The Fintech Bootcamp: How Can You Decide What’s Right for You?

A Fintech bootcamp is an intensive, short-term training program that aims to teach students the skills needed to work at a fintech company. Much like a regular coding bootcamp, the fintech bootcamp will teach the necessary skills to develop a fintech product by following a curriculum track specifically for fintech use cases. The bootcamp is a highly practical shorter alternative to a 2-4 year school for anyone wanting to break into fintech. The fintech bootcamp can also offer networking opportunities and job placement assistance, making it a popular choice for people looking to break into the fintech industry. There are many bootcamps to choose from, however for the fintech bootcamp, there are a number of universities with partner programs for students to complete the course together.

Why a Bootcamp for Fintech?

One of the main advantages of attending a fintech bootcamp is the speed at which you can gain the skills and knowledge needed to start a career in fintech. In this fintech bootcamp, Python is a strong emphasis with some financial modeling. Python is secure, compatible, and reliable to build a great API and e-commerce application. Python can be a great option for financial modeling and algorithms. Machine learning has become so critical for different aspects of fintech including identity verification in onboarding processes, and fraud detection and mitigation. The fintech bootcamp is more focused and practical than traditional education related to these discussions, and how and what you will be thinking about in your future fintech career.

As developers learn fintech, the “tech” side is just one of many aspects needed to know. There’s the unique API architecture between a fragmented industry with hundreds of payment methods and countries. Developers are solving the problem by continued integrations and building an ecosystem that communicates and works together. Connections and partnerships need to be made with these banks, companies and countries to be able to integrate their payment methods. Unique use cases vary between the type of money movement whether it be collections, disbursements, or accounts. Each of these use cases may include a different case of being compliant with the regulations of the country they do business in. If the product will be successful, targeting these use cases are necessary.

Choosing What Fits Your Pace, Price, and Preference

The fintech bootcamp can be expensive, especially when compared to other general bootcamps, coding schools, or self-paced engineering courses. Additionally, the fintech bootcamp may not be suitable for everyone, as they require a high level of commitment, and dedication to learning the Fintech industry which is known to be fragmented. It takes years to continue to absorb industry information with more layers of regulation, more services, but businesses continue to work together to see incredible industry growth. While many bootcamps offer job placement assistance, there is no guarantee that you will be able to find a job after completing the program.

When it comes to choosing a fintech bootcamp, there are a number of schools to consider. Multiple universities have partner programs so you can learn alongside fellow classmates.

A program called edX partners with universities to develop a sound curriculum. With a consistent program content there’s accountability for the program to be updated with the latest tech.

24 week programs to sign up with include Columbia Engineering, UC Berkeley, Northwestern University, George Washington University, University of Washington, University of Miami, University of Minnesota, and more.

Learning the Right Tools

The curriculum not only teaches Python, but is also broken out into Machine Learning modes for fintech as well as cryptocurrency and blockchain. Machine Learning has been long used in fintech from identity verification, to back end data, and product development. Crypto is popular and will only continue to grow as it is still not used for commerce between businesses, but rather investment purposes.

Learning a new language can be tough especially when you are starting out. Building connections with the right mentors and community can help ease the learning process. Stack Overflow developer forums have helped build a digital space for developers to connect. community.rapyd.net is one of the few growing fintech developer spaces where anyone can join, ask anything about fintech and connect with other developers. Signing up for a university fintech bootcamp can help connect personally with other college students.

Set Up for Success

Regardless of what program you may choose, you will always be learning more in the fintech industry when stepping into a new role and company. Rapyd also hosts a cohort of engineers for a 3 month course called Rapyd Academy with the intention of hiring at the end. Students are provided with a combination of theory, practice and real-life context to accelerate career growth. It is an opportunity to equip and empower graduates while helping to strengthen the fintech ecosystem. It’s rare to see a company offer not just the skills, training, but insights into an industry in which students may not fully catch on until working closely with a company. Rapyd has already hosted three cohorts for students to learn, build, and join an amazing team.

The fintech bootcamp can be an option for those looking to gain the skills and knowledge needed to start a career in the financial technology sector. While these programs can be expensive and require a high level of focus and grit, they offer practical education with hands on use cases, networking opportunities, and job placement assistance. If you're considering a fintech bootcamp, be sure to do your research and choose a program that meets your needs and goals.