Is it normal to feel this way? 3-4 weeks into bootcamp and I still feel lost!

The Launch School CEO explained this in a different thread but basically it's not possible to learn a CS degree worth of concepts in 12 weeks (or a master's degree worth as one bootcamp says). So their approach is to have you work through concepts at your own pace and actually learn stuff, but it takes much longer time and can't be accelerate with long days. At Formation we have a mastery approach too and it takes the average person maybe 8 to 12 weeks (varies wildly) to get their data structures and algorithms fundamentals alone to a solid place. And it's not because our program sucks. It's because people learn at different paces and most don't learn at a bootcamp pace. The people that learn at a bootcamp pace and actually absorb more quickly are edge cases and they might learn even faster with a different approach. As the Launch School CEO says, the better programs select for these people in admissions and thats why they have better outcomes. So what are bootcamps for? Well as poeple might attest, on the job you don't really need that many practical skills. Companies have complex frameworks to ramp you up on and they have to teach you the ropes before contributing meaningfully, even if you have years of experience. Top tier companies use DS&A to test first if you can actually write code, and second that you have strong problem solving abilities to be able to ramp up successfully. Building those problem solving skills from fundamentals takes too long so what bootcamps do is prepare your work ethic for the job... you show up so used to wildly being confused for 11 hours a day that the normal job pace feels so easy that you quickly ramp up at the super slow company pace. The bootcamps with the strongest outcomes are actually working on these behaviorals and focused on doing whatever it takes to make you job marketable, and they are good at it. The combination of selecting for people that can learn quickly, boosting confidence though bootcamp culture, and developing a crazy work ethic, are a way to get a good job and keep it in 12 weeks that are not about truly learning the fundamentals upfront.