Warning: I saw a coding bootcamp ad in Chicago that made me question the whole idea

I was walking downtown yesterday and saw a huge billboard for a 12-week 'full stack developer' program. It promised a job in tech with no experience needed. It got me thinking, is that kind of fast track really the best way for a total beginner to learn? Some say bootcamps give you the practical skills to start building fast. Others argue you miss the basic computer science ideas that help you solve harder problems later. Has anyone here actually done a bootcamp, and did you feel ready?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylanh522mo ago

Honestly, that billboard is kinda misleading. I did a 12-week bootcamp and it was intense, but you definitely don't just walk into a job. You learn enough to build a basic project, but the real learning started for me on the job, filling in all the CS gaps they skipped. It's a start, not a magic ticket.

webb.daniel2mo ago

That billboard probably says something like "become a developer in 12 weeks." It's advertising, not a contract. Most people know you won't be an expert right away. You got a job, right? Sounds like it worked well enough to get your foot in the door, which is the whole point.

taylor122mo ago

My buddy Jake did one of those. Landed a junior dev role but said his first six months were just trying to understand the legacy codebase. They didn't cover anything like that.