Are coding bootcamp schools worth it?

[sinetheo]

I was reading slashdot.org and they had a story on coding bootcamps. I also found this link on rated coding boot camps. I am wondering if anyone on either side of hiring process has experience working with these? Are they a joke and a non starter for any serious junior level programmer or were they a resource? Did anyone attending one felt prepared for the real world and was able to find a job? Did anyone who has hired a graduate had good or bad luck?

 

Here is my background. I have  years of experience providing desktop support and light Active Directory and Exchange support work. I have a bachelors of business administration with 16 credits in coding and to this day can do simplistic things like control statements, nested data structures, and object oriented programming but that is it. I am not trying to get a $100K a year job or consider myself an expert after a freaking 24 week program. I just want a junior level position where I can combine my existing knowledge with something new and work my way up. 

 

These are expensive and will come at a great burden. I do not want to waste my time if I do not get a result and just go further in debt and end up having now a hole on my resume.

[Above The Gods]

It's worth it if you already have a high IQ and/or have experience. If you do, make sure to choose the one with the best job placement. If you're dedicated, you can actually get a $100k job in a few years or so if you're living in NYC or SF.

[FloatingFatMan]

If you're brand new to programming, don't bother.  You cannot learn to code in a 7/14/28 day crash course. At best, you'll learn your way around Visual Studio.

 

If you're returning to programming after a break, then go for it. They'll make a handy refresher course.

 

If you're a beginner level programmer already, you're better off with places like Pluralsight or the Microsoft Virtual Academy to get some additional knowledge.  MSVA is free as well, and Pluralsight have quite a lot of free content.

 

[neufuse Veteran]

32 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

If you're brand new to programming, don't bother.  You cannot learn to code in a 7/14/28 day crash course. At best, you'll learn your way around Visual Studio.

 

If you're returning to programming after a break, then go for it. They'll make a handy refresher course.

 

If you're a beginner level programmer already, you're better off with places like Pluralsight or the Microsoft Virtual Academy to get some additional knowledge.  MSVA is free as well, and Pluralsight have quite a lot of free content.

 

yeah, and heck there are people that have been using IDE's like Visual Studio for many years and still don't know everything it can do.....

[Astra.Xtreme]

I've been actively looking to hire some programmers, so here's my take on it.

I almost always look for people with a graduate degree in programming.  Granted I'm hiring Software Engineers with embedded microprocessor experience, but I wouldn't rule out a CS major.  Somebody with an IT related degree would almost never make the cut.  UNLESS you have a pretty vast amount of personal experience with programming and could provide examples of projects you've done.  If somebody has done cool stuff with an Arduino or Raspberry Pi, I'll at least bring them in for an interview.  We recently hired someone that was a Biology major but is now working on a CS degree and had done a lot of really cool mobile apps.  We gave her a shot and she's doing great.

 

So to answer your question, just having a coding bootcamp on your resume likely isn't going to cut it.  You'll be up against people with programming degrees, and you'll need something more to make yourself stand out.  You don't necessarily need to get a new college degree, but at least fill out your resume with freetime projects that show you're passionate about the profession and come with lots of examples to brag about if/when you get interviews.

[DevTech]

On 10/11/2017 at 11:58 AM, Astra.Xtreme said:

I've been actively looking to hire some programmers, so here's my take on it.

I almost always look for people with a graduate degree in programming.  Granted I'm hiring Software Engineers with embedded microprocessor experience, but I wouldn't rule out a CS major.  Somebody with an IT related degree would almost never make the cut.  UNLESS you have a pretty vast amount of personal experience with programming and could provide examples of projects you've done.  If somebody has done cool stuff with an Arduino or Raspberry Pi, I'll at least bring them in for an interview.  We recently hired someone that was a Biology major but is now working on a CS degree and had done a lot of really cool mobile apps.  We gave her a shot and she's doing great.

 

So to answer your question, just having a coding bootcamp on your resume likely isn't going to cut it.  You'll be up against people with programming degrees, and you'll need something more to make yourself stand out.  You don't necessarily need to get a new college degree, but at least fill out your resume with freetime projects that show you're passionate about the profession and come with lots of examples to brag about if/when you get interviews.

A great reply and wonderfully informative to future readers. In that vein, I would like to add that there are going to be a very wide range of "hiring criteria" out there.

 

In the past when I had to hire people, I viewed CS degrees of any sort as a giant negative if there was no evidence of personal time spent on projects that indicated a passion for programming, otherwise the degree compiled to NOP. The code tells all. You can tell at a glance if Johnny knows CS.

 

The traditional advice to book authors is that to become a good writer you must first be a prolific reader. Then become a prolific writer.

 

To programmers, read on GitHub, then write on GitHub.