College Degree or Coding Bootcamp

As TikTok influencers and social media grifters continue to embellish truths, push positives only, and get exposed for true intent (affiliates, stolen content, influencer over education, kickback from referrals), it's a good time to give a fresh perspective on transitioning and entering the tech industry, specifically as a Software Engineer. The industry changes by the day, and with a looming recession, I wouldn't be so quick to "jump into tech". We've all seen the "Company A just laid off 30% of it's staff!" articles, tweets and headlines. What was true or worked for 2021 isn't necessarily the case for current. One of the topics being researched and discussed by potential entrants is what the best path to take is to become a Software Engineer.

With technology companies such as Zoom, Youtube and BlackBoard, one would assume that the industry would be completely open to coding bootcamps, schooling from home, and alternative education routes. One may also believe the world would have much less assessment of character and skill based off of credentials and lean more into practical experience. Unfortunately, the good fight is still being fought. The silver lining: no one monkey runs anything and we are all given the ability to do what we want and how we want. Let's discuss the hot topic of Traditional Paths into tech(University Degree) vs Non-Traditional Paths(Bootcamp)

I searched this very topic on Youtube, and these were two videos that stood out. - "How I Learned to Code in 4 MONTHS & Got a Job Offer (no CS Degree)" - 1.5 Million Views. Someone is anxious to get into the industry.

- "Self-Taught Programmer vs Coding Bootcamp vs Computer Science Degree" - 200K Views. Someone is undecided on which path to take.

The analytics are very telling. The people are searching and yearning for the data. Those that have been through the process already are providing answers. Hopefully, I can clarify a few things and offer a different view as you read.

Understand These Things

1. Regardless of what I or anyone else tells you, it is possible to get into tech as a Software Engineer via both a Comp Sci degree and Bootcamp
2. You won't break into anything without an immense amount of effort and dedication
3. Everything you need to learn is available through Google, Github, Reddit, StackOverflow, LeetCode, and your peers via Social Media and Real Life, many times for FREE.99
4. I'm a Software Engineer
   • 6 Years of Experience Prior to my Transition
   • BS in Logistics & Supply Chain Management & MBA from a state university
   • Pivoted to tech in 2020 via App Academy & landed my first Software Engineer role at the beginning of 2021.
   • Interviewed with all different types of companies: Startups, Big Tech, & your average everyday company
5. Take all insight with a cautious eye and mind. Just because something worked for one doesn't mean the outcome will be the same for you.

The Numbers

How many people graduate with a Computer Science/Software Engineering Degree annually?

Not enough. A 2020 Report from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported at the time of record, there were 1.8 MILLION developer roles that needed to be filled. In addition to this, the industry is anticipating job growth for software engineers at 22% from 2020 through the year 2030. For comparison, the job growth average is 7.7%. I've interviewed with multiple companies, been to multiple career sites and the amount of unfilled Software Developer roles is staggering. As a little more anecdotal evidence, a few little birdies at a large tech company let me know that they have an internal goal to fill close to 60K SWE roles by EOY 2024. That's just one company FYI.

• Source: Amazon
• Source: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics
• Source: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics

With this data, it should be understood that help is needed. There are plenty of roles to be filled and not enough competent early career talent. Are all of these roles designated for entry level engineers? Of course they aren't. If i'm being honest, many companies shy away from hiring early career talent due to not wanting to onboard and train. They're looking for experience that can come in and hit the ground running. That may be okay right now, but what will happen in a few years when the baby boomer gen is ready to head to the beach and decompress? At that point, these companies will be forced to bring them on experienced or not. They'll no longer be able to pass off training employees to other companies. That is the reality.

How does this relate to the college vs coding bootcamp debate?

Simple. Everybody isn't dishing out cash for college. Every college graduate isn't a computer science degree holder interested in Software Engineering as a career. The roles are in abundance and need to be filled. Something will have to give.

What needs to be done to ensure the talent pipeline holds up to the need for talent? How can companies protect themselves and future-proof the hiring of engineering talent?

In short: Do More of the Same.

1. Internships/Apprenticeships/Fellowships
2. College Graduates w/ a Technical Degree
3. Bootcamp Graduates
4. Independent Learners
5. Get Rid of the Hard Computer Science degree requirement if they are still holding on to it

The Common Sense

A lot of the social banter surrounding bootcamps is valid, and a good portion of it is projection from your peers who are annoyed that you did something in 32 Weeks for $15,000 - $20,000 dollars, that took them 4-5 years and 5 times your cost. Let's analyze a few of the advantages/disadvantages of both paths.

Advantages of College

1. Relationships(Potential Future Connections) Established with Professors and Peers
2. ~2 Years Of Data Structure, Algorithm, and Computer Science Fundamentals
3. Comp Sci Degree On a Resumé > Bootcamp Graduate Certificate On a Resumé
4. Much more of a life learning experience
5. Slower Paced = Ability to Retain Knowledge and Redeem Yourself from Failure

Disadvantages of College

1. Skyrocketing Tuition
2. 4 Years Of Learning
3. Inflation
4. No Guaranteed Employment or Satisfaction
5. Theory-Heavy Content over Practicality

Advantages of Coding Bootcamp

1. Consistent Application of Knowledge via Projects and Pair Programming
2. Student to Employed SWE Much Quicker
3. Fat Is Trimmed. You learn what is necessary on the job and not much more
4. Less Overall Dent On Pockets
5. Alternative Forms of Payment/Flexible Payment Options
6. Career Coaches and Career Assistance Until Employed
7. Incentivized to help you secure a role. Good bootcamps give you the option to defer payment until you secure a role.

Disadvantages of Coding Bootcamp

1. Fundamental Concepts and Subjects Are Overlooked
2. Minimal Social Interaction Outside of Pair Programming
3. Outsider Perception: Bootcamp Certificate < College Degree To Recruiters/Companies
4. Difficult to Spot The Right Bootcamp To Attent. Good/Reputable bootcamps are few and far between
5. Being Trained by Less Experienced Engineers/Active Learners vs Established Engineers/Professors
6. Baptism By Fire: You're Bound to Forget Key Information With How Much You Have to Consume
7. Pressure to Understand Everything the First Time Or Risk Being Expelled
8. Expensive

The Real World

I've been in the industry a few years now. Below are a few personal observations that don't really reflect what I see online.

1) Outside of 1:1's with my Director, no Software Engineers are asking where I went to school.

Opinion: I know someone. They work on a small team of engineers. 2 are over 50, 2 are over 45, 1 is over 40, 2 of them are over 30, 2 are near 30, and 2 are over 25. No young engineers in sight. Discussions of education are only important in certain settings. The younger 20-something's and early career engineers often overcompensate "where someone went" over "what someone knows", similar to the out of touch and irrelevant companies. They also discuss things that have little to no relevance to the established worker.

Quick question: Do you enjoy talking to the 'Under 25' crowd? Do with this information what you choose. Classism is very much a real thing and there is no escaping it, yes, even in the bootcamp/college debate, but a good portion of the offenders perpetuating these ignorant beliefs don't have any real world experiences. Don't let these beliefs or other's projections to make or break you.

2) Most of your time is spent researching, learning and thinking before implementing solutions. You don't know what you don't know until you get a story/task that you've never worked on before.

Opinion: Honest Moment: I wouldn't be bullish on college if the interview process for early career engineers wasn't what it currently is. I spent a good portion of this year learning all about User Authentication, JWT, storing important data securely, CORS issues, CI/CD, and setting up features and plumbing with AWS. College doesn't necessarily give you the skills to figure things out on the fly, whereas bootcamp basically forces you into this skillset. For bootcamp, it is literally figure it out or drown.

3) Getting into tech as a Software Engineer and Getting Into a Big Tech company as a Software Engineer are not equal.

Opinion: You can definitely make it into tech from attending a coding bootcamp. Not all companies have such steep requirements for early career roles. You will need to figure out your personal goals and motivations. This is one place that I can admit my opinion has changed. I came in with the belief that a regular company SWE is equally as competent as a Big Tech SWE. No. Though it is possible, early career wise, they(the engineers) naturally develop two different skillsets over time, with very little overlap. This is all due to the interview process and what type of companies an engineer is targeting.

Example: You have 2 engineers, SWE 1 and SWE 2. SWE 1 learns how to program on the job, solve problems via research and debugging, and delivers products. The SWE 2 has an intrinsic connection to fundamental and theoretical content, to data structures & algorithms in addition to the skills that SWE 1 holds. You are expected to enter Big Tech stronger than you would at most other companies. The bar is just higher.

4) There are smart/quick on their feet types everywhere, bootcamp included. There are Darwin Award types everywhere, ivy league included.

Opinion: To be transparent, I felt out of my league everyday during bootcamp. In a cohort of ~15 graduates that started with close to 40 students 24 weeks prior, in terms of pure know-how and grasp of concepts, I would place myself in the bottom of that cohort. The entire cohort was very strong technically, and had the ability to think like engineers very early on. As intimidating as it was, I was okay with that. I enjoy playing with sharks, and they made me stronger. On the flip side, I know a lot of college graduates that cheated their entire way through whatever program they were a part of. No judgement either way, just a little anecdotal evidence. Just understand, no path is greater than the other. You will gravitate to what you need in either environment.

5) Just Like College, Bootcamps Are Not Created Equally

Opinion: Do your research, do your research, do your research! Look for RECENT reviews, bootcamps that have been around for longer than 5+ years, research prior bootcamp graduates on LinkedIn to gauge success of the program, and pretty quickly that list of bootcamps is narrowed down to a few respected names. Take strenuous and long over shorter length and not as many requirements. It's for your own good. Also, remember this: you can be whoever you want to be online. Humans are naturally flawed. They lie. They also see things differently than others at times.

Don't lean on other's opinions so much. Squeaky wheels are always squeaking. Quiet wheels are full of oil and quiet as church mice. Meaning: Satisfied Amazon purchasers are much less upset and don't care to be heard as much as the person that received the broken device.Sometimes where there is smoke, there's a large fire, but sometimes you're just in your backyard and need to zoom out a bit to see the truth.

What Do You Want For Your Life?

It's Really Your Decision

If you are eyeing those large salaries known in big tech and certain start-ups seen all over social media, the barrier to entry is likely some form of theoretical knowledge in addition to many rounds of coding challenges and whiteboarding solutions to problems given on the spot. Naturally, you will be lacking in this area more times than not if your only education is a bootcamp.

The interview process for these companies is obviously grueling and will have you exploring concepts only a person absolutely committed to their craft could care to dive into. Think about this: an entire industry (Coding Challenge & System Design Interview Prep) has been created specifically to offset the difficulty of these interviews.

If you simply want to be a developer at any company, tech product, consulting or non-technical, RSU's aren't a goal for you, you don't live on Blind or Leetcode, and you don't need the large campus with sleeping pods, showers, cafeterias, and workout equipment, the barrier to entry is likely a take-home assessment, some domain knowledge and an understanding of languages you are proficient in.

They may throw in pair programming with a potential team member, an easier coding challenge, and conversations with management. The salaries aren't anywhere near top of the market or comparable to Big Tech, and the perks won't compare, but you will be a developer, you will enjoy your weekends and weeknights, and may enjoy your job just as much as someone in big tech, just for non-financial reasons.

Just Give me the Quick Version / TLDR

There is no getting away from the bootcamp model or the college model. They will have to work together. There are and will be many more vacant roles, and the forecast doesn't look too great for the current pipeline if bootcamps were to completely disappear. My opinion would be to do what works for your situation and cut the noise. Be careful of what you ingest via social media platforms, and take career advice from people you haven't met with a grain of salt. Though I have nothing to gain by lying, question my intentions as well.

College for an aspiring Software Engineer works well for someone who:

• Places value on name recognition
• Wants to be equipped with theoretical/fundamental domain knowledge
• Dreams of working for old/traditional companies that still have strict degree requirements for hiring
• Has Big Tech Aspirations EARLY
• Wants to have life experiences in an educational environment that have nothing to do with education.
• Has no professional work experience, no degree, and may be in their early 20's
• Has aspirations of moving into upper management from Software Engineer at some point in their career

Bootcamp for an aspiring Software Engineer works well for those that:

• In a Career Transitioning Statw/The Prior Career Crowd with A Degree or 2 Already
• Can't or simply don't want to give up their lives for 4 years to gain potential access to an industry.
• Independent studied or went to college a few years to learn, and had to stop for one reason or another
• Have A Connection To A Company And Simply Need To Upskill Quickly
• Are Okay with potential of not moving up the management ladder (Many times: No management role w/o a degree)

Note: I could obviously find more data to strengthen/weaken the college or bootcamp argument, but my belief is that data can be heavily skewed and often more times than not, incorrect. I'll leave it up to you to decipher what you consider truth. (How Many Times Have You Skipped A Survey or Ignored A Census Worker Knocking At Your Door?, Do You Trust The Presidential Selection Process?, Do You Trust The C*vid Data?) For the most accurate data, I would start by assessing the 20 people closest to me, and from there, determining how well the argument/opinion holds up.

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