I get your point, but here's how I'm thinking of it. Software developer A is 22 and just graduated with a CS degree. Software developer B is 29, has a CPA, and three years of experience managing more junior accountants.
Both get hired at a FinTech company. Is software developer A or B more likely to rise to the level of "senior" in the next 5 years? I'd say B... Already has tons of domain specific knowledge that will help him focus solely on the technical issues at hand (instead of trying to understand how Balance Sheets work or something), has 7 years experience as a working professional and all the soft skills associated with this, and has experience as a manager.
IMO, too many SWEs think that the technical stuff is the only aspect to their job. Often (depending on company size, etc) there are many, many other skills required to be a successful employee.
From my class of 25 only two are not in technology anymore. Probably 20 are employed as developers. The other three moved to ancillary tech roles (product management, sales engineer, etc...).
This is 2.5 years out. Part of the issue too is that "bootcamps" is too nebulous. Some are 7 months full-time, some are 6 week night classes. It's not always apples to apples.
Couldn't agree more. A bootcamp dev with 3 years coding experience might have 7 years of professional experience they are building on. I know several bootcamp devs with very relevant backgrounds too. For example, 5-10 years as a Certified Public Accountant before working at a fintech company. Or working as a nurse then going to a healthtech company.
Today is actually the three year anniversary of me starting a bootcamp (Galvanize). So I'm about 2.5 years out. Everything is going great, work at a startup. Contribute just as much as our other developers with a CS background, have received three raises. Galvanize taught me the exact right tools and processes to start making meaningful contributions on day one.
I surely don't know as much technically in many areas, but having well rounded developers (have a business/analyst background) can really be a huge benefit to a dev team.
I'd say I have a much more product oriented role. Working closely with our business team, product manager, customers, etc... to guide the product/platform moving forward. Occasionally on trickier technical issues I'll need to consult with someone with a CS degree for 10-15 minutes for a bit of guidance, but by no means do I need any hand holding.
It was a great decision and it's worked out very well.
It's where the "senior" distinction isn't very useful I think... It's very possible to be leading/running a team in three years in nearly any profession if you are good at what you are doing. Does that make you "senior"? In relation to the people below you, sure... But maybe just using "team lead" or something is more accurate.
The military has databases like this that could lead to a lot of interesting research, in theory. They do DNA testing for body identification purposes as well as tracking long term health through the VA.
I did gSchool and am now a fully contributing member to our dev team. There are definitely a few shortfalls compared to a traditional CS degree, but day-to-day writing code and delivering features the difference is relatively negligible.
We'll see how it pans out. Maybe you should speak with Timbo at OKHi and share some thoughts with him. All I know is it's a glaring problem, government's aren't going to address (pun partially intended) the issue, and it will be solved somehow. The technology is simple, but so often in these markets, the execution is complex. With you all being spread across 15 cities and based in SF I'd imagine it contributed somewhat to missing the mark (on top of being a difficult problem in the first place).
Perhaps you all just mistimed the market. With smart phone penetration and 3G coverage steadily increasing, maybe two years ago there just wasn't the existing user base to make it feasible. If that were the case you'd also have to incentivize the purchase of smart phones and data plans (which is always a difficult sell).
However, the need is glaring and I refuse to believe there is no incentive for people to find a better solution. Happy to listen to a counter argument though.
I think the difference is your market though. Was Addy US focused? In Kenya, desperately describing the color of the tree in front of your gate to an Ambulance driver as a loved one lays dying is a very realistic situation. With poorly signed streets and no number system to speak of it seems to me there is plenty of incentive.
Both get hired at a FinTech company. Is software developer A or B more likely to rise to the level of "senior" in the next 5 years? I'd say B... Already has tons of domain specific knowledge that will help him focus solely on the technical issues at hand (instead of trying to understand how Balance Sheets work or something), has 7 years experience as a working professional and all the soft skills associated with this, and has experience as a manager.
IMO, too many SWEs think that the technical stuff is the only aspect to their job. Often (depending on company size, etc) there are many, many other skills required to be a successful employee.