Should I Attend a Coding Bootcamp? 

Making a change is hard. Doubt quickly begins to rise above the surface in the form of questions like: How do I know if I will be successful? Am I really ready to change careers? Would a coding bootcamp be the right choice for someone like me? Taking the leap into a new industry may seem like a daunting and risky task, but the cost of giving up on your dreams poses a far greater threat.

Since 2015, Skill Distillery graduates have taken a chance on what is still considered an unconventional path and have been paid back with rewarding careers. Not all of them have been college graduates with a degree in computer science. The average age range has been 25-35. Many of our students have families.

We have been fortunate to host and teach people from all walks of life – yoga teachers, veterans, police dispatchers, bakers, and everything in-between. So, what is the common denominator? Their passion for coding.

How do you decide to attend a coding bootcamp? First, you ask yourself, “how bad do I want it?” If you would be happy working in a career, then you are halfway there.

The second question is, “how much time and effort am I ready to commit?” If you can promise yourself that coding from the early morning into the late evening, 5 days a week and some weekends are sacrifices you are willing to make, you’re pretty much ready.

Bonus question to ask yourself: How well do I type?

Applying to a bootcamp dedicated to teaching will be a multi-step process. The school should want to make sure what they offer will serve your needs, as much as you are looking to see if it is the right investment. The location of the school can play a large part in this. A school closer to tech companies in that city, as opposed to the heart of downtown, can potentially offer more opportunities and fewer distractions.

Learning a difficult coding language well enough to contribute to a team at Comcast, for example, is not limited by what you look like, or the type of degree you have. Whether you can stay focused enough to push through hour 5 and learn the third topic of the day is a greater determinant of success.

Choosing the right bootcamp becomes simple when you work backward from the type of developer you want to be and evaluate the technologies you need to learn. Going through the process to cross the threshold on your first day, however, isn’t about who you are. It’s about who you want to become.

Detractors who say you cannot become a full-stack developer with zero experience have not seen the unbridled tenacity of our students. 2018 is new and full of possibilities. If you want to make a change to the job you deserve, all you have to be is brave.