Ask HN: Have you done a coding bootcamp? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Have you done a coding bootcamp?

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I’m wondering if there are people here who have done a coding bootcamp? If so, was it paid or free? What did you think of the experience? Did it land you a job? I’ve always wondered of the efficacy of bootcamps so would be interested to hear people’s experience.

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I have interviewed many candidates from bootcamps. The problem with bootcamps is that they don't teach you the fundamentals and throw you in with some latest hot framework (react etc) without you really understanding the fundamentals.

For example, most bootcampers could not explain the basics of an HTML Form submission. But they know how to send a POST request using React or whatever. They however don't know what actually makes an Http Request. Many couldn't tell me the construct of a request (header vs body) even though they knew how to setup a X-Api-Key in a http request using the library. Fundamentals people, fundamentals.

I don't recommend Bootcamps until you have done your own homework first. Start with something like freecodecamp and once you have learned some fundamentals, may be a bootcamp can help. Think of a Bootcamp as a vehicle to help you connect with potential employers but the real learning happens on your own first. Plus, if you are not motivated to learn on your own in 2023, you are probably not going to make it successfully out of a bootcamp anyway.

All the best.

BUT ... that is what leetcode optimizes for, just need to memorize all the optimal solutions to a set of problems without having any decent CS background, because "who cares about degrees"?

Bootcamps are a great feeder channel for bodyshops.

Students learn the latest $FRAMEWORK and get offered entry roles in companies, often affiliated with the bootcamp. Some students are smart (and fortunate) enough to land roles elsewhere.

The courses are both fast paced and shallow enough that students learn the bare minimum to use the tech stack.

As others have mentioned, I have also interviewed many bootcampers who struggle with the fundamentals.

I completed a boot-camp around two years ago. It was part of the UK Government's apprenticeship scheme. During the course, I interviewed and landed a junior position at an agency. This meant I was paid for my time on the course and was offered a year-long contract. The apprenticeship also required that I complete two written documents along with interviews about my work.

On the whole, it's been a very positive journey.

- The boot-camp spanned three months, it expected all participants to undertake a several months of self-study and interview for a position on the programme

- It was fast paced and covered a lot

- The hands-on experience from the apprenticeship has been priceless

- That said, I'm currently on the hunt for a new position and am finding it quite tough to nail down interviews. I've come to realise that I require and also want a deeper foundational knowledge, rather than just knowing how to employ frameworks like Express/React to build CRUD apps

The boot-camp is called Founders and Coders[0]. I would thoroughly recommended it.

[0] https://www.foundersandcoders.com/

I've hired a few people from bootcamps, and they're really great. They're almost always mature professionals who have jumped head first into a career change, so they're invested. The camps tend to cover a lot of the "newer" parts of the language, and a few "typical products" in business, so they come in with a sense of "I've seen this pattern before".

sounds like you just need copy pasta drones

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