Ask HN: Are dev bootcamps worth it even if you don't want to be a full-time dev? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are dev bootcamps worth it even if you don't want to be a full-time dev?

5 pointsdawhizkid5 comments

I'm in a PM role right now, but want to do a heads down code bootcamp to get from a 3 to a 7-8 as far as my technical chops go. I don't necessarily want to be a rank-and-file developer at a startup or big co, but I want something to push me to learn so I can either be 1) better at my current job or 2) start my own company. Has anyone gone through a bootcamp without the intention of becoming a professional developer?

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I know few people that got jobs thanks to bootcamps.

How exactly dev skills would help you with starting a job? Do you want to code it yourself? Or do you want to know what if your devs go correct path?

You have to understand that development is a very wide term.

There is a frontend - UI + UX, both of them pretty complicated and it's only making designs a reality. Not really worth learning as a PM in my opinion. If you want to build a SaaS yourself, you would have to learn it, though. But as I said it's still a lot of work to learn it, just for programming UI+UX...

Then there is a backend. Lot's of different programming languages. Not only languages but also frameworks. This won't really help you with your current job. But there is SQL and databases. In my opinion, this is worth something reading about and playing around. Why? Because sometimes very simple things are very complicated to implement due to database structure made by developers. Additionally, you can write your own SQL to query some data instead of asking devs to craft it for you.

I'd also look for books that are meant for PMs on this subject. I'm sure there are some, but I don't know them. I'd learn about general stuff. Why there is backend + frontend + devops. How do they connect with each other, etc? This would help you understand better dev teams dynamics. Also, it would allow you to avoid some traps when starting your own company. Like thinking about using SPA, when server side rendered is just enough.

For whatever little my opinion is worth, my view is that technical skills are a "use it or lose it" kind of thing. That goes double for web development, which is what most bootcamps seem to cover, since they tend to focus on current frameworks and libraries rather than fundamentals and those things churn extremely quickly. It won't hurt you but, unless you have much better memory retention than most people, it may not benefit you all that much either.

I just undertook something similar to what you are describing. I'm currently in a data analytics role at a large company and had been looking to get my MBA at a respectable school to transition into product management. I went into a part-time bootcamp with the goals of 1) improving my own technical understanding to be able to run a product team 2) bolster my MBA app profile and 3) be able to prototype and build my own things if I ever start my own company. So definitely not with the goal of being a developer.

I am going to business school this fall and am quite happy with how everything turned out. I really enjoyed the bootcamp, fully understanding that the material was more or less survey-level. People will also tell you that bootcamps aren't necessary because you can self-learn and there are lots of resources out there - but I believe that to be true of almost anything nowadays. The toughest thing for me when understanding coding and development is distilling down the massive amount of info out there and having the context of relevant technologies, how they are used, what's important etc. which I think would be really tough to learn on your own. Also having a structured environment and learning with a cohort is something that should not be discounted.

If you think this is something you might want to do, I'd say go for it. I'm not sure you'd go from a 3 to an 8 on tech chops, but maybe a 6 and then depending on how much more learning you do on your own. It's also a lifelong learning thing - so the value is less about the specific languages and frameworks you learn, and more about knowing how to build an app and the process of coding (since it will all be different in 3 years anyway). I'm also not sure how much the bootcamp bolstered my applications, but I found it to be a valuable experience nonetheless.

>>I don't necessarily want to be a rank-and-file developer at a startup or big co

If above is true- is paying $10k+ giving up 3 mos. of salary worth it to you especially if you can learn same material a bit slower at a community college for almost free?

how are you going to support yourself while you decide to go to a bootcamp? Also is there a specific bootcamp you are looking to attend and also the cost?

I don't see why you couldn't learn these things on your own as there are TONS of resources online, Udemy, books, Free Online tutorials.

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