> I think probably anyone of average intelligence or higher can learn enough code to pass a bootcamp but that the bar for guaranteed employability is significantly higher.
I think one misconception about bootcamps is that everyone takes them to become software engineers. I took one, and out of 20 people, only a few actually had intentions of joining the industry in exclusively that role. A large portion of the class were designers trying to expand their reach a bit more. The next largest portion were project managers looking to gain better communication skills. I'd say only about 1/3 of my classmates went into a true programming role, and only 2 of us ended up truly on the "software engineering" side of the spectrum. Not all that unsurprisingly, both of us had undergraduate degrees in math and statistics. For me, my salary went down a bit, and it probably won't ever catch up. Even so, it's both a safe career move and a nice lifestyle change for me.
> The elephant in the room is that not everyone is good at it
Again, speaking for my class, I think 3 people came out of the program actually disappointed with their ability to learn the material. I think the discussions related to bootcamps typically overestimate the general population's interest in "best of breed systems". Most people aren't taking them with the intention of a full career U-turn. They are taking them to continue to be competitive when all the 12 year olds currently taking computer science coursework join the workforce in a decade.
I think one misconception about bootcamps is that everyone takes them to become software engineers. I took one, and out of 20 people, only a few actually had intentions of joining the industry in exclusively that role. A large portion of the class were designers trying to expand their reach a bit more. The next largest portion were project managers looking to gain better communication skills. I'd say only about 1/3 of my classmates went into a true programming role, and only 2 of us ended up truly on the "software engineering" side of the spectrum. Not all that unsurprisingly, both of us had undergraduate degrees in math and statistics. For me, my salary went down a bit, and it probably won't ever catch up. Even so, it's both a safe career move and a nice lifestyle change for me.
> The elephant in the room is that not everyone is good at it
Again, speaking for my class, I think 3 people came out of the program actually disappointed with their ability to learn the material. I think the discussions related to bootcamps typically overestimate the general population's interest in "best of breed systems". Most people aren't taking them with the intention of a full career U-turn. They are taking them to continue to be competitive when all the 12 year olds currently taking computer science coursework join the workforce in a decade.