Coding bootcamp is a fantastic way to get your technical education quickly. Competition for some schools can be fierce, though, and schools want to make sure they’re backing the right horse. It’s their time and effort too, after all. If you’re serious about getting into a good coding bootcamp, you should be prepared to answer lots of coding bootcamp interview questions.
Luckily for you, we’ve lived through the interview process and are here to help you make it through the coding bootcamp interview process. In this guide, we present four common bootcamp interview questions. You’re sure to encounter variations of these questions during your interview—get prepared, and increase your admission chances!
1. “Why Do You Want to Become a Coder?”
Most of the coding bootcamp interview questions you’ll get asked won’t be that technical. The school wants to get to know you before spending money and human resources to get you learned up.
You’ll need to demonstrate to your interviewer that you have real motivations for wanting to be a coder. Coding bootcamp can be tough to get through for the most dedicated, so schools will want to see that you have drive and know what you’re getting into.
2. “Do You Have Prior Technical Experience?”
Coding bootcamps don’t expect you to have tons of coding knowledge or to be technical whiz kid with a private server and network, but they expect their students to have a certain base level of technical knowhow. You’re gonna get coding bootcamp interview questions about your tech background, sure as day.
Don’t freak out if you’re a tech neophyte, though. Spend the weeks before your interview visiting online resources such as:
- Codecademy—this site provides free coding language lessons. You can pick up a few tricks before your interview.
- Grasshopper — a mobile game for adults to learn JavaScript.
- Edex—This nonprofit organization offers a wide range of technical and non-technical education options.
- MIT OpenCourseWare—MIT is a respected institution, and they now offer free online courses. On the site, you can find computer science and technical courses to bolster your knowledge.
3. “What are Your Professional Goals?”
A coding bootcamp makes a bet on you when they admit you as a new student. They expect that you’re serious about your career and will be working as a coder long enough for them to recoup their investment in you.
To that end, you can expect to encounter some coding bootcamp interview questions about your long-term plans. Make a rough plan for your coding career before your interview—nobody expects you to have your next forty years carved in stone, but they need to see that you know what you want.
When you’re confident and knowledgeable about your new job track, schools will be more likely to take a chance on your future.
4. “Do You Have Any Questions for Us?”
Yeah, this one sounds silly, right? Well, before you start snickering too much, wise guy, you should know that of all the coding bootcamp interview questions you might encounter, none will affect your admission chances more than this simple one.
Coding bootcamp interview questions are designed to weed out the incurious and unserious candidates. You want to stand out to get a spot in class, and a great way to do that is to have a few questions ready.
Ask them anything you want to know; it’s all fair game. Prepare questions about the curriculum, student activities, prospective employers—the important thing is not to be caught flat-footed when they ask for questions. Impress your interviewer by questioning them.
Ace Your Coding Bootcamp Interview Questions
The coding bootcamp application process can seem daunting. You have to provide a boatload of info to a bunch of strangers, you get to have long discussions about finances and time, and you’re required to interview on top of everything else. All of the effort pays off once you land a sweet coding gig, though.
Knowing what to expect in your coding bootcamp interview experience will make the ordeal a bit less harrowing. If you prepare answers to the four common bootcamp interview questions we’ve provided, you can rise above the crowd and take your first step toward a new coding career!
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
