I’d do a bootcamp today after about 1.5 years of self taught through hands on experience. I feel if I would’ve done it out the gate, then I wouldn’t get the full value and would have been overwhelmed.

Oh, but Don. The problem is that so many employers won't even look at your application without a CS or related bachelor's degree. You'll be filtered out before they even lay eyes on your resume/projects. And even if you did manage to get the job today, how secure will you be relative to your CS-degreed peers? Will you survive the next few rounds of layoffs over them? And if not, how hard will it be for you to land your next job without that much experience? As companies continue to complain about having too many applications to sift through, the credentialism will only get worse. I wish this weren't true. It would save a lot of people thousands and thousands of dollars and years of time spent on subject matter that is only tangentially related to day-to-day software engineering. But here we are.

I'd really like a trade school, 2-year equivalent program for development. I was close to a beginner when I went to a bootcamp, and there was no real differentiation in the course for student ability. I got familiar with concepts, but I certainly didn't learn them well. It was a bittersweet experience, sweet in hindsight because I managed to get work. Some concepts just require more time & practice. 3 months is so little time, and if the material isn't taught well, so much of that time gets wasted.

I appreciate your candidness. Respect brother.

After months hanging around r/CodingBootcamp, I needed to hear this. Subbed.

I think a lot of 3 to 6 month Bootcamps might die off. The other day I saw a 10 month "Bootcamp", don't know if a that point we should call them Bootcamps. I know that the ide of the CS degree with only core classes have been out there, but I think you need at least 2 years of knowledge acquisition, the theory and the practice, in order to actually be prepared for todays market. Becoming a Software Engineer is not like studying Medical Billing, Plumbing, or HVAC technician. It's not a trade. It's a career.

I just graduated from Springboard's software engineering bootcamp a couple of weeks ago, and you have no idea how much I needed to hear this right now. THANK YOU SIR!

The problem with the bootcamps is that it's just students teaching students. They usually hire recent grads to teach what they barely grasp

Glad to hear this after being in the self taught path for 1.5 year. I have finally registered with Fulstack academy July 15 cohort.

I was selt learning for 12 months b4 i decided i really wanted to get into data science (engineer) in those 12 months i learned python and sql so moving into data was smooth, only 3 months ago i started a data science degree here in the uk, so i can put that on my resume and have practical skills even b4 i graduate. 😅

Hey Don! I really enjoy your videos and have watched I think most of them. B/c of your channel I discovered scrimba and pretty much followed through most of your advices: 1)research 2)self study a few months (3 in my case) 3)6 month full stack bootcamp 4)continued studying Found out precisely like you said: Definitely it helped a lot with my difficulties and insecurities and it helped me to be better on how to learn and how to figure stuff out on my own, but still b/c of how the market was I was still kind of far away from a junior role. I just wanted your opinion on this, and see what you think about it. I ended up landing a Software QA job thankfully but still my true interest and passion lies in a dev job. I believe having that professional experience is going to be a huge plus even though my time to learn specific skills required for a dev job and working on projects is going to be limited. I have been advised in taking this route and slowly but surely transition into a dev role by other people but I don’t think I’ve heard your thoughts on it. Hope you have time to read this and once again, really enjoy your honest opinions!

Opinions on a 2 year program with a coop included. In canada diploma programs are kind of like trade school with a work program included. Do you think it could be a viable option

hahaha I watched A TON of your bootcamp reviews to see which one to go and I wonder which ones you would consider the best ones...

How do you feel about 100devs as a viable coding bootcamp? After i finish freecodecamps courses that was the course i was planning to progress to.

what do you think is more important after the bootcamp? DS&A or project building? Cause I feel you might know the stuff but if you don't do the DS&A question interview is over

Thumbnail is just good life advice, tbh

I'd only do a coding bootcamp if my employer paid for it.

Thanks, I needed this. I was considering going for a CS degree because of reddit, but I think I'll stick with the self-taught/bootcamp route. I also joined a few local coding meetup groups like a previous video of yours suggested.

Even when they're not fraudulent (like Lambda School), in the USA bootcamps are still a ripoff compared to community colleges and state universities, both of which offer flexible options for upskilling. Heck, for bootcamp money you could get an actual degree from an actual university, as state universities are bound to have steep discounts for residents of the state they're in.

I don't know if you've heard, but Rithm School is shutting down.

F you Don, I got this

Not be a dick, misleading advertising. Not marketing. Marketing cannot be misleading.