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Emily Vee
5,880 Points9 or 12 week Bootcamps -- Any opinions?
So I'm thinking about like totally restructuring my life, ie a big career change. I'm currently an underemployed attorney for a software company; i've been out of school for 2 years. I cannot find a law firm job, despite constant networking and pro bono work. My two law grad friends are in the same boat, and both from top 25 schools.
Anyway, I've been thinking about doing a bootcamp and going into development. I work closely with our devs, and I've been coding a bit of Java for demos of our software. I also love computers/tech, etc... I've been nerding out since I was a little kid and I find that I truly enjoy it. I've been slowly teaching myself Ruby/Rails/Github/Heroku, etc... rudimentary at best, as I haven't the time to really delve deeply into learning.
So I'm thinking of quitting my job, taking what little savings I have, and doing a Bootcamp like Dev Bootcamp, General Assembly, App Academy, or Flatiron School.
Does anyone here have any experience with them... or any opinions/feedback? Better yet, is anyone here doing one?
10 Answers
Chase Lee
29,275 PointsThe world of programing is open for sure. Good decision to switch.
Spen Taylor
13,027 PointsI'd say go for it! Your legal knowledge will surely make you much more hire-able than a developer of equal standards when you do come to applying for dev jobs. Learn what you can from the team your already working with then get stuck in!
As for the bootcamps - I'd love to look into something similar although I'm not sure if they have anything quite like this here in the UK, I wasted my shot at university doing a silly science degree so have been looking into other ways to gain some credibility and experience in development, a bootcamp could be the ticket!
Sorry I couldn't contribute any information or opinions on the camps like you asked but good luck finding out more about them and even more good luck if you see it through!
Michael Poley
8,772 PointsI haven't personally worked with any of the Bootcamps that have been available. But if you have a clear goal in mind it might be more useful to find an experienced developer that could operate as a mentor for you.
James Barnett
39,199 PointsHere's a great list of boot camps to choose from, if you haven't already decided where you want to go http://bootcamper.io/
Spen Taylor
13,027 PointsSome of these bootcamps look a decent deal! thanks James Barnett Crossing the Atlantic everyday for 12 weeks could get costly though!
Michael Poley
8,772 PointsLooking at Barnett's list I actually have used one of these programs as I'm currently using Thinkful's mentoring program.
It has me working with a former IBM developer who now lives in Guatemala. We meet once a week over Skype and via email. It's been a pretty good experience - though it's more of a Front-End focused program right now.
Emily Vee
5,880 PointsCool! Thanks for the feedback, Michael. I'll keep that option in mind.
Spen Taylor
13,027 PointsE. V. , I've been giving serious consideration to doing one of these boot camps next summer, I'd love to hear how you get on with yours if you do in-fact enrol on one!
Calvin Nisbet
4,582 PointsEmily, did you ever go through with the program? If so, do you mind sharing some of your thoughts about it?
Jonathan Lau
2,857 PointsI went through a coding school myself and got a nice job afterwards - but do be careful when making a decision, because some schools are better than others! It's all about how much effort you put into it.
Checkout Coding Bootcamp Reviews for alumni reviews of coding bootcamps.
As for the schools you mentioned above, check out: General Assembly Reviews, Dev Bootcamp Reviews, App Academy Reviews, and Flatiron School Reviews.
Sounds like you're looking in NYC? There is also Hacker School and many more other NYC Coding Bootcamps
Take your time to research - it is hard to find a good fit - but it's worth it once you do.
Hope that is helpful for you!