Ask HN: Previously employed; no CS degree. Should I enroll in a bootcamp?

3 points by autoreleasepool 9 years ago | 4 comments

Hi HN,

I feel so stuck. I'm 25 and live with my parents. I do not have a CS degree (I have a BA in Economics). A year ago, I quit my full-time job as maintainer of a legacy C++ code base due to mental health issues (manic episodes). Before that, I worked as an iOS developer.

Thanks to therapy, I am now back on my feet mentally, but I'm struggling with the job market. I've been unemployed for an entire year. I've worked on side projects and tried to broaden my skill set by learning Ruby on Rails and JavaScript, but I still get little to no response from employers.

I'm starting to think it's the lack of CS degree combined with employment gap that's holding me back. Basically, I lost the traction I would have had if I hadn't quit. I also worry that my previous job was a fluke; I basically got it for being a huge C++ geek during the interview.

My therapist suggested I do a 10-week coding bootcamp. She claims since I'll likely be "top of my class" I'll get solid employment opportunities and contacts. Is this a good idea?

wincy 9 years ago |

It's easy to be down on yourself. As someone who struggled with mental health issues in the past (anxiety and depression runs in my family) I have a few thoughts on this, not necessarily unique to your situation, but I hope it's helpful.

1) Don't mention your mental health issues to your employer. Maybe one day you can reveal it, I've discussed my anxiety issues with my boss, but it wasn't until I'd been at work and kicking ass for over a year. People are more empathetic once they know you. I don't know if you're actually interviewing but admitting that you were out of work for a year because of manic episodes is a surefire way to never get work. You have a bachelors degree + experience, those are the two things 99% of employers care about. Maybe have someone else review your resume?

2) Therapy is helpful but keep in mind while they may be an expert in psychology, he or she isn't an expert in the hiring landscape of computer science. At least in my job market a coding bootcamp wouldn't make sense at all for anyone who has ever had a job as a software engineer.

3) It's easy to be down on yourself and think it was "just a fluke", but programming is hard! If someone employed you for a year you can cut it. If it was "just a fluke" you would have been out of there in a month. "Being a huge c++ geek" makes me think you are feeling imposter syndrome, the fact that you -can- geek out over C++ makes you better than 90% of the applicants we get when we're looking for a new dev.

You can do it! I personally wouldn't suggest the coding bootcamp. It'd just be busy work, and I don't think it'd help your job prospects that much.

WindyCityBrew 9 years ago |

Take any suggestions you see here with a grain of salt, but my ¢2. Being 'the top of the class' at a boot camp doesn't mean much, unless you have a chance of being hired on as an instructor (which can be very well paid). As a former bootcamper, the people that did the best in the job hunt were those with CS degrees (for the reasons you mentioned), those who hustled like hell to land a job, and then maybe those who did best in the course.

If you already have your LinkedIn, GitHub, personal site, and dynamic resume tailored to post locked in; I'd suggest trying to get take-home coding challenges from companies that you can give them back on github/bitbucket. Bring it up in cover letters / phone screens. It will help you ramp up on the skills employers want, and it shouldn't take too many before you get an offer.

weatherlight 9 years ago |

This is a great idea, the better the Bootcamp, the more likely you are to get a job. Think of it as a way to buy into a network. The good Bootcamps will also set time aside for whiteboarding, how to interview, creating a compelling portfolio etc.

Not all Bootcamps are created equal. https://www.switchup.org/locations/nyc-coding-bootcamp

samangan 9 years ago |

Honestly there is not enough information given for us to give a lot of useful advice.

Here is some information we would need to give more helpful information:

  - What type of positions / companies are you applying to? This is important, because I can imagine applying for dev jobs at small rails shops would be difficult because they are looking for people who can hit the ground running on day 0 (Ie: They are looking for rails at your last job).

  - My parents do not live anywhere near tech jobs. Are you located near a good number of tech jobs where you can cast a wide net?