Coding Bootcamps
Coding bootcamps are trade schools for programming jobs. These programs cover the fundamentals of computer coding and equip students with in-demand skills for the tech industry. Unlike college, coding bootcamps don’t require long hours of general education. Instead, these programs focus on the skills required to get a job in the technology industry. If you’re looking for a job in web development, software engineering, data science, or information technology, consider attending a coding bootcamp.
Overview
Coding bootcamps are a recent addition to the field of career education. Bootcamps became popular in the 2010s due to a shortage of workers in the tech industry. Essentially, tech companies grew faster than college computer science programs, causing a shortage of qualified workers.
The tech industry is different from other high-paying fields, as it doesn’t have a universal college degree requirement. Many tech companies and startups are more concerned about the quality of your work, not your education. Plus, your experience is key in the tech industry.
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Coding bootcamps are designed to provide relevant curriculums for competitive technology positions.
And because bootcamps aren’t bound to a traditional financing system, they can offer innovative tuition financing programs such as income share agreements.
What Is a Coding Bootcamp?
Coding bootcamps are short-term and intensive career education programs, focusing on highly technical computer skills. Bootcamps train web developers, software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity engineers, and IT (information technology) professionals.
Coding Bootcamp Benefits
The benefits of coding bootcamps are numerous. For one, bootcamps arose out of necessity, which means they fill a hole in the market. Bootcamps are also one of the few job training programs that can offer job guarantees. Additionally, the jobs that bootcamps train students for are lucrative. Many bootcamp job guarantees have a minimum salary of $60,000; some are higher. Attending a bootcamp is one of the fastest ways to land a high-paying tech job.
Why Choose a Coding Career?
Coding jobs are fun and lucrative, and opportunities are abundant. Additionally, programmers have a wide range of jobs to choose from. Programmers work from computers, meaning they can work from home or in an office. Coding is also an excellent skill for people who want to run their own businesses. Trained programmers also work as freelancers; they set their own hours and work when they choose.
Are Coding Bootcamps Accredited?
Bootcamps aren’t usually accredited. Because the tech industry changes so quickly, accreditation wouldn’t work for bootcamps. Thankfully, there are other ways to gauge the usefulness of a program. Many bootcamps publish job placement statistics, which can be used to determine the effectiveness of their curriculums.
Coding Bootcamp Job Placement
Job placement varies between programs, but most bootcamps publish statistics. These range between 70% and 90%, which gives you an idea of how effective coding bootcamps are. Factors that increase job placement include corporate partners and industry sponsorships. Some coding bootcamps partner with large companies like Apple and Google to offer job opportunities through performance tests, talent-finding programs, and coding challenges.
Coding Bootcamp Admissions
Coding bootcamp admissions differ from colleges. For one, no academic performance records, such as transcripts or standardized test scores, are required. That’s not to say that bootcamps don’t have standards; quite the contrary. Instead, most coding bootcamps have coding challenges and technical interviews. Bootcamps often provide study materials prior to interviewing candidates, and most coding challenges are within the capabilities of people with minimal experience.
Online Coding Bootcamps
Coding bootcamps are attended online and in-person. Online bootcamps are an increasingly popular way to train for a technology job. Online courses often follow the same curriculum as the parent in-person courses, and provide live instructors to ensure a high-quality experience. And while there are some exceptions, most online bootcamps are just as good as in-person courses.
Coding Bootcamp Curriculum
Coding bootcamp curriculum varies widely between courses. Nonetheless, there are a few subjects that the vast majority of bootcamps cover. The specific aspects of each subject vary between courses as well. Here are three of the most common topics of study for coding bootcamps:
Coding and Programming
Coding and programming are key topics for coding bootcamp students. Coding bootcamps, as the name implies, train students to use popular coding languages to build software and perform other IT-related tasks. Specific languages vary between programs. The most common coding bootcamp languages include HTML, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Perl, and C. Some bootcamps cover company-specific languages such as Swift for Apple iOS developers.
Best Practices
Best practices are essential for coding bootcamp graduates to be successful in the workforce. These include coding strategies, organization, and pre-coding tasks such as wireframing. The majority of coding bootcamps cover tech industry best practices to help students become more accurate and efficient programmers.
Job Preparation
Job preparation is a huge part of any effective coding bootcamp. Job training and pre-interview preparation programs vary between courses, but they usually cover resume and portfolio building. Students who attend bootcamps with a heavy focus on job preparation are generally better prepared for the job search, and likely have an idea of how long it’ll take to land a job.
What Does Coding Bootcamp Cost?
The average cost of a coding bootcamp is $13,500 in total. Unlike college, this tuition usually covers the entire cost of the program. Bootcamps range in price from about $5,000 to $20,000. It’s important to remember that coding bootcamp is not a substitute for college; instead, it’s an alternative. That said, there’s a massive price disparity between college and bootcamps, making the latter a much more affordable option for most students.
Income Share Agreements
Because coding bootcamps are new and independent, they’re not legally or historically bound to traditional financing programs. As a result, bootcamps are free to experiment with alternative financing. One such alternative program is the income share agreement. Income share agreements, or ISAs, are tuition-deferment programs designed to ward off financing payments until after students land jobs. ISA students pay a fixed percentage of their post-employment income for a short period or until they reach a minimum amount.
Scholarships
Scholarships are an excellent way to reduce the cost of a coding bootcamp education. They are essentially free money, and Job Training Hub encourages anyone considering a bootcamp to apply for at least one scholarship. Numerous scholarships are available for coding bootcamp students, especially for members of underrepresented groups in tech.
Loans and Financing
Skills Fund and Climb Credit are providers of coding bootcamp loans, and they’re generally considered to be a good bet for bootcamp students. Few other lenders provide loans for coding bootcamps, but that’s likely to change as these programs continue to increase in popularity. Student loans, however, come with risks, as they’re much more difficult to escape from if times get tough. Thankfully, bootcamps are generally less expensive than college.
