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Which would you say is better in your personal experience?

I'm a high school senior who's already been accepted into a Community College for Computer Science and I'm curious about other options I've heard of. So my question is, "Is college or coding boot camps better and why?"

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Shamik’s Answer

Angela,

Thanks for asking. Coding bootcamps will be very limited in scope. It is almost an add-on to your Community College in computer science.

Coding boot camp will be a good idea if you want to build/enhance your skill sets and/or to pickup a sidebar coding job (to assist with college fees)

But having college education is definitely the best path forward.


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Tobias’s Answer

Hello Angela,
In my opinion boot camp is very limited don't get me wrong I am not trying to demoralize your spirit and neither am I being pessimistic but why will you go to boot camp to just learn how to code when you can learn how to code online with so many coding websites on the net. It doesn't make any sense if you want to limit yourself to just boot camp where you code it's up to you but for me my advice to you is to go to community College and learn that computer science because it is broad and you will learn a lot more things in addition to the coding of which boot camp cannot offer. Hope that answers your question. Thanks and I hope you have a great day.
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much, Tobias! Angela
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Dexter’s Answer

Hi Angela,

As a manager of a web development team, I can tell you that college is far superior to coding bootcamp. As Tobias and Shamik have stated, the scope of bootcamps is just too narrow to get a good handle on programming. The way college teaches you is that they build a solid foundation with many different programming languages and many different topics within programming that are all interconnected. The way bootcamps teach you is by running you through 4-5 projects in a too-fast pace that makes long term absorption almost impossible.

The people that I have interviewed through bootcamps have just lacked experience and fundamental knowledge that is required to solve difficult problems, which is the job of a programmer. They've also been misled by these bootcamps that promise them jobs, and it's just too good to be true.

My advice is to attend the college you've been accepted to, and spend the additional time you have to learn to enjoy programming. You can do so by volunteering for open source projects that align with your values, or by volunteering your skills to a non-profit to help those less fortunate. These experiences, IMHO, will be much more valuable than any boot camp in your journey to become a programmer.

I wish you the best of luck!

--
Dexter
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Joseph’s Answer

Hi Angela,

College/Universities give you more than technical knowledge, it allows you to be a more well-rounded person. I started my career in Accounting, then after a few years in industry + public accounting, I found myself in the tech space. I have to work with software developers to design the product, the marketing team to promote the said product, and sales to price it accordingly. Go to college and enjoy your time there, you're young - time is on your side!
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Lindsey’s Answer

Pursuing a bachelor degree would likely provide you with more opportunities at the onset and more to fall back on should your interests change. Starting your education with community college may be financially easier as well as give you a chance to see if this path is something you would enjoy. Bootcamps may be the fastest route to get into the career path. Both college and bootcamps will provide you with the skills to complete computer science specific work, but college will provide a more well-rounded experience should your interests expand beyond computer science in the future (e.g., management and business administration)

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Jose’s Answer

The value behind a college degree is that it helps become a well-rounded mature individual. Typically a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or even an associates's degree in Computer you will take electives in mathematics, english, psychology, and so on. These classes work your mind in logic, creativity, and so on. If you attend class and do not pass up the common mentioned statement like will I ever use this in a job. The answer might be no. It is meant to help you open your mind to other venues in case you decided to work as a Software Engineer who might need Calculus or might not. A cybersecurity specialist who might use psychology for profiling internet stalkers, and so on. There are various courses that you can take that help open your mind to new possibilities.

A coding bootcamp or certificate like one in coursera, edx, and other servicers those are amazing avenues for jumpstarting your career right away in just that field. Meanwhile with a college degree you are much more open to applying to other jobs that just require a bachelors. However, in bootcamps you focus on the specifics of the trade of either a data science, cybersecurity, information technology, and other computer science topics.

I wish you the best, and I hope this helps you!!!
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Justin’s Answer

While I believe coding is a good career path but, I believe having a well rounded education will benefit you greatly. My suggestion would be to do the best you can in your first year of community college and look to transfer into the best full time 4 year university you can so that you can continue your coding pursuit but take additional classes and courses that will allow you to broaden your education and knowledge base.
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MICHAEL’s Answer

My son went through a 6 month boot camp for cyber security and is now making $85K and has purchased his own home. So if you want to get going quickly AND you are passionate about it it is a can't lose proposition. As long as you can code :) .
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