u/bamariani wrote (the comment Michael replied to):
There is a constant back and forth here between whether or not a boot camp is a viable route into a well paying tech career in 2025. How bad is it really? Are cheap international workers and AI really making it not worth the effort without a college degree? Is it still as hopeles
u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
Hi, a lot to dive into here!
There is a back and forth because of bootcamps marketing and because of disgruntled students who flip a table and doom and gloom.
The reality is in between, but sadly it's closer to doom and gloom right now.
I don't know if you saw, but Turing School is abruptly shutting down as of this morning and transferring students elsewhere and we see some of the best bootcamps shutting down left right and center.
This isn't a back and forth, or a sign of hope, and the "back and forth" you see is remaining bootcamps grasping at straws to try to not have a similar fate.
I have insider connections at many bootcamps and the ones surviving are NOT doing well internally. Either cutting back, losing employees, or the 'bootcamp division' is being neglected by a parent company. Launch School is the only program I know that is basically run by the founder and their cohort numbers seems much smaller but they haven't had layoffs or cutbacks.
Now all of that said there is a small group of people (hundreds) that don't really need a bootcamp to switch into SWE but they need SOMETHING, and a bootcamp can be the thing that helps them transition successfully. I think a very small number of programs will survive by identifying and supporting these people. But these programs will cut their marketing and just go word of mouth, being very small, and very intimate, founder-led places that won't be a viable path for the "average person".
If you are one of those people, a bootcamp can work. If you are not, you should look at a masters degree instead.