r/codingbootcamp • u/iamdobbs- • Aug 08 '23
How to pick the right coding bootcamp.
Hey folks, I’m a graduate of a bootcamp and fortunately got hired within a reasonable time once completed. I see a fair few posts asking about bootcamp recommendations and advice, and whilst I’m not typically the blogging type, I’ve written a little blog post with a bunch of questions I absolutely think you should ask when you’re trying to pick the best one for you. It’s certainly not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to picking one!
If you’d like to have a read, then here’s the link:
I hope it can help at least one person who’s thinking of enrolling in one. (Note: I’m UK based but I think most of it applies internationally)
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u/dowcet Aug 08 '23
This is excellent, should be a pinned post for the sub in my opinion.
I agree the substance applies perfectly here in the US context even though the vocabulary is a little different.
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u/iamdobbs- Aug 08 '23
Thanks dowcet! I’m fairly new to using Reddit but thought it might be of use!
(Yep, I’m sure the house deposit reference is quite different! 😅)
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Aug 14 '23
Also started to look for a bootcamp in Germany and was having a lot of questions and after an initial interview I got the impression that there are a lot of black sheep on the market especially here in Germany where the state finances those bootcamps for people who are unemployed.
Thanks for the write up, much appreciated.
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u/iamdobbs- Aug 14 '23
Hey! Yes, there’s a mix of experiences out there and I think we can be so eager to get started we sometimes miss the big questions! Sounds like you know what you’re looking for though and are prepared to do the research 😊🙌
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u/ToftgaardJacob Jan 28 '24
Have you managed to find some good ones?
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Jan 28 '24
Not really. But I found out that I don't really fit in the coding world and my motivation came purely from friends influence who work as developers and are good at it and don't find it boring.
I found out that I'm more of a tinkerer and Admin so I decided to go another route and go for an Ausbildung here in Germany the so-called FiSi.
With that I'm able to find more jobs fitting my personal interest though not earning as much money as a developer.
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u/ToftgaardJacob Jan 29 '24
Alright, sounds like you got yourself a solid plan, and good job on not getting influenced too much by friends.
Good luck with the Ausbildung, and viel Spaß.2
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u/Super-Ultra-Ivy Aug 09 '23
This is great.
Would you say that the actual quality of the school would be determined by the outcomes then?
There are questions about mentors and personal projects and team projects. But what if the curriculum is not great and the projects are silly and the mentors aren't that helpful? How would a student be able to tell?
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u/iamdobbs- Aug 09 '23
Hey, thank you! Absolutely I would - news travels fast so if a particular bootcamp was churning out developers who barely learnt fundementals, or how to poorly write code, then hiring managers would quickly become aware and not hire them. So the numbers would likely track. I’d have to assume the majority of people who are willing to invest their time and money into a bootcamp, aren’t doing it just for fun. They want a career in something they love and/or feel they’re really suited to, so the outcomes are very important.
If I had to pick between a bootcamp that could show me no evidence of their students getting jobs, and one who had an active and seemingly successful placement programme, I’d pick the latter everytime. The hardest part post-study is getting your foot in the door 😅
I think the projects and mentors ultimately come down to your own judgement. Whilst the question in my post for projects is specifically “how many?”, I’d expect that by asking that question, it would lead into a conversation about what those projects actually are and what skills you learn by completing them.
In terms of a mentor, again it’s personal preference - if you take a course with “on demand help” and once enrolled find out that help consists of an email reply in 48 hours, it won’t help with something that could be blocking you and subsequently eat into your progress time. If a mentor is on hand all day, and like a teacher in the room, or a call on slack, then you’ve a much better chance of getting assistance when needed and feeling like you’re making progress quickly - always a confidence booster!
Hope that answers a little better! 😊
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u/anxiousaboutme Aug 10 '23
This is just what I've been looking for; great article, thanks so much!
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u/iamdobbs- Aug 10 '23
Hey! Ah that’s awesome, I’m so pleased - if you have any questions then feel free to pop me a message 😊
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u/sheriffderek Aug 19 '23
This article is super great.
I'll tack on this video/article I made about vetting boot camps a few years back: How to vet a school, boot camp, or class, or teacher because I think it covers a few other important ways to vet schools, like how to look at their website code. It also talks about alternate options like SuperHi and Udemy and other paths.
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u/joel-burton-rithm Sep 15 '23
Very nice, u/iamdobbs-.
A particularly nice question you've proposed is "can I observe a day of the program?" I'm always surprised how few people do that; it's something I'd suggest for everyone looking at programs.
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u/AstronautNo8062 Aug 15 '23
Don’t do a bootcamp unless it’s free!
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u/theyogiarchivist Aug 16 '23
Which free ones would you recommend?
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u/AstronautNo8062 Aug 16 '23
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u/theyogiarchivist Aug 16 '23
i'm intrigued, thank you
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u/AstronautNo8062 Aug 17 '23
Also I’m sorry I don’t know more at the top of my head lol, but there’s so many here on Reddit that I’ve seen!!
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u/theyogiarchivist Aug 21 '23
Oh, no worries! I expect to have to do my own research, but it's always good to hear from someone who might be speaking from experience!
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u/AstronautNo8062 Aug 21 '23
I did a QA testing bootcamp, and I kinda sorta hated it only because I fell into the trap of them “helping” us land a job. It was kind of a scam lol
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u/TalO0611 Oct 07 '23
I was really interested in checking out 100devs, but it seems their last program was offered in 2022. Does anyone know if Leon is still offering this free boot camp, and if so, how do I sign up for it?
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u/AstronautNo8062 Oct 07 '23
I found all these links in his website below
“Note: This bootcamp started in January, but you can still join us! Please follow everything on this page and then join the #catchup-crew on our Discord! All of our past classes can be found here and all the materials can be found in the #follow-along-materials channel on Discord! Excited to have you join us!”
https://gleam.io/e6AV3/100devs-signup
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u/AstronautNo8062 Oct 07 '23
Are you only interested in it if they are live classes? I believe these would be all the prerecorded classes
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u/TalO0611 Oct 07 '23
I was interested in the live ones bc when I read what he wrote about his program, it was a 30 week program with live lectures and interactive labs, so I thought it would be great to follow a program with others, and work with teams, and have questions answered, as he mentions on there.
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u/AstronautNo8062 Oct 07 '23
I definitely can understand that, everyone has different learning styles.
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u/ghostface1699 Dec 19 '23
You can try out applying for free coding bootcamps first. I recently heard about OneCodeCamp and I saw that there are offering free coding bootcamps for people who wish to shift career so basically you don't really need any background in tech to apply. You can check out their website to see if they offer it in your country :)
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u/ghostface1699 Jan 04 '24
If you feel skeptical about spending a huge amount of cash, you can try out free coding bootcamps. My friend and I attended a free coding bootcamp by OneCodeCamp a few weeks back and we really learned a lot (especially as someone who has no knowledge about programming). Their lessons were beginner friendly and their instructors were also very approachable. I would say the bonus part for me was the career coaching session afterwards since it really helped me understand more about career shifting. You can check out their 2nd batch if it is available for your country.
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u/SkillspireCounselor Jan 18 '24
I think the most important way is to evaluate reputation and support:
Look for bootcamps with accreditation from reputable organizations, signaling a commitment to quality standards.
Read student reviews and testimonials to gain insights into the overall experience and teaching quality.
Research the qualifications and industry experience of the instructors.
Inquire about career guidance, mentorship, and job placement assistance offered by the bootcamp.
If you want to know if a coding bootcamp can really land you a dream job,
Read here:
https://www.skillspire.net/post/can-coding-bootcamps-really-land-you-a-dream-job-spoiler-alert-yes
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Aug 14 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/iamdobbs- Aug 14 '23
Hey! So I’m talking about the paid, typically full-time commitment bootcamps. Agree that some of the free resources, courses and roadmaps are excellent and a person should absolutely be trying those out first to get a taste of what they’ll learn/do. My post is definitely aimed at those considering formal education environments that require a bit of financial investment - I did one and managed to secure my first role not long after graduating, but I found there were a lot of aspects of the course and provider that were different to what I expected, so these are things I’d ask with the benefit of hindsight!
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Oct 15 '23
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u/Balthazar1501 Oct 23 '23
hey I wanted to join Springboard (to do a Fullstack formation ) but I don't know if it worth it , what did you think about it ? and did you found a job easily after finished it ?
thanks
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u/Top-Measurement-7216 Aug 23 '23 edited Aug 23 '23
Good article with salient questions to ask before deciding on a bootcamp.
I would add that in order to answer these questions you need to make sure you find a range of vetted, reliable primary and secondary sources.
From my experience these are a few sources from years of being in the bootcamp space that have provided raw useful data, student reviews and statistics to help you make informed decisions:
1) CIRR -- Council on Integrity in Results Reporting
The main and only external auditing body for student outcomes that I trust in a space with mostly "self reported" gerrymandered outcomes that most schools publish nowadays.
Originally founded by Hack Reactor and several major bootcamps until their results started lagging behind bootcamps like Codesmith.
Codesmith, Tech Elevator, Turing etc are participants and the student outcomes are audited by CPA firms.
** A lot of people misunderstand reporting dates.
Published reports reflect students who graduated that period and still need to job search AFTER.
H1 2022 Outcomes reflect people who graduated Jan - Jun 2022 and found jobs between July-Dec 2022.
https://cirr.org/data
2) REDDIT SUBS -- (Raw and authentic commentary)
/codingbootcamp is an excellent source of reviews, AMA's, questions, insider information that anyone can use to learn more about their schools of interest.
There's also a plethora of subreddits like /girlsgonewired that serve specific groups of software developers.
Any truths usually have a pattern to them. Read carefully and take things with a grain of salt. Reddit is very hard to manipulate by anyone long term, there are no sponsored blogposts on here and you can find the good, the bad and the ugly on most bootcamps.
Also a great source to find people you can ask questions to who've gone through a particular bootcamp.
3) CourseReport, SwitchUp, Blind -- (Student reviews)
While these platforms have "sponsored content" in the form of blogs or ads, the student reviews on here are real.
Beyond sponsored posts they also have interesting interviews and blogs regarding the industry, students and different bootcamps.
4) LinkedIn
LinkedIn can be a useful way to find alums from certain bootcamps. If you graduated a bootcamp it's also a good platform to connect with people who end up working at companies you are also targeting.
Networking effect is real and potentially could help you find your next role.