$11,500 and 10 weeks will get you a web development job
May 11, 2012 7:06 AM Subscribe
Dev Bootcamp in San Francisco is an alternative education start up that promises to make you a Rails developer in just 10 weeks. The first class just graduated. 14 of the 17 graduates that were ready to go to work got jobs. That's an 88% placement rate, at an average starting salary of $79K.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This does seem like a pretty thin post as is. -- cortex
Well, you also need to move to San Francisco. And $79k doesn't go as far as you might wish there.
posted by smackfu at 7:14 AM on May 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by smackfu at 7:14 AM on May 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
I imagine some of this is just sticker-shock at SF salaries, but that seems crazy for folks with only one, easily taught skill.
How deep is the demand for Ruby? Are there a lot of employers clamoring for such single-skill employees? Will the next class have a 44% placement rate at $39k a year, or can they keep doing this indefinitely?
What other (relatively easy) programming languages have this kind unmet demand?
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:15 AM on May 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
How deep is the demand for Ruby? Are there a lot of employers clamoring for such single-skill employees? Will the next class have a 44% placement rate at $39k a year, or can they keep doing this indefinitely?
What other (relatively easy) programming languages have this kind unmet demand?
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:15 AM on May 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Interestingly enough... here is an AskMe about whether or not a family of four can afford to live on $150k annually.
Spoiler: Yes, sorta.
posted by Blue_Villain at 7:15 AM on May 11, 2012
Spoiler: Yes, sorta.
posted by Blue_Villain at 7:15 AM on May 11, 2012
Meh, Live... in the nearby Silicon Valley.
posted by Blue_Villain at 7:16 AM on May 11, 2012
posted by Blue_Villain at 7:16 AM on May 11, 2012
My first draft of the post actually asked if this was a sustainable business model and the future of training programming, or just a weird artifact of the Silicon Valley bubble. But I didn't want to steer the discussion so I deleted that line.
posted by COD at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2012
posted by COD at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2012
14/17 is 82%, unless math works differently in Ruby.
posted by theodolite at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 7:17 AM on May 11, 2012 [9 favorites]
What now? This post is basically an ad...
posted by Talez at 7:19 AM on May 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 7:19 AM on May 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
I can't say I'd be terribly interested in hiring a "developer" with only 10 weeks experience.
posted by DU at 7:22 AM on May 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by DU at 7:22 AM on May 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
I wonder how much of their placement rate is coming from brand recognition? You could imagine a situation where this fails to scale, not because the skills they're teaching aren't valuable, but just because the hundredth of these schools to open won't have the buzz and cachet of the first one.
It's an interesting project. I'm glad it worked for these couple of guys. It would be cool if it worked more generally. But I do have some worries about that.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:24 AM on May 11, 2012
It's an interesting project. I'm glad it worked for these couple of guys. It would be cool if it worked more generally. But I do have some worries about that.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:24 AM on May 11, 2012
Ok, that tuition is outlandish compared to a Community College's offerings in various language-based classes.
An Associates Degree from Madison Area Technical College in Madison, WI, costs, in total, approximately 3k for 2 years' worth of study in various disciplines and languages -- and you're easily liable to get that funded by the government 100% (thank you, President Obama).
My son is taking this route, as the credits he earns there translate on a 1-1 basis with the University of Wisconsin, in case he wants/needs to get his Bachelor's.
If you learn how to code Ruby, and you don't have the foundation for being able to code in any language, then you're a one trick pony, and you won't get very far -- particularly if you're a sucker paying 11k to learn the language.
posted by thanotopsis at 7:25 AM on May 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
An Associates Degree from Madison Area Technical College in Madison, WI, costs, in total, approximately 3k for 2 years' worth of study in various disciplines and languages -- and you're easily liable to get that funded by the government 100% (thank you, President Obama).
My son is taking this route, as the credits he earns there translate on a 1-1 basis with the University of Wisconsin, in case he wants/needs to get his Bachelor's.
If you learn how to code Ruby, and you don't have the foundation for being able to code in any language, then you're a one trick pony, and you won't get very far -- particularly if you're a sucker paying 11k to learn the language.
posted by thanotopsis at 7:25 AM on May 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
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posted by eriko at 7:08 AM on May 11, 2012