An Unofficial Guide to doing a Coding Bootcamp — Part 2: Choosing a Bootcamp
I currently work as a software engineer for a tech company in San Francisco, on a team that builds mobile apps with React Native. It’s a dream job, especially for someone like me who discovered my passion for coding pretty late in the game. Since successfully making the transition from analysis and non-profit management to software engineering, I’ve been contacted by many people who are curious about doing the same thing. They all have a lot of the same questions as each other, and a lot of the same questions I had when I was starting out. I’ve loved sharing my experience with them, and I thought it might be helpful to put it out as an ‘unofficial guide’ for anyone else who’s got the same questions.
If you haven’t already, check out Part 1: Fundamentals here.
While coding bootcamps may have once been a part of a small, niche market, there are now lots of bootcamps to choose from across the country. According to this Course Report infographic, there were 95 full time coding bootcamps in the US as of 2017. While still a fraction of the number of traditional colleges, that’s a pretty big pool to choose from. How does one go about narrowing all 95 programs to a select few final choices?
Decide what kind of programming you want to do.
If you want to develop for a specific mobile platform, for example, Android or iOS, this will narrow down your choices pretty significantly. If you’re interested in web, you’ve still got a lot of options — JavaScript, Ruby, and Python are taught at a lot of coding bootcamps, and you’re going to be pretty much fine regardless of which language you choose.
Be wary of programs that seem too good to be true.
There is a lot of opportunity to profit off of running a bootcamp, and it’s important to watch out for dishonest marketing schemes. The reality is that learning how to program well enough to be taken seriously in the job market is hard work. Have a healthy skepticism toward programs that don’t have admissions requirements or prerequisites, that require a suspiciously small amount of time, or that aren’t forthcoming about their outcomes data.
Scrutinize the outcomes data.
Outcomes data is something you want to consider seriously in your decision making process, but it’s pretty easy for a bootcamp to skew its outcome data to look more favorable. A lot of bootcamps have joined the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting, which audits outcomes reports and ensures that the results you’re seeing are real and transparent. Look for schools whose reports are monitored by the CIRR, or who independently disclose their data collection and reporting methods. If you’re in love with a program that doesn’t clearly disclose their reporting methods, reach out to their admissions team and ask them about it.
Get a good sense for the student experience.
A good place to start is to see if the program provides a breakdown of the daily schedule to get an idea of what you’ll be doing while you’re there. Make sure you’re comfortable with the amount of time you’ll be spending on the program daily and weekly, and get a sense of how much time you’ll be spending in lectures versus doing hands on programming.
It’s also important to get a sense of the student culture — is it more competitive or collaborative? Is the student body diverse? Is learning more autonomous or guided? Depending on your personality and learning style, these culture items can make or break your learning experience. Programs will often try to convey their culture in their outreach. Program reviews, student blogs, and even reaching out to alumni can also help you determine what the student experience is like.
For what it’s worth, my experience was very hands on, very collaborative, and very autonomous, and this combination worked well for me. I felt challenged to solve problems and work things out on my own, but felt supported by my peers, and comfortable asking for help when needed.
Understand the passing requirements and consequences:
If there are no passing requirements, be wary — a program that doesn’t challenge it’s students to meet a certain bar is probably just trying to make money off of you. It does you no good to graduate without employable skills.
If there are passing requirements, understand what they are, and what happens when they aren’t met. Does the program offer support to help borderline students meet requirements? If a student is removed from the program, are they reimbursed or given a second chance? The way that a program treats students who are falling behind is a great indicator of that programs values and motives.
Talk to people and evaluate your gut feeling.
Before you decide on a program, make a point to talk to people affiliated or associated with the program, whether alumni or admissions staff. Evaluate the way you feel about those interactions and the way you get along with those people. All of the conversations I had with people at Hack Reactor during my application process left me feeling excited, motivated, and happy, and that was a good sign that there were likeminded people at that program.
Figure out what kind of job search support there is when you graduate:
The job search process is a lot of work, and it can also be exhausting, stressful, and even disheartening. It’s super important to have the support of your bootcamp while you go through this process, so that you can continue to improve your interview and application skills, stay abreast of job openings, and stay positive and engaged. I would hesitate to attend a bootcamp that doesn’t offer job search support, unless you already have a strong network and fantastic job search skills.
Less important considerations:
Cost: If you choose a quality program, dedicate yourself to it, and are hired within the field, your investment will pay off. When cost is a concern (I am well aware that coughing up a dozen grand isn’t easy) look into scholarships and financing options — many bootcamps will be able to work with you.
Course material: A good bootcamp will teach you the fundamentals of a few technologies, but you won’t come out of the experience an expert an anything. What you should gain is an ability to quickly learn how to work with any new technology, how to solve coding problems, and how to think logically and clearly. Even if you don’t learn a technology that your dream job requires, if you’ve strengthened your ability to think and problem solve like a software engineer, you’ll be able to learn quickly whatever you need.
Name brand: Once you start exploring programs, you’ll likely realize that some names are bigger than others. The obvious benefit of attending a more well-known program is the possibility of there being a large alumni network. However, nobody cares what bootcamp you attended, as long as you have the skills and personality for the role. If you find a lesser known program that feels like a perfect fit, don’t let the ‘name brand’ bother you.
Hopefully this helps you narrow down the field! Check out Part 3: Preparing for success here.
