So You Wanna Be A Software Engineer?
By: Will Comfort
Tags: Bootcamp, Programming, Software Engineering

Cost

With student loan debt at an all time high, the cost of your education is almost certainly a factor you are considering. A four year college can easily eclipse six figures when you factor in room and board and a private institution can leave you with a mortgage sized bill from tuition alone. Coding bootcamps provide an obvious advantage when it comes to cost. The typical coding bootcamp will cost around $15,000, with a range from $10,000 to $20,000. While this is still a considerable amount of money, it pales in comparison to a four year institution.

Another advantage that bootcamps provide are income share agreements. Many bootcamps will not charge you until you have secured employment with a minimum salary. The ISA will be more expensive than paying up front, but allows you to learn a new skill without draining your savings or taking out a loan you will have to pay back no matter what. Some bootcamps will waive your tuition or offer a refund if you are unable to find a job in a given timeframe.

Time Commitment

A four year degree will take, well most likely, four years. During this time you will only be in class a few hours a day, and possibly only at night which will allow you to work while you learn. This can help offset the cost of your education or keep your current job. The longer timeframe also allows you to learn about a wider variety and get in more practice. If you are looking to make a career change sooner than later, this might be too long of a time frame for you.

Bootcamps on the other hand are extremely condensed and typically last 3 months if you go full time. During the bootcamp, you will be in class around 40 hours a week and need more time to study and review. This would make it incredibly difficult to hold down a job during this period. The condensed coursework certainly makes bootcamps challenging academically as well. I can say from first-hand experience it is like drinking from a firehose and moves MUCH quicker than college courses. However, this does allow you to begin your career sooner.

What You’ll Learn

While you will get lots of material overlap, colleges will offer a much more in depth look at programming. Computer Science degrees focus more on the science of programming compared to bootcamps’ focus on job placement. College coursework will also include advanced mathematics and elective courses. Emphasis will be placed on theory and the architecture of languages.

Coding bootcamps will provide real world on the job skills. With the tight timeframe bootcamps operate on, you cannot learn as much compared to a four year degree, but will learn enough to land a job and provide value to your company. You will probably learn a few different languages that will allow you to make a web application from scratch. What you learn after a bootcamp provides you with this foundation is up to you.

Quality of Education

Four year institutions get the leg up here. An accredited program will always be a safer bet than a non-accredited one. Colleges have been established for decades, or even centuries and have developed reputations with employers for producing quality workers. They also have established alumni networks that can influence offers of employment.

Coding bootcamps have been around for about a decade and have not had the same time to develop reputations for quality graduates. That is not to say bootcamps do not produce good employees, you just have to be careful in selecting one. I personally chose Flatiron School because of their independent job placement report and a recommendation from a friend that graduated. Coding bootcamps can provide a wonderful education and so far Flatiron has provided instruction on par with my university. If you choose to go this route just be sure to do your research and know that it could be a riskier option.