Coding or Software BOOT CAMPS?

[rachel83az]

One way to get some experience without looking for a new job right away is by volunteering. https://www.volunteermatch.org/search?v=true&sk=126 That should show you virtual (online) positions in Software Engineering. Once you've got some Coursera, etc. skills under your belt, look for opportunities that align with your knowledge and future career aspirations.

The other way to "get experience" would be to work on random projects of your own, building up a portfolio as you go. That will probably take at least as much work, if not more, than volunteering. You also won't be able to references/letters of recommendation or "secret" job leads by working solely on your personal portfolio.

[dfrecore]

One way to get some experience without looking for a new job right away is by volunteering. https://www.volunteermatch.org/search?v=true&sk=126 That should show you virtual (online) positions in Software Engineering. Once you've got some Coursera, etc. skills under your belt, look for opportunities that align with your knowledge and future career aspirations.

The other way to "get experience" would be to work on random projects of your own, building up a portfolio as you go. That will probably take at least as much work, if not more, than volunteering. You also won't be able to references/letters of recommendation or "secret" job leads by working solely on your personal portfolio.

A combination of both is probably helpful.

[rachel83az]

Thank you!  So I have been teaching elementary and school for the past 16 years.  That is all I have as experience and training/skill set.   I am trying to make a career change just to be able to financially provide for my family and even relocate if that opportunity opens.  Best case scenario, I finish my teaching year in June and then can career change but that gives me about 10 months.  I am guessing that is too short of a time to make that happen?

It's not necessarily too short. I've heard of people changing careers 2-6 months after starting to learn coding. It really depends on how much time you have to dedicate to learning and how much you enjoy the experience. Not everyone is cut out to be a programmer. You sound like a good fit, but it's hard to tell before you get started.

Besides boot camp, are there any schools that specialize in training students the skills needed to land those jobs with having no experience?  Or will it all be self-taught material?

I would not go with any school, unless to get another degree or certificate cheaply from somewhere like TESU. While some schools do offer career assistance, it's probably not going to be of much use if you don't actually have a degree in Comp Sci.

For help finding jobs, I would strongly recommend getting the Google IT Professional Certificate through TADA for free. The last course in the certificate has information on creating a resume, interview tips, etc. It should also grant access to BigInterview. BigInterview is normally $300/year. If you don't see the BigInterview link, let me know. I saved the URL for myself, so I can PM you once you're done with the certificate. 

You'll also want to check out https://github.com/ossu/computer-science for more resources to learn CS/coding skills.

[bjcheung77]

@acamp, you've got the degree, you're just missing the certs/experience and the 10 month time frame you're giving yourself wouldn't really give you all that experience.  You're trying to get so much done in so little time, especially for teachers as they have "extra" work to do outside the classroom preparing for the next day or week of classes, you may have some extra commitments at home as well...  My recommendation remains a "mix/match" approach as I mentioned earlier, you'll need to do a combo of a few things with the time you have and extend that time for an extra year or more...

Current scenario/situation I can see after 10 months from now at the interview:  You have no certs or real work experience but did a 10 month "training camp for coding?".  Great, we'll see if there are spots available for your expertise.... <Skip, Next applicant please>  

I want to change it to a different scenario, where you have some entry level certs and experience going through some (doesn't have to be all the certs or code camps I provided earlier).  You now have X certs, 20 months of experience going through several of the code camps online and know the "basics".  Give yourself more time to learn the basics as I mentioned and to build a portfolio.  Here's how I would play things starting today...

There are 4 code camps I mentioned above, you have 24 months. I would do a code camp for 6 months, go to the next, 6 months until you have all 24 months completed.  Take your time and slowly learn those 4 major programming languages and in regards to the certs, these can be done on your "breaks", spring, winter, summer breaks.  Each cert should take an average of a few months, but after you've got the knowledge, you can blow past them free - 1 a week or two.

[acamp]

Hello all,
So this site one of my coworkers told me about: https://www.appacademy.io/course/app-academy-open

It IS a “boot camp” style but if you went part time, it takes a year to complete going online for class for 3 hours Monday through Thursday and then 9am-3pm every Saturday. Additionally, you have about an hour of homework a night.

Also, you don’t pay tuition unless you land a job paying at least $50,000. They also have you create a portfolio of your projects over the course of the year that you are completing the class. They also have job placement advisors that work full-time with their soon-to-be graduates.

Has anyone heard of this? Or even with everything I mentioned above about this school, still stay away from it?

Thanks in advance everyone.


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[davewill]

I emplore you not to pay a large amount for a boot camp without doing some other form of study, and finding that you have an aptitude for it. Good engineers are born, not made, and trying to force yourself into that path without having aptitude for it will just be an exercise in frustration, and a road to wasting a lot of time and money on that boot camp.

If you can finish an introductory programming course or two, find that you master the material easily and are able to do independent programming projects, THEN consider the boot camp, or even a full-blown BS/BA in CS. If you like computers, but don't find programming to be all that exciting, then you may want to consider an IT career instead. It can be every bit as lucrative as being a software engineer, but requires a slightly different skill set and temperament.

Edit: That boot camp you linked is way too expensive. You could get a full blown BACS for much less money than that using the methods we outline here.

[acamp]

I emplore you not to pay a large amount for a boot camp without doing some other form of study, and finding that you have an apptitude for it. Good engineers are born, not made, and trying to force yourself into that path without having apptitude for it will just be an exercise in frustration, and a road to wasting a lot of money on that boot camp.

If you can finish an introductory programming course or two, and find that you master the material easily and are able to do independent programming projects, THEN consider the boot camp, or even a full-blown BS/BA in CS. If you like computers, but don't find programming to be all that exciting, then you may want to consider an IT career instead. It can be every bit as lucrative as being a software engineer, but requires a slightly different skill set and temperament.

Thank you for clarifying that. As for IT, if I were to try to pursue that path instead of programming, do you have any suggestions as to what to start with to get trained with the skills needed? Thank you!



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[ss20ts]

Hello all,
So this site one of my coworkers told me about: https://www.appacademy.io/course/app-academy-open

It IS a “boot camp” style but if you went part time, it takes a year to complete going online for class for 3 hours Monday through Thursday and then 9am-3pm every Saturday.  Additionally, you have about an hour of homework a night.

Also, you don’t pay tuition unless you land a job paying at least $50,000.   They also have you create a portfolio of your projects over the course of the year that you are completing the class.  They also have job placement advisors that work full-time with their soon-to-be graduates.    

Has anyone heard of this?  Or even with everything I mentioned above about this school, still stay away from it?

Thanks in advance everyone.  


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I would never recommend this to anyone. Why? Check out the tuition. Many of these types of offers are EXTREMELY expensive. If the OP has a job already paying them $50K a year, then they're on the hook for tuition usually. I would find more reputable sources. Even adult continue ed courses from local community colleges can be helpful.

[carrythenothing]

Hello all,
So this site one of my coworkers told me about: https://www.appacademy.io/course/app-academy-open

It IS a “boot camp” style but if you went part time, it takes a year to complete going online for class for 3 hours Monday through Thursday and then 9am-3pm every Saturday.  Additionally, you have about an hour of homework a night.

Also, you don’t pay tuition unless you land a job paying at least $50,000.   They also have you create a portfolio of your projects over the course of the year that you are completing the class.  They also have job placement advisors that work full-time with their soon-to-be graduates.    

Has anyone heard of this?  Or even with everything I mentioned above about this school, still stay away from it?

Thanks in advance everyone.  


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You can also get access to App Academy's software engineering content for free: https://www.appacademy.io/course/app-academy-open

[bjcheung77]

Thank you for clarifying that.   As for IT, if I were to try to pursue that path instead of programming, do you have any suggestions as to what to start with to get trained with the skills needed?  Thank you!

It's just like starting off the path to becoming a teacher, you need to know what is required for a particular state license.  It'll generally go like this, find the grade level/subjects you're interested in teaching, get the related degree, state licensing requirements and teaching license certifications/exams if any.  That's a streamlined process which everyone has to follow.  For Coding/Software development or even going into IT, it's going to be very similar... I would start with what I mentioned earlier in my posts, get the "freebies" such as the Coursera/TADA certs first.  

There are so many ways to start, by doing the trifecta - Certs, Experience (degree or unrelated one which you already have).  Not just the FREE CODE Camp offerings I mentioned in my previous posts or the AppAcademy you mentioned, there are others that are slightly more enhanced and not really set for Beginners, they're more Beginner/Intermediate level, here's an example: https://www.theodinproject.com/ | Here's a recent post about someone in similar shoes as you who has taken both the AppAcademy and OdinProject freebies just to gain the experience: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...tline-Help

I suggest reviewing post #7 and #14 of mine, it'll ladder up to this recommendation and the step by step process for someone who wants to start.  I'll elaborate further with these instructions so to show you how "I" would start in Coding, Development, or IT... by doing a mix/match approach to see how I feel for each of these while gaining certs and experience, thus, to bump up my knowledge and allow me to enhance/update a portfolio showcasing my skillset.  I would break it down into categories like the following, you'll be well versed in all 4 areas of "Coding/IT, PM, etc"...

1. Cybersecurity/IT related - Start with Coursera/TADA, IT Support Pro Cert, ladder that up to IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Pro Cert.
2. Coding/Development - Start with Coursera/TADA, UX Design Cert, ladder that up to IBM Full Stack Software Developer Pro Cert.
3. Project Management - Start with Coursera/TADA, META Social Media Marketing, ladder up to Google Project Management Pro.
4. Data Analytics - Again, Start with Coursera/TADA, Google Data Analytics and ladder up to all the IBM Data options combined...

Just like many of the "free code camps" including the freebie from AppAcademy, they usually have 24 week or 6 month timeframes for completing the self paced programs, you also want to set this timeframe as a "gauge" and "pace" yourself accordingly.  So, as I mentioned in my previous post and because the max time for the Coursera/TADA is 6 months anyways, you want to finish these 4 categories in that timeframe!  Once done, work on any one of the 6 mentioned Coding camps!  They're all very similar and teaches the same development/programming languages... in fact, again, work 6 months on one, then switch if you needed.