David
I was excited about the concept...
I was excited about the concept of the Data Engineering Academy, but unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired. The course material was extremely weak, often outdated, incomplete, or even inaccurate. Instead of engaging, skill-building projects, the assignments felt more like basic "paint-by-numbers" tasks, offering little opportunity for real growth. Collaboration and team-building exercises were almost nonexistent, which is a huge missed opportunity for a program of this nature. The program demands a significant time commitment—equivalent to a second job—but the support structure doesn’t justify this level of effort. Many instructors are in vastly different time zones, making it nearly impossible to schedule meetings. Even when meetings do happen, some instructors lack interpersonal skills and can come across as snippy or rude. On top of that, communication relies on the free version of Slack, which was a red flag from the start. When the free trial expires, you have to jump through hoops to maintain access to the instructors. A more robust and accessible platform like Discord would have been a much better choice. Given the cost of the program, I expected a much higher return on investment. Unfortunately, the course fell short. For the same price, you could gain far more value by pursuing certifications, books, or other resources that provide comprehensive and up-to-date material. While the concept of the academy is promising, its poor execution makes it difficult to recommend.
Response from Data Engineer AcademyDec 6, 2024
Hi David, Thank you for sharing your honest feedback. We've requested contact information so that your mentor can get in touch with you and get more details on the experiences you shared. When it comes to the course material, personalized plans typical include 6 or more projects that require a variety of skills to complete and enable you to apply acquired skills in a practical manner, using tools that are in-demand. Our projects are regularly updated as we have a real-time pulse on the job market demands since we are applying to job roles for our students daily. When it comes to collaborative endeavors, this is something that would indeed be of great value. We offer that in our separate, internship service that we offer to students who have completed most of their training. Otherwise, it would be incredibly challenging to have all students participate in collaborative projects from the start as everyone has their own skill gaps, their own personalized plan and pace of progress. We have facilitated some collaboration through our study buddy initiative. The program does not require a 40h per week commitment, or even a 20h commitment. Each plan is adjustable according to student's availability. Our coaches are indeed in different time zones, however all coaches work US hours, mostly business hours, but also mornings and evenings for some coaches. Now what you've shared about interpersonal skills is indeed concerning as we take communication very seriously. This is one of the reasons we would appreciate hearing more and being able to contact you. We are aiming to move away from free Slack as we understand it can affect client experience, even if it takes 1 minute to rejoin it using the guidance we send via email. Some of our clients are older and Discord is not something they would find intuitive to navigate, so, for now, we have decided to dismiss Discord as an alternative. To your final point, we are not claiming perfection, things can always be polished up. We are however claiming results and outcomes as this program is designed for that for anyone that sticks with it, believes in themselves and knows there is no reason they cannot be another success story. The ROI is not in a website with no typos. The ROI is in the paycheck our students get once they land the amazing role they'd been working hard towards. Books, certifications and courses don't translate to interviewing skills, job applications and job offers. Our program does.