Don The Developer: "Coding Bootcamps ARE Still Viable in 2024".... with caveats 😉

Don The Developer: "Coding Bootcamps ARE Still Viable in 2024".... with caveats 😉 Don released this video today with a realistic take on Coding Bootcamps. Despite the title coming across as "pro bootcamp", it's a balanced take on bootcamps in 2024. [VIDEO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIFd5nuhvhs) Would love to discuss in the comment! SUMMARY OF DON'S ARGUMENTS: 1. **Coding Bootcamps' Viability**: Don believes coding bootcamps are still a viable option in 2024, despite their mixed reputation. They can effectively prepare individuals for entry level developer jobs, provided that students have the right preparation (many months) and timeframe expectations (\~2 years). **2. Misleading Marketing**: Don believes many coding bootcamps have a bad reputation due right now due to continued misleading marketing that promises unrealistic outcomes and makes it seem like you will get a job in a few months by doing the bootcamps. Students need to be critical of these claims and understand that bootcamps are not a quick fix to landing a developer job. But just because it's not a quick fix, Don argues it doesn't mean it can't work with the right expectations. **3. Self-Preparation**: Don believes prospective students should spend a few months on self-taught paths to get comfortable with coding basics before enrolling in a bootcamp. Doing a bootcamp's prep course like App Academy Open or Codesmith CSX, does not make you hirable, but is just table stakes for being ready to even do the main bootcamp. **4. The Right Bootcamp for You.** Don emphasizes (and I agree) that choosing a bootcamp that aligns with their desired career path and learning style is crucial for success. Do you want lectures? Mentorship? Self-paced? Structured? Instruction from graduates VS industry engineers? Etc... The right bootcamp for you might not be the right bootcamp for someone else. **5. Post-Bootcamp Efforts**: Don emphasizes that graduating from a bootcamp is just the beginning. He estimates students should expect to spend at least a year on project work, networking, and self-branding to improve their job prospects. This involves building relevant projects, engaging with the developer community, and continuously learning new skills. He doesn't go over more specifics on this, but I also agree with this in general.

+1, that's my argument. That's why at Codesmith for example, YOU are the product and the community is the product. You are paying for a community and they are using your money to build a "cult-like" (for lack of better term" following in their community. Really smart people make fake accounts to promote Codesmith, get all the accounts suspended, and then still feel in the right and that I'm a terrible person for reporting all this to Reddit and making up a narrative that I'm breaking the rules and getting away with it... the product you paid.

I consume a lot of content, I think it's important for me personally to consume content from an extremely wide range of sources on an extremely wide range of topics, from official direct sources to bloggers and influencers to trashy reality TV consuming. consuming all of this gives me a more well-rounded picture of what's going on in the world. note that I did not say generally if I agree or disagree but I was presenting the arguments that Don was presenting for bootcamps as there's been a lot of arguments against them lately.

....from couple to throuple trailer looked below my bar but the fact that I saw that and know what you're talking about is probably a bad sign

That bootcamp is outsourced to a corporation :(. I'm not saying that's good or bad, but it's important to note how this works. CMU offers some of the teaching and mentors and TalentSpring offers the career services side of things and tries to place you at their companies for placement fees. Again, this could be a really nice win win model, but it's important to understand how it works before spewing out everywhere that this is like going to CMU directly.

Was the sponsorship disclosed?

I certainly don't agree with a lot of Don's opinions but I do think think he's relatively reasonable about discussing his opinions. It's fine to have strong opinions and discuss them reasonably to me, even if he hates the subreddit, I feel like he would discuss it reasonably instead of flipping a table and holding a grudge like other people have done in other subreddits haha.