he is definitely working hard on the self promotion, probably towards the next con.

Barring some last minute offer I'm likely going to move home at the end of the month and think of what to do next. Total jobs applied was in 700s counting 1 click apply from zip-recruiter, around 500 if not.

Cleveland!

Really sorry to hear it's not going so well for you out there, penguin.

Lol that's what I told him

Have you posted your resume or a link to it in this thread?

Cleveland area has an undeservedly poor reputation. Lots of things to do there. Real estate is reasonable, rents are reasonable. Lot of freeways, lot of good schools and so moving there to take a software dev job seems like a good thing.

Hey guys, I'm trying to finalize my decision for which path to take and any further input would be much appreciated.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I've been accepted into a well regarded, 2-year software development program at a technical school (starts this fall).

Rather than taking this on a full-time basis (7 courses/term) I'm strongly considering taking a local bootcamp and then following it up with courses from the program taken on a part-time basis (3-4 courses/term) while hopefully gaining experience and building projects on the side. The plan would be to complete the program in 3-4 years rather than 2, though obviously this would depend on how much work I'm able to find post-bootcamp.

Given that I am 30 years old with no relevant experience and a non-STEM degree, I figure the sooner I can get my feet wet in the industry, the better. I also prefer the latter option as I'll be able to maintain a bit more balance in my life.

Does anyone see a strong argument in favor of skipping the bootcamp and just going ahead with the full-time 2 year program?

Just skip the school and do the bootcamp

yeah why dont you do the bootcamp first and see if you can get hired?

Probably need more info on both programs to help make a decision. Cost, requirements, etc.

Bootcamp is $8k and the full-time diploma program is $11k. Cost isn't really a factor to me though. What do you mean by requirements?

The boot camp should give you a great chance at a job. If that's not the case then I would scrap it altogether. Or, if getting a job is not a high priority then it may not be best.

This prolly seems obv but I guess the point is that you need to figure out what you want.

like app academy says you have to live within 40 miles of their office for the first year of the job hunt. stuff like that. any refund possibilities, etc

Well, the bootcamps where I live aren't nearly as prestigious as those like AA and they don't offer any guarantees or refunds if the grad doesn't find work. With that said, they do claim to have a very high job placement rate and everyone I know who has gone through this bootcamp has vey positive things to say. The reality up here afaik is 30-50k/year for a starting position and I believe that many bootcamp grads start out with an internship or contract work (either would be fine with me).

Main priority is just to start building a network/portfolio and gaining some experience in the industry, whether that be FT, PT, or freelance/contract work. I'd also like to continue educating myself after the bootcamp to diversify and expand my skillset.

what city? cost of living in SF is very expensive + state taxes, so $100k in SF is probably close to $50k in most cities.

Vancouver, Canada.

I'd rather be getting paid to learn on the job than paying money to a school to learn.

What you learn on the job and what you learn at school are two different, though valuable, things.

Really good blog discussion and blog post by triplebyte with their comparison between boot camp and a grads

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11731564

good to see some statistics and measurements on the subject

I guess what this all comes down to for me is, will there ever be one of the following situations in the future:

1. I got a bachelor's and didn't do a bootcamp, and wish I'd done it the other way around
2. I did a bootcamp and didn't get a bachelor's, and wish I'd done it the other way around

1 seems like a very remote possibility. Like, I don't foresee a future where people with CS degrees just stop putting their degrees on their resumes because bootcamps are the superior way of learning.

2 seems like something that could actually happen. Boot camps could go out of style, be seen as code monkeys, be looked down upon, be replaced with some disruptive technology, etc.

If I don't want to wind up in a situation 5 years from now where I regret my decision, it seems like a bachelor's is the way to go.

Yea, I'm leaning back towards some type of more formal education as well. I worry that I'll always feel like (and probably be) at the very bottom of the heap if I try to compete in this field with only a bootcamp certificate and a non-technical degree and background.

@both of you. I think you will find that the 'standard path' that one takes to transitioning into a skilled labor job does not matter in the end. I think any employer that has some narrow-minded vision of what their perfect employee is will be missing out on loads of other high quality candidates.

Sure, I don't disagree with that at all. I'm just saying that if someone has to be the extremely talented dev who gets passed over for a job due to a lack of a certain piece of paper, I don't want it to be me.

Do you like showing up at 8am on the dot every day? Because I can bet you an employer that is working off a 20th century rulebook (like the ^^) won't be pleased if you start showing up "late" every day. I know because I get an email every few weeks from my team manager reminding me work starts @ 8am. I finish any tasks I'm assigned fairly promptly and never show up before 8:30.