Spoke to somebody who graduated college in December with a finance degree and is going to bootcamp coding school in San Fran for a 12 week program… They advertise 6 digit jobs after you finish (I think the school may be paid by companies who recruit through them). Just curious, anybody have any experience doing this (or your kids doing this) or working/hiring people who did this?
Oh yeah, son did a 3 1/2 month boot camp in NYC. Still took him 5 months to get a job after graduating from it. I’m not sure what school you are talking about that is paid by companies who recruit through them…the only one I can think of is the Hacker School in NYC (now known as the Recurse Center), which is free to students. All the other ones I’ve heard of cost a lot of money, $15-$20K approximately.
My take…some schools are better than others. My son went to what was supposedly the top coding school, the toughest to complete and get into. He felt that he got a lot of really good skills (even though he had a CS degree). It was very challenging, but he said it was quite tough for people with little background. I think the employment issue was that even though this school is very well known in SF, it was brand new in NYC, with no connections to companies. I believe he would have gotten a job quickly if he had attended in SF. You want to go to a coding school in the area that you want the job, definitely, for those connections. He also would have done it over a summer in college instead of after graduating, he would have probably gotten a job ASAP after graduation, instead of then having to compete with people who had experience.
Now if it is correct that the person you’re talking about is not paying big bucks for the school, but the school is paid by companies that recruit through them, I would think the school would be highly motivated to assist them with employment. I believe it would be much easier to get a job in SF after a coding school than in other cities.
OP, I sent you a PM.
I also have sent a PM to you. Hope it is helpful.
@mominva and @MinnesotaDadof3, would you PM me as well? I have someone who is interested in coding academies but is wondering if the schools really live up to the promises. I didn’t know what to tell them. Thanks.
I didn’t ask the cost but it is not free - there is a tuition for the bootcamp. But the person did say there is also a financial relationship that the bootcamp has with recruiting companies.
Looking around - think they are going to this place https://www.appacademy.io/ with this policy You only pay us if you find a job as a software developer after the program
The ones my son was looking into were the App Academy and Hack Reactor. According to my older son, Hack Reactor is the top of the line. However, they were brand new in NYC, which is not a good thing. We didn’t realize that, he would have picked the App Academy in NYC I think, if he knew, and was accepted. App Academy appears very motivated to get you a job, so they get paid, and the more you make, the more they get (22%). You could end up paying a lot if your first year salary is high. I think these schools are more helpful in SF than elsewhere.
But my older son (who is really into this), thinks there are some schools that are much easier to get into that are not as worthwhile.
One of my sons did Code Fellows bootcamp in Seattle after graduating college and wanting a job in UX (user experience design). He quickly got hired as an independent contractor at Amazon and then found a permanent job at a great company in San Francisco. He was very happy with the program.
Instead of just sending PMs, might be helpful for others to share their knowledge/experiences here so others can benefit as well?
I second doschicos as info (even edited to protect privacy) can be useful to others.
Busdriver: why did you CS graduate decide to go to bootcamp?
I know one kid who was a social science major and started a second bachelors in CS when he got into Hackerschool. He quit the second degree and went to Hackerschool and then got a great job. He was a bit in over his head at first, with the CS majors having a less difficult time, but he has hung onto to his job. This was also a few years ago, when there were many fewer bootcamps.
One more recent graduate got a good job as well. Also know 2 young adults in one of these courses now so will be interesting to see their results.
OK, edited version…someone with a sort of related technical degree, not liking that employment direction,started teaching self some coding. A friend had done a bootcamp in another city, the someone looked into local options, found one with a great track record and seemingly great networking opportunities. Applied, got in, paid a goodly sum, upfront - about the same as an equivalent amount of time in a private college - 1/2 to 3/4 of a semester tuition. Spent an intense 12 weeks in the program and was hired in, IIRC, under 6 weeks. Salary may not have been 6 figures, but if not, it was close. Some of the peers and later cohorts of the bootcamp now work in the same expanding company.
If it is any good, it will be very intense.
However, it is likely that quality varies considerably.
@mom2and, my son graduated college without a job lined up. This was for various reasons…he hadn’t hit the job circuit enough, spent too much time in extracurriculars (non CS related), school with a small CS dept and few recruiters looking for them, etc. Thought he’d have an easy time getting a job after graduation in such a hot field. Came home for about a month, put in tons of applications with almost no response. Most companies didn’t even acknowledge his application, got maybe two phone interviews. It looked hopeless and he was going nuts.
His brother had been trying to get him to go to a coding school over the summer for years, as CS degrees teach you very few marketable and useful skills in college except for basic programming (according to him). The coding school looked like a virtual guarantee of a great job, well paying. He now has a job that he thinks he will like (and it does look like a great fit) that pays decently, but it took five months, though he tried desperately. He got far more interest after going to the coding school since it added so much to his resume, however, he ended up competing with people who had years of experience. I think if he had been looking for new grad jobs with the coding school experience, it would have been far easier for him.
Re #13
Looks like he might not have been on the radar for new graduate hiring (school too small, etc.) but then was not successful in the general market that looks for experience.
Did his coding school emphasize a particular specialty that was in demand at the time? Some do, which can help get a job in that area, but general CS skills will help one keep up as technologies change.
I would agree with that, ucbalumnus. The problem with the coding schools is that they give you skills, but not experience. However, for the job he just got, I’m sure he would not have even gotten the interview without the coding school.
His coding school emphasized front end web development, which has been in demand. However, since they all seem to emphasize front end development, and there are many schools now, it is probably not as much in demand as it was.