Good afternoon/evening fellow readers. Today, I want to talk about the pros and cons about coding bootcamps. This has helped me make my decision about whether or not to apply and participate in a coding bootcamp curriculum. I have not participated in a coding bootcamp myself but the decision I have made is based upon this blog. So let's get started and talk about the PROS of being in a coding bootcamp.
One major pro about going to a coding bootcamp is that you'll be networking with other aspiring developers. Networking in the programming field, or any other field for that matter, makes a big impact on your career and will help you further into what you want to do. You will also be coding almost every day for about 9-10 hours a day, depending on what coding bootcamp you participate in sometimes they have after hours so that you can get further tutoring from your instructor if needed. You also get to build projects that you can put on your Github and your portfolio, making you more appealing to potential employers. SPEAKING of employers, you will be performing your final projects in front of potential employers during your last day of bootcamp, which consists of a career day, project presentations, etc. The excellent part of your final day is just talking to potential employers after your presentation, because you may never know if they want to pull you into their office for a job interview.
Now let us proceed into the cons of partaking in a coding bootcamp. The price! Oh heaven all mighty, the price of coding bootcamps. They can range from $8k-$30k depending on what bootcamp you decide to go to. The major thing about this price is that you cannot apply for federal financial aid to help reduce the cost of the tuition from the bootcamp. Generally, they will direct you to getting a personal loan from a bank, which also includes interest. Now, if you're parents are loaded and they just blow their money, you can ask them to pay for the bootcamp. But also, they would probably tell you to pay them back. The other con of the bootcamp is the length of the curriculum, which can last 3 to 6 months. Now, generally 3 month is NOT ideal to learn how to code, especially with how much knowledge would be implanted into your brain. Your brain may explode! Well... Not literally, but you will feel like you've learn jack squat in 3 months. Six months... Well, it can be probable. I've known some people who've gotten jobs within 3 months to a year from learning code. During that time, you may feel like that you won't learn anything during that 3 months time because every week is a different subject in coding. One week is HTML/CSS, the next is JavaScript, Ruby, or whatever language the coding bootcamp focuses on, so on, so forth. Also, there are sometimes some people that enter a coding bootcamp, and waste their money by just going there, hanging out, and playing games like League of Legends or World of Warcraft. You are there to learn how to code, not waste your time. As I said in the pros section of this blog, I mentioned employers. Employers may not want to hire you, so you need to be more realistic on applying for jobs DURING the course instead of just relying on the coding bootcamp to just hand you a job. Remember, you are THERE to change your career and future, not for a hand out.
What is my conclusion of this blog? Well, as one who almost went to a coding bootcamp and decided to go the self-taught route, it is completely up to you. The major thing to remember is that if you want to spend that $8k-$30k, that's all on you. I know I have a lot of cons when it comes to coding bootcamps, but they CAN be helpful at times. Just remember, no matter what route you decide to go when it comes to learning to code, put in hard work, start side projects, and constantly apply for jobs. Also, if you DO decide to go to a coding bootcamp, take a couple months before the cohort to teach yourself the basic of the basics of coding so that you have a higher success rate. That is all the time I have for this blog today. Thank you for reading.
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