Are Coding Bootcamps Worth it?

Looking at the calendar, it’s already been three years since I became a part of WLiT.

WLiT was the first Bootcamp/Fellowship I joined when I was in college. Looking back, I realize I have participated in lots of coding boot camps, hackathons, training, and volunteering activities.

The major ones are WLiT Fellowship, Microsoft Student Partner, Women Technopreneur Workshop(by RAN), Creative Computing(Karkhana), Insight Workshop(six-month Code Camp), and Code for Nepal(year-long fellowship). Many of my juniors often ask me if boot camps are worth participating in. What the benefits are and how to manage time to balance these full-time code camps alongside college classes.

Those who are new to term Boot camps/Code camps, it is a structured and intensive educational program designed to help students gain key programming and technical problem-solving skills through short but highly-focused instructional sessions.

Coding boot camps have emerged over the last decade to fill a talent vacuum. Generally, tech companies had more jobs than qualified applicants, and the number of college graduates with four-year degrees couldn’t satisfy the industry’s growing needs.

I participated in the six-month software engineering code camp organized by Insight Workshop, a software company based in Kathmandu, and the program was sponsored by Code for Nepal. I was still in college as an 8th-semester student at that time. If you want to hear about my experience in IW, you can read it here.

Balancing full-time code camps alongside college classes

For those who want to know how I managed my time schedules, actually the tips are prioritizing the things that we want to achieve.

There is a quote “There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing”- by Brian Tracy.

I used to schedule out the things that needed to be completed within the deadline and As I have my morning college, it wasn’t that difficult to balance college and office timing. I used to complete my assignments and projects in college mostly on weekends. And code camps weren’t that hectic too, so it was not that difficult to balance those two. Once you set priorities, it will go with the flow and you will not have to worry about it.

What are the Pros and Cons of CodeCamps?

Pros:

• Worth it for students who need to learn a technical skill quickly in a short period of time.
• Networking with industry experts.
• Gaining hands-on industry experience and practical knowledge working in a real environment.
• Value-addition for your CV
• Developing interpersonal skills.
• Exploring interests.

Cons:

• Job Placement Rates Aren’t Great
• Code Camps doesn’t adequately make you job-ready, as it teaches you the fundamentals of programming, instead of focusing on teaching us how to work with a specific tool.
• Coding Bootcamps Are 3–6 months long, so it can be difficult to manage time.

How to Pick a Coding Bootcamp?

If you’ve decided that you also want to join coding Bootcamp, make sure you do your homework first.
That means more than choosing a reputable Bootcamp. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure a coding Bootcamp will help you achieve your professional goals.

• Know about What Does It Teach
• What Is the Job Placement Program Like?
• What Is the Graduate Success Rate?

Yearly Codecamps/ Fellowship For College Students

• WLiT Fellowship (Applications open September)
• Hawkins Fellowship by Code for Nepal especially for Young Women. Link to know more about the fellowship program.
• Inspire Workshop (Next intake in August)
• Code Like Her Fellowship by Code Rush. Link

Personally speaking, each and every training/Bootcamp was worth it for me to gain technical and interpersonal skills. Along with programming and technical skills, I learned how to make a good Linkedin profile, an interactive resume, teamwork, how to behave, and cooperate with colleagues, and mainly time management skills.

Also, I met a lot of inspiring people and had a great time exploring my interests. Through these experiences, I got an opportunity to understand myself, to know my interests and what I aspire to become.

Lastly, all I want to say is don’t be afraid to grab every opportunity you get. Never think that you are not capable or don’t be afraid to explore your interest. You will never know what you will get in the future. The key to success is to get started. Start today, explore yourself, stay happy, and all that matters. Cheers to every moment that we are living.