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Coding bootcamps exploded onto the scene about a decade ago and, since then, dozens if not hundreds have laid claim to developing the next generation of tech professionals.
But not all coding bootcamps are created equal — in fact, most aren’t. Only a handful of coding bootcamps share these six (and many other) traits of successful coding bootcamps and have the alumni base to back those stats up.
These are the six shared traits of successful coding bootcamps, plus several coding bootcamp programs worth considering:
6 shared traits of successful coding bootcamps
Rave reviews from past students (and a few bad ones, too!)
Sites like Course Report and SwitchUp house the reviews from alumni of every coding bootcamp. Naturally, prospective students are looking for the programs that boast the best reviews.
But if you see too many good reviews? Red flag. While coding bootcamps are life-changing programs for many, they aren’t positive experiences for everybody. It’s just as important to note the bad reviews as it is the good ones and take those into consideration when making your decision on which bootcamp to attend.
Transparency around placement rates (that are published).
Coding bootcamp placement rates tell you what percentage of students that program places in paying roles. Once a cohort is completed, bootcamps can accurately report on what percentage of that cohort — and others that were completed — found paying jobs in their new field. Of all the completed cohorts, an average placement rate is determined.
Some coding bootcamps don’t publish their placement rates. Others pad them to look better than the competition. Transparency around placement rates is critical to running an honest program and accepting that, while placing students in paying roles is the end goal, that doesn’t make sense for everyone who starts a bootcamp.
Multiple payment options.
Successful coding bootcamps share the responsibility of expanding access to coding education. In order to do that, students from all backgrounds and walks of life need to be able to join the coding bootcamp of their choice by enjoying a number of payment options.
Any combination of upfront payments, installments, deferred payments, income share agreements, or other methods of payment should be offered in order to give everyone who seeks out your program and gains admittance the chance to learn and find a career.
Job search support.
The most successful coding bootcamps offer job search support for students who have completed the program and are looking for roles in their respective fields.
Whether they have a dedicated team in place to offer that support or use a combination of tools and services, the best programs don’t leave students on their own during the most vulnerable and challenging part of the course.
A focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As mentioned above, expanding access to education for all types of people is a responsibility shared and solved by the top coding bootcamps in the world. In order to continue expanding that access and providing support to underrepresented and marginalized students, successful coding bootcamps put specific focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This may include student support groups, scholarships, or other means of expanding DEI across the organization and, by extension, the tech industry.
Updated, industry-standard curriculum.
A coding bootcamp is only as good as its curriculum. It’s important that curriculum is regularly updated and matches what students will actually be doing on the job. The industry dictates what is standard and what best practices are, so the most successful coding bootcamps use that as a guiding principle.
How successful coding bootcamps distinguish themselves from one another
While these stronger programs share a lot of similarities, they also differ in many ways.
For some, that’s location. Some bootcamps have campuses, others are remote-only, and others have a combination of the two. Most successful coding bootcamps have a combination of synchronous and asynchronous work but lean heavily on the former.
Curriculum, job search support, and student support all look different from program to program, and what works for some may not work for others.
7 successful coding bootcamps to consider
App Academy.
Call us biased, but 5,000 alumni share in our sentiments that our Campus Full-Time, Remote Full-Time, Remote Part-Time, and free self-paced bootcamp programs are some of the best in the industry for prospective software engineers.
With world-class curriculum and instruction, 1:1 student-coach support, and a vast, successful alumni network, we’re proud of the legacy we’ve built over ten years at App Academy and where we’re going from here on out.
Thinkful.
Thinkful offers students courses for a range of career tracks in tech, including software engineering, data science, and UX/UI design. They also boast campuses in many cities around the US.
Flatiron School.
Cybersecurity, product design, and data science are where Flatiron students find the most benefit. Students looking to specialize in software engineering might consider App Academy over Flatiron.
Hack Reactor.
Hack Reactor also specializes in software engineering as a career track — like App Academy — and offers online as well as on campus options.
Bloom Institute of Technology.
Formerly Lambda School, Bloom Institute of Technology has rebranded in the hopes of finding students interested in full-stack, back-end, and web3 development.
Springboard.
Springboard also offers a number of courses in different tech career tracks like data, design, even tech sales.
Juno College.
Juno College offers tech training to the Canadian population.
Learn more about App Academy’s own successful coding bootcamps
Join the bootcamp that 5,000+ have successfully completed and found roles they love from. Learn about our different course offerings then find the right course for you with this helpful quiz.
