave my country and my job and come to Zurich to attend the Bootcamp at Propulsion Academy.... Read More
What I can say, in short, is that it was the best decision I have ever made.
The Bootcamp exceeded my expectations that were very high.
Very intensive, with a lot of challenges, it allowed learning so much in a short time thanks to the instructors who are experts in the field ( coming from academia or big industries like Google, LinkedIn) and the tutors.
All the members of Propulsion Academy's team are amazing people: friendly, available and motivating!
Thanks to Propulsion Academy now I'm working in the Data Science field in Zurich

I attended the Full-stack programme at Propulsion from September to end of November 2019. Got a full time job as Software Developer in mid-December. The course is challenging as it is REALLY fast-paced. I had some coding experience before the bootcamp... Read More and had a hard time to submit the bonus exercises before midnight each day. I learned a lot though, had a lot of fun and met great people from all sort of backgrounds and nationalities who have become good friends. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate!

I have now been working for 2 different companies in Switzerland as a data scientist over the past 1.5 years and this program played a major role in this. The program itself provides a fantastic curriculum that gives you a whole picture of the data science... Read More field. Our mentors helped us throughout the course not only with technical aspects but also encouraged us and gave us rock-solid advice. The mock interviews personally helped me understand what to expect in data science interviews and the career coaches are helpful in preparing students in that regard. The material that we covered was comprehensive and gave a deep understanding of the fundamentals of machine learning and data science in general. Highly knowledgeable, truly dedicated instructors and TAs instructors, with external experts in their own fields that provided crucial added-value with their industry-oriented mindset. Overall, super nice, friendly and patient team, very supportive environment, and the batch of students was filled with motivated learners with a curious mind. Super satisfied with my 12 weeks there, joining the adventure was one of the boldest decision I had taken in recent years, but it was definitely worth it.

After 10+ years in the service sector, I started developed an interest in software and was looking for a ways to get started. I started with self-study, but after countless hours of battling through it all, I decided to join the 12-week full-stack program... Read More to give me a final kick to up my skills and break into the tech industry. This was a game-changing decision. Propulsion Academy’s fast paced learning environment and highly focused industry curriculum enabled me to cover a vast amount of ground that I would have not been able to cover on my own in such a short time frame. The teachers and staff were fully invested in ensuring that everyone got the most out of the program and created a very encouraging learning environment. I really appreciated closing out the program with a real project from industry, something that I could showcase to future employers during the job search.

Given my limited background with programming, I didn’t think it would be possible for such a program to take me to a junior full-stack developer level. I did my due diligence and looked at other options. I finally chose Propulsion because the interaction... Read More with the staff had been the most professional (very quick responses to emails, well-structured personal technical interviews to be accepted into the program). Additionally, the curriculum seemed to be the most advanced, focusing on languages and frameworks that are needed for modern software development. And I wasn't disappointed: the journey had been demanding, but the TAs were very supportive and even came in on weekends to make sure we got the most out of the program. Upon completion, I sent out about ten applications and was invited to six interviews within one month. Needless to say, I got what I wanted out of the program and can definitely say that Propulsion has given me a very solid basis to build upon.

I would strongly recommend the Data Science course offered by Propulsion Academy. The course is very valuable, well-structured and it allows you to gain practical experiences in different areas of Data Science. The instructors are truly competent and... Read More their guidance allows you to rapidly and efficiently move through your first steps in the wide and complex domain of Data Science. The final capstone project further provides students with a unique opportunity to demonstrate their developed skills towards potential employers. The school’s high reputation and its growing professional network are also critical factors for a successful career development after the course. I particularly enjoyed developing my own project from complex company data. It was a challenging experience, highly rewarding given the results obtained and greatly motivating for my future career in Data Science.

Propulsion Academy has been a great experience and helped me approach the career that I’ve been heading for. In addition to my recent Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zürich, this coding bootcamp made the difference and opened new opportunities.... Read More The course focuses on very relevant topics and skills with the goal to make the candidates attractive for employers in the field of software development. With a set curriculum and competent supervision, an environment for fast and high quality learning is provided. On top of all, the Propulsion Academy team puts emphasis on networking opportunities and guide the students in the process of figuring out the next step in their career.

The curriculum was very good but still had room for improvement here and there. The instructors' quality vary but is generally very good. The founder of Propulsion Academy is behind this project with all his heart and puts a lot of individual attention and consultation to each student during the course. Thanks to the bootcamp I landed a software engineering position and I would've never passed the interview without Propulsion Academy. I also feel like I had a kickstart on my new job, thanks to the very relevant curriculum. I enjoyed the nostalgia from the classroom experience and bonding with very interesting people who have similar goals.