

How Dev Bootcamp Is Transforming Education To Focus On “Extreme Employability” - DomKM
http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/03/dev-bootcamp/

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kabuks
For the record. Devbootcamp would not have been possible without HN.

Just over a year ago I posted this:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3267133>

And this community's response is what convinced me to ditch my startup and
start devbootcamp.

I only know very few of you people in person, but I'm sincerely grateful for
the impact you've had on my life. Thank you!

~~~
jcdavison
I'm grateful that you are grateful because you have had a big impact on my
life.

~~~
DomKM
As am I. (We're both DBC grads.)

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columbo
I fully support the focus on education and I really hope this next decade
could be the start of the "Golden Era of Education".

To me DevBootcamp is CCE, and CCE has been around for years (what is cce:
[http://www.ccc.edu/programs/pages/web-design-basic-
certifica...](http://www.ccc.edu/programs/pages/web-design-basic-
certificate.aspx)). Unfortunately I don't believe CCE is at all effective in
training people on being programmers or designers.

So here's my throwdown: Is DevBootcamp really effective or is there a
participant bias? Would DevBootcamp's employment percentage be just as high
when applied to the general population that would take CCE; unemployed,
unskilled?

Disclaimer: I was involved in CCE with two colleges for about 7 years and
frankly I see the whole thing as a scam. I would love to see that industry get
shaken up.

edit: wording, formatting

~~~
redsquirrel
Disclaimer: I'm the founder of Dev Bootcamp Chicago.

Tough to argue at this point that there isn't participant bias. Time will
tell, particularly as we increase the number of participants in 2013. I've
spent a significant amount of time at several different programs like Dev
Bootcamp and found it to be the most effective program out there. It is truly
immersive with students spending 80-100+ hours/week in the trenches with over
40 hours/week of structured learning. More thoughts at:
[http://nuts.redsquirrel.com/post/37111323801/of-feet-
doors-a...](http://nuts.redsquirrel.com/post/37111323801/of-feet-doors-and-
dev-bootcamp)

~~~
columbo
Good luck! Honestly I think you'll have to make a choice between a high
success rate or a large number of people trained.

To use an example, think of no-kill-shelters vs pounds. No Kill shelters can
boast a high success rate and a low return rate because they only handle a
fraction of the animals a pound handles. Not only that but the no-kill selects
animals they believe will be likely to be placed and leaves animals that are
not good candidates.

Someone has to be a pound, willing to take in any animal off the street and
give it a chance, while at the same time admitting that it just does not have
enough space for every animal and that tough decisions will be a result.

Someone else has to be a nokill shelter, willing to select those that seem the
brightest and invest to give them the most opportunity available while leaving
the others.

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arikrak
Its pretty crazy that students can learn more practical skills in 2 months
there than by majoring in CS for 4 years at many colleges.

I wonder though if there could be a more independent model for this kind of
thing. Perhaps like the "N-reduce" of programming bootcamps.

~~~
pzaich
Check out Bloc <http://www.bloc.io/>

~~~
arikrak
I guess that's somewhat similar, but it still costs $5k. I was thinking more
of a group that gets together and codes for a few weeks, and somehow finds a
mentor to help them when they're stuck.

------
dpritchett
$50k for a bootcamp probably* beats the ROI for a similar stint at a for-
profit college. Those colleges are able to finesse government-backed loans for
their students though.

* Citation needed

~~~
idlehands
Where did $50k come from? Dev Bootcamp costs less than a querter of that.

