Coding Bootcamp FAQ

Two years ago I made this post on Reddit, offering help and advice to anyone who was interested in coding bootcamps. To this very day, I frequently have people reaching out asking questions in regards to that post. What I realized was that many of those that reached out had the same questions — which is not a fault of their own at all, but more so validation that there is a lack of information around coding bootcamps available.

My first series of posts will try to generically cover the most common questions that I have received; a sort of coding bootcamp FAQ. I understand that this may not cover all of the questions that people are curious about, so as I continue to connect with others who reach out to me, I’ll create new posts on those conversations. If you are interested and have questions, feel free to email me @ mackjsiu@gmail.com.

My Background

Before I get into the FAQ, I’ll just give a very brief background of myself. I will be making a follow up post in the coming days that will go into greater detail.

After graduating college with a Political Science major, I found a job immediately out of college doing contract work at Google. There, I had the opportunity to work within a software development team with some of the brightest engineers in the industry. I was inspired by them to pursue coding myself. That’s when I attended App Academy in 2015, a coding bootcamp located in San Francisco. I found a fullstack role at an awesome startup called Guardant Health, where I spent three years at. Afterwards, I left for an opportunity to work at Apple, where I am today.

The FAQ (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I attended App Academy back in 2015. Since then, the industry for both coding bootcamps and software engineering roles has evolved quite a bit. I believe the advice below is still relevant in 2020, and going into 2021. But keep in mind that these are just my personal observations and opinions!

Part 1 of the FAQ will focus on whether a coding bootcamp is right for you and how to pick one.

Is a coding bootcamp right for me?

I think there should be a sign at the beginning of the path for those who are considering engineering: “Caution: Curiosity Required Ahead”.

This is by for the most common question that I receive. Let me start by saying that software engineering, as a career, is absolutely not for everyone. I say this genuinely and with good intentions!

I think that a lot of people are attracted to coding bootcamps for the wrong reasons. Many are lured in by the “easy path” to a promised “six figure salary” advertised by coding bootcamp marketing teams. Others have seen coders displayed in the mainstream media as being anywhere from young, rich, tech billionaires (ex: Silicon Valley, The Social Network… or even the latest Korean drama, Start Up) to the secretive hackers, à la Mr. Robot. I even know a lot of people whose friends recommended it to them, and that’s why they’re pursing it.

For the most part, the life of a software engineer is far from glamorous. And in many cases, its a demanding field which frequently requires you to be working on things that you are not familiar with. Because software engineering is a fundamental building block of modern day technology, it is constantly evolving. What I know and understand now for my day to day job could quickly become obsolete in a few years.

Part of being successful requires me to be learning all the time. If you think that its a joke that engineers are “Googling for answers” all day, you’ll be surprised that its a big part of the job! Searching and learning about things that you are not familiar with happens on a daily occurrence. I think there should be a sign at the beginning of the path for those who are considering engineering: “Caution: Curiosity Required Ahead”.

The hours can be long, and the work can be grueling. There is also often a knowledge gap for outsiders of engineering departments, leading to a role that is commonly misunderstood. Sometimes you’ll feel like your hard efforts will go without praise. But when you do get your code working and your product shipped, it can also be some of the most incredibly rewarding work out there.

So when others ask me this question, I ask them why they want to pursue coding in the first place. In order for me to recommend coding bootcamps as a potential route in your career, you need to first be able to answer if coding is something you actually enjoy. What if there isn’t a six figure job waiting for you after graduating? Or what if the work isn’t as fun or easy as you’ve seen in movies? Would you still do it?

I encourage them to explore as many free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) as possible before signing up for a bootcamp. Take a free track on learning JavaScript basics 101. Spend a few weekends on it and see if you like it. If after some exposure you’re still keen on writing code, then absolutely! A coding bootcamp could be a great fit for you. Which leads me to the next most commonly asked question…

What’s the best coding bootcamp out there?

If you had to take away one single thing from my FAQ, it should be this: coding bootcamps are only as good as their reputations. Choose wisely.

As I mentioned, the landscape for coding bootcamps has changed dramatically since 2015 when I attended one. Today, there are even more options for coding bootcamps, and amidst Corona Virus era, many online only courses.

If you had to take away one single thing from my FAQ, it should be this: coding bootcamps are only as good as their reputations. Choose wisely. You won’t be graduating with an accredited degree, or even a diploma with any intrinsic value associated to it. Even the bootcamps that “guarantee” a job, do so more as a marketing gimmick (more on that in a future post). The only thing you’ll get is the knowledge gained when attending. That’s it.

I’ve had many friends over the years attend various coding bootcamps, with mixed results. There is absolutely a tier list of the quality of education you will receive. I personally do not think its in your best interest to attend anything outside of the top coding bootcamps. When graduating from a coding bootcamp, you will have a hard time finding your first role (more on this in a later post). In order to be as competitive as possible when entering the industry, you need to go to the most rigorous bootcamps.

Bootcamps live and die by their online reputation, so this next part is on you. Do your due diligence and research the school that you’re interested in attending. Sites like CourseReport.com or SwitchUp.org are great starting points. But don’t stop there, read every single piece of information that you can find and reach out to alumni (like myself!) to hear their personal experience.

Assuming you finally picked a bootcamp to attend, you’ll most likely need to pass an initial assessment. If you don’t completely botch the assessment, most schools will invite you back to try a second, or even third time. Each bootcamp will have different requirements, so be sure to ask. In my experience, the initial assessments were all fair and did a good job of separating those serious about attending coding bootcamps and did the prep work, versus those who did not.

To be very clear, you want to attend a bootcamp that has an initial assessment; without a barrier of entry, the quality of students and competitiveness of the curriculum goes down substantially (the only caveat to this is minority specific bootcamps, which can still maintain a high quality of education with less entrance constraints).

So do the work. Research, research, research. Complete some prep course work to prove to yourself you’re serious about it too, then pick the top few bootcamps and don’t be afraid to apply!

Can I skip a coding bootcamp?

If you are considering skipping a bootcamp to learn the material yourself, ask yourself this: how quickly can I get a full time job as a software engineer if I attend a coding bootcamp versus self learning?

This question is less common, but still comes up frequently. It’s more geared towards people who have some experience in the field or who may have taken courses in computer science during college.

The reality is that anyone can get a software engineering job if they can pass an engineering interview. Technically, you could learn all of the material yourself and be self taught. But I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of countless technical interviews up until this point my career, and I can tell you that they’re not easy to prepare for.

Most coding bootcamps are geared very specifically to a certain type of engineering; most commonly, you’ll be learning Fullstack Web Development, iOS/Android App Development, or Data Science. If you are interested in pursing a role outside of these domains, then a coding bootcamp is probably not the right path to be taking.

If you are interested in these areas, then a good coding bootcamp will prepare you for finding a job in the field and give you the necessary skillset to be an individual contributor on a software team from day one on the job.

But all of the content taught in a coding bootcamp, and even entire curriculums, are available for free online. When you’re attending coding bootcamp you’re paying for much more than the content of the classes themselves. You’re paying to be in an environment where you’ll have peers to push you to do the work; advisors and teachers who will quickly help you when you get stuck; an alumni network when you begin your job search.

If you are considering skipping a bootcamp to learn the material yourself, ask yourself this: how quickly can I get a full time job as a software engineer if I attend a coding bootcamp versus self learning? Let’s say it takes you 6 months to learn the material on your own, versus attending a three month coding academy. For the average software engineering making $100,000/year, that’s $25,000 in pre-tax income that you’re giving up. Most bootcamps are about that price or cheaper, even after taxes.

To those that ask me if self learning is a viable path, I would say time is money, and you want to enter the market as fast as possible to start learning from real world experience. Calculate your cost benefit ratio and decide from there.

Closing Notes

That’s it for now! It’s a big wall of text, but I do hope someone is able to find it useful.

I’ll be doing a Part 2 follow up to the FAQ soon, which will be more around my experience being in a bootcamp. In the future, I will have parts that cover the job search and beyond.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! You can email me @ mackjsiu@gmail.com.