First off, really well written article. You're absolutely right in that it's a different market now than it was in 2013, when everybody with 'Full Stack' in their profile was getting hired.

Second, having hired a few bootcampers myself, I think it's definitely possible for someone to come in to a technical organization with limited experience. They just have to be willing to contribute as much as they can wherever they can.

The 3rd rule is something we look directly for when hiring. If there is a direct passion (ex. Edtech) to draw from, it makes the candidate stand out from all the other "iOS dev" "DevOps" etc

Great job on navigating the boot-camper job hunting rollercoaster!

Disagree a lil with the focus on contracting projects for newbie bootcampers though! The kind of contracting work available to bootcampers often tends to be uninspiring. They'd be much better off working on really interesting personal projects and like you say, really focussing in on a niche.

Contracting work can be useful once they've built up a menagerie of unique projects.

That said, this is def a must read for newbie bootcampers! :)