The bootcamp market is expected to grow exponentially by 2031.1 Today, prospective bootcamp students have an array of courses from which to choose—from a full-stack web development to a software engineering bootcamp, and from a data science to a machine learning program—so it’s important to use every available resource to determine the best tech education program for you, including reviews from others who’ve gone through the coding bootcamp.
For years, web development, software engineering, and data science bootcamp students and graduates have been providing online reviews of their program experience, helping aspiring web developers and software engineers decide which education provider and course is right for them. While many reviews reflect honest and meaningful feedback from authentic people, some reviews are fraudulent, misleading, or manipulated. After all, it has been reported that 30% of all online reviews are outright fake, and between 16-50% are manipulated to suit the needs of the brand.2
Despite the growing rate of fraudulent reviews across industries, nearly 76% of consumers still turn to online reviews as part of their research and decision-making process.3 The trust and reliance that customers place in peer reviews can negatively impact even reputable brands if negative feedback is provided. Because of this, most coding bootcamps remain on high alert and implement processes to quickly address any negative feedback.
For those researching bootcamps or exploring education paths for a future in a computer science field web development or software engineering, it’s important to be savvy and keep in mind that not all reviews may be real or written with good intent for future coding bootcamp students—and even those written with good intentions may not provide an accurate idea of what you yourself will experience.
Key takeaways
- Online reviews are valuable, but not always authentic: Coding bootcamp reviews submitted by students and graduates can offer helpful insights, but it’s important to be cautious of any fake or manipulated ones.
- Different types of reviews serve different purposes: Editorial reviews provide an overview of program quality, while student reviews offer subjective, personal experiences that vary widely. Through both, you can get an idea of whether the coding bootcamp will provide in-demand skills as well as additional career support needed to help you enter the job market for a tech industry such as web development, software development, data science, and more.
- A multi-faceted, logical research approach is essential: Prospective students should research online reviews, recent news, program comparisons, and personal recommendations to make an informed decision about which program is the right coding bootcamp for their own learning style, schedule, and goals.
Types of Online Reviews for Coding Bootcamps
How does a prospective coding bootcamp student ensure they’re getting accurate information about one of the most important investments they’ll make? For retirees or working professionals later in their tech careers, how can they make sure that investing in a coding bootcamp will give them sufficient training for a freelance career?
Before we answer this question, we first need to look at the types of bootcamp reviews that may be submitted by coding bootcamp professionals, students, and graduates.
Editorial Review
Coding bootcamps typically have two types of reviews. The first is editorial. This is where an education professional, former coding bootcamp student, instructor, or coding bootcamp CEO will give you a first-hand account of program quality, curriculum, and differentiators that make the bootcamp unique. For example, did the graduate convey in their student success story that their teacher effectively conveyed in-demand technical skills? Does the feature article on a coding bootcamp instructor note that their learning process includes real-world projects and hands-on experience? Does the CEO mention in his interview that included in the coding bootcamp cost is additional career services for students and alumni to boost their job placement rates?
Anonymous Student Review
The second type of review is the anonymous student review. You’ve likely seen a variation of these in most places on the internet—Amazon product reviews, on the Yelp app, inside Google Maps, and on other online retail stores. The reviews range from glowing to highly critical. To no one’s surprise, many are highly polarizing and convey a different experience than the student before and the one after. While one coding bootcamp graduate may give five stars, writing that the instructors and comprehensive career services team helped them successfully land a job as a full-stack web developer, another may give 2-stars and think that the instructors were unable to impart many useful coding skills beyond basic knowledge, and that the career services team wasn’t terribly helpful. Also keep in mind that any reviewer may differ from you in learning style, prior coding experience, and more, so take everything said (both positive and negative) with a grain of salt.
Reading the Latest News
Before any other steps, the first thing to do when evaluating a coding bootcamp is to search for the latest news. By turning to a resource such as Google News, you’ll quickly be able to skim any recent positive or negative coverage around a coding bootcamp that you’re interested in attending.
That sounds like common sense, right? Not necessarily. Most coding bootcamp research occurs through sites listed on search engine results pages. This can be fine, but it’s important to also research recent news within the bootcamp, as recent news stories may communicate major announcements about the bootcamp provider or raise potential red flags regarding the program.
Analyzing Student Reviews
During the research and decision-making phases of finding a coding bootcamp, prospective students have a lot to consider and evaluate. When encountering online reviews from bootcamp students and graduates, it’s important to read those reviews with discerning eyes while conducting your own research or consulting directly with a bootcamp’s admissions representative.
Key Questions to Ask While Researching Coding Bootcamps
Here are a list of questions to keep in mind as you research online coding bootcamps and read user reviews and feedback.
- What types of learning outcomes will an in-person, hybrid, or online coding bootcamp offer me for this specific level of training?
- Are the reviews for this coding bootcamp positive, and do they all say very similar statements about the coding bootcamp education?
- How transparent is the bootcamp organization in discussing job placement rates for graduates, and do the anonymized reviews reflect those rates?
- What does the coding bootcamp graduate that left the review feel about the education or instructors at their particular coding bootcamp?
- Does the coding bootcamp recommend you have a formal computer science background or any prior coding experience? Some advanced programs may require this, but most affordable coding bootcamps are built for all ability levels.
- Did the coding bootcamp student report a significant change in coding skill or have a sense of “readiness” (particularly those without a background in software engineering, web development, etc, or previous experience enrolling in coding bootcamps, accredited universities, or even self-paced online courses)? It’s important to read closely for this. If a student doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, you’ll want to understand how prepared they felt to enter the tech industry job market as an entry-level employee.
- Is the review detailed enough to tell whether the student has a formal software engineering background or currently works as a software engineer? Does it sound like they had previous coding skills? This would provide color on why one of the student reviewers found the curriculum simple or challenging.
- How did students feel about the programming language(s) the coding bootcamp curriculum covered? For example, did the bootcamp place enough emphasis on fundamental HTML/CSS (web development) or Python/R/SQL/Java (data science)? Try to get a sense of whether a bootcamp with a shorter program duration still provides deep knowledge of the programming language(s) needed to succeed as a computer science professional.
- Was there a particular course that was the best or most popular one to join? If a coding bootcamp offers different bootcamps specializing in web development, data science, or machine learning, was there a large volume of reviews mentioning one specific program, and would this program actually align with your career goals? Did people seem to rate full-time coding bootcamps higher than part-time, or do they seem to think the in-person was more effective than the online courses, and do these options fit into your learning style and schedule?
- Did the coding bootcamp student reviews demonstrate that they had a strong advantage over other coding bootcamp graduates applying for the same jobs?
- Do the job placement reviews and career services insights on those anonymized student reviews align with the job placement metrics and outcomes data listed on the bootcamp website or from your research in speaking with a coding bootcamp admissions representative?
Comparing Coding Bootcamps
While anonymized reviews are an important consideration factor when exploring coding bootcamps, prospective students should use them as just one tool in their belt, rather than have them make up their entire toolbox. This is because everyone has a different experience and varying expectations of their coding bootcamp. Even employers have differing perspectives on which bootcamps might be red flags for candidates to have on their resumes. It’s also because the industry does not yet have a sophisticated mechanism to verify the authenticity of coding bootcamp reviews.
Comparing coding bootcamps is an incredibly important part of a prospective student’s research process. Unfortunately, however, the way a typical search engine results page is set up makes it incredibly difficult to seamlessly compare coding bootcamp tuition, curriculum, graduation and job placement rates, learning outcomes, and career services.
A side-by-side comparison is an optimal way to compare the intricacies of the coding bootcamp’s offerings against your personal priorities, career motivations, and educational goals. Sites such as Course Report, and of course Career Karma provide profiles and editorial analyses that look at the various components and differentiators of bootcamps with the intent of educating prospective students to make smart decisions for themselves and their future. These comparison sites also place real value in student reviews, but use them as a data point in their analysis. More weight is often given to objective metrics such as coding bootcamp cost, program duration, and coursework, technical skills gained, career services such as job placement assistance or resume and interview prep, and graduate earnings.
Becoming a Software Developer or Web Developer? Use Logic.
Coding bootcamp reviews are an important evaluation component for anyone considering a future as software developer, but it’s best to approach the overall research process in a logical manner and break it down into steps that include:
- Understanding Your Motivations and Goals: Think about what you want to gain from a coding bootcamp, how you want to apply the practical skills you’ve built, and where you want to go in your tech career.
- Researching the Latest News: Look into the current status of a bootcamp provider to ensure that there are no red flags or potential areas for concern.
- Consulting Peer Reviews: Turn to your network of friends and colleagues to get opinions on programs, and read online reviews from students and graduates (while also being mindful that reviews are subjective and may not always be authentic and written by someone who has actually completed the program).
- Comparing Programs: Refer to a site that analyzes multiple coding bootcamps through various metrics and presents the information in a clear format that enables you to quickly filter the programs that meet your needs and objectives.
Enrolling in a coding bootcamp is an important investment that could impact both your personal and professional life. Approaching your search holistically across reviews, program comparisons, and recent news will ensure you ultimately select the right coding bootcamp for your learning style and your professional development, with a proven track record of successfully helping people build skills in web development, software engineering, data science, and more.
Sources
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
