Coding Bootcamps May Make Traditional Computer Science Degrees Obsolete

June 12, 2019 – I continue to receive an enormous number of requests to publish timely and interesting topics on 21st Century Tech Blog. In this submission, the author discusses a growing North American phenomenon, coding bootcamps. If you have never heard of this new industry innovation, it appears to be a solution to the lack of qualified software programmers with relevant skills from traditional computer science university and college programs. Coding bootcamps first appeared in North America in 2011. Since then they have sprung up in numerous locations to meet industry demand. If you have hired bootcamp graduates, or if you are one of them, I would appreciate hearing from you. As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Technology innovation worldwide is booming, and so is the demand for web developers. The need for web professionals is expected to grow 15% through 2026, faster than nearly any other professional computing sector. Even better for those entering the sector, research shows salaries are increasing at a faster rate in the last three years than over the previous decade.

With this growth, the emergence of coding bootcamps to quickly train web developers cannot come sooner to help address a worldwide shortage of qualified coders. In doing so, these non-university programs have become a disruptive force making traditional computer science degrees seem less necessary.

Time & Cost

The most obvious advantages of these bootcamps over traditional four-year college degrees are time to complete, and overall cost. The cost of a four-year degree can vary but often run as high as $30,000 USD per year for tuition alone. Add to that additional costs for room and board, textbooks and other items, and a four-year degree can easily end up costing as much as $150,000.

In contrast, bootcamps offer introductory, full-stack training programs with a timeline as little as six months. What’s more remarkable is that with the arrival of hybrid community bootcamps that mix online and offline training, many students don’t even need to leave their local city or home town to participate. With the shortened duration of a bootcamp program, plus the ability to stay close to home, it means significantly less in expenses which can often be as little as $2,500 USD.

Return On Investment

While time and cost savings can be remarkable, is the payoff of attending coding bootcamps is as good, or nearly as good, as a four-year degree or two to three-year college diploma? Data from Switch Up indicates that it is. SwitchUp, an online site that describes itself as the best resource for tech bootcamps, found that on average, bootcamp graduates enjoy a nearly $20,000 USD increase in salary after completing one of these programs. Of course, salaries only increase as graduates spend additional years building up skills and gaining valuable on-the-job experience.

Additionally, research from an online blogging site, Indeed shows that several small-to-midsize companies prefer hiring coding bootcamp graduates over computer science graduates because the former are more experienced doing team problem-solving, have had previous work experience, and are current in their software coding knowledge.

As if this weren’t enough, SwitchUp also has found that 30% of bootcamp grads do not have four-year degrees, yet 71% have found tech-related jobs following a coding bootcamp program. It suggests that the college degree in computer science or a related technology field may be seeing its days numbered as the best means of securing a career in technology fields.

Theory vs. Practice

One thing where coding bootcamps aren’t up-to-speed when compared to university programs is in the teaching of computer science theory. The four-year degree allows for courses rooted in theory and foundational concepts. There is no doubt that this is valuable information for those interested in understanding broader, overarching concepts in the field, and in seeking solutions to larger, more complex technical problems. Coding bootcamps aren’t meant to provide this type of education. But when you consider that most jobs in the industry don’t require this foundational knowledge, for employers it’s not a sorely missed skill set.