Coding bootcamps are cheap and short — so what’s the catch?
So, here’s the TL;DR
If money is tight, I suggest going to a coding bootcamp or an online program associated with an accredited university. Otherwise, go to a university to receive formal instruction because you will develop a more thorough understanding of computer science. This will pay off in the long term.This is because you will learn to think for yourself when tackling challenging problems and be exposed to various applications of computer science. These skills will be helpful in career promotions.
If you do decide on a coding bootcamp, please supplement it with extra reading material that focuses on data structures and algorithms. In addition, I would recommend taking extra courses on platforms like Coursera that specialize in topics, such as machine learning, databases, threading, etc.
University — The traditional, old schooled way
Universities — the number one advantage is the resources and breadth of the courses offered. You can have conversations with professors about how they are leveraging computer science to tackle real-life problems. A lot of these professors are pursuing cutting-edge research, and you can get hands-on experience in that research if you join his/her lab. When I was in undergraduate and graduate school, I joined a ubiquitous computing research lab, and it was really cool to see how to leverage computer science to mitigate issues in healthcare. I was able to get valuable experience that I could not get anywhere else.
Computer science is not learning the syntax of languages. That’s the easy part. The hard part is understanding the fundamental concepts and theories and learning how to apply them in various settings. The breadth of courses offered at universities allows you to gain a well-rounded understanding of computer science as you can deep dive into several aspects of it.In a university, you can take classes in fields that range from machine learning to database design to robotics to system security, etc. There is no coding bootcamp out there that will do this!
The second advantage is that you get an accredited degree. This plays a huge role in the resume screening of job interviews. A good chunk of software engineering jobs requires you to have an undergraduate degree. However, there is a trend that more and more companies are shifting away from this requirement and just instead focusing on project and work experience.
The third advantage is the career network. A lot of these universities will have established company connections, and as a result, these companies tend to recruit heavily from that school. For instance, Workday, Google, and Facebook recruited heavily from my school. Most schools have an event called “Career Fair” in which hundreds of companies come to the school to recruit for that particular day. In some cases, interviews are done the very next day.
Okay, that sounds awesome …. What’s the catch here?
Going to these universities is a big investment!If you’re going for a 4-year undergraduate school, this is how much you would have to pay total:
So, the range is between $87,800 to $199,500 USD depending on what type of school you go to.Loansmay be needed to help pay your tuition, which may require several years to pay off.As a result, it may be difficult to increase your savings and net worth rapidly while trying to pay the loans off.
What about graduate school?
Now, there are some people who have already received a Bachelor’s degree specialized in non-tech but want to pursue software engineering. For those people who are considering graduate school, I recommend that a PhD is not necessary to get into the industry.A Master’s will do just fine, and this is how much it would costannually:
Now, one thing to consider is that there are some schools that grant you a Master’s degree after 1 year or after 2 years. Thus, depending on the program, tuition can range from $30,000 to $60,000 USD for a public university and $40,000 to $80,000 USD for a private university.
The difference between the 1-year program and 2-year program is that the 2-year program places more emphasis on a research project and that the course schedule is not as heavily packed as the 1-year program.
This is still a lot of money! Any other alternatives for me to get an accredited degree?
Yes, there is! Recently,MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) have become extremely popularin sites such as Udacity or Coursera. Some universities have started to partner up with these platforms. A famous example is Georgia Tech’s online program forMaster of Science in Computer Science. That program costs a total of $7,000 USD. If not being on campus and not being able to interact with professors on a 1:1 basis are acceptable for you, then this may be a suitable option for you.
