Thinking About Quitting Your Job for a Coding Bootcamp? Ask Yourself These 4 Questions

After graduating from university, like many of my peers, I had two tasks at hand — to “find what makes me tick” and to make sure what makes me tick also pays for my student loans.

A few months later, I was hired at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work in fundraising. MIT exposed me to all the incredible technology that students were making to solve real world problems. I too wanted to be doing incredible work, in a position where I could get out of my comfort zone. I decided to challenge my complacency in Boston to break into the tech scene in Tel Aviv.

I landed a job in marketing at an HR tech startup called Hibob. Until that point, coding was out of the realm of possibility; it was a male-dominated profession meant for the stereotypical Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey type. That perception changed after I became friends with two entry-level developers who both graduated from coding bootcamps. Neither of them had any previous experience in programming, but had studied intensively for five months to become junior developers. I also started to notice that the software developers seemed to be the most satisfied in their positions, not only at my company, but at many other tech companies I came in contact with.

Curious, but not yet convinced, I continued working in marketing but started to do my own research and found that software engineers:

1. Hold the best quality job: In the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the 100 best jobs for 2019, software developer came in first.
2. Are constantly learning: Software engineers learn more than the rest of the population. 48 percent of software engineers said they recently learned a new skill, compared to 36 percent of all professionals.
3. Are in demand: Software engineering is one of the most in-demand skills in the world
4. Make more: American software engineers earn a median salary of $112,000.
5. They are happy in their jobs: Developers are continuously found to be the happiest in their roles.

Source: Linkedin

After a few months of contemplation and research — I took the plunge, left my job, and am currently studying at the Flatiron School in London.

So if you’re thinking about doing the same, here are some things to ask yourself before you enroll:

1. Why do I want to go?

I had to think hard about this question. Was I only going to follow a trend? Am I doing this because I don’t know what my next step in my career would be? The answers for me were no, I genuinely wanted to learn how to code. There are a lot of free online platforms where you can test if coding is right for you. I started with codecademy and Flatiron’s coding bootcamp prep. If you find yourself attached to your computer, feeling both excited and annoyed about trying to solve an error, that is a good indication that coding might be right for you. If you are unhappy with your company and see coding as a way out, a bootcamp probably isn’t the best next step.

2. Can I afford it?

The average full-time programming bootcamp in the US costs $11,906 — and you won’t be able to work during an immersive course. Make sure you’re able to cover yourself for the duration of the program, and a few months after while you are looking for jobs. For me, Excel came in handy for creating a monthly budget that included the cost of food, transportation, rent, phone, health insurance and some fun activities. There are also some handy budgeting apps like mint and wally.

Source: Course Report

3. Do I have the time?

Coding bootcamps are called bootcamps for a reason; they are DIFFICULT. Ask yourself if you have the time to commit to a full-time program. Your heart needs to be in it to both adapt to the fast-paced learning environment and get the most out of your experience. If you have other commitments that would take priority over the course, consider doing a slower paced part-time program.

4. Where should I go?

There are a lot of coding bootcamps to choose from, each promising to give you the skills you need to succeed in the workplace. Evaluate your options before making the commitment. Find and talk to alumni of the bootcamp you’re considering, look at their hiring data and make sure they are a reputable school with a strong network. Otherwise, you could end up spending time and money on gaining a poor understanding of programming, with little job support.

I hope this is helpful if you’re thinking about enrolling in a coding bootcamp. If you really want to learn how to code and are financially able to, you have very little to lose. You’ll gain an in-demand skill that will help with almost anything you do in the tech world.

For those of you who have already started your coding journeys… I will leave you with this

Author: Randall Munroe, xkcd