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I don't think you need a computer science degree to be a programmer, but I share your concern about Developer Boot Camps. I interview developers pretty often f

I don't think you need a computer science degree to be a programmer, but I share your concern about Developer Boot Camps. I interview developers pretty often for my company and I've come across about a handful of people whose only education in development was one of these bootcamps; none of them were anywhere close to being ready for even an entry level position. So I become super skeptical when people are being asked to pay $13k for a 3 month program that may not actually land them a job. That's a LOT of money. I'd like to see GA's historical track record - how many of their graduates have received offers within 6 months? Within a year? What were the average starting salaries they received? Based on my limited exposure to the graduates of these types of bootcamps, I don't think I'd recommend this type of program to anyone, despite having Google's name attached to it.

whiteboarder 11y ago
It depends on the school. The very best ones like Hack Reactor have a 99% rate for people getting jobs within 6 months, averaging at 100k. The "average" ones are closer to 75k average starting salary.
- russelluresti 11y ago
  I haven't come across anyone from Hack Reactor yet, but if the numbers they put on their website are true, then that's pretty impressive. I did a bit of research and found a Quora answer regarding GA's success with its Web Development program here: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hiring-rate-for-graduates-of-the-General-Assembly-web-development-immersive-6-months-after-graduation https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hiring-rate-for-graduates-...
- blumkvist 11y ago
  What? How is this possible? Entry level web developer with a starting salary of $100k... and a guarantee... That looks like a straight up lie.
  - whiteboarder 11y ago
    It is factually correct, but perhaps a little misleading. Hack Reactor indeed has these statistics, but their application process is probably the most difficult/selective of any of the bootcamps. The people going into the program, are usually, already quite good. As an example, I have a friend who graduated from General Assembly, didn't feel quite prepared, so did Hack Reactor AS WELL. (ie, 2 separate bootcamps, one right after the other). On top of, of course, a college degree (albeit non-CS) It is kind of like how Harvard has very good hiring stats. Is Harvard really that good, or does their admissions process just select for people who are almost certainly going to be successful, no matter what college they go to.

whiteboarder 11y ago

It depends on the school. The very best ones like Hack Reactor have a 99% rate for people getting jobs within 6 months, averaging at 100k. The "average" ones are closer to 75k average starting salary.

russelluresti 11y ago
I haven't come across anyone from Hack Reactor yet, but if the numbers they put on their website are true, then that's pretty impressive. I did a bit of research and found a Quora answer regarding GA's success with its Web Development program here: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hiring-rate-for-graduates-of-the-General-Assembly-web-development-immersive-6-months-after-graduation https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hiring-rate-for-graduates-...
blumkvist 11y ago
What? How is this possible? Entry level web developer with a starting salary of $100k... and a guarantee... That looks like a straight up lie.
- whiteboarder 11y ago
  It is factually correct, but perhaps a little misleading. Hack Reactor indeed has these statistics, but their application process is probably the most difficult/selective of any of the bootcamps. The people going into the program, are usually, already quite good. As an example, I have a friend who graduated from General Assembly, didn't feel quite prepared, so did Hack Reactor AS WELL. (ie, 2 separate bootcamps, one right after the other). On top of, of course, a college degree (albeit non-CS) It is kind of like how Harvard has very good hiring stats. Is Harvard really that good, or does their admissions process just select for people who are almost certainly going to be successful, no matter what college they go to.