I saw an ad on Facebook for this thing called a “coding bootcamp”, and at first it seemed like something worth researching. However, after a quick phone call from a recruiter, I quickly learned that this was a six-month program that cost just over $10,000! Now, on the one hand, my job isn’t great right now and I could really use a jump-start on moving into the kind of development work that I want to do for the rest of my life, but on the other hand, I just don’t have ten grand lying around, and I feel like I already know at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the curriculum, which means I’m probably not gonna get my money’s worth for the first few weeks at least. Never mind the part about having required attendance three days a week, including Saturdays, which doesn’t exactly come easy for someone with a couple young children.
So, my question is this: has anyone else ever taken one of these “boot camps”? What was your experience like? Are they worth the money?
I’m doing one right now and have thought about doing one for a while and I actually have a degree in CS with an emphasis in software engineering. I got that in 2016 and long story short I don’t have actual work that an employer I think would hire me to do and generally don’t have the confidence I think I need for the time being. I’m doing this one because a friend of mine did it and is already a developer and I have a degree! Basically I chose the one he did by faith and he said he really recommended it and already I love it. Good luck!
I started on fCC 3 years ago, went to a coding bootcamp right after I finished fCC, and currently working at a top tech company for $185k. I was an Uber driver and I am a college dropout. Some coding bootcamps will change your life. Some are scammy that popped up recently to ride the wave. Make sure to do careful research.
Update: I’ve realized that the smaller investments I’ve made are just not cutting it, and it’s time to go bigger. Specifically, I’m looking for a place that offers things I can’t get from Udemy classes and free online tutorials, such as mentoring and career services help. That being said, I’ve narrowed my choices down to two boot camp programs:
Nucamp: https://www.nucamp.co/home. The biggest perk here is the price tag…about 1/5th of others, but with the same type of curriculum and subjects. The downside is that they don’t appear to have as much of the extras that I’m really looking for.
Bloc.io: https://www.bloc.io/. The price tag is pretty hefty at about $8,500, but the curriculum is on point and they check a lot of the extra boxes that I’m looking for with mentoring, community, and career help.
I’m still torn between these two and how much I really want to invest in this process. Has anyone out there had experience with either of these programs? Is there another more popular one that I should be considering as well?
Some people need the structure and accountability of a more traditional program. Some people also are able to stay more motivated if they have the concrete investment of tuition. This doesn’t mean that lots of people aren’t successful learning for free/cheaply online, just that it’s not the right path for everyone. Similarly, I know people who dropped out of college and were more successful self-teaching.
Note: I do not think that just freeCodeCamp is enough of a resource. Any complete education is going to involve finding information and resources on your own, outside of the curriculum.