Should I attend a coding bootcamp?
February 12, 2016 9:59 AM Subscribe
Apparently there are people who enter coding bootcamps with no programming experience and waltz into software jobs 6 months later. Meanwhile, 30 years with a CS degree and I'm working in retail. I'm thinking of going to bootcamp to modernize my skills, but I fear that at the end of it, no one will want to hire a 50-something has-been/never-was over some young whippersnapper.
(I'm considering Galvanize, but I presume they're all pretty similar.)
Are there any older bootcamp alumni here? What's your experience been in terms of finding work? Is age a problem? Is software even something I want to do? Tell me your horror stories. Scare me away from bootcamp and save me thousands of dollars.
(I'm considering Galvanize, but I presume they're all pretty similar.)
Are there any older bootcamp alumni here? What's your experience been in terms of finding work? Is age a problem? Is software even something I want to do? Tell me your horror stories. Scare me away from bootcamp and save me thousands of dollars.
Just clarifying a few things: Are you saying you earned a computer science degree about 30 years ago? Have you done any CS-related things (work, hobbies, basically anything that might go on a resume) since?
posted by ripley_ at 10:39 AM on February 12, 2016
posted by ripley_ at 10:39 AM on February 12, 2016
Is software even something I want to do?
answering this on your own time / dime would help you in the longer term. create a github account. make something. if you enjoy it, then apply for a job. include the github account in your resume.
(you can do this either on your own, or via a bootcamp).
posted by andrewcooke at 11:20 AM on February 12, 2016
answering this on your own time / dime would help you in the longer term. create a github account. make something. if you enjoy it, then apply for a job. include the github account in your resume.
(you can do this either on your own, or via a bootcamp).
posted by andrewcooke at 11:20 AM on February 12, 2016
The career-placement after boot camp varies widely depending on what city you're in. Seattle/SF, you'd get immediate results. Other places, not as fast. But it's still very helpful.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:31 AM on February 12, 2016
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:31 AM on February 12, 2016
Check out Free Code Camp:
http://www.freecodecamp.com
posted by betsbillabong at 11:46 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
http://www.freecodecamp.com
posted by betsbillabong at 11:46 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
To be honest, I would talk to the people at Galvanize. Yes of course they want your money but to a lesser extent they also don't want to fuck up their placement stats. Frankly I think this could potentially be a great idea because you'd emerge with an unusual candidate profile. How long have you been offt of the CS career track?
posted by DarlingBri at 3:40 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by DarlingBri at 3:40 PM on February 12, 2016
Best answer: I presume they're all pretty similar.
They're not, not at all. As somebody who has talked themself into and out of this a zillion times, most of the "boot camps" are in basic front end web development (HTML5/CSS3/javascript). Some include very basic python scripting. People waltz out of them as junior web developers, not software engineers. They get your foot in the door. Do you want to be a junior web developer?
Then there are some weird blips where they concentrate in mobile development, data science, web app development for the financial sector, just javascript, just iOS development, just android development, etc. But those are the weird ones. And, I would bet, the bigger gambles.
The rarest ones are in object oriented programming, like what you got your degree in. If you wanted to update your skills and get a job, I'd go for one of those. Software Craftmanship Guild weeded me out but I was incredibly impressed by them as a school and I'd have done their Java course in an instant. Recently, Epicodus has started offering C# and .Net in Seattle.
A couple of sort of middle options: Thinkful actively prepares people for bootcamps - it's the been the subject of the last few emails sent to me. You can totally talk with them as sort of tech career counselors.
posted by sweltering at 2:56 AM on February 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
They're not, not at all. As somebody who has talked themself into and out of this a zillion times, most of the "boot camps" are in basic front end web development (HTML5/CSS3/javascript). Some include very basic python scripting. People waltz out of them as junior web developers, not software engineers. They get your foot in the door. Do you want to be a junior web developer?
Then there are some weird blips where they concentrate in mobile development, data science, web app development for the financial sector, just javascript, just iOS development, just android development, etc. But those are the weird ones. And, I would bet, the bigger gambles.
The rarest ones are in object oriented programming, like what you got your degree in. If you wanted to update your skills and get a job, I'd go for one of those. Software Craftmanship Guild weeded me out but I was incredibly impressed by them as a school and I'd have done their Java course in an instant. Recently, Epicodus has started offering C# and .Net in Seattle.
A couple of sort of middle options: Thinkful actively prepares people for bootcamps - it's the been the subject of the last few emails sent to me. You can totally talk with them as sort of tech career counselors.
posted by sweltering at 2:56 AM on February 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
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Some of these groups also offer free one-day sessions in new technologies, so you can get a sense of if the bootcamp environment is something you would be interested in.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:37 AM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]