10 Tips on How to Choose the Right Bootcamp

If you, like most folks, spend a good chunk of your daily life on the Internet, then you may have already seen countless people telling you about the exciting, high-paying opportunities within the tech sector. YouTube videos, ads everywhere, Instagram, Facebook, and many other websites showcase career bootcamps offering courses in marketing, coding, programming languages, other tech skills. Study here! No Study here! 3 months! 6 months! Java! Html!

How are you ever expected to make a decision?

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash 

1. Self-Reflection

As with any mission in life, your first most important job is to define what you want. It’s your life, and you should have in mind the right criteria to choose the right bootcamp. As you review potential paths in the tech industry, take some time to consider the additional skills you’ll be learning to see if they fit your interests and background.

For example, software engineers cannot rely on their coding skills alone. They need to constantly interact with fellow coders, understand user requirements, and communicate code between platforms. Or, if you have a creative mind and feel a pull towards design, a UX/UI design program could be perfect for you.

Ask yourself:

• Out of all the options, what have I tried before?
• Which seems to fit better with my interests/talents?
• Am I a natural in any of these areas?
• Do I want to learn a particular programming language?

These are all very different objectives. The Compass Course by StartSteps provides an orientation to a range of courses and skills, placing you on a fast track to deciding on the bootcamp for you. Once you define your goal, you can narrow down your choice to a handful of good bootcamps.

2. Evaluate Training Quality

An effective curriculum is a perfect balance between job market demands and flexibility to suit every learning style or talent in any field. A quality course plan is the first step to success and helps tutors improve their efficiency. Here’s how to spot an effective curriculum:

• Review the Course Plan: The course plan will show you all the details regarding what you’ll learn, how fast you’ll learn, and whether anything is missing. You can also use our compass tool to help you see a range of bootcamp partners in Germany.
  
• Evaluate the Flexibility: All courses indeed have to cover the basics, but they need to be flexible enough to suit your learning style. For instance, some institutions still use the old teaching methods and refuse to keep up with technology. So, make sure there’s enough flexibility in terms of technology to maximize your learning efficiency.

3. It Has to Fit Your Schedule

Let’s face it. There are many get-rich-quick scams out there that promise to teach you all you need in just one sitting. But, in the real world, you have to show dedication and put in the time to learn.

That being said, some bootcamps offer part-time training in addition to full-time programs, which may work better for you. Here’s how full-time and part-time programs work:

With full-time programs, you often have to put your life on hold for weeks/months and solely focus on the course. There’s an undeniable upside to putting a laser focus on the training because you’ll receive all the info/data, but only if you have the free time.

On the other hand, part-time programs are perfect for people with a hectic schedule. If you have a family or a full-time job, you can enroll in a part-time program and let the institution know so that they design the curriculum around your other responsibilities.

4. Determine What You Want to Learn

It’s better to know what skills you’re after. There’s a good chance you’ll change your decision later, but it’s better to have a glimpse of your future. Why is that important? Because some bootcamps specialize in, for example, coding, and if you later realize that you’re a natural in digital marketing, you won’t just change courses. You’ll change bootcamps. 

Of course, many might’ve not yet figured out their path and still need more time and information to choose the right career bootcamp. There’s no need to worry because there is an optimal solution for this type of situation, as follows:

5. Think About the Location

When you’re busy crossing off or even adding some names to the list, it’s better to ask yourself: Where am I, and where do I want to be?

Some bootcamps offer courses requiring you to physically show up in class and spend time asking teachers questions or having face-to-face conversations. While this has some advantages, it’ll be a scheduling nightmare for some people to go back and forth for six to twelve months, especially if the teaching facility is in another city.

If you’re in that category, it’s wiser to look into bootcamps offering a wide range of remote courses that allow you to learn from the comfort of your home.

6. Consult Staff or Alumni

You have an excellent opportunity to meet and talk to a community of students, mentors, and alumni who have common viewpoints. You need to feel welcomed and accepted in the environment to maximize your learning efficiency. Your relationship with mentors and teachers isn’t something to be overlooked because you’ll spend a lot of time together, and you cannot learn anything if you’re not having a good time.

You can talk to graduates or current students to learn about the programs and see if they’re a good fit. An excellent way to contact them is through social media sites such as Linkedin.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash 

7. Check for Support 

One of the best ways to choose the right bootcamp is to see if they offer career support. In a good career bootcamp, students have their private mentors who help them every step of the way until they land the perfect job. 

When you’re evaluating career support, ask yourself these questions, do they:

• Assign a career coach to you that fits nicely with your profile?
• Coach you during practice interviews to help you perform under pressure?
• Work actively with employers?

8. Think About Job Opportunities

As stated earlier, some career bootcamps are academic and won’t be much help once you graduate. But, there are others solely focused on the end result and have a strong incentive to help you land the perfect job. Since their business model relies on you landing a job in your desired sector, they’ll even talk to some potential employers on your behalf.

To make sure that your interests are aligned with the bootcamp’s strategy, you need to ask yourself two questions:

• Do they guarantee a job that suits my training?
• Do they have the right partners to help me during and after bootcamp?

9. Costs 

One of the final factors which will ultimately affect your decision on which bootcamp to go to, will be the financing options that the bootcamp offers.

• Income Sharing Agreements
• Up-front fees
• Monthly payment instalments
• Scholarships
• Vouchers from Agentur fur Arbeit or Jobcenter
• Student Loans
• Scholarship
  … there are many different options these days that they offer.
  
  You can checkout a range of bootcamps and these financing options here.

10. Let StartSteps Be Your Compass 

If you’ve gone through the list but still are not clear on your path, StartStep’s Compass Courses can be the answer to your problems. The compass course is a one-month program that allows you to experience every digital skill first-hand before committing to more extended training. 

At StartSteps, we know that every person and every career path is different, StartSteps is designed to reflect that. Instead of a ‘one size fits all’ approach, we offer you the chance to sample a range of different careers so that you feel empowered to decide where your new education will take you. In our compass course, you’ll find out what you love, what you’re good at, and meet a specialised training partner to continue your studies with. We help place you at the best suited bootcamp or academy.

No matter how much online research you conduct, you’ll still have some questions that need to be answered. Luckily, StartSteps can help you get your hands on all the information about the programs, tutors, and materials to see if they suit your goals and learning style. Once you’ve followed the compass and found where your passion lies, a team of experts will map out the optimal career bootcamp able to take you to the next level and introduce you to them.

StartSteps Compass Course

An introduction to Coding, Online Marketing, Data, Cyber Security & UX/UI Design.

An orientation to digital skills & careers – before being placing you in fully-funded specialised training with a career bootcamp, getting you ready for a job in tech.

– 22 days (Full-Time i.e. Monday to Friday from 09:30 – 16:30)

– English & German Classes

– Laptop sent to your door

Whom is the course for

– Registered as unemployed at the Agentur fur Arbeit or Jobcenter
– Beginner level computer knowledge (no previous experiences or skill set is necessary)
– English or German (minimum B1 Level)

Our Partner Bootcamps

Once you go through our Compass Course, you’re ready to take the next step: Pick the perfect bootcamp to help you achieve mastery over a particular skill. To help you make that choice, we’ve listed all of our partner bootcamps right here:

Coding

• 42 Wolfsburg
• AW Academy
• CareerFoundry
• Code
• Academy Berlin
• Coding
• Bootcamps Europe
• Codingschule
• ComCave
• College
• Coyotiv
• Hamburg
• Coding School
• Ironhack
• Le Wagon
• Pipeline
• Academy
• Spiced
• Academy
• Strive
• School
• SuperCode
• WBS
• Coding School
• Wild Code
• School
• Women AI Academy

Data 

• AW Academy
• Career
• Foundry
• Code
• Academy Berlin
• Comcave
• College
• Data
• Science Retreat
• Ironhack
• Le Wagon
• Pipeline
• Academy
• Spiced
• Academy
• Stackfuel
• WBS
• Coding School
• Wild Code
• School
• Women AI Academy

Design

• CareerFoundry
• Comcave College
• Ironhack

Marketing

• Comave College
• Social Media Marketing with Facebook

Professional Certificates

• Social Media Marketing with Facebook
• UX design with Google
• Data analytics with Google
• IT support with with Google
• Project Management with Google

Tech Sales, XR, and Others

• Hyrise Academy
• XR Bootcamp
• Level Up School
• HyperCampus

Check-out all the career bootcamps which StartSteps works with here.