How to pick the right software bootcamp — 20 questions to ask when weighing up the options.
So you’re thinking of doing a software development bootcamp. Perhaps you’ve done an intro to JavaScript course on Codecademy and can’t wait to get building websites. Or maybe you’ve spent the last year or so completing self-led learning, and now you want to dive right in and commit to a formal education environment, in the hope of landing your first role as a junior developer.
What a huge decision to make! Well, now you’ve got another one… who do you choose to give your time, energy, and the equivalent of a deposit on a small house to? (If you’re buying in Wales or the North that is!)
You’ve no doubt scoured the internet, socials and maybe even Reddit’s ‘learnprogramming’ community to try and find the option that fits best, but here’s a tip; don’t be swayed by the opinion of a few, or be fooled by a fancy marketing brochure. Do your own research.
Ask bootcamps these questions and get the answers you need to make the most informed choice you possibly can. What works for one person, won’t work for another… and if you’re more of a ‘bath person’, you’re probably not going to want to spend that deposit on a studio with a shower in the kitchen.
Bold are questions to ask bootcamps. Italicised are explanations why, or questions to ask yourself.
Time and Tuition
- What are the core hours of study/tuition each day and how many hours outside of this am I expected to be studying? Aside from the course providers expectations, what is typical of the average student?
Is part-time more suitable if you intend to stay in your current job for the duration of the course? Is 9–6 what you need because of family, hobbies, self-care and other commitments? Are you wanting to power through a 70–80 hour week and if so, can you physically and mentally sustain that for 3–6 months?
- How many live teaching lessons are provided each week?
Do you want to join a programme that has a heavy focus on live teaching and the ability to ask questions as you go, or do you want one live session a week and the rest self-led learning of their curriculum?
- How many live sessions not specifically related to coding are provided each week?
Do you want a course that incorporates learning outside the main scope of programming, such as soft-skills, emotional intelligence or networking?
- Is my work marked and how do you measure my progress?
What feedback are you anticipating? Do you need confirmation you’re on the right track? A marker/goal to reach each week? Someone to step in and help if you’re struggling? Alternatively would you prefer to be accountable to yourself and your peers and track your progress by your own goals?
- What steps, help and support are in place to help me when I’m truly stuck?
How do you access support? When is that support available? If you’re well and truly stuck and can’t find the answer/solution, how do you get it?
- How many team projects do I take part in?
It’s important to learn how to work in a team in the specifics of software development. How many opportunities do you get and how big are those projects / teams? Do you learn agile methodologies as part of this?
- How many solo projects do I complete?
Again, working independently is just as important and don’t forget, you’re going to be trying to build a portfolio — not just to show your capabilities at the end, but how you have progressed and grown your knowledge throughout the course.
- Am I expected to / is it a typical for me to work on weekends?
Are your weekends sacred? Can you make time to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday working on projects? Are you happy to give up a couple of weekends to work on projects? Could you dedicate 6 weekends to projects, effectively working 7 days for 6 weeks?
- Do I have a designated mentor?
Who holds you accountable aside from your peers? Who do you go to in the event of … well, anything! Do you actually have a dedicated mentor? Is that something you want or need?
- How many people are in each cohort?
Coupled with the answers to some of the questions above, this should tell you how easy it will be to access support, or how many people you will be learning alongside. Did you thrive in a class of 33 in school, or did you excel in the lessons that had a lower student uptake?
- What languages do I study?
Hugely important. Look at the sort of companies and industries you’d like to work in — what tech are they using? Take a look at their open vacancies, what skills and technologies are they asking for in the job descriptions? Do these match or align with what the bootcamp will teach you?
- What support is available for those with additional learning needs?
A biggie. If you have additional learning needs, like dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or any other adjustments to help you perform at your best, how is that supported? What accomodations can be made? Does the bootcamp have experience with ALN and can they give you an example of adjustments they have made, and/or support that has been provided to students in the past?
Careers Support
- What does the job support look like post course?
Here you’re looking to find out how much support you are going to be offered. Is there a schedule similar to the learning element of the course? Do you have help writing your CV or covering letter? Are there careers fairs and if so, how often? How long does the careers support last — is it a set period of time after graduation, or is it until you find your first role?
- If the course has hiring partners, or agreements with companies to employ their students upon completion, how many roles have been available to graduates in the past 6 months?
Full disclosure, I asked a version of this question towards the end of my course and I couldn’t get an answer. Even after rephrasing and asking for an abitrary figure. There’s plenty of talk about the ‘state of junior hiring’ at the moment — if a selling point of a particular bootcamp is the amount of companies they work with to find their graduates jobs, how many have been available recently? You’re trying to find out what opportunities will be available to you and the rest of your cohort upon course completion.
Out of these available roles, what has been the average salary?
Say a bootcamp costs £10k, how are you funding that? Do you need to be earning a particular salary to afford repayments if it’s a loan? Do you have dependents or other financial commitments and need a specific amount as a minimum in order to maintain those? If the average salary upon graduation is £22k, £25k, £30k, or even higher, which of those baselines do you need to hit in order to pay your bills? There’s often short-term sacrifice for long-term gain, but there’s also council tax and food shopping.
- In the past 6 or 12 months, what percentage of grads have been hired into junior roles?
Not all bootcamps have associated hiring companies they partner with. Even if they do, many grads will find employment outside of these schemes. What’s the percentage? If 100 people completed the course and only 10 have found employment, but a different bootcamp can show 80 out of their 100 students have been employed, you might want to dig deeper and find out why. Is this particular bootcamp viewed favourably by employers and they love hiring their graduates, or are they far from first choice when looking for juniors.
- In the past 6 or 12 months, what is the average time to find employment post course?
Many people can acknowledge that when leaving their current employment to join a full-time bootcamp, they need to also consider how they financially support themselves for the duration of the course. You may also budget for a month or two after graduation when navigating the all important job hunting stage. Do the majority of students find employment within 2 months? Is the average more like 6 months? If so, can you afford to support yourself through this period, or are you able to take up employment in your current industry, should the average be a little longer?
Other questions
- Is there an alumni community? Tell me about it.
Networking is a huge part of becoming a developer or engineer and some of us are naturals at sending LinkedIn connection requests and attending tech meetups. Others might find this daunting and overwhelming. Is there an alumni community you can get involved in?
- Can you observe a day with an existing cohort?
I have to be honest, this isn’t something I even thought about until right this second, but it actually makes quite a bit of sense. You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first! It’s probably unlikely, but there’s certainly no harm in asking. That way you’d get a real feel for how you’d fit into their learning environment!
- What if you absolutely hate it?
This sounds a bit negative, but I’m sure we’ve all been in situations where we’ve decided to do something and it hasn’t met our expectations, or been the right fit. If you try a new restaurant and really dislike the food, you don’t go back. If you order some expensive shoes online and they’re a bit too big, you’d return them. The same principle stands here. If you finally make your decision and enroll with a bootcamp, you’re probably very certain this is the path for you — (especially if you’ve asked all the questions above!) But what happens if a week or two down the line, you absolutely hate it. What do you do then? Are you able to leave and receive a pro-rata refund, or are you tied in and that’s the end of that?
Summary
I appreciate that some of the explanations for the questions might appear a tad pessimistic, and I can assure you it’s not all doom and gloom out there. However, when you’re making a decision as important as changing your career, it’s incredibly important that it’s an informed, considered and thoughtful one.
The right bootcamp can change your life in the most positive of ways, but the wrong one can do some serious damage.
Once you’ve narrowed the options down, hop on LinkedIn, reach out to recent alumni and ask about their experiences! Ask them specifically to tell you what they enjoyed, what they hated and what they would do differently given the chance. I’ve had so many conversations with people from a variety of different bootcamps, and there’s been nothing but support, advice and camaraderie shared between us.
The tech community can be an extremely welcoming place and you’ll find bootcamp graduates are more than happy to chat. We’ve been there, we understand the decision you’re making and we know just how important it is to make the right one.
As always, if there’s a topic you’d like me to talk about, or you think I can help you in any way, please reach out to me!
Peace, love and console logs,
Hayley
