Why students are throwing tons of money at a program that won't give degrees
So... I&#x27;m biased because I did a bootcamp.<p>I think the comparison of bootcamp vs 4years CS degree is not very apple to apple, because well, you compare on 1 side people who almost &quot;discovered&quot; programming 3 months earlier to people who have been studying it for 4 years + most of the time have had internships etc.<p>What I can say tho, is that, for junior positions (I guess one of the points of the article) those bootcampers can be 1. very good and productive, and because of the nature of the bootcamps, 2. usually very motivated and eager to learn, get feedback etc.<p>So if you are willing (and have resources) for some extra mentoring, bootcamps can be a very good additional pool for hiring (since hiring engineers is very hard is most places) and can be very good long term for your company.<p>I joined a YC startup after my bootcamp and continued to work my ass off there for a year (during work, and after work to continue to learn CS concepts etc.) and I think I can say I was successful there. I had good mentoring despite our size (3-4 engineers at most) but I eventually became a good asset to the company.<p>After 1 years, the company was sold and I needed to find a new job. I did well on multiple interviews, both startups and big cos (facebook and co) and am now very successful at a top startup in the bay.<p>You just need to expect what is expectable - I remember when I did my bootcamp, I was never promised to get a CS degree in 3 months - I was promised to learn the basics I would need to 1. be hirable at a junior level and 2. learn how to learn, to be able to figure things myself and continue growing.
That&#x27;s what I got from it.<p>I think everything&#x27;s the same - if you are motivated and driven to be successful, you&#x27;ll be successful, if not, cruising through both a CS degree or a bootcamp won&#x27;t do it.
I&#x27;ve interviewed hundreds of people, from bootcamps, new grads, masters, phds, experienced people, and people from each background have done from bad to great.