How to Choose the Best Coding Bootcamp for Your Career Goals

Over the past years, coding bootcamps have become a viable alternative among people looking to start a career in tech without going back to college. Bootcamps are short, intensive code schools designed to provide practical training for a specific type of tech career, like data science, software engineering, full-stack web development and software development, and much more. And with so many coding bootcamps on the market today, it can be difficult to know how to choose a coding bootcamp.

There are full-time and part-time programs, as well as in-person and online courses, that cover a wide range of coding bootcamp foci, for everything from cyber security to machine learning. To choose the right coding bootcamp, you need to define your career goals and the type of learning format you want. In this article, we’ll take you step by step through the factors you need to consider to pick a coding bootcamp that is right for you.

How to Choose a Coding Bootcamp: 8 Things to Consider

There are a handful of factors you should consider when choosing a coding bootcamp. By considering these factors upfront, you’re more likely to get accepted into a coding bootcamp that meets your unique needs and helps you achieve your goals.

Your Background and Career Goals

The first things to consider when picking a coding bootcamp are your professional goals and your educational background. A bootcamp takes time and money, so you want to make sure you pick a program that sets you up for the career you want. You also want to choose a program that fits your level of prior coding experience.

A great way to define your goals and get a clear picture of your background is to ask yourself a series of questions. Here are a few questions you should consider when choosing a coding bootcamp:

• Do you have any level of college degree in a tech field or non-tech field?
• Do you enjoy learning at your own pace, or do you prefer more structured and intense programs?
• Do you like to work alone, or do you prefer to collaborate on a team?
• What do you like about graphic design, problem-solving, data analysis, detailed tasks, and brainstorming? 
• What technical knowledge do you need to learn for your dream job?

Bootcamp Format

Another factor that might affect which coding bootcamp you choose is the bootcamp format. Bootcamps vary in whether students learn in-person, online, or in a hybrid format. Some bootcamps are single schools, while others are part of multi-city bootcamp chains. There are even bootcamps that are affiliated with universities. Each format has its own pros and cons, and you’ll want to think about which one fits your learning style the best.

In-Person Coding Bootcamps

In-person coding bootcamps are programs that serve local students in a particular area. Many bootcamps start as a local campus, then expand if there’s a growing demand for their services. The advantage of going to in-person bootcamps is that you’ll have the opportunity to interact face-to-face with instructors and peers, and many students may need the structure of being in a classroom in order to thrive.

Online Coding Bootcamps

Online coding bootcamps are coding bootcamps that students attend remotely. The advantage of going to an online coding bootcamp is that you can study from anywhere. This type of bootcamp is great because you can still attend a bootcamp, even if you don’t have an in-person bootcamp nearby—in fact, many bootcamps currently are online only.

You’ll also have more flexibility as an online bootcamp student. Depending on the school, you’ll have the option of self-paced or a live online coding bootcamp—so while remote programs do require a certain time commitment, you’ll still be able to work on your own schedule. Online bootcamps use a wide variety of technologies to connect students with instructors and mentors, and they also have online communities for students to connect and learn together.

Hybrid Coding Bootcamps

Hybrid coding bootcamps are very rare, as most offer only in-person or online options. With a hybrid bootcamp, classes meet both in-person and online, or classes meet online and there are in-person events and workshops.

Location

It’s easier to choose the right coding bootcamp if you know where you want to go. If you choose to study in person, you can either study in your home city or treat your bootcamp experience as a travel opportunity and go abroad. There are a few things you should consider when you’re deciding where to attend a bootcamp:

• Do you want to study online or in person?
• Where do you want to work after graduation?
• Do you need to stay in your current city?
• Are you already near a good bootcamp?

There are dozens of great cities where you can find many types of coding bootcamps. Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Indianapolis are only a few of the cities home to many bootcamps.

Curriculum and Career Services

There are a lot of different popular coding languages, and different bootcamps choose different languages to focus on. When choosing a coding bootcamp, you should always look at the curriculum to make sure the program will cover not only the programming languages and technologies you want to learn, but also that they will be relevant to the job titles you want to pursue.

Career support is another important factor to consider when picking a coding bootcamp. Many coding bootcamp provide services like career coaching, resume reviews, mock interviews, networking opportunities, job placement services, and more to help their graduates enter the competitive job market of the tech industry. Take a look at what each school offers, and read reviews to get a sense of whether past students found them effective.

reviews to get a sense of whether past students found them effective.

Accreditation, Reputation, and Job Placement Statistics

When choosing a bootcamp to launch a new coding career, it’s important that you do your own research about bootcamp job placement and reputation. Unlike colleges and universities, bootcamps aren’t accredited. This means there isn’t a central body that verifies the quality of every bootcamp. To supplement your research on the bootcamp’s website, you should:

• Talk to recent graduates
• Read student reviews
• Review coding bootcamp statistics on job placement outcomes
• Look at reports on job placement outcomes from the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR)

Many programs claim that they are the coding bootcamp with the best job placement rate as part of their marketing strategy. The CIRR has its own standardized framework for evaluating bootcamps, so it’s a good source to learn more about the quality of a particular program. And if a school has published its own outcomes data, take a close look to make sure they’re transparent about their methodology, sample size, recency of data, and whether their numbers have been verified by a third party.

Cost and Payment Options

The average coding bootcamp cost is more than $13,000, but some bootcamps can charge as much as $20,000 or more for their courses.¹ Before you choose a bootcamp, consider what each coding bootcamp costs and whether you can afford it. Think about the return on investment based on how much you’ll earn after going to a bootcamp. Try sketching out a few possible scenarios to understand the possibilities.

You typically can’t get federal financial aid to pay for your bootcamp, but you do have a few other options. It’s important you plan your finances ahead and save what you need before you attend a bootcamp because you might have to quit your job to attend it. You can pay for a bootcamp by:

• Paying upfront
• Applying for bootcamp scholarships
• Using GI Bill benefits (only for veterans)
• Taking advantage of employer sponsorship
• Paying in monthly installments
• Taking out a private loan
• Entering a deferred tuition or income share agreement (ISA)

Coding Bootcamps vs College

The top coding bootcamps can be viable alternatives to college, but the two education options differ in many ways. A college education is a more traditional path, so it can be difficult to choose a coding bootcamp education because it’s outside the norm. Here are some of the differences between coding bootcamp vs college:

• Curriculum. Coding bootcamps teach practical skills you need to break into a career in tech. Computer science degrees are better if you want to go deep into computer systems and theory.
• Cost. Bootcamps cost an average of roughly $13,000 total, which is around the same cost as—or even much less than—one semester in a top computer science degree program.
• Time. A Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science takes four years to complete, which gives you time to explore many different topics. On the other hand, a coding bootcamp takes less than one year. Bootcamps are shorter because they focus on teaching practical knowledge through project-based learning, rather than theory.
• Career Outlook. Computer science degrees are almost always required if you want to become an executive in tech. But that’s not to say bootcamps aren’t a good option. If you want to build a startup or get a job in tech, a bootcamp education will often be enough.

What Skills Are Required to Succeed in a Coding Bootcamp?

Bootcamps are more intensive and condensed than other training programs, but they still teach more than just coding skills. For example, in a bootcamp you’ll have to work hard to keep up with the workload and graduate on time, so time management is one of the key skills often gained by coding bootcamp graduates. Some other relevant skills are:

• Persistence. Be prepared to work and learn in a fast-paced environment for three to six months. Persistence will help you avoid coding bootcamp failure in the long run.
• Problem-Solving Skills. Computer science is all about solving problems, both as part of a team and by yourself. You’ll have to use critical thinking to figure out problems every day in a bootcamp, from fixing bugs to coming up with ideas on how to install a feature into a project.
• Teamwork. Depending on the bootcamp, you’ll often have to work in a team. Although bootcamps have a lot of independent work, you’ll also have to do some work with your peers.
• Technical Skills. Most programs ask that students complete a coding challenge or a prep course before enrolling in a full-time coding bootcamp. Use this opportunity to develop your tech skills and get comfortable with learning online or in person.

What Can I Expect in a Coding Bootcamp Interview?

Now that you know how to choose a coding bootcamp, you’re ready to apply for your dream bootcamp. The bootcamp application and interview process help schools screen for the students who have the right skills to take part in their programs. After completing a short, online application, a member of the admissions team will reach out to schedule a bootcamp interview, as well as potentially a skill test.

The bootcamp interview is a chance for the bootcamp to learn more about your background and motivation—they’re less interested in your technical skills. If you’re serious about transitioning into a new career in tech and are willing to put in the effort, you’ll do fine. Some questions you should expect in your tech bootcamp interview are:

• Why do you want to attend a bootcamp?
• What are your career goals?
• What past experiences have prepared you for an intensive learning program?
• What kind of teammate are you when working in a group?

Which Coding Bootcamp Is Right for Me?

For many people, coding bootcamps can be a great way to learn how to code. While bootcamps are only just over a decade old, thousands of people have used them to transition into careers in tech. There is a wide range of bootcamp programs and learning formats, so it takes a little research and soul searching to decide which coding bootcamp is right for you.

To choose the best program for you, think about what kind of job you want. After you decide on a subject, consider whether you want to attend a full-time or part-time coding bootcamps and whether you want to go to class in person or online. After narrowing it down to a list of programs that match your goals, compare bootcamp tuition costs, job placement rates, and overall student satisfaction.

"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"

Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot

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Sources

¹https://careerkarma.com/blog/state-of-the-bootcamp-market-report-2024-statistics-and-share-analysis/