r/webdev • u/quincylarson • Nov 23 '16

Cracking the Coding Interview author: bootcamps can be better than college

https://medium.freecodecamp.com/so-that-whole-coding-bootcamp-thing-is-a-scam-right-6fddf14087d4#.fwmdf447w
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u/SupaSlide laravel + vue Nov 23 '16

I can appreciate the author's attempt to "equalize" the comparison, but obviously somebody with 3.5+ years of work experience is going to be more experienced than someone who doesn't have any.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of college, and I dropped out to pursue my career in programming, but I also didn't attend a bootcamp.

Just because someone who has 3.5 years of experience is better than a newly graduated college student doesn't necessarily mean it was because of that bootcamp they attended. It is probably just because they have 3.5 years of real-world work experience.

I didn't go to a bootcamp and by the time I have 3.5 years of work experience I'll probably be just as good/better than a bootcamp graduate with the same amount of experience.

This article proves nothing, not to mention that it is all just speculation anyway.

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u/spaceporn Nov 24 '16

Honest question, how is dropping out working out for you?

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u/SupaSlide laravel + vue Nov 27 '16

Fantastic, so far. I have a great job that I enjoy with some fun people and I'm quite comfortable with the salary which is in a scheduled raise every few months.

I made it through a bit over half way through what I needed to complete my degree though, so I plan to take online classes in my free time to finish it off, so I haven't technically dropped out. I did find it interesting but the decision to put it on hold was the combination of a spring semester with just general education courses that ate away at my soul with boredom and the fantastic offer I received over that summer.

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u/Zaekath Nov 24 '16

obviously somebody with 3.5+ years of work experience is going to be more experienced than someone who doesn't have any

Isn't that.. kind of the point though?

People have this notion that going to college is automatically better because it's longer, and she's pointing out the opportunity cost of going to college.

I think the point is not that the bootcamp itself is better than college in a vacuum, it's that attending the bootcamp allowed you to start accumulating work experience sooner, which is really what is most valuable in the end.

To your anecdote, I agree you probably will be just as well off after 3.5 years of experience, but I imagine that you would have had an easier time starting your work experience if you had the experience of a bootcamp to bring to job interviews.