Before you Buy: Coding Boot Camps

How much time do you have?

Introduction

Hey folks, I’m Sam. Recently I graduated from Flatiron School a coding boot camp. Currently, I’m a freelance developer and I’d like to offer some advice for all you aspiring coders out there. If you clicked on this article, chances are you’ve either made a choice to become a developer. If not, you’re seriously thinking about it. Either way, you’ve come to the right place!

Please consider the following quote:

It’s not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it’s about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then you’ll be a great cook. If it’s only about passion, sometimes you’ll be good and sometimes you won’t. You’ve got to come in every day with a strong desire. With passion, if you see the first asparagus of the springtime and you become passionate about it, so much the better, but three weeks later, when you’ve seen that asparagus every day now, passions have subsided. What’s going to make you treat the asparagus the same? It’s the desire. - Thomas Keller

Before choosing a programming language, a laptop, or a boot camp you should really ask yourself this question. Do you have a passion for this or a deep desire? It’s a strange life, do you want to live it? In case you haven’t figured it out, this will be hard, especially if you’re not naturally talented. It will require long hours, which means saying goodbye to free time for a while. Coding can be an anti-social ordeal, is that okay? How independent of a problem solver can you be? This should paint a “paint a picture” and It can get deep, real quick. To me, it felt like a mild existential crisis. If you feel this way, good, it’s an important choice to make and you care about the outcome. After all, “a leopard cannot change its spots”. If it’s not meant to be, you’ll wanna know SOONER than later. Please take all the time you need to wrestle with questions like these. Sleep on it, this may be a huge life decision. Seriously, asks friends, relatives, a life partner. This choice is linked to your happiness.

Am I meant to be a Developer? …or is this just the matrix?

Is this right for me?

Alright, so you want to do this! Perhaps you would like to “get a feel” for what exactly coding is? I certainly did and I encourage you to do the same. Your next step is to find a website that offers a free course in a programming language. I used Code Academy’s Intro to Python module. It gave me an idea of what I would be working on. As you learn, you’ll be challenged and it’s all at your own pace. If you’ve got a good feeling about this, try another one. It’s good practice anyway, and if you’re on the fence it should clear things up for you. Remember in the end it’s a lot of sacrifice and persistence. Having drive is a major factor here. Make sure you want this, so get your hands dirty and start learning.

Should I take this fork? or just leave it here?

Boot Camp vs. Undergrad Degree

Okay so here’s the rub… you won’t necessarily get a job with either. You’ll still need to gain experience in your given field to actually get hired and see your first paycheck. Why? Bootcamps don’t offer constant talent, CS degrees aren’t any better either. In New York City the starting salary for a junior developer BEFORE the covid pandemic was around 120k. So, companies have a right to be picky, put yourself in their shoes. That’s the salary of a department head.

I’m sorry, but I love the hobbit 🐉

Consider the following before bootcamp:

1. Where’s my job?: It can take anywhere from 6 -12 months, maybe even longer to get a job!
2. Runway: how much rent & utilities you got saved up. Are you ok with taking a non-tech job for a while?
3. Talent Pipelines: This is the elephant in the room. Large companies want CS degrees, if you don’t have one it’s hard to get noticed. Large companies tend to pay well and have junior developer/intern positions. They have the infrastructure for it. What’s popular is investing in CS majors, so they can hire them if they excel. Sadly you won’t be a top pick for most companies.
4. Internships: Remember the Pipeline, that applies here as well. Yup, they like CS Undergrads, sometimes no older than 3 years ago. Still worth a shot, but it’s competitive. You’ll need to network, use who you know.
5. Network: Start now if you're considering it. Find people on social media, establish future project buddies, join collaborative groups. This is more important than you may realize. Don’t skip on making friends and contacts.
6. Keep learning: It doesn’t stop, seriously, no coasting. Especially after your code camp experience is over. Your free time is your improvement time, even if it’s learning something simple, make time to learn.
7. Debt: Be prepared to enter an ISA to pay for a boot camp. Or find some other way to pay for it. Ask yourself this, would you bet on your own success? I would sleep on this. What will you do if it doesn’t pan out?

This will make sense in O(1) time, I promise!

Algorithms & Data Structures?

Chances are you won’t spend enough time on these in boot camp. But there are some common Algorithms & Data Structures you’ll need to know. The main reason being, they are commonly found in technical interviews. It’s not just using them. Example: “ I choose a Javascript Object because it’s lookup time is faster than an array in this use case…”. I know, this SOUNDS INTIMIDATING, but it’s harmless vocab, and the concepts are a lot of fun to learn. Pro-tip though, first learn a programming language, like python. Then take a stab at it! It’s worth trying even if you’re not sure this is right for you.

How much does this cost?

Experience?!?! But I’m smart and hardworking :(

But Sam, how am I suppose to get experience? This is so unfair, why won’t people even interview me. That’s easy, bots sort you out of the good stack of resumes. Chances are your resume doesn’t meet the companies standards, so it’s automatically put in another pile. Don’t take it personally, it’s just the way it goes. The trick here is getting shortlisted, or put on the good stack of resumes. This is where networking comes into play, a personal referral can make a huge difference. Attending events, connecting on linked-in, working on collaborative projects all counts.

You need so many experience points….

Level up your skills

Don’t lose hope, you can still win. It’s not so easy to be a well paid Junior Developer! You’ll just have to earn your keep, like so many others. Here’s what you’ll most likely be doing:

1. Git Commit/Git Merge: Every day, As much as possible. Using this site to show off your work is so important. Be professional and be active on here. Even if it’s a to-do list, it’s proof you’ve got what it takes.
2. Blogs: Just like this one, show you have a social media presence. You can get into deep technical stuff, or just share your thoughts that apply to the tech industry. Keep posting, it’s important.
3. Projects: Build stuff your passionate about. If you’re stuck, build an app you use every day. Building a phone app, shopping cart, to-do list, or game are all great resume builders. Udemy has a great selection of projects you can code along and build. Just keep building!
4. Commit to Other peoples Code: Open Source projects are your target and if you can land a merge. Put it on your resume, it counts as experience. It’s a breadcrumb, but it makes a difference.
5. Freelance: Sites like Upwork are great for this. Set a low price per hour, give yourself a long window to work on a project if you can, build up your reputation in the community. Also counts as experience and you can make some money doing it.
6. Hacker Rank or Leet Code: Great practice for technical interviews. Time yourself, get down to 20 minutes. Find a buddy and work on it together, talk out your thought process. Do as many as you can, work yourself up too hard problems. Great way to expose yourself to common interview/app building problems.
7. Play Games with Developers: Everyone likes games, but more importantly it’s a great way to network. Try to host Among us, maybe leagues of legends, smash bros. You can connect with people on discord, Facebook, etc.

You’ll get there, just keep at it!

Conclusion

It will be hard, this is not low lying fruit. You are dedicating hours of your life, working multiple things at once, and putting yourself in debt. There will be doubt, shame, and negativity. You gotta power through it. Some people in your class will get a job right away, others will take a long time and some people never get jobs. These are real stakes, no sugar coating.

The trick is don’t give up. If you want this, stay open-minded, humble, keep coding, make friends, learn from failures, code some more, compete against yourself, ask for help. This all helps you grow. This is the post Bootcamp life. You have to devote time, effort, and money to this. Make sure this is right for you?

Code camps only teach you the basics and try to temper your resolve for the Tech industry. The real challenge is the job hunt. While everyone loves the structure Boot camps provide, but honestly it was most likely you the whole time succeeding. Take that all into consideration when making this decision.

Please check out these links, super helpful material:

Code Academy, take a free course: https://www.codecademy.com

Youtube: Learn about Algorithms & Data Structures/Gayle Laakmann Mcdowell /Hackerrank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLKQEOgBAnw&t=364s

Udemy: Algorithms & Data Structures(learn Javascript first!): https://www.udemy.com/course/js-algorithms-and-data-structures-masterclass/

Github, make an account: https://github.com/

Intro to Github: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKg7e37bQE

Leet Code: https://leetcode.com/

Hackerrank: https://www.hackerrank.com/

Freelance with Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/ppc/landing/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAlZH_BRCgARIsAAZHSBnKGNZTAznDS_5g21RN7sgHZmeDzskgN8gc5GBngRZG8WpQihS0ZckaAqVpEALw_wcB

Thomas Keller Quote/article by Mark Wilson: https://www.fastcompany.com/1672282/thomas-keller-on-why-passion-shouldn-t-drive-you