[fantod]

Obvious bias, but myself and a number of people I know have obtained great value from the Insight Fellows Program [1]. From what I can tell, nothing else really comes close.

For their Data Science program, I believe a PhD is still a requirement, but it seems you have one. The bigger caveat is that it's not really a "bootcamp" per se, in that there are no real lessons or assignments. Applicants to the program are expected to be nearly ready for entry into the job market already. The program is rather for developing soft skills and networking. Although the program centers around a project, the project is really more of a conversation piece for interviews.

Pre-COVID, this program was free, which was one of the best things about it. Now I believe there is an ISA instead.

[1] https://insightfellows.com/

[weego]

If you have to have a PhD this isn't a bootcamp, it's just a pay for play networking funnel. It's literally the thinnest wedge you can fit a business in in this space. Convince people they won't find a job without you and then charge then for the privilege of being a part of it. And charge companies a finders fee.

A PhD could walk into a job without this 7 week whatever. Vulgar and predatory.

[RGamma]

Reading some of that site I get the impression that corporate delusions of grandeur must be reaching epic levels. 5 years (under)graduate and 3-5 years PhD and apparently you're still not good enough.. what a farce.

Sure I'll pay 20k to participate in <stock photo session> so employers more leniently bestow upon me their blessing of <job>. Just waiting for the day even a PhD is made to be (!) considered worthless on its own.

[fantod]

I mean it was free for years.

[hagy]

As a former DS hiring manager who phone screened over 200 candidates, Insight is the only DS bootcamp that I've found to be positively correlated with capability.The other programs had candidates that were weaker than the generic new grad pipeline. Eventually we just made a PhD a hard requirement to filter down the ridiculous application volume.

[counters]

I can second this. Exact same policy for our data science program's recruitment pipeline; a PhD is a hard requirement and Insight was the only program we noted when reviewing applications. Still, it would be a toss-up between the PhD/Insight candidate versus someone 6 years their junior with 2-3 years of "real world" data science under their belt in the private sector.

[pedrosorio]

> Exact same policy for our data science programs recruitment pipeline; a PhD is a hard requirement

> Still, it would be a toss-up between the PhD/Insight candidate versus someone 6 years their junior with 2-3 years of "real world" data science under their belt in the private sector.

Aren't these contradicting each other? It sounds like you don't even consider the latter candidates. Or do you mean from your prior experience?

[whymauri]

Probably meant that a PhD is a hard requirement for new grads.

[evergreener]

As a 2019 Insight alum, I can't say more good things about the program. As someone who has now been on the other side of hiring, I can say that the fellows from the program really differentiate it from every other 'bootcamp' (I wouldn't call Insight a bootcamp as there are no real tests/homework/etc, but of course lots of expectations set by the program directors).

Unfortunately, Insight kind of imploded like most other talent recruiting did during the pandemic, laying off basically the entire staff and not having a spring 2021 cohort (and I have no clue what ended up happening with the fall 2020 cohort). I believe they are trying to revive it, albeit at a smaller size and likely with the ISA. I truly hope they succeed as it was a fantastic program. I also hope they stay small.

[dominotw]

> I can't say more good things about the program.

what were some of the top benefits for you in your career from attending this program?

[evergreener]

I would say i) having a relatable project which I came up with/collected data for/built out/productionized, so I could talk about a real data science project during interviews that didn't require a ton of background ii) having a cohort of very motivated people to learning with/from iii) interview prep with experts, both technical and not.

[totoglazer]

Agreed. I’ve worked with and hired boot camp, masters program, and traditionally educated data scientists. Insight is the only non-traditional program that’s positively correlated with performance. It seems to (a) screen tolerably well, and (b) do a good job of helping the demographic of “quantitative and technical PhD but no industry exposure” translate the skills and background well enough to speak the same language we do.

[shamino]

I think one of the comments said vulgar and predatory. I second this. You don't need a bootcamp to break into Data Science, or Data Engineering, or Data anything.

[jeffwass]

Wow, $24k for the program?

[lithos]

It’s a filter that says “After a PhD, I still have 24k to toss at this”.

[fantod]

Not exactly. It was free for years but due to the program struggling during the pandemic, they implemented an ISA. In other words, you only pay if it works out for you.

[mdlm]

Thank you, fantod.