Are Coding Bootcamps worth it in 2022?

Coding bootcamps have become an excellent option for students to learn coding.

Students today want to opt for bootcamps rather than college degrees, which require considerable time and financial investment. As a result, bootcamps have seen massive popularity in recent times.

Due to this, people are wondering whether coding bootcamps are that good or if it's just hype.

In this guide, you will learn everything you need to understand about bootcamps, and by the end, you will have a better idea of whether coding bootcamps is worth it.

What Are Coding Bootcamps?

A coding bootcamp is a technical training program to prepare students for careers in the tech industry. They're usually short-term, intensive, and streamlined to teach essential coding skills to students.

The first coding bootcamp started in 2011. Since then, the industry has seen significant growth, with the US alone hosting more than a hundred bootcamps today.

The primary purpose of these bootcamps is to teach you to code and help you become employable within a few months. But one thing you need to realize is that a coding bootcamp is not a substitute for a college degree.

Are Coding Bootcamps Worth It?

As a beginner coder, you might wonder if coding bootcamps are worth it in 2022.

If you are okay with not getting an accredited degree (authorized qualification) and just want to learn to code, then coding bootcamps are very much worth it.

Many students don't want to spend three to four years making a substantial financial investment for a degree. Instead, they choose coding bootcamps that are short, precise, and cost you far less than college.

Fresh college graduates with minimal skills and experience can also join these bootcamps. There, they can learn specific skills and build a fantastic portfolio, thus becoming ready for entry-level jobs.

In addition to fresh graduates, professionals looking to switch careers will also benefit from bootcamps.

Since coding bootcamps usually last for a short duration (from 3 to 6 months), they teach the most in-demand skills in a fast-paced, concentrated curriculum.

Therefore, bootcamps are worth it for their time-saving and efficient nature. They are precise about what you will learn, giving you a clear idea of what you can do next.

And due to their limited time constraint, you will be able to concentrate on your goal without being distracted.

With that out of the way, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of coding bootcamps in detail.

What Are the Benefits of Coding Bootcamps?

As mentioned earlier, coding bootcamps are beneficial for their cost and time effectiveness. But they have many other benefits as well. So here are some of their major advantages:

• Time Saver: Coding bootcamps follow a very streamlined curriculum, making it possible to complete the course within a few months. Thus, they are good for quickly developing coding skills and getting into tech jobs.
• Affordable: Coding bootcamps cost comparatively less than college. Therefore, bootcamps can be the best alternative for anyone looking to develop their skills affordably.
• Job Placement: Coding bootcamps prepare you for the job market by helping you with specific coding skills and portfolio development. Some coding bootcamps assist their students with internships and job opportunities.
• Mentorship: The best coding bootcamps usually connect the learners with experienced professionals and mentors with industry experience.
• Networking: When you attend a bootcamp, you will meet many people from the tech industry. This will build your professional network and help you secure future opportunities.

What Are the Disadvantages of Coding Bootcamps?

Most bootcamp grads who have built a good portfolio can find a job within six months. So, a coding bootcamp is one of the best options you have to get hired quickly.

However, bootcamps also have a few disadvantages. Some of them are:

1. No Accreditation

Most bootcamps have no accreditation (authorized qualification) like universities and colleges. Without accreditation, your certification doesn't validate your qualification. Instead, you need to build a good portfolio to prove your capability.

2. No Job Guarantee

Many coding bootcamps market themselves with false guarantees of job placement. And then, graduates complain about bootcamps being unable to land them a job. This is because there is no such thing as guaranteed job placement. At the end of the day, it's all up to you. You need to rely on your own skills to get a job.  

3. Narrow Focus

The bootcamp model focuses on short-term results. The curriculum is precise, creating a narrow focus that allows it to be completed in a limited time.

4. Bootcamps Can Be Expensive

In comparison to a college degree, a bootcamp is a much cheaper way of learning to code. But it's still costly, considering that a bootcamp lasts for a short duration and only covers a specific syllabus. In addition, bootcamps cost you way more than learning to code on your own.

Coding Bootcamps vs. College Degree

You can follow different paths to break into the tech world. Most students prefer to either get a college degree or go to a coding BootCamp.

College degrees are traditional but proven methods of teaching students to code. But bootcamps are more innovative; they cover the same content in less time.

Even so, deciding between coding bootcamps and a college degree is challenging as both have pros and cons.

A college degree requires more than three years and a significant financial investment. Unlike bootcamps, college courses are not intense and don't focus on practical approaches to getting jobs.

And since colleges need full-time commitment, it is almost impossible to hold a full-time job as a student. So you must wait for the course's completion to start your career.

But on the positive side, computer science degrees have a more in-depth curriculum. You'll dive deeper into theoretical concepts that can help you program better, creating a solid foundation.

On top of building a foundation for your career, you also get certified with an accredited degree.

On the other hand, bootcamps are short and affordable, making you job-ready in a short period of time. Due to this limited time frame, bootcamps are very intense. You won't get distracted while attending a bootcamp as it requires you to focus entirely on what you are learning.

Most students join coding bootcamps instead of a computer science program to learn a set of skills and get a job in IT companies quickly.

And although you may get a job in IT without a college degree, sometimes the pay for a non-graduate can be slightly less.

How to Choose the Right Coding Bootcamp?

Before enrolling at a coding bootcamp, you first need to choose your field of interest.

Since hundreds of programming languages have widely different applications, you need to be clear about your goals from the start.

Why are you attending a bootcamp? Do you want to get into mobile development? Web development? Or Backend API development? Or do you prefer working with data? Make sure you can answer these questions clearly

After selecting a programming language in your field of interest, you can now decide the time you want to dedicate to a bootcamp.

Another equally important factor while deciding on a bootcamp is how much you are willing to invest. When you have sorted this out, you can determine what kind of bootcamp you want to get in.

Now, you can search and list down all the potential bootcamps that best fit you. And then choose the appropriate one.

Top Companies Hiring Bootcamp Graduates

After you have completed a bootcamp, you probably want to land a job, right? Some bootcamps will help you out in this regard. But in most bootcamps, you need to search for jobs yourself.

As a bootcamp graduate, you don't need to worry about getting a job if you have a solid portfolio.

Nowadays, even top companies don't have a strict college degree requirement. You can get hired if you ace your coding interview since most companies believe bootcamp graduates can do the job if they have the required skills.

That being said, here are a few top companies that hire bootcamp graduates:

• Cisco
• Razorfish
• Slack
• Eventbrite
• Mobify
• Vimeo
• Scribd

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are coding bootcamps a good alternative to university?

It depends. If you are okay with not getting an accredited degree and just want to learn specific coding skills to get a job, then it can be a good alternative. But one thing you need to realize is that a coding bootcamp is not a substitute for a college degree.

2. How much do coding bootcamps cost?

A coding bootcamp's cost depends on factors such as time duration, type of curriculum, the type of bootcamp, and many other factors.

According to Course Report, the average full-time coding bootcamp in the US costs $13,584. Bootcamp tuitions can range from $7,800 to $21,000.

Some bootcamps provide scholarships to their students. And there are free bootcamp programs as well that you can explore.

3. What is the time duration of coding bootcamps?

Generally, a coding bootcamp lasts for 24 weeks. However, some bootcamps are as short as two weeks, while others may take more than a year to complete.

The factors that influence the duration of a coding bootcamp include the depth of syllabus covered, what the bootcamp's goal is, and what teaching approach it uses.

4. Can you get jobs with coding bootcamps?

Bootcamp graduates with a good portfolio can find jobs easily. Some of the most common jobs you may get offered include web developer, web designer, software engineer, technical content writer, etc.

5. What is the entry-level salary of coding bootcamps graduates?

The most recent study by Course Report (which regularly analyzes the bootcamp market) found that the average starting salary for bootcamp graduates is $66,964 per year.

6. How do employers perceive coding bootcamps?

Employers have a positive outlook on bootcamp graduates since they know that bootcamp students specialize in a particular technology till they are job ready. In fact, more than half of coding graduates land a programming job within six months of graduation.