A Simple Solution to the Failure of Coding Bootcamps
Coding Bootcamp graduates are everywhere!
According to CourseReport, there was a reported total of 2,178 graduates as of 2013 which quickly grew to 17,996 by the end of 2016! This is partially driven by an extraordinary job market for web developers. The US Department of Labor reports that nationwide there will be an estimated 188,000 web development jobs by 2024, an increase of 27% over 10 years.
With that many jobs, you might expect 100% placement rate of Coding Bootcamp graduates, right? The answer might surprise you…
According to CIRR (The Council on Integrity in Results Reporting), an industry-wide initiative to standardize student-graduate job outcomes and retention rates, there are huge gaps between coding schools in their placement rates and reporting.
Previously we saw schools providing statistics like this: 93% of our graduates are employed as Web Developers, Software Engineers, etc within X months. The reality is that we often see 40–60% of graduates employed in relevant paying roles within 90 days. That number typically increases to 70–90% within 180 days. Of course, there are some schools that stand as outliers and have managed to break those barriers. But then again any school will tell you they are competitive.
The Problem
Coding Bootcamps fail to report the struggles their graduates face in transitioning careers. It is a big challenge to quantify this. The truth is that it is a competitive market and Juniors are having a harder time standing out than in 2013.
How many times have you seen “Junior” or “Entry-level” web development positions requiring experience? Here’s a random sample from Dice.com:
1. Jr. QA Engineer:
2. Jr. Full Stack Developer:
3. Junior Developer:
That is definitely a problem, and it is not isolated only to Colorado.
In fact, many schools have only recently expanded their Career Services programs to better address the need for ongoing job support for graduates.
Any good career counselor in this industry will tell their students that the key to success is continuing education and networking or bumping shoulders with other professionals. But, this can be a long-term and daunting task (especially for those introverts out there).
The Solution: Bootcampers Collective
Bootcampers Collective is an innovative new approach to accelerating career outcomes for Bootcamp graduates. We primarily focus on providing hands-on experiences developing live code for the community.
The group structure consist of an online and in-person community of other Junior or transitioning web developers with the common goal to challenge themselves with the support of others.
We organize Hackathons, or small-to-large team events where participants engage in collaborative web development, often with the goal of building a small business’s website in the span of a day’s work. Additionally members support each other, leverage the community to find coders for their own hobby projects, and generally share information they find valuable.
Why is this Beneficial?
Remember those job postings listed above? Remember where they wanted 1–3 years of experience for an entry-level position?
That is where Bootcampers Collective comes in. Upon graduation from coding school, it is easy to lose a lot of the skills developed simply through failing to use them.
- Bootcampers Collective keeps your skills sharp. Participants can challenge themselves with a wide variety of projects (some paid) and continue to work together in teams to hone their skills.
- Bootcampers Collective gives you REAL, resume-worthy experience. We organize projects like any Dev Shop would. Learn to work in a real production environment with a Sprint and Agile methodologies. Many of our websites are up and live around Denver as we speak.
- Bootcampers Collective helps web developers adapt to the job marketby employing the latest technologies on our projects. We have a laid-back but focused work culture that reflects local start-ups.
- Bootcampers Collective provides networking opportunities. Coding is not the only goal. Fun is one of our primary values. We create events that bring our participants together with software companies and professionals around Colorado. We also drink great beer!
- Bootcampers Collective is a springboard for entrepreneurship. We provide motivated professionals with the skills, structure, talent, and confidence they need to branch out and build their own ventures. Just ask Yakkee.com.
- Bootcampers Collective is always looking for leadership. Are you a self-motivated professional who wants to give back to the communities of Colorado? We provide the structure for members to present on a topic they find fascinating and with the opportunity to lead projects and study groups. Every individual has something unique to contribute to BC.
- Last but not least, Bootcampers Collective provides career coaching. We develop educational events that help answer the trickiest career questions our members face. We also have a professional on staff to provide career assistance.
The Future
As Bootcampers Collective grows, we have been collecting feedback about our members’ needs and adapting to meet these. Some major areas we have focused on are developing talent pipelines into local software companies (yes, we have successes), developing a mentorship program, and expanding our Career Services offerings.
Moreover, we want to guarantee a paid role to each of our members who need the experience. This will happen sooner than expected! Keep your eye out for updates.
Conclusion
Junior Developers and Bootcamp graduates these days face an increasingly competitive job market that is growing without any regard for the barriers-to-entry in this volatile field. Bootcampers Collective is here to address that by providing job seekers with the experience, support, and continuing education they need to successfully bridge the gap.
Give it a try! All are welcome.
For more information visit us online:
About the Author
A Career Services professional in Colorado with over 6 years of experience, Scott Bowman recently worked as Director of Student and Career Services for RefactorU, a coding bootcamp in Boulder that started in 2013. Scott led RefactorU’s compliance and placement reporting initiative with CIRR.org in late 2016 and early 2017. Currently working with Bootcampers Collective, Scott continues to provide assistance to those transitioning into Web Development in Colorado.
