I have a dream, it is quite large and very far fetched. In the past I have never supported ANY coding Bootcamps. I have never been paid or received any kind of compensation from anyone for any product I recommend. Hopefully you trust me and the things I do suggest because I have gained your trust and have the best interest at heart to help all 'noobie' developers.
I have talked to people from probably 10 or more Bootcamps who have gone through the course and then told me in a private email how much they didn't like the experience and how they still don't have the skills to get hired as a 'junior' developer. Most of the people emailing me are unable to complete the entire 'Learn To Program' book by Chris Pine.
I will say after talking to a lot of graduates from these Bootcamps I believe if you can complete the entire 'Learn To Program' book no matter how long it takes, you will have a very decent understanding OOP programming. The title of the book is why I think most people don't end up finishing the book do to the fact it sounds too much like a beginner's' only book.
I achevied my goal of getting hired as 'junior' developer, I know front end CSS and Haml pretty well after making 280+ sites since being hired at ZipList in August of 2013. I don't think it's being 'cocky' to feel confident in that arena. What I don't feel confident about is in my actual 'coding' abilities. Soon my official role will be a full time Javascript developer starting July 1st (so hopeful I will be up to the challenge by then) :-)
I have HUGE knowledge gaps though, which I intend to fill, not as fast as I would like just do to how things are with a full time job and family. I am dying for the oppurtunity to dedicate myself to working hard for 4 months, pushing myself to the next level of coding knowledge.
I have always kept my eyes and ears open on all of the latest and greatest coding Bootcamps and always have people asking me which is the best Bootcamp. To which I typically recommend learning on their own and saving their hard earned $10,000+ and instead get up at 5am or 6am, drive to a coffee shop and buy a senior developer's gourmet coffee whenever stuck on a coding issue, instead of paying for expensive Bootcamps. Which is still a good idea.
However after watching for the last year one Bootcamp has caught my attention for several reasons: (1) I have yet to read a bad review about it, (2) They don't promise you to become a 'junior' developer (which is very vague) instead they promise you will be able to compete for REAL engineering jobs the same jobs that a CS degree graduate with 2 years of experience would apply for. (3) If you read about getting into the Bootcamp, students say it's incredibly hard to even get into the school it's not for beginners. (4) I have never had anyone email me about the school as having a bad experience which is something I can not say about many other schools.
My dream is to somehow get enough money to take my family the 2,812 miles from our apartment to the Bootcamp, complete the 12 week course and then get hired in Dallas, Texas which is where I one would one day like to settle down buy a house and live.
The cost for the Bootcamp: $17,780. The name: Hack Reactor. Here is their website: http://www.hackreactor.com. This is the most expensive Bootcamp there is currently, but I think it is worth it. I still recommend teaching yourself if you don't have the ability to go to Hack Reactor, but if you aren't married with kids, I think Hack Reactor is THE best Bootcamp bar none and I will continue to recommend it, unless something were to change with the way they run it fundamentally.
So how am I going to go? I don't know. Ideas? Why yes I do have some ideas. Is it likely to happen? No, but then again most of my goals and dreams are not 'very likely' so we'll see if I can make 'magic' happen :-)
Keep coding peeps!
