Life After a Coding Bootcamp…
What Really Happens After Finishing A 12 Week Coding Bootcamp?
I finished a coding bootcamp in September, 2020. The bootcamp included 4 weeks of pre-work and 12 weeks of evening classes of 3.5 hours each, and an 8 hours on Sundays. All of the classes were online in a live zoom environment with our instructor, a previous public school teacher and software engineer, as well as one T.A. per class. We jam packed our brains with full stack of technology, as well as programming logic and “job hacking” skills. Sounds painful, right? Especially considering that most of us had full time jobs and or kids using up our full attention and patience during the day.
Those 16 weeks were some of the best weeks of my life. Though my opinion may be admittedly biased, as it was during quarantine and much of that joy came from interacting with others, I do believe it was not just my cohorts impeccable sense of humor and light heartedness of the instructor. But also the staff.
The staff cared deeply for each student’s success. The curriculum was relevant and manageable. The expectations of the students were realistic, while still pushing us to reach our fullest potential to succeed not just after graduation, but long-term.
I assume you aren’t here to read my praise of one particular school, though. Before making the investment to start attending a coding bootcamp I spent two years in college for programming and never writing a line of code. So I decided to start researching bootcamps instead of theoretical computer knowledge. I searched for real honest articles about life AFTER a coding bootcamp. That is how I ended up becoming a writer on Medium. While none of the articles out there are lacking in any way, I believe the more real accounts of post bootcamp grad life that are out there to help others make their decision, the better.
It has been about 6 weeks since I finished. I have applied to over 75 job postings. I have completed 6 screening interviews. I have made it to a third interview round. Two months later, I have stepped back from the thoughtless interviews and decided to start my own freelance consultant business specializing in Wordpress, SEO optimization and online marketing as a whole package. Though bootcamp prepared me to be able to quickly learn more tech and choose a specialty, I didn’t graduate with a job ready portfolio. Instead, I made the effort to continue my education to the fullest and focus on getting once freelance client at a time.
So, why spend time applying to 200+ jobs ? Why not work on portfolio projects? Charge whatever you want for them. Find a way to get paid to learn and to grow your portfolio and then maybe it will lead to a full time job, or maybe it will lead to you starting your own business like me. When you spend your time working on hands on projects, you can charge for them as soon as you feel comfortable. Just kidding, you won’t feel comfortable for a long time. That is why I say charge whatever you want for that first project or two. Then you will get the feel for freelancing and proposals. You can then decide if you want to pursue a freelance career. If that life isn’t for you, now you have an impressive portfolio of projects to show potential employers instead of just two school projects and random GitHub commits.
Bootcamp is hard work. You need to be dedicated enough to sacrifice time and energy from everything else you love, including your family and own children. It’s not a decision you should make lightly. If you know you enjoy solving problems and learning computer programming, I highly recommend attending a bootcamp other than alternative options. However, the motivation that must follow you after graduation can not come from instructors. It has to come from within. Having a more strategic plan than shooting out random interviews for positions you hardly feel qualified for, and sweating through technical interviews, will pay in the long run. As I continue to keep in touch with my cohorts, I can attest that my endless interview experience is only one of many. This is why I firmly believe that bootcamp grads should do at least one freelance project after graduation. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have in the comments. I’m happy to help anybody considering this decision.
