Jobs in tech continue to outnumber the talent to fill them, and the options for anyone considering a career in the space have exploded. Four-year, traditional degree programs are no longer the only option for anyone who wants to land a job as a software engineer.
Private companies, educational organizations, and universities are all now running coding bootcamps, which offer a lot of the same skills taught in a traditional computer science program.
FinTech Bootcamp
Find your path in the finance & tech world
Prepare for a career in finance and investment with Noble Desktop’s FinTech Certificate program. Students will receive immersive, hands-on instruction in working with programming languages like Python and machine learning algorithms to make informed decisions and predictive models dealing with markets and assets. Learn how to use technology to improve your long-term financial stability and become career-ready by the time you complete the program.
Degree programs often offer some extra polish with the benefit of studying theory and history behind tech know-how, as well as a deeply established network of many thousands of alumni. But bootcamps also have benefits that include a growing level of alumni support, they’re more affordable, and students may complete these programs in a fraction of the time as a full-fledged degree program.
Deciding whether a bootcamp or degree program is right for you depends on your background, the circumstances of your personal life, and what you hope to gain from the experience. Here’s what to consider.
Hyper-focused learning in bootcamps vs. a contextualized education in degree programs
One appeal of bootcamps is they often don’t require applicants to have any prerequisites in terms of coding knowledge. That’s the case at Tech Elevator, which Anthony Hughes co-founded in 2015 to close the gap between open jobs and available talent. The company offers online and in-person tech courses for people who want to level up their skill sets, and while a majority of students are 25 to 40 years old, only 23% have completed at least some portion of a bachelor’s degree, he notes.
“We take people from zero coding experience, and we turn them into software developers,” says Hughes. “We are trying to teach people skills that align with jobs so they can hit the ground running.”
Even though Vanderbilt University has the same goal in mind—to teach students how to become adept in the field—it does so through coursework on all levels of the educational spectrum in computer science: bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degree programs. And with the luxury of time, these programs will also address topics such as history and theory in the discipline.
Many students in the master’s degree program at Vanderbilt have experience in computer science before enrolling, while others may have taken a bootcamp or worked in a tangential field, like mathematics, that correlates well to a computer science degree. To get students up-to-speed, Vanderbilt, like Columbia University, MIT, the University of Chicago and many others, has also launched a coding bootcamp.
Students entering any of Vanderbilt’s degree programs need to be ready for a continuum of learning, no matter the level and no matter the program, says Jules White, associate professor of computer science and associate dean for strategic learning programs at Vanderbilt.
“As a computer scientist, there’s one thing I can guarantee you: the specifics, the languages, the technology—it will be completely different in 10 years,” says White. “You’ll have to re-learn if you want to be relevant. You’ll have to be retraining yourself to advance.”
Establish a timeline, delegate resources
The amount of time and resources you’re able to devote to school is a key factor in informing which type of program is best suited for you. Coding bootcamps run through programs like Tech Elevator, Fullstack Academy, General Assembly, Flatiron School, and others can be completed in 12 to 30 weeks, with costs ranging from $10,00 to $20,000.
Degree programs, on the other hand, take anywhere from two to four years to complete, depending on whether you opt for a bachelor’s or advanced degree, and cost at least double what a bootcamp would. The curriculum in a degree program, though, offers a broader spectrum of content and goes deeper in terms of theory and philosophy behind the practice of computer science.
Both options, of course, allow students to enroll full-time or part-time so they may continue to work while completing a program. It’s just a matter of how much and how long you’re willing to juggle work and school obligations.
Why one student opted for a bootcamp, while another chose a master’s degree program
DeShe Woods was looking for the most direct and practical path to jumpstart a career change when she decided to enroll in a coding bootcamp at Tech Elevator. Woods had an undergraduate degree in art education and had previously worked as a teacher, so she wasn’t interested in the commitment involved in a degree program—and a bootcamp offered the hope of quickly shifting careers.
“I wanted the flexibility in my schedule to go part-time and I wanted to go into software development,” says Woods, who lives in Grand Rapids. She now works as an apprentice within the Interapt/CVS Health partnership, aimed at building a pipeline of tech talent.
Sam Hays, on the other hand, chose to enter a master’s program in computer science at Vanderbilt after working in the field for a number of years. Because his career path was already established, Hays says his decision to enter a degree program was more about bolstering his network and broadening his interests in computer science.
“For me it’s the love of the science,” says Hays, who says the program offered him a larger network and a deeper knowledge base. “I really like the industry and all of the amazing work people are doing around the world. I wanted to work with people that were similarly interested. Folks choosing to go back and do more school work were probably those folks.”
Choose a network that works for you
Both degree programs and bootcamps offer alumni networks to tap throughout the job-hunting process. In a university setting, that process might require students to take some initiative to cultivate relationships with professors and alumni outside of classes. Meanwhile, many bootcamps have adapted career-building into the curriculum.
At Fullstack Academy, students have access to career coaches who offer professional development support—from best practices in networking to resume building to using LinkedIn to interview prep and more, says Lesia Harhaj-Kudryk, the program’s director of career success.
Similarly, Tech Elevator offers a track called the Pathway Program, which prepares students to build resumes, navigate LinkedIn, and craft elevator pitches, Hughes adds.
“When we started the company, we asked: ‘Are people coming to us to learn to code or to get a job?’” he says. “Fundamentally, it’s the latter. You can’t just wish them well. You have to close the loop.”
Check out all of Fortune’s rankings of degree programs and learn more about specific career paths.
Python Machine Learning Bootcamp
Join the AI revolution
AI is disrupting every industry out there. Get in on the ground floor of this cutting-edge technology with our immersive training. Write machine learning algorithms with Python, train them on datasets, and leverage their output to make informed professional decisions.
