Hi, my name is Oscar I am a Full-stack developer. I have a Computer Science degree and finished a 6-mont full-stack developer course at CodeAcademy. For this reason, I can share my opinion about the university and boot camp. I will tell the advantages and disadvantages of each. Also, treat this article as a continuation of my previous work.
Universities
As I mentioned in one of my previous articles I spend a great time at university. For 3 years, what I spent I learned a lot but was it worth it?
First-year of my studies I had a lot of math, started learning C/C++, intro to OOP, structural programming intro, computer architecture, intellectual property, English lessons, Matlab, algorithms and data structures, and history. Second-year of my studies, UML diagrams, MySQL, more math, HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, C#, Java, diploma preparation, English, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The third year of my studies: economy intro, digital Image Processing, Software engineering, and finishing my diploma work.
Is this worth it?
The biggest part of what I have learned is what I personally will never use. Examples, Matlab, UML diagrams, Java, C#, C/C++, history lessons, and image processing. About programming languages, main concepts are important, but it does not mean I need to learn multiple languages to have a better understanding of loops, variables, arrays, etc. Sticking to one language will allow You to have a better understanding of language-specific, which will be better than a medium understanding of 4 languages. In my second year of study, I already loved web development. I selected JS and PHP as my main languages because I liked them. Personally, I would definitely say no to universities. It took whole three years of my life and it was not free in my case.
What about Bootcamps?
Bootcamps are also paid. Compared to university, BootCamp took me 6 months. I was learning experienced CSS and intermediate PHP. Worked with API, and extended js knowledge, as a database I used firebase. Some people in my group had no experience in programming at all. For this reason, the course was going slower than it should have. I do not blame anyone. Lecturers wanted to give as much knowledge to students as possible. The lecturers were really passionate about their work. They put a lot of effort to give a student the best learning experience.
Which is better for Your career?
In university, I heard it will be easy to find work. Bootcamp was promising that they will contact companies from their networks and recommend me as a developer. In the end, I have only promises and calls from Bootcamp about new courses. Bootcamp will be better for a career because it will take less time and learn only important stuff. I would recommend having good basics before going to an experienced course. If You are already studying, start making pet projects and search for work for 4h/day. It will work for both universities and boot camps. Even if You will not find work it will give interview experience. Moreover, some questions/topics can repeat. After finishing your studies You will have a better understanding of how to pass the interview process. The best solution would be to have a work/internship during the day and study at night, but this fits not everyone. The third solution is only for universities. In case You are studying for free. In the first year of study start making projects. After creating the first 5 projects I would recommend You start applying for work/internships. In case the company will hire You will start combining studies with work/internship. If it will be too hard talk with Your employer or team lead about the continuation. This is a very important decision, do not hurry to choose between work/internship and studies. This is only my opinion I cannot live Your life, keep this in mind.
Conclusion
Bootcamp is useful in case when You cannot learn by yourself. There are plenty of useful and free materials. Important to have discipline and be consistent. Starting one tutorial, finishing and making a project to memorize and better understand the material. In both cases do not depend on another network. Start being active on social media it will help You to find Your first work way faster without relying on promises. If You are interested about find Your first work check out this article. If You have an interest in how to find Your first work easier with social media let me know in the comments.
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