Best way to start a career: Bootcamps

Waris Hussain
Bootcamp
Published in
5 min readJan 3, 2023

How to start a career?

It’s fascinating how, for many people, this isn’t even a question. It’s a given path that they have to follow.
School → College → Job through college placements.

But often, this isn’t the best path for you. It’s a generic path and you’re being just a small widget in the system. But you can be more. You can have something that’s a bit more personalized for you.

Enter, Bootcamps.

But first, what the heck is a BootCamp?

The term “Bootcamp” is from the military, where it referred to a type of intensive training program designed to prepare new recruits for the physical and mental demands of military service.

In education and your career, you have to take a similar approach. You have to be a part of an intensive training program designed to teach individuals a particular skill or set of skills in a short period of time. These programs are often focused on a specific field, such as coding, data analysis, or design, and are designed to help you gain the knowledge and skills needed to start a new career.

Bootcamps typically involve a combination of lectures, hands-on exercises, and project-based learning, and are often taught by industry professionals who have real-world experience in the field. So if you’re learning business, you’re learning from someone who has been a part of businesses throughout his life, rather than someone who hasn’t run a business but teaches it. Many bootcamps are accelerated, meaning they can be completed in a few months or less, so they’re an excellent option for a quick transition into a new career. (vs 3/4 year degree).

My experience in education

I’ve been dabbling around education and self-teaching for the past three years. I’ve gotten my feet in many things -

  • Self-learning thought books/courses/videos/blogs
  • Enrolling in a Bootcamp
  • Enrolling in a traditional college

So basically, what I’m saying is from experience and observation.

And I love boot camps, like Praxis, SpringBoard, General Assembly and BloomTech.

During my time in all these different areas, I kept on observing and pondering on Education in general. When sitting in a college class, I won’t just learn what the professor is teaching, but also notice how he’s teaching. When in a Praxis workshop, I also focused on their style of teaching, the way they were explaining things, the teaching techniques, the relevance of the knowledge, etc. I was observant of the process.

And now, while working with Career Hackers, I get to partner with many Bootcamps as a Business. Here, I see more of the back-end and how the process looks like from the other side.

The more I dive into different aspects of education, the more I like Bootcamps.

Why Bootcamps are the better choice to start your career?

  1. Bootcamps are fast:
    It can take four years to earn a traditional computer science degree, but it only takes a few weeks to complete a top-quality online bootcamp. This means you can quickly launch a new career as a programmer, developer, data analyst, data scientist, or cybersecurity professional. And it will take months, rather than years. This is especially helpful given the rapid pace our world changes.
  2. Bootcamps offer career mobility:
    Bootcamps are more personalised to what you want to learn. It gives you more opportunities for building a career you love, by building practical skills, offering flexibility, and providing access to a large network. Flexibility and mobility are huge advantages of bootcamps.
  3. You’ll have access to mentors:
    Good mentoring is crucial for student success. One of the biggest advantages of a bootcamp is the one-on-one access to mentors and instructors. These mentors are committed to helping you succeed and will offer valuable career development advice.
  4. Bootcamps can lead to a higher salary:
    I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. According to the 2019 Coding Bootcamp Alumni Outcomes & Demographics Report from Course Report, most online bootcamp graduates find full-time employment with an average starting salary of $66,964. Professionals who switch to higher positions can even see a median salary increase of $22,000, or 51%.
  5. Bootcamps build a community:
    By enrolling in a Bootcamp, you’ll have the chance to create a strong network that includes instructors, mentors, administrators, peers, and alumni. I’ve experienced this at Praxis and this community WILL encourage the exchange of ideas and the sharing of value.
  6. You’ll learn collaboration skills:
    In the real world, regardless of the profession, teamwork is a critical skill, and bootcamps provide a group environment where you can learn how to work with others to achieve goals.
  7. Bootcamps offer a structured learning environment:
    Many people lose interest when they try to learn on YouTube or other websites because they’re used to a structured classroom setting. Bootcams beat that because they build a learning structure with the help of professionals. Both in-person and online bootcamps have a pre-built structure that you can take leverage of. And the best thing? These structures are made in such a way, that your learning experience is as personalised as possible.

Conclusion

Learning has no upper limit in today’s world. Be it through online courses, YouTube videos, blogs, newsletters, bootcamps, etc. The resources are endless. It’s only a matter of what you want to learn.

While colleges are super structured and that makes it difficult to change quickly or give you personal attention. On the other hand, the entirely hands-on experience of self-learning has its own problems as this way, you’re relying too much on willpower and you lack a structure here. Bootcamps bring the best of both worlds. It’s structured yet flexible. It’s personalised and more focused towards making you build a great career!

Oh also, a bootcamp’s journey with you doesn’t stop when you are placed in a company. Most of the bootcamps offer job support, where you’re guided on your job after you complete the program. This can be particularly valuable for those who may not have a lot of experience or connections in their field.

So, if you’re considering starting a career but don’t know where to begin, consider a Bootcamp. Fast, practical training that will help you quickly gain the skills you need to succeed!

Recommended read: Why I love the EdTech Space

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Published in Bootcamp

From idea to product, one lesson at a time. Bootcamp is a collection of resources and opinion pieces about UX, UI, and Product. To submit your story: https://tinyurl.com/bootspub1

Waris Hussain
Waris Hussain

Written by Waris Hussain

I'm a User Experience Designer, a curious soul always keen to learn as much as possible. Here to share what I've learnt and get better at life.

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