Question about those $300 online coding bootcamps

I paid for a 'guaranteed job' bootcamp last year, but the lessons were just recycled YouTube videos and the career help was a single email template. I'm out the cash and still building my portfolio from free resources. Are these expensive shortcuts ever worth it for a total beginner, or is it better to just grind through free stuff first?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_clark2mo ago

Disagree with @kim_martin on this one. A good bootcamp gave me the structure I couldn't make myself. Free tutorials are great, but I was stuck in a loop of starting and stopping. Paying for the course forced me to finish, and the weekly live calls with a real teacher got me unstuck fast. The job help was just okay, but the real value was having a clear path laid out when I was totally lost.

kim_martin2mo ago

Sounds about as useful as a warranty on a used car with 200k miles. Those bootcamps bank on people wanting a magic bullet, but there isn't one. Grinding through the free stuff first is the only real shortcut.

benlewis9h ago

The bootcamp model works if you're the type who learns best with a deadline and someone holding you accountable. @kim_martin's right that free resources can get you there, but some people need the structure to actually finish what they start. Really comes down to knowing how you learn best before dropping cash on anything.