DevBootcamps work over the last 5 years have been super impactful and paved the way for many bootcamps. Like many in the industry, and as a founder of DevMountain bootcamps, we all knew DBC as the golden standard. DBC changed tech education and positively affected many! Much respect and best wishes to everyone involved.
Hey man, it's Tyler. I feel as though DevMountain did alot to help you. Even to the point of when you left you literally told me you had nothing but good things to say about DevMountain. You were in our program for 6 weeks and received a ton of training and help. Then, after the run in with legal troubles, we legally had to let you go. Our hands were tied as a professional schooling institution. It was unfortunate because you were seriously one of the top students. You think we wanted to let you go? We did not. We loved having you around. We even refunded every cent of your tuition because of the situation you were thrown into. That is a school who cares. That is a program who cares about it's students. You even landed a job after our program. I really don't know what much more we could have done for you given the situation. I really don't know how you can continue to say that you were ripped off?
And most importantly: Do not give up.
You will not get the first position you apply into. Nor the second one. Maybe you have to send dozens of applications without a result. But that's not in vain. In that process, you'll learn about yourself. You'll learn what you know best and what you are passionate about. And after you have figured that out, you modify your application and send it to the next company and before you know it you got yourself a job.
When I have been between jobs I have listed companies with open positions and sent few (4-5) applications per day. First day I usually start from the least ideal/desirable company and work my way towards the dream jobs in. Every day I have read and modified my resume and sent the new version to few other companies. Sometimes less than 10% of these companies have interviewed me and it has taken about ten interviews before I have found a company that is willing to hire me.
So it will take time and effort but you will learn so a lot during the process.
I would love to add a few comments. I do not know about the specific CS program nor code bootcamp they are specifically are comparing about, but I can speak to a general CS degree and the general bootcamp education. Full disclosure, I am a founder of a coding bootcamp.
Nothing can replace a 4 yr degree with basis in theory and multiple subjects but bootcamps offer people a way to jumpstart a lagging career or make a step into a new one. Being hirable in this industry is saying something, and that is what a great bootcamp should do.
That being said bootcamps are teaching current real world and career-like solutions. Many argue that you don't actually get the real-world experience in CS 4-year degrees due to behind the time curriculum (due to long approval processes that coincides with accreditation) and long and sometimes boring lectures without a lot of application. Bootcamps take a flipped classroom, hands on, and immersive approach. Less lecture, more project-based learning.
Many developers fall under the 41.8% group on the recent StackOverflow study of self-taught developers. A very large number of developers in the market are finding their skills in very non-traditional ways. What many CS grads learn is undoubtedly useful, I would never take anything away from that, but with software expanding into so many different fields, blurring the lines between who was traditionally an "engineer" and who isn't, and with the increasingly rapid pace at which languages/frameworks/best practices are constantly changing, there are a lot more opportunities to contribute in code than by cooking up advanced algorithms with linked lists.
In fact, many of our partner employers were frustrated by the lack of applicable, modern technology competency by the CS grads they were interviewing. As only one piece of anecdotal evidence to this: we've had various CS grads take our programs because (as they described) they only learned languages that were not anywhere to be found in the companies they were interviewing with.
Companies are starting to recognize that those who apply themselves in a bootcamp are able to learn quickly and adapt to new technologies and projects easily. Employers are looking for someone to get the job done with the skill set that matches the technologies that they practice. Many employers don't care if employees have acquired that skill set in a garage when they were 12 years old, at MIT, or at a coding bootcamp.
But, bootcamps aren't for everyone, you really have to apply yourself and consume content quickly. But if those requirements are met, bootcamp attendees really can excel! I know because at ours we have had so many success stories just like the afore mentioned where a student truly applies themselves, lands an amazing job, or starts a hot tech company and truly changes the trajectory of their life. Plus it happens in a tenth of the time of a 4-year degree and at a fraction of the cost ;)
Bootcamps offer a more personalized mentoring. Being able to see delegates, resonate with students emotionally, pick up on subtle nuances of communication and respond appropriately is the very essence of education. I believe passionately that training and coaching are not about getting something from one head to another, but are an intimate dance that transforms both parties.
(Disclaimer: I founded a coding bootcamp called DevMountain.)
I definitely believe it is realistic to get a programming job without a degree in computer science or a related field.
Here's why:
Computer science degrees (as a whole) have been greatly devalued recently. I've talked to dozens of employers who are frustrated with "CS grads" who know nothing but archaic languages and have no practical, modern coding experience. Most assuredly YMMV, but universities are doing a really poor job of keeping their curriculum modern and employable. Having a CS degree doesn't make you an engineer any more than studying Latin makes you a fluent francophone. Employers are much more interested in competency and performance than they are with credentials and grades. With software engineering, it's all about what you can build. Not only that, but a college degree isn't a great measurement of talent or skill.
If you can demonstrate competency or skill proficiently in an area that is in high demand for employers, you will be offered a job.
That is more advanced and deserves another blog post (which I plan to do). It is also dependent on what style your site is trying to achieve. The same general guidelines still apply but with even more emphasis on following those guidelines precisely. As I said in the post, 5px is 5px, not 7px. All the small things will add up to generate a visually appealing whole.