Coding bootcamps are the fastest education option for aspiring developers. Coding bootcamp courses cram years of coding expertise into months to prepare candidates for a coding job in the tech industry. Coding bootcamps are called ”boot camps” for a reason. They’re short, intense, and stretch students to their studying limits. With this, it is important to learn how to avoid coding bootcamp failure.
Bootcamp failure is not uncommon because many applicants don’t know what to expect. Bootcamp programs teach you the technical skills that can transform your career and double your salary in less than a year. Though the reward is great, the work is tough and demanding, which often leads to coding bootcamp burnout. To avoid this, you need to understand what causes the current coding bootcamp failure rate to ensure your success.
What Is a Coding Bootcamp?
A coding bootcamp is an intensive education program designed to prepare students for a tech job. The tech industry is rapidly growing, and finding work in it is becoming a popular goal for many aspiring developers. Many turn to coding bootcamps because they provide great outcomes. They help students learn everything they need to know for a coding career, including basic coding skills, in a shorter amount of time than a college degree. However, this intensive program style also causes coding bootcamp burnout.
In-Person Coding Bootcamps
There are in-person coding bootcamps all over the US. If you were to search “coding San Diego,” you would find bootcamps such as Fullstack Academy, LEARN Academy, and San Diego Code School. In addition, if you search for a coding bootcamp in Nashville, you will find NuCamp and General Assembly. In addition, there are a slew of university coding bootcamps all over the country.
An in-person coding bootcamp program requires you to attend class on a regular schedule, usually for a few weeks to a few months. You will be able to study how to become a software engineer, web developer, or even data scientist in a similar environment to a college classroom. With in-person support, these programs may have a lower rate of coding bootcamp failure among some students.
Remote Coding Bootcamp
A remote coding bootcamp can be completed from the comfort of your home. There are many options for this type of bootcamp, including UCF Coding Bootcamp and Hack Reactor. You will learn the same things as in an in-person bootcamp but on your own time. These are great if you attend a coding bootcamp while working.
While a remote coding bootcamp can be a bit more difficult, there are still options for both part-time and full-time programs. This will allow you to attend code school on a schedule that works for you. As long as you have great time management skills and self-discipline, you can complete your program without having to quit your job. However, if you want to avoid coding bootcamp burnout, be cautious about taking on too much.
What Is Bootcamp Burnout and How Can It Lead to Coding Bootcamp Failure?
According to WebMD, burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by being constantly swamped. It is a type of extreme stress that impacts your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Coding bootcamp burnout is a form of burnout caused by the often high-stress environment of a coding bootcamp. This type of stress and exhaustion can lead to coding bootcamp failure as the student feels it is impossible to continue putting in the effort necessary to succeed.
Before diving into how to beat burnout and avoid coding bootcamp failure, we first need to dive into what burnout is. Burnout can affect you both in and out of a bootcamp. Learning the different forms of coding bootcamp burnout and signs of burnout can help you beat it and avoid becoming a part of the bootcamp failure rate statistics.
The Different Forms of Burnout
Coding bootcamp burnout can be difficult to overcome. Whether you opt for an in-person or online bootcamp, you are susceptible to burnout. Below are the three main areas of burnout you may experience.
Professional Burnout
Professional burnout describes the type of burnout caused by your work. Many people experience professional burnout when they are working too hard and too much. While having a good work ethic is a highly desirable skill, many employees take this trait to an extreme and have almost no work-life balance. When you don’t have a healthy work-life balance, you are likely to experience burnout from your job.
Creative Burnout
Creative burnout is caused when you feel like you have drained all of your creative abilities. Many think creative burnout only applies to artists, but programmers and software developers often experience this form of burnout as well.
If you are stressed and exhausted, even the smallest hint of creativity can feel impossible to achieve. Whether you need to creatively problem-solve or are working on a creative project, like a video game, the possibility of creative burnout is very real.
Personal Burnout
Personal burnout is the same feeling of being swamped, stressed, and exhausted, but in your personal life. This can be caused by a plethora of things, including family emergencies, relationship problems, and medical conditions. While this form of burnout may not be caused by work or the need for creativity, it can greatly affect your ability to feel successful in all aspects of your life. Unfortunately, anyone can fall victim to personal burnout.
Signs of Coding Bootcamp Burnout
It can be difficult to determine if you are facing burnout, especially if you are dealing with other mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety. Keeping an eye out for these coding bootcamp burnout symptoms can provide you with burnout proof and ultimately help you to beat burnout.
Exhaustion
If you need proof to convince yourself and others that you are going through burnout, exhaustion is the number one symptom. Exhaustion is different from stress or feeling tired. If you are feeling exhausted, you are likely feeling drained. You are likely to feel emotionally and physically incapable of dealing with problems in your personal or professional life.
Lack of Enthusiasm
Similar to depression, people facing coding bootcamp burnout will feel very little enthusiasm or excitement for various activities. You may also start to develop negative emotions toward the cause of your burnout, like your job or a particular friend or family member. It is common to feel very cynical and negative constantly.
Poor Performance
Perhaps the best coding bootcamp burnout proof is poor performance. If you are a high-performing employee or if you are good at handling conflict, decreased performance abilities can be a strong indicator of burnout. Look out for your quality of work and ability to deal with issues in your personal life degrading as this is a sure sign of burnout.
Beating Burnout During Your Program
Now that you know about personal, creative, and professional burnout, as well as how to gather burnout proof and recognize coding bootcamp burnout in yourself, you likely want to know how to beat it. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to beat burnout and become a coding bootcamp graduate.
Assess Your Burnout Risk
One of the best things you can do to prevent and beat burnout is to determine your chance of coding bootcamp burnout. Are you struggling to keep up with your busy schedule? Do you not have enough time with your family during your bootcamp program? Is the workload greater than you thought it would be? These are all factors that increase your burnout risk. Take some time to analyze your current situation to determine what your chance of burnout is.
Talk to Your Boss About Burnout
If you are still working during your program and are experiencing coding bootcamp burnout, it is important to talk to your boss about it. Burnout among employees is increasingly common, and many bosses and managers are prepared to help you deal with it. By talking to your boss, or instructors, about burnout, you may be able to lighten your workload, receive some temporary extra assistance, and maybe even get much-needed time off.
Rest, Relax, and Find Support
Finally, you need to relax. Burnout can cause you to feel constantly tired and stressed. Ensuring you get a full night’s sleep is a great way of increasing your energy levels. Activities like yoga, meditation, and exercise can help decrease your stress levels. Finding and leaning on a good support system is also crucial to beating coding bootcamp burnout.
Top Four Causes of Bootcamp Failure
Coding bootcamp burnout is a form of both personal and professional burnout. It affects your ability to perform well in a coding bootcamp, which can lead to coding bootcamp failure. Here are the top four causes of bootcamp failure.
Lack of Effort
Completing a coding bootcamp might be the toughest job you ever have. If you attend a full-time coding bootcamp, you can expect at least eight hours of work each day. Programming isn’t mindless work, and even basic programming concepts require focus. You must concentrate all day and actively engage in coding to be successful.
Some prospective students believe that they’ll be able to cruise through coding bootcamp without failure just by showing up. Bootcamp students that think they will succeed in coding bootcamp without constant mental effort have a dangerous and false belief. If you’re not passionately driven to succeed, you’ll probably experience coding bootcamp failure.
You’ll need to master entire languages in days or weeks, depending on the length of the program. Remember, you’ll succeed if you’re dedicated and willing to sacrifice time and (often) sleep. Coding bootcamp graduates aren’t geniuses. They’re ordinary people just like you and me, with a multitude of work and educational backgrounds.
The real winners in coding bootcamps are people who aren’t afraid of failure and are determined to succeed. You’ll need a solid reason to empower yourself through the tough times, which brings us to our next cause of coding bootcamp failure.
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In It For The Wrong Reasons
There’s nothing wrong with changing careers for a higher salary. People change jobs for better pay all the time, and we’re not suggesting you have a moral responsibility to earn less. The problem arises when money is your primary motivating factor. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why people fail a coding bootcamp.
Often, mentality determines your success or failure in life after coding bootcamp. Sure, you may earn enough for fancy cars and big houses after coding bootcamp, but the desire for material success is a deceptively ineffective motivator. Many bootcamp grads have families to feed and bills to pay, so keep that in mind instead.
We don’t want to sound like a motivational book, but some truths are universally evident. You need to sit down and figure out why you want to be a coder. There are a few ways to figure out if you really want to code, and we’ll get into that later in the article.
Once you figure out why you want to code, you’ll be ready to take the next steps. Remember, if you don’t have a strong reason for doing the work, you’ll likely burn out and give up before even mastering the basic concepts of programming.
Lack of Preparation
Another one of the main reasons why people fail bootcamps is that they are unprepared. It is important to first decide whether coding is right for you. Coding bootcamps turn beginners into programmers, but you can’t jump in unprepared. Most coding bootcamps interview prospective applicants to weed out unprepared and unmotivated individuals. Bootcamps are high-stress programs, so learning something beforehand will reduce your chances of coding bootcamp failure.
Coding bootcamps, like Thinkful, recommend applicants learn as much as they can before enrolling. We suggest you practice simple coding languages like HTML and JavaScript to get a good head start. Take Career Karma’s 21 Day Challenge to get started with the learning process and see if you enjoy programming.
Unrealistic Expectations
The bootcamp industry often presents itself as being the fool-proof way for students to land their dream jobs. However, as many bootcamp reviews have highlighted, it isn’t that easy. There is a significant coding bootcamp failure rate because of how tough the programs are. Though they are a faster alternative to traditional education, coding bootcamps are not necessarily easier.
In addition, bootcamp tuition can also be quite costly. Overall, coding bootcamps are still a great choice for many students. However, it is important to be aware of the challenges and risks to reduce your odds of coding bootcamp failure.
How to Avoid Failure in Coding Bootcamp
If you are paying money and devoting your time to a bootcamp program, you’ll want to know how to avoid coding bootcamp failure. Below, we compiled several tips to help you get through weeks of class and start off strong on your new career path.
Stay Healthy
As many bootcamp grads will tell you, it is important to stay healthy during your bootcamp program. It can be easy to pour yourself entirely into the program and neglect other areas of your life. However, as we already discussed, this can lead to coding bootcamp burnout. As such, make sure that you still socialize, eat healthily, and get movement into your days.
Consider a Part-Time Program
A part-time coding bootcamp can help alleviate some of the pressure off the intensive programs. Though part-time programs still require a significant amount of work, they do leave you more time for other activities. These programs take longer to complete but they still teach you all of the fundamental components of coding you need to know to get a development job.
Set a Coding Schedule and Follow It
If you want to avoid coding bootcamp failure, you should hold yourself accountable by setting a specific schedule. This is a great way to make sure you are dedicating the proper amount of time to developing your skills.
Build a Support System
Coding bootcamps are mentally exhausting, even for those with prior programming experience. To avoid coding bootcamp failure, you will need to lean on a support system. This may include mentors, peers, or a previous bootcamp grad. In addition, you can rely on your friends and family for encouragement.
Top Tips to Set Yourself up for Success in Your Bootcamp
One of the best ways to avoid coding bootcamp failure is to properly prepare for the bootcamp. Bootcamps require rapid learning and a high level of commitment. As such, you will need to prepare for the program. Here are a few tips to help you properly prepare and avoid bootcamp burnout.
Consider the Cost
Some students attribute coding bootcamp failure to high tuition costs. Before you get started, find an affordable program. Luckily, some coding bootcamps offer income sharing agreements to cover tuition until you land a job. For example, you can use an ISA to cover the Thinkful cost. Scholarships are also available for qualifying applicants. Career Karma can help you figure out the best program for your budget.
Prepare Your Schedule
What should be obvious sometimes isn’t, and you’re responsible for knowing your coding bootcamp schedule. Working nights and attending a full-time program during the day looks fine on paper, but can you handle it? Applicants who sign up for full-time coding bootcamps while working can get overwhelmed if they fail to consider their ability to manage their time.
Don’t enroll in a program if you can’t put in the hours. Part-time and flexible coding bootcamps are ideal for working people, so be patient and don’t overwhelm yourself. Enough people fail coding bootcamp without the additional obligations of a job. It’s fantastic if you can manage two full-time jobs. However, you should be realistic and don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Have a Few Mock Interviews
Taking some time to study coding bootcamp interview questions and conduct mock interviews can help you prepare. Not only will doing some interview prep help you get accepted into a bootcamp, but it will also help you determine what to expect.
Many of the interview questions asked during the admissions process can give you an idea of what will happen once you’re in. If the questions center around time commitment, expect to need a lot of studying time. If the questions are about a certain programming language, you can expect to rely heavily on that language. In addition, it is wise to prepare for the technical interview process as well, if there is one.
Avoiding Coding Bootcamp Failure: A Conclusion
Coding bootcamp failure is common but preventable. Anybody can succeed in coding bootcamp by following these simple rules:
- Prepare and know what you’re signing up for.
- Find a reliable source of motivation.
- Do the work and give it your all.
Nobody said coding bootcamp would be easy. Those who approach it without grit and dedication sell themselves short. Remember, you’re attending a coding bootcamp to become a coder. If coding isn’t what you want to do, it’s best to re-examine your motivations. A coding bootcamp isn’t for everybody, but it opens incredible doors to those looking to transform their careers.
Bootcamp Burnout FAQ
Yes, you can fail a coding bootcamp. Coding bootcamp failure is, in fact, quite common amongst students who enter unprepared. If you do not prepare properly, you may face bootcamp burnout as well as bootcamp failure. However, by taking time to research, finding your motivation, and committing to working hard, you should be able to prevent bootcamp burnout and failure.
Is coding bootcamp worth it in 2022?
Coding bootcamps are definitely worth it in 2022. More and more employers in the tech industry are seeking out candidates with a bootcamp education over those with college degrees. By completing a coding bootcamp in 2022, you are setting yourself up for a good career with a high salary, high job satisfaction, and great benefits. In addition, there are many free online coding courses you can take to get the skills you need at zero cost.
Is bootcamp stressful?
Yes, for many, a bootcamp is stressful. This can lead to bootcamp burnout, which is why it is important to know the signs of burnout before starting a bootcamp program. If you properly prepare for bootcamp and educate yourself about burnout, you should be able to breeze through coding bootcamp with no problems.
Has anyone regretted going to a coding bootcamp?
Yes, some people have regretted going to a coding bootcamp. However, these are mainly individuals who experienced coding bootcamp failure. Although there are some bad coding bootcamps, oftentimes, coding bootcamp failure is just a result of students being unprepared. Development bootcamps are difficult, so it is important not to underestimate the effort required to graduate.
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.
