My Coding Bootcamp Has Some Serious Problems... (General Assembly Coding Bootcamp)

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In this video we talk about some serious problems that I am encountering in my coding bootcamp. There is a lot that is going south unfortunately and I'm not quite sure what to do at this point.
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[@CodingPhase]

The truth is that not everyone can learn at a fast pace. Bootcamps are great for those that already have a degree in computer science or have been dabbling with programming a few years. For example someone that was coding roblox games in high school can go to a bootcamp and shine but someone starting from zero if they had no interest in computers or will struggle because theres so many concepts they need to learn. Also the idea of trying to learn full stack development (I guarantee is MERN stack based ) in under 3 months it's hard. You can't teach a total beginner all of this in 3 months. There's people that takes them 2 months or more just with HTML & CSS take a design a build it to a page. Then we talking about Javascript language, manipulating the DOM, AJAX(Axios, APIs), then jumping into the world of React, then node, then probably next js, then some type of database, authentication, then learning to put all these things together.... plus the time it takes to learn how to solve problems for example a client tells you an app idea or service they need how do you build it with all the knowledge you learned so far.... Yeah this is a minimum 9 months to 1 year 1/2 for most people starting from zero.... Then we havent even started talking about if the student is in the right space mentally to be able to learn all this stuff... That's the problems with bootcamps they over sale something that has so many factors that could go wrong and people are thinking if I pay $15 to $30k I'm definitely going to become a developer because I paid such a high premium.

[@ColbyJaxCodes]

Hey man thanks for the insightful comment. Because of you I started pursuing positions in WP and more content related stuff and was able to secure a job only weeks into this coding bootcamp. Keep doing what you’re doing your work motivates me.

[@jayzg60]

I disagree. Yes you should have some understanding of coding before going to a bootcamp but i've met many people who had little to no experience and come out successful and get a job within a few months. Coding is also just not for everyone. Some people do not have the logical thinking before coming in

[@dt3583]

False. Also, literally no one with a CS degree goes to a bootcamp.

[@ni06no]

​@@jayzg60true true

[@Dryblack1]

​@@dt3583There was a stunning amount of cs degree holders in my cohort

[@timlawson7137]

Thank you for sharing this! I too graduated from GA in January and deeply regret signing up. Felt like they just strung you along long enough, then rushed throw the material just so they could say we covered everything…

[@dt3583]

I've seen lots of GA grads with great jobs on LinkedIn.

[@nightsphenom7122]

Did you end up getting a job?

[@ni06no]

Its a 50/50, either it works or doesn't

[@thehomeschooldev6126]

This situation sucks but hang in there. Thanks for your observation and honest.

[@samtheglamurai]

I could not be more thankful for this video today. I am in a bootcamp (a little past halfway through) and I was just thinking today about how hard this is becoming. Almost all of the students who enrolled at the same time as me are gone, it's a handful left. I am very behind. I reached out when my dashboard showed I was slightly behind, and they said I was fine, only a week behind. I was sent an email a few days ago that suddenly, I'm 3 months behind... I started 3 months ago.... So it's weird. It sounds like we've had a similar experience despite going to different bootcamps. Not finished watching, but am definitely checking to see if we have more in common in our experiences. I definitely agree with the job placement rate thing. Most from my bootcamp ended up getting a job slightly related almost entirely on their own, but since they signed the ISA and worked with the career coach to negotiate and sign offers, they counted it towards their placement rate. I'm mostly happy with my bootcamp, but it's getting hard. Before anyone replies, I'm not going to name them here, but it is not General Assembly. I've heard awful things from graduates of General Assembly and it didn't work with my current situation. Anyone who is in a bootcamp and struggling: I truly wish you the best. Please take care of yourself first, it's easy to let your mental health slip.

[@k.iskandar]

Thank you for this insight. Do you know why they've fallen behind? Is it due to external factors or is it due to them just not grasping the teaching material as quickly as others?

[@juanmacias5922]

My guess is they aren't coding/doing their own studying outside of the lectures, sad to see people fail/get discouraged when they obviously wanted it.

[@SwanWatson]

Bootcamps are like a 40 hour a week commitment minimum. More like 45-50 hours per week. The baseline expectation is that people will fall behind because it's a ton of continuous work.

[@juanmacias5922]

I personally always saw boot camps as cut throat, even though that's not how it was advertised. I'm currently working my way through the freeCodeCamp curriculum, and I've always been a firm believer of "finding your own resources", although I still haven't broken into tech, so my method might not be valid either lol

[@JdellTheSecond]

Have you broken in yet @juanmacias5922, its been 5 months. I hope you see this man!

[@levelup2014]

This is why I only can recommend Codesmith or Rithm, serious vetting process, offers free lectures and events to get a feel of their teaching styles, has engaged community’s 90% of these bootcamps are just cash grabs with marketing tbh

[@saeeda.495]

what about App Academy, how do you feel about that one?

[@juanmacias5922]

@@saeeda.495 isn't App Academy free?

[@slayerzerg]

Rithm is a good one

[@saeeda.495]

@@juanmacias5922 No LOL, It's a pay after you get hired option.

[@levelup2014]

I’ll put it like this if there isn’t a difficult vetting process to get in the bootcamp it’s not worth it, also look to see if they have free resources you can watch, Codesmith you have to prepare 3 months for the technical interview, they have a full course which could even be seen as a mini program for free. I know Rithm also has the same thing they thing is there 2 of the most expensive programs but they both have the highest CIRR data which is one of the most important factors when choosing a camp

[@Userforeverneverever]

These are very useful takes. I actually work at GA and if you would like to do an interview I’m more than happy to talk about how awful they are on the inside too.

[@93hothead]

Bootcamps are shit, modules are rushed without caring for any understanding at all. At the end you produce people with muscle memory that will not solve new problems

[@chorezap]

I have been to schools and even taught at a few. Totally understand where you're coming from.

[@pierre12206]

Helle Colby 🙋‍♂️ how old are you in your First it Job After the Bootcamp ?

[@F.Castle]

Very true, after i graduated from my coding bootcamp they kept me for the next cohort to do some coaching and you had some students after week 3-4 still was not connecting the dots when i asked them to write me a simple function or variable containing a string and they just keep the people. Plus, with chatgpt the whole process of a bootcamp goes down the drain anyways.

[@Anonymous-xq3cd]

To be fair, I attended cheap web development bootcamp that has good feedback before and this was also happening. The instructor left the last minute, a substitute comes in the last minute. I did not finish that program because my mind was not at the right place at the time and it was cheap. Then I attended a Cybersecurity bootcamp, its one of those tied to a university. They also had this problem of instructor leaving the last minute and a substitute having to step in the last minute to teach us. I also had classes where the TA just didn’t add value. But I ended up completing the program and landing a decent paying SOC analyst job. Its good paying for a single guy like me with no kids, no gf, no wife, and still living with my parents. But I realized I think I want to go to software engineering. I think this problem is something that will and can happen on any bootcamp. I mean, the actions of the instructor and TA are not 100% controlled by the bootcamp. They can only do so much with interviewing and filtering and its not a guarantee but at least its something or due diligence they do on their side. Its about the measure the bootcamp have in place to deal with this situation when it happens like having a substitute teacher and flexible program to accomodate the unexpected. At the end of the day, you as the student is still the most powerful creative force in your coding journey. You are the hero of your story. Things doesn’t always go right, the world is not perfect, and the world is not fair. So control the controllables as much as you can to get the best chance of success.

[@jakepyrett1715]

Good CS programs. Half drop out first year. Bootcamp students are spoonfed and passed thru.

[@brittanycallen7974]

Thanks for shining a light on this matter and sharing your experience.

[@SwanWatson]

"half of the students can't write a proper function" To be clear, as an example are you saying that they can't write this? function test(string) { return string; }

[@ColbyJaxCodes]

At that time, I would not be surprised if several of the students could not write that themselves or explain each component part of your example function.

[@bizbabo2982]

It was done to me

[@Infamouskillah]

I have no idea what to do now. Trying to get into cyber security but it's not looking good

[@ColbyJaxCodes]

Why do you say that man?

[@slayerzerg]

sorry man. 2023 bootcamp means nothing. the only way you can get a junior level job with a bootcamp is by 1) working for dirt cheap/free or 2) having a super connection that can hand you a job. bootcamps are dead. jobs now require a degree specifically in CS just to filter out several of the hundreds of applications. wish we could turn back time but all we can do is look forward and not be late to the next train for the next trend because this one is long gone.