Should I enroll in a Bootcamp course to upskill now or after layoff?
September 9, 2023 5:13 PM
Hello,
There is a possibility of layoffs at my workplace. I am wondering if I should take a Bootcamp course to upskill now or after layoff?
What do you suggest?
Thank you
Pro for taking Bootcamp course now:
-I will gain additional skills/knowledge and I can put it in my resume. And I will be ready to look for jobs immediately if I get laid off.
Con:
-Most Bootcamp course have a mission to help students with career job search right afterward. If I am not looking for a new role & don't get laid off then I feel like I wasted this valuable opportunity.
If I were to take the Bootcamp course after layoff then I feel like I can't put these skills on my resume. But, at the same time the Bootcamp will connect me with recruiters once I finish the course.
Pro for taking Bootcamp course now:
-I will gain additional skills/knowledge and I can put it in my resume. And I will be ready to look for jobs immediately if I get laid off.
Con:
-Most Bootcamp course have a mission to help students with career job search right afterward. If I am not looking for a new role & don't get laid off then I feel like I wasted this valuable opportunity.
If I were to take the Bootcamp course after layoff then I feel like I can't put these skills on my resume. But, at the same time the Bootcamp will connect me with recruiters once I finish the course.
Some thoughts from someone who did a coding bootcamp several years ago:
- The name “bootcamp” makes me envision a demanding workload. Mine was FULL time. I barely had time to chew my food. I could not have done job + bootcamp.
- The “we’ll help you find a job” pipeline was good at the time (2014, west coast market) with employers ready to grab the bootcamp grads but I have no idea if that’s true now in 2023. I suspect it’s not, at least in tech.
- Consider if it’s better to phone it in at work and focus energy on the bootcamp, or better to put all your energy into being a good performer right now?
- I’m 40 and I’ve been through a few layoffs (both safe and let go). Sometimes they cut everyone below X years experience, sometimes they cut vertically and my entire management chain is in the layoff with me. I don’t think being more “heads down” at work leading into either of those layoffs would’ve made any difference as to my fate.
- If you want to do the bootcamp no matter what happens, and if you can do it while working, then you might as well do it now.
- They might not do layoffs, and if even if they do, you might not be in the group that’s cut. (If reading this makes you think “aww, but I wanted to do the bootcamp!” then you have some more insight into what you truly want to do)
- I think it’s better to do the thing you want to do independent of whatever your current employer might or might not do.
- My bootcamp was a good networking opportunity. If yours is meant for people who are currently employed, then I have to imagine it can only help to be in a room full of people in or adjacent to your field to network with.
- I’ve always found it easier to find work and opportunities when already employed - people love chatting about where I work when I’m working somewhere. Unemployed me seems less popular in these crowds for some reason…
posted by paris moon at 8:45 PM on September 9, 2023
- The name “bootcamp” makes me envision a demanding workload. Mine was FULL time. I barely had time to chew my food. I could not have done job + bootcamp.
- The “we’ll help you find a job” pipeline was good at the time (2014, west coast market) with employers ready to grab the bootcamp grads but I have no idea if that’s true now in 2023. I suspect it’s not, at least in tech.
- Consider if it’s better to phone it in at work and focus energy on the bootcamp, or better to put all your energy into being a good performer right now?
- I’m 40 and I’ve been through a few layoffs (both safe and let go). Sometimes they cut everyone below X years experience, sometimes they cut vertically and my entire management chain is in the layoff with me. I don’t think being more “heads down” at work leading into either of those layoffs would’ve made any difference as to my fate.
- If you want to do the bootcamp no matter what happens, and if you can do it while working, then you might as well do it now.
- They might not do layoffs, and if even if they do, you might not be in the group that’s cut. (If reading this makes you think “aww, but I wanted to do the bootcamp!” then you have some more insight into what you truly want to do)
- I think it’s better to do the thing you want to do independent of whatever your current employer might or might not do.
- My bootcamp was a good networking opportunity. If yours is meant for people who are currently employed, then I have to imagine it can only help to be in a room full of people in or adjacent to your field to network with.
- I’ve always found it easier to find work and opportunities when already employed - people love chatting about where I work when I’m working somewhere. Unemployed me seems less popular in these crowds for some reason…
posted by paris moon at 8:45 PM on September 9, 2023
Thanks for your input.
-I am aware that most Bootcamps are very demanding & requires a lot of dedication. I plan to enroll a Bootcamp that has a bit of flexibility with time. Found one that is self-paced but offer weekend office hours to ask questions or to get help.
-I am an excellent performer but I still have fear of getting laid off because my salary keeps going up and I am getting expensive (have been with the same company for 10-11 years so far).
-Your point makes sense. I will enroll in the Bootcamp course very soon regardless of what my employer plan to do. I rather learn new things now than when I am unemployed.
posted by Mountain28 at 9:53 AM on September 10, 2023
-I am aware that most Bootcamps are very demanding & requires a lot of dedication. I plan to enroll a Bootcamp that has a bit of flexibility with time. Found one that is self-paced but offer weekend office hours to ask questions or to get help.
-I am an excellent performer but I still have fear of getting laid off because my salary keeps going up and I am getting expensive (have been with the same company for 10-11 years so far).
-Your point makes sense. I will enroll in the Bootcamp course very soon regardless of what my employer plan to do. I rather learn new things now than when I am unemployed.
posted by Mountain28 at 9:53 AM on September 10, 2023
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posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:41 PM on September 9, 2023