“All for a chance to be a star”
-No More Parties In L.A.
Coding bootcamps is the in thing. Like spiked hair in the 2000s, or terrible mullets of this era. Now it seems everyone needs to know coding(terrible fashion sense not optional). Doesn’t matter if you are the president or a barista, you gotta know coding. Even though one wonders why people of those professions would even need coding skills. Not only do you need to know coding, but you have to be a master coder in 24 hours and get hired as a super senior developer at TwatBook. Coding for just a singular goal like that is like learning a popular song completely and expecting to be more than a cover band.
Think about people that truly excel at what they do. Did they achieve it overnight? Did they pay somebody a bunch of money and do a couple of things for less than a year and boom…mastery achieved? No. Mastery takes a life time of practice and dedication. According to many experts, at least 10000 hours. That’s more than a year of practice, which is way way higher than the few hours for 6 months that will make you an expert(according to most bootcamps).That’s why no one becomes an engineer or a doctor in months. A few projects can teach you the basics, but never more than that. If there’s one thing I’ve seen online, it’s that things(apps, websites, etc.) are very poorly made using whatever is the fad of the day, approved by people who aren’t qualified and made by people who don’t know any anything better than hacks. That is the culture of doing things based on hype and trends, not needs. Remember those Angular apps which were made using Angular “just cause” ?
Bootcamps can at best find out those very few diamonds in the rough to start them on their path and take those that already know to the next level. A life time of mastery is not achieved overnight and by paying $40000 (most bootcamps charge at this range. Materials needed cost extra.) for six months. A portfolio of dream projects does not compete against a portfolio of real world implementations. In the fantasy world, everyone can do everything. In the real world that is unnecessary. So if programming is your thing or interests you as career and not only because of the monetary benefit, by all means try it out. But stick to it and get proper education. A coding bootcamp at best is only a tiny part of that education. No one became a rockstar for the money, they did it for the art. Programming is an art. Bootcamps are steroids and steroids are generally harmful.