Coding Bootcamps are Scams and Other Controversial Takes from a Fed Up Software Engineer
I want to share some controversial opinions about coding that should absolutely not be controversial.
Let me be clear — these are my opinions AND they’re rooted in experience with a dash of data to back them up.
Before learning to code, switching careers and becoming a moderately influential influencer on LinkedIn (so lame, I get it) — I was speed running life. Drugs, crime, high speed chases, the whole nine. I reveal a bit about my shady past here in case you’re interested: a story about my past life
We’re not here to talk about my poor life decisions though.
We got bigger fish to fry.
The internet is littered with beginner experts with loud voices and the ability to infect millions with brain rot. Critical thinking is at an all time low. Loud idiots are having a glorious moment.
Let me be ultra-transparent: I own a business that coaches career changers into tech (don’t you dare call it a bootcamp).
I’m also an aging software engineer and a father.
What we are telling the younger generation is strangling our talent pipeline and flat out wrong in many cases.
Here’s what I really think about learning to code, AI, tech influencers and JavaScript.
Degrees and coding bootcamps are scams. And they also work.
I was an engineering manager for a few years at a large (non-tech) company. I hired nearly a dozen people and interviewed many more. I read too many resumes to count.
As a manger, when I came across a resume from a Stanford grad or someone from some smarty-pants college, I would read it a little more closely.
That’s it.
They got the same interview as the dude who graduated high school.
However, the majority of our hires were CS grads even though we had zero education requirements.
This should not shock you.
If you spent 4 years learning about software, design patterns and coding then you’re likely to be a good candidate for a career in software.
If you went to a bootcamp and didn’t get hired in 3 months for a fraction of the price — people somehow consider that a scam.
Interesting.
How you acquire your coding knowledge is of ZERO importance. Self-teach, go to a bootcamp or go to a university. None of them has a monopoly on knowledge or a magical formula that will guarantee you a job.
College-aged people are much more likely to complete a rigorous academic program than a father of 2 who’s juggling work, a failing marriage and aging parents.
Is it any wonder most bootcamp students fail?
Requirements for degrees in the US, especially in tech, are usually at companies you wouldn’t want to work for anyway. I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon: the more a company cares about a degree — the less likely they are to be high-paying, flexible or use a modern tech stack.
But, hey, do you boo.
Takeaway here? No. One. Cares.
Learn to code however the hell you want. Bootcamps have high distrust because they accept anyone. A college has a big barrier to entry. Maybe don’t tell people you went to a bootcamp if you decide to go that route.
Learn through YouTube, books, college or a coding bootcamp. Build something complex. Be above average. Be curious.
AI made coding obsolete. Which increased tech jobs.
Next time some nerd on a podcast tells you that AI is taking developer jobs, ask yourself “Why would they say that?”
Clicks?
Clout?
Maybe it’s because developers tend to be high paid and annoying to work with. There’s nothing more any CEO would love to do than automate us away. Big tech knows how gullible normies are: Metaverse anyone? Have you used Bitcoin to buy a slice of pizza yet? How are your NFTs doing? Is Web3 a thing yet?
Tech CEO’s are notoriously upstanding moral people though. So maybe I’m just being paranoid.
Oddly, there are more open tech roles in 2025 than in 2023 (https://www.trueup.io/job-trend).
How Sway?
Much smarter people than me have written studies that prove innovation leads to more employment opportunities, not less. (https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/11/8/381)
As the barrier to entry for starting an online business becomes nearly non-existent, we have people who don’t know how to code building working apps… that will absolutely not work as they attempt to add more features, security or complex deployment strategies.
Imagine asking your uncle to vibe code an app, deploy it on AWS using Serverless and then debug it? How does he decide the database schema? Migrations? Updating libraries? Security patches? Observability?
More code === more bugs.
More code === more maintenance.
More code === more code.
Why on earth would you think we need less software developers?
FAANG engineers have great advice… for other FAANG engineers
FAANG stands for Big Tech Companies You Will Never Get Into.
Or something like that.
Software engineers at Meta and Google make up around 1% of software engineers in the US. Yet they take up most of the online space when it comes to interview tips, day in the life videos and giving general software career advice.
1 problem:
You will almost certainly NEVER work for any of those companies.
What works at AirBnB will not work at a company where the tech team is 20 people.
Your interview will not involve writing algorithms on a Google document.
And yet, here you are, blindly taking the advice of people who went to top Universities at 18, got into the largest tech orgs in the world and think that same advice can apply to you — an adult attempting to switch careers and be happy in a role at a company that no one has ever heard of, making a fraction of what Silicon Valley engineers make, while simultaneously doubling your income.
Interesting.
My business partner is one of those smarty-pants developers who went to Google.
He has excellent advice. He also strongly suggests you don’t consider FAANG for your first job, if ever. The path is too narrow and most devs at Google quit within 3 years anyways.
You can still make unreasonable salaries outside big tech and learn skills that are much more transferable.
If big tech is your personal goal — don’t let me stop you. The up side to working at a name brand company is tremendous and I won’t pretend otherwise.
JavaScript isn’t a real programming language… it’s the ONLY programming language
No one, and I mean no one, uses JavaScript for serious software.
Except:
NASA
Netflix
Uber
Walmart
PayPal
JavaScript is the language of the web. That is not changing. You can hate JS. It is everywhere and you will use it at some point.
JavaScript has been the 1st or 2nd most popular programming language for years with no real sign of decline.
There are only 2 types of programming languages:
The ones everyone hates.
The ones that nobody uses.
Don’t be ashamed to learn JS. Don’t be ashamed to be a JS developer. Also — learn other languages to understand memory management, lower level components and to feel smarter.
There are too many software engineers and not enough
More people than ever can code.
Poorly.
There are tons of amazing coders who don’t care about building good products.
If we keep scaring off a generation of talent for clicks, views and clout then who will replace the current generation?
If you say AI, I swear to God…
But seriously — we need smart people who actually enjoy this profession to join, otherwise how are we supposed to get cushy management jobs with stock options and endless meetings?
That’s the dream right?
Right?
Let’s circle back to that offline.
If you hate what I wrote here, good. If you liked it, even better. I always hope it’s helpful in some way.
I work with a small amount of people per year who are serious about changing careers and realize it will take longer than 3 months. Me and my business partner are career changers who currently work as software engineers. Let us build you a custom plan that actually gets you hired. Apply here.
