I've covered the badness of Bootcamps, but I'm a fairly objective person so are there some things bootcamps do that I like? Or, that they could do differently and better?
Keep in mind that these are usually touted as way more awesome at a BC than they are, but:
Keep in mind that these are usually touted as way more awesome at a BC than they are, but:
#1) The "network" and ability to connect people with jobs is something universities suck at. Bootcamps do it in an exploitative way though, and they're stupid b/c they could also just....run a damn recruiting firm on the side and make all that ISA money plus boost placement.
#2) The community. I'm a loner, and for me programming is a personal meditative practice, so I don't really care about being able to talk to other people. Everyone else though needs a way to chat with people about their problems so they don't feel like their doing it alone.
#2 Side Note: Don't dump your personal fears and problems on the group like it's free therapy. Being able to talk and hack on things with others is fun, but when you come in and scream "WAaaaahhhh I worked on this for 30 minutes and I'm a huge failure now!" then you suck.
#3) Certificates. Programming is like a lot of performance arts: Nobody cares about your degree. All they care about is you can do it reliably. Painting, Music, Writing, and Coding all are like this.
Except! Companies are morons and think a certificate means something.
Except! Companies are morons and think a certificate means something.
#4) Forcing you to put your butt in a seat and do some work. Even I can't get organized well enough to finish things, but if I have a seat at an office and work for someone else I'm a code death machine.
#4 Side Note) If you cannot work on your own though then you will be at a disadvantage in programming. Even places that do Pair Programming expect you to do most of your own learning, and when new things come out you have to work on your own to learn them.
#5) Teaching modern technology. In the US you can get Advanced Placement credit in High School, but to do that you have to pass a JAVA test. Universities also cater to ancient employers and teach just one language, maybe two, and usually whatever that local employer wants.
#5 Side Note) If you want to have a long career in programming then the two most important skills to pick up are:
1. Learning new languages fast, because I guarantee everyone will lose their mind in 5 years and you have to join them.
2. Fixing bugs, b/c there's so many.
1. Learning new languages fast, because I guarantee everyone will lose their mind in 5 years and you have to join them.
2. Fixing bugs, b/c there's so many.
#6) Exploiting the stupid hiring practices of companies. Tech companies are weirdly obsessed with rooting out fraudulent programmers, and also weirdly seem to be very terrible at that. Bootcamps do a good job of getting people through these stupid ineffective interviews.
#6 Side Note) It may seem like this is bad, but you can only tell if someone can code on *your* pile of code garbage by having them code on it for about a month. Interviews are just a way for young white dudes to keep everyone else away from their garbage pile.
That's all I can think of for now. I think most of these things can be done better by every institution, and I really think bootcamps claim to do these things and either use them to exploit people, or don't really do them well at all so don't take the above as an endorsement.
