DEV Community

Discussion on: I teach the vocation of software development to hundreds of people each year, Ask Me Anything!

Collapse
 
stevebrownlee profile image
Steve Brownlee

No. I believe anyone that doesn't suffer from a serious mental disability can become competant given the right amount of time.

Now, let me specifically address being successful at a bootcamp. I don't believe everyone can be successful in a bootcamp, but only if they haven't set themselves, or their lives, up for success. Here's the factors that have led to people not being successful.

  1. Not being able to put their ego aside and being trapped by a fixed mindset.
  2. Too many distractions in their life. Financial worries, sick family members, new children, highly disruptive family lives.
  3. Not enough baseline mathematical-logical intelligence before starting the course. Everyone's level of this kind of intelligence increases dramatically during the course, but if their lives did not develop this intelligence enough before starting the program, they really struggle.
  4. Not being able to focus mentally. This could be because they have ADHD or some other, external reason (see item 2 above).

So far, this has been about 15 students in my time at Nashville Software School. It's a vast minority. Maybe 3% to 5% of students? Just a rough guess.