Coding is one of the hottest things on the market, with coding bootcamps popping up all over the country. While this is a lucrative career to pursue, there are a few things to know before taking this route. If the intent to learn coding is just for the salary, it may be difficult to keep it up. Coding bootcamps are not cheap, and if the camp has grants or other ways to get in, the criteria may be a little stringent.
There are different types of coding bootcamps – beginning, intermediate, and advanced. Coding for beginners is a popular bootcamp geared toward individuals who are wondering is coding hard to learn. If going to a beginner’s coding bootcamp, while it is not necessary to know coding, having some type of knowledge of the subject would be good. There are many books on coding for beginners that can assist those wanting to learn coding for beginners.
What Do Coding Bootcamps Look for When Accepting Students?
They are looking for a willingness in learning coding for beginners, unless the camp is intermediate or advanced. Even in the beginner’s class, they want students who are serious about coding and are willing to dedicate the time it takes to be successful. There are many tutorials on coding where students who are new can study how to learn coding for beginners. There are many people successfully coding who attended a bootcamp with no prior experience but showed how driven they were to learn.
Before applying to a bootcamp, students should know what they expect to get out of the bootcamp? Is it for fun? Is it to learn a new skill to monetize? Coding is not simple and can be confusing to someone who has never been exposed to this world. It takes focus and determination to grasp, apply, and successfully implement the concepts. It would not hurt to take a “How-to Coding for Beginners” class to have some practice prior to starting the bootcamp if accepted.
Coding as a Career
If choosing to attend a coding bootcamp is career-driven, it’s always good to interview the camp before committing. Find out how many people find work after attending the bootcamp and the time it takes. It’s also important to ask how much to expect if someone wants to employ the student after graduation. Since coding bootcamp is so intense, find out more about the learning environment. Is it a situation where the student will be working alone or with a team? How hard is it to get into the bootcamp, even for beginners, and is it in-person or is there an online version?
There are many resources available to assist when getting ready to apply for a coding bootcamp. In most cases, a coding bootcamp is 12-weeks where students learn the fundamentals and different languages. There are usually full days of nothing but learning. Although individuals do not have to know how to code, they should figure out whether coding is right for them. These questions should assist:
- Are you willing to make the investment? Coding bootcamp is not cheap.
- Will you work through the challenges and not give up?
- Are you someone who will go the extra mile if you find the work to be difficult?
- Are you willing to be mentally prepared?
- Do you work well with others?
- Do you have a support system?
- Do you ask questions to help understand?
- Are you willing to learn from others?
Coding bootcamps are great for teaching the fundamentals, but it is necessary to go the extra mile when attempting to make this into a career.
Finally, when applying to a coding bootcamp, individuals should be prepared to be heavily screened. It always looks best when some type of knowledge can be demonstrated. Applications usually ask candidates why they are applying to the camp, whether they have previous experience, what type of educational background they have, what they expect to learn, and other probing questions. In some instances, even with a beginner’s bootcamp, they still may have to take a test of some sort for the correct placement level. Bootcamps often do this to distinguish groups of students who have some experience and those who don’t. This helps put them with a trainer or instructor more suited to their abilities.
Applying to a coding bootcamp requires time and patience, but applicants can be successful if they use the resources available to help guide them through the process.
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