Are coding bootcamps worth it?

At the end of 2019, I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Software Development and was ready to start my career in IT. However, three months later, life as we knew it changed and businesses were closing their doors and switching many of their employees to remote work. Companies implemented hiring freezes and many furloughed or laid off workers in response to the crisis. Nobody was hiring entry-level developers.

In light of the hiring freeze, I decided to use this time to continue building my coding skills. Learning new programing languages and technologies all on your own can be difficult and disorganized, so I looked into alternative ways to build knowledge and develop a portfolio to showcase my abilities. I discovered coding bootcamps and started researching the different programs available.

Coding bootcamps provide you access to expert instructors and a dynamic learning experience, engineered to teach you software development in the shortest time possible. They generally offer full-time and part-time tracks, designed to accommodate diverse schedules. The main differences are the curriculum, duration of the program, and weekly hours required to complete core assignments. Many of the best coding bootcamps also provide their students and alumni with career services and job placement opportunities.

I opted to join Coding Dojo’s online full-time program, which teaches three full stacks (Python, MERN, Java) in 14 weeks. This was perhaps my toughest and most rewarding accomplishment so far. Graduating from the program entails a high level of commitment and focus, along with regarding the bootcamp as a full-time job. Due to the vast amount of information packed into a tight schedule, concepts are taught at an accelerated pace, so it involves investing an average of 70-80 hours of work each week towards completing projects and learning the material.

Each full stack requires you to pass an exam that tests your understanding of the curriculum and your ability to build a full web application utilizing the technologies and frameworks that make up the stack within a five-hour time limit. A perfect score on the exam will earn you a black belt, awarded for developing advanced features and deploying the project using AWS. About 5% of students attain the Highest Honor achievement – Triple Black Belt, and I am proud to be one of them.

So, are bootcamps worth it? As an accelerated learning program, bootcamp curriculums provide limited depth of theory and fundamentals. You won’t acquire the same level of understanding of data structures and algorithms as you would with a four-year degree. However, you will build a foundation in a specific set of programming languages, preparing you for entry-level developer roles much faster and at a lower cost. By investing the necessary time and effort, you will attain a strong skillset and enhance your portfolio along the way, enabling you to showcase your newly elevated skills to prospective employers.