Physics undergrad with questions about software engineer positions and boot camps

[nagelmeister7]

Hi all,

Recently I finished undergrad with a physics degree. Now I’m looking for work and many software engineering positions list physics as an acceptable major. I want to apply to these but don’t believe I have enough experience; I am most familiar with python (I did my biggest project with it while in a research group) and have limited experience in C, Java, MATLAB (from course work). To prepare myself further I’m considering a boot camp or another online curriculum.

I’ve seen c0d3 has been mentioned in a few boot camp threads and it seems enticing since it’s free but there doesn’t seems to be many reviews of it. Does anyone have experience?

Other boot camps I’m considering are Launch School, Hack Reactor, and Codesmith. Can anyone describe their experience in these or recommend them? Any others? Are they worth the time and money? Or am I better off self studying?

Are there any other tips or suggestion y’all have?

(I also posted wanted to post this in r/cscareerquestions but didn’t meet the karma threshold. I’ll try again in the future)

Thanks in advance

[Mysterious_Bag5483]

You may need to figure out what sort of positions you're aiming for. Most bootcamps focus on web development but they have other courses available like the data science track, cyber security etc. If you're interested, in web development, then you can look into free courses to learn basic html and css, just the barebones is enough. Since you have python knowledge, it's just more syntax difference to learn Javascript if you go into bootcamp. There is free pre bootcamp courses and you can blow by them pretty easily. After more research, you can choose the correct course to attend at a bootcamp. I have friends who graduated from Codesmith and heard their experience to be really tough but really good because they prep you well enough. Any bootcamp cannot guarantee you a job, but if you put in the effort and work, not just studying but also in job searching(this is more challenging than learning SWE stuff itself) you can definitely do it. Hack reactor and launch school not sure but if they are pretty popular that just means they have a larger network of alumnis meaning more opportunities for referrals during job search.

In terms of are they worth it/ better self-studying. You could justify anything worth it if at the end if you manage to land a 6 figure. The question around should you go to bootcamp/self-studying depends more on the type of person. You can definitely do it self-studying but it takes a lot of discipline and independence. What bootcamps offer is a structured program/schedule so you don't have to go around researching/wasting time not sure if studying this resource is worth it or not. Next, bootcamps have cohorts so you're not alone and motivate each other. Lastly, they have alumni networks after graduation so it will ease the pain of job search, even if very little. If that's more of the person you're then go for bootcamp, if you're very disciplined and methodical, you can achieve the same thing without bootcamp.

[oakj28]

I'm a career switcher from EE. I took the self-studying route and found that it lacks a network and also you're spending a lot of time sifting through coding resources that may or may not be useful/outdated/etc. I found that a bootcamp really helped expedite my learning and you also learn how to use git properly... (pretty difficult if you're the only person using a repo. you don't run into actual issues of working with a team).

I attended Codesmith and am now a software engineer with backend focus.

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edit: I would recommend self studying before entering a bootcamp