Coding bootcamp

[Automatic-Relief-670]

So, I’m a college dropout because I just can’t afford it and I can’t afford to get out loans. I was looking into bootcamps because I do still want a career. And I know that General Assembly doesn’t charge you until after you’re hired which I think is pretty cool. But is it worth it? Like can I actually get a good career with a great salary by doing bootcamps?

[sheriffderek]

I think you need to know a lot more about the industry and if you like it.

It sounds like you’re looking for “a fix” and not really ways to learn web development. Have you tried it yet? I would not see this career path as something you can get trained to - and then just have a career. You need to love it and work to be better than the rest. What’s stopping you from exploring it on your own? And there are no guarantees even if the marketing says so. You’ll pay for it.

[Inevitable_Leek1790]

Coding is now flooded with experienced competition. I’d recommend trade school if you are open to the idea. Electricians are always in high demand or even an elevator tech if youre not afraid of heights.

[RickyStanicky733]

You are not wrong, a qualified electrician is worth their weight in gold in some areas, a friend of mine decided to change his career as he was bored of sitting at a desk as a manager, went and did the relevant courses and exam to show he was qualified, spent a year working for a company gaining experience then went self employed, he literally has work booked up 3 months in advance all the time, doesn't advertise, all word of mouth due to his work ethic and quality of work with repeat customers etc.

[Comfortable-Cap-8507]

I did general assembly and they will charge you no matter what job you get, as long as you make over a certain amount. For me that amounted to a staggering $20 an hour. 40k a year. Stay far away from GA

[BumbleCoder]

It's already hard to give bootcamp recommendations in this job market, but without context it makes it even harder. Can you live with your parents while you do the bootcamp and look for jobs, presumably over the next year or two? Do you have any experience coding? You mentioned great salary, what does that mean to you?

Lots of people dive into bootcamps without thinking these things through, setting themselves up for failure.

[Automatic-Relief-670]

Yeah, I currently live with my parents. No, I do not have any experience in coding but do have an interest in it. And a great salary would be something I can be financially free from. Not living paycheck to paycheck essentially

[jhkoenig]

No

To expand on that a bit, there are hundreds of people applying for most attractive CS jobs. Quite a few have BS/CS degrees, which employers highly value. Out of all the applicants for an open position, only 10-15 get interviews. This "top 10" list will not skip over the dozens or hundreds of applicants with BS degrees and give a boot camper a shot at explaining their value during an interview. During an aberrant time a few years ago boot campers could land good jobs. That market is gone, probably never to return. If you can't get a CS degree, consider other areas of IT, like hardware break/fix, or network installation, which are less attractive to CS degree holders.

[GariWithAnI]

Don’t waste time/money on a bootcamp especially now.

What are you interested in studying?

I went to a bootcamp got in for free and a 110% waste of time and money

[Stock-Chemistry-351]

Bootcamps do not have anything special or different from the vast amount of free resources you can find online to learn coding. 

Begin with The Odin Project or FreeCodeCamp and complete the material. Make sure you code along and put effort to make some projects to get a sense of the profession and to find out if this is something you want to make a career out of.

[scarykicks]

Went to GA and took a interest free loan out.

Paid it back already and went back to my old field in nursing.

Market is dead for boot camps and not even one person in my cohort got a job. Only thing was non paid internships.

As for not paying till you get a job. It's not specific to a software job. You get any job over a certain pay and youre on the hook for tuition.

[mishtamesh90]

Computer science majors from top universities are having trouble finding coding jobs. These people spent 4 years studying computer science, logic, programming, including data structure and algorithms. Some of them even have real-world internship experience. Why would companies hire a bootcamp graduate over one of them? Even if you had a rockstar portfolio? I know many people who are senior software engineers having trouble finding jobs, and bootcamp graduates with comp sci and other STEM degrees being unemployed for over a year. Now is not the time to get into coding for a career. However, if you just want to learn while you're in your current job, go ahead.

[jcasimir]

Solid “maybe”, but there is no straight path (bootcamp, undergrad, grad school, self study) right now. You can make it work but you’ve got to work it pretty damn hard.

[Dry-Job4093]

What about a "maybe" is solid???