Image Credits: original boot by MilitarySpot.com; ridiculous editing by me

In part 1, I gave tips on tackling the admissions processes for coding bootcamps. In this article, I shall recap my personal experiences (all taking place in August 2013) with App Academy, Coding Dojo, Dev Bootcamp, General Assembly, Hack Reactor, and RocketU …in alphabetical order? Sure, why not.

I won’t be covering answers to questions I asked at these interviews. I will cover some coding challenges and questions interviewers asked me. I will redact names. Originally, I wanted to include names, but for the sake of writing more openly, I decided to do some Find and Replace. If you apply to the bootcamps mentioned below, you’ll probably end up discovering a few of the names I’ve redacted anyway.

In a future Coding Bootcamp Research blog post, I will provide all the info I gleaned from my interviews.

App Academy weeds people out ASAP

Format

1. 45-minute online quiz in Ruby
2. Another 45-minute online quiz in Ruby
3. ???

TL;DR

BUZZKILL ALERT: I put a lot of time/effort into studying for their pre-interview Ruby quiz only to find out I had to do a 2nd quiz to get an interview. At that point, I was already interviewing with the other bootcamps, and I wasn’t motivated to contine with my App Academy admissions process. I really believe that interviews help show me how awesome a given bootcamp is –so 2 pre-interview quizzes is like 2 obstacles to accessing a sales pitch I actually WANT.

Full Recap

I don’t remember if the response was immediate or took a few days to come my way, but soon after I submitted my App Academy application, I got an email telling me that I had to complete a 45-minute Ruby quiz before my admissions process could continue.

The quiz came with instructions to help me study/prepare. It did not come with a deadline, and there was no countdown timer even though I was told I only had 45 minutes to finish. The quiz just involved implementing some functions. I completed the challenges in about 20-30 minutes. I then spend another 15 minutes refactoring the code. I’m not too familiar with Ruby, but I did learn a lot of fun things about the language that makes it possible to write incredibly concise code. It was a great quiz (what a weird thing to say).

A day after I submitted my quiz, I got an email telling me to do yet another quiz. At this point, I was not happy. Clearly, App Academy wants to really weed people out of their admissions. I understand that, but I very badly wanted to start the interview process sooner than later. A second quiz meant I’d have to spend more time studying Ruby when I was already busy with applying to other bootcamps and preparing for their interviews.

Maybe I should’ve given them a chance, but I was already less interested in App Academy because they didn’t seem to stand out in any major way other than their deferred payment plan. So I ended up abandoning my App Academy application, and I never got an interview with them.

Originally, I was intrigued by App Academy because it has a reputation for being tougher, putting it at the same high-caliber level as Hack Reactor. However, Hack Reactor seemed to put a lot more effort into community outreach, Quora posting, and just putting out more good vibes to get me excited about their program. In other words, App Academy’s marketing was over-shadowed by Hack Reactor’s marketing. I know that probably sounds really lame, but it’s the truth for my personal experience. As for the other bootcamps, they intrigued me by differentiating themselves in other ways.

Coding Dojo keeps it simple

Format

1. Non-technical interview
2. Profit.
3. ???

TL;DR

Dojo only put me through 1 non-technical interview. The interview gave me a positive impression of the bootcamp culture, but other factors (like a weird pre-interview video) left me raising an eyebrow.

Full Recap

Before my interview with Coding Dojo, I was emailed a link to a private pre-interview video. I was excited about what it could possibly cover. I was disappointed to learn it was a FAQs video. I won’t reveal the link or password, but I will give a quick overview of the contents.

The video was a mediocre-quality recording of [CD person 1] talking to the camera. It was unedited, and just didn’t feel very professional. The whole time I watched him answer some FAQs, I kept wondering why the answers weren’t on the FAQ page of the Coding Dojo website. Why were these questions and answers password-protected?

Maybe it’s because [CD person 1] answered questions re: comparing Coding Dojo to its competitors by admitting that their hiring network was smaller than most. The only reassurance provided was along the lines of “don’t worry, we’re working on it.”

My first bootcamp interview was a phone call with [CD person 2], a Coding Dojo graduate-turned-teaching-assistant (aka Hacker-in-Residence or Developer-in-Residence). He was incredibly nice, and I dug his personality. He didn’t ask me any technical questions. He only asked me questions about myself to help set my expectations and gauge my motivation levels. He made me feel better about Coding Dojo, but I still figured the other bootcamps would probably do a better job of impressing me.

About 6 days after the interview, I was emailed an offer to enroll in Coding Dojo’s September cohort. After about a week, I declined their offer.

Dev Bootcamp – I didn’t actually apply

I wanted to join a bootcamp ASAP. DBC’s website says they’re sold out for the next 6 months, so I didn’t bother applying to their program.

A few days ago, I met someone currently in Dev Bootcamp. She said that DBC is actually flexible in cohort placement. In fact, she was able to enter a sold out cohort.

General Assembly likes HTML/CSS

Format

1. Non-technical interview
2. Online tutorial about HTML/CSS and jQuery
3. HTML/CSS challenge done at home (make an About Me webpage)
4. Semi-technical interview about your About Me page

TL;DR

I may have done a few things that screwed up my relationship with GA. Other than that, their admissions process was easy and fun.

Full Recap

There’s some relevant backstory I need to tell you first. It all started BEFORE I cared about bootcamps. I enrolled in GA’s Front-End Web Development (FEWD) course. It’s 9 hours per class x 1 class per week x 10 weeks …for $3,000 (or maybe it was $3.5k; I don’t quite remember). I was really excited about the course, but I was worried it covered too many of the basics I already taught myself. I also worried that it wouldn’t really help me get a job due to lack of rigor.

Eventually, I became way more interested in bootcamps, which provide much more learning per dollar spent. Furthermore, the GA FEWD course was clearly aimed at weekend warriors. I’m unemployed, so I may as well invest in a more immersive experience.

Ok…enough excuses. The point is that I eventually canceled my enrollment a few days before the course started. This left a bad impression on GA. [GA person 1] was very patient with me, but I could tell he wasn’t happy with me. He agreed to begin my admissions process for GA’s bootcamp after a phone call (which turned out to be my first interview). The phone call was scheduled after I sent an email to GA asking why my bootcamp application hadn’t gotten a response. Awkward. [GA person 1] even told me he thinks I’d be better served by GA’s FEWD rather than GA’s WDI (Web Development Immersive, which is what they call their bootcamp). I didn’t express it, but I kind of took his comment as an insult. Please forgive my arrogance.

Back to the actual GA bootcamp admissions process

Via email, I was instructed to do a GA onine tutorial using their system called Dash. It was a pretty good-looking tutorial, but it covered really basic HTML/CSS + jQuery material. I was underwhelmed. I also had to create a simple About Me webpage (offline –no need to host it on the web). They made it clear that their expectations were low. They didn’t even expect me to use any jQuery even though their tutorial included it.

There’s a relevant Quora answer that explains how GA’s admissions process is supposed to be less technical for the sake of preventing discrimination against applicants with less programming experience. This is similar to Coding Dojo’s view on applicants. This is the opposite of how App Academy and Hack Reactor approach applicants.

My second interview with GA was held at their offices in SF. I got there late. I was a sweaty mess because I took the BART to get into the city, but apparently GA’s offices are about 1 mile from the nearest BART station. I should’ve used the Caltrain. I’m a fool.

[GA person 1] greeted me as if I hadn’t ruined his life through my FEWD course cancellation, so things started off great. He sent me to an empty classroom where I could be interviewed by [GA person 2], a Developer-in-Residence. She asked me to talk about my About Me page. She asked me what challenges I faced, what resources I used for help, what I thought, etc.

Then she asked me general questions about my background, motivation, living arrangements + commute, etc. As I answered these typical questions, I was a bit befuddled by [GA person 2]. It wasn’t her line of questioning that made me think something was wrong, it was her communication style.

She didn’t give off that aura of excitement that other interviewers had. She also seemed taken aback by my conversational interview style as if she had expected me to take a more passive role. I think I talked too much? [insert joke about how I write blog posts that are too wordy]

I guess what I’m trying to say is that [GA person 2] made me think the interview was about me impressing GA rather than GA impressing me. As I’ve stated before, I believe all interviews are two-way streets.

Luckily, [GA person 3] took [GA person 2]’s place. Apparently she had been sent to interview me in his stead because he got caught up with work. This probably explains her demeanor, so I shouldn’t be so critical of her. She wasn’t prepared to conduct an interview.

[GA person 3] is also a Developer-in-Residence, but he carried himself with the confident vibes of a true pro. I liked this guy a lot. He made me feel excited about GA. I had to re-answer a lot of the same questions [GA person 2] asked me, but I got much more of a response out of [GA person 3] whereas [GA person 2] just sorted nodded dismissively as I spoke.

Unfortunately, our time was very limited (likely my fault for being late). There was barely any room for me to ask questions. [GA person 3] left and [GA person 1] re-entered. I asked [GA person 1] some questions from my giant list, but at that point, I didn’t have my laptop in front of me, which sucked because I didn’t memorize many questions.

I left the building feeling very confident, but I never heard back from them. Not to sound too full of myself, but maybe they checked out my blog soon after I published my announcement about my enrollment at Hack Reactor.

Hack Reactor wants to kick your ass!

Format

1. Technical interview on basic JavaScript
2. AJAX + jQuery challenge done at home
3. Technical interview on Functional JavaScript (wtf!)

TL;DR

Holy crap! The admissions process was so friggin’ tough!

Full Recap

Before my first HackR interview, I was emailed a big list of things to study. The list included a lot of JavaScript’s built-in Array and String functions. Right off the bat, I felt a bit intimidated because although the material looked easy, the length of the pre-interview to-do list was exceptional.

I was interviewed in person by a Hacker-in-Residence named [HackR X] and a co-founder named [HackR staff]. Quick aside: HackR’s office space is really friggin’ warm so you should dress appropriately. I was sweating even before I got nervous.

[HackR X] asked me to do some live coding, which was so easy (basic looping, arrays, etc. in JS) that I got over-confident. I made some really careless mistakes (off-by-1 bug, overly-complicated algorithm, etc). Woops.

It’s all good though. [HackR staff] seemed intimidating at first by just focusing on his own laptop the whole time as if he was just there to casually judge me. However, [HackR staff] and [HackR X] eventually helped me edit my code.

Then, they asked me some questions. At the end of the interview, [HackR staff] did a quick recap, explaining that HackR has three objectives for first-round interviews:

1. Set my expectations - They wanted to make sure I knew that their program is no joke; it’s seriously intense
2. Gauge my motivation/drive - They wanted to see how much self-teaching I’ve done
3. Check my financial situation - They wanted to hear how I planned to pay the high tuition

My first HackR interview was scheduled for 1 hour, but it lasted for at least 1.5 hours because I asked a crapload of questions. Before I interviewed with them, I was already extra excited about them because of some hype from student/alumni blogs and their thoughtful responses to Quora questions. So I put in extra effort into preparing my questions. [HackR staff] showed more interest in my candidacy-for-HackR-student when I started asking a lot of good questions that [HackR X] couldn’t answer.

Side note: [HackR staff] appeared surprised when I asked him about their refund policy. That’s ironic when you consider that their own blog suggests you ask all bootcamps about refunds.

After the first interview, I was told to complete a coding challenge at home before my second interview. I was full of confidence and empty of any commitments, so I scheduled my second interview to take place four days after my first interview. That didn’t leave me with much time, but [HackR staff] assured me that it would only take about 8 hours to complete.

Here comes the pain

It took me at least 8 hours. First, I was instructed to go through Code School’s tutorial on Google Chrome dev tools. Then, things got quirky. It’s hard to explain, but the challenge included some unique presentation. You’ll have to explore it yourself. However, I’m not entirely praising it because the instructions felt somewhat vague even after reading the additional tips they provided. I remember reading a student blog that claimed HackR purposefully makes certain instructions vague or certain code buggy just to keep you on your toes. Too bad I forgot the name of the blog, so I can’t give you a link.

Anyway, I had to teach myself basic AJAX. I already taught myself basic jQuery, which was also a required technology for the challenge. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a very good understanding of AJAX. I got my code to work, but one particular feature functioned only after some guesswork. I didn’t truly know how that feature worked. Moreover, I could sense my app was only about 98% correct. My brain told me this was ok, but my heart told me to go cry like the weakling that I am.

I should mention that Hack Reactor lets you ask for their help via email. So I did. Twice. The first time, I got a response within a few hours. The second time, I never got a response. So if you’re trying to get through the coding challenge, keep in mind that you cannot rely on their email help. Doh.

My second-round interview was a somewhat disjointed experience. At first, I was interviewed by Hacker-in-Residence [HackR Y]. Once again, I felt like I had over-stepped my bounds. When [HackR Y] asked me about my experience with the AJAX + jQuery challenge, I interpreted the moment as an opportunity to ask him to help me get my code 100% correct. We spent more than a few minutes on it before he decided it was time to move on. As it turned out, the interview was supposed to focus on new challenges, not the AJAX + jQuery challenge. That was an unpleasant surprise (considering the effort I spent overcoming its difficulties).

I began programming solutions to the new challenges, which involved pretty simple functions. However, throughout the interview, [HackR Y] randomly left to deal with a phone call. He described it as “the most important phone call of my life” so the man was not investing much attention into my interview. I didn’t hold it against him because he assured me my interview time would be extended as necessary, and I didn’t have any other plans that day.

Eventually, [HackR Z], another Hacker-in-Residence took over [HackR Y]’s interviewing duties. This is where I got my ass beat. [HackR Z] asked me to rewrite the functions I had just completed in a way that reused one after the other. Not only that, but the rewrite challenge also required the functions to accept functions as parameters. I believe all of this can be described as Functional Programming, a computer science concept I had never heard of before.

I managed to make a function that called another function while passing it a function. Hot damn. Then I was told to go another layer deeper. My brain replied, “DO NOT WANT.” I was abandoned by my own brain. I guess most people would call it “panic” but it just felt like I couldn’t think. It could almost be described as ignorant bliss if not for the soul-crushing self-disappointment that accompanied it.

[HackR Z] was cool about it. He guided me through a solution, then he brought me to a beautiful backyard under false pretenses to put me out of my misery conference room so we could talk more. I proceeded to ask him a bunch of questions, some of which I had already asked [HackR X] to answer (I wanted to get multiple perspectives for certain questions). I got the impression that [HackR Z] was not just cool, he was superbly chill.

Plus, but he did something particularly considerate. The first thing he did upon closing the conference room door behind us was give me immediate feedback. He straight-up told me not to worry about my brain fart during the live coding session because he felt the whole ordeal qualified as a great interview.

I don’t casually throw around the word “epic” like many of my peers do, but [HackR Z] basically excorcised the demon of self-doubt from my mind. And it felt epic. The feeling of doubt felt epic, and the feeling of that toxicity evaporating felt even more epic. Epic, epic, EPIC!

RocketU is new and eager

Format

1. Non-technical interview
2. Semi-technical interview on HTML/CSS + programming concepts

TL;DR

RocketU really felt extra eager to me. The new bootcamp in town really wanted to impress. The technical questions were trickier than they should’ve been due to some miscommunication.

Full Recap

The first interview was a typical test of personality fit. I spoke with [RU person 1] over the phone for the first interview. It was a typical non-technical conversation about my background and expectations. She tried to talk up RocketU’s awesomeness by describing how amazing the instructors are, but for whatever reason, I started worrying about RocketU’s lack of cool factor. Other bootcamps feel like families or clubs. RocketU was missing that vibe (more on this a few paragraphs below).

The second interview had some very specific quiz-like questions, but no live coding. I loved the second interviewer. [RU person 2] is an instructor with a solid background in teaching technical material. He asked me questions about HTML/CSS. He then asked me how I would solve a very particular problem. After he gave me some hints, I realized that I completely misunderstood the problem when he first described it.

I actually ended up misunderstanding him TWICE, so it took me awhile to solve the problem, which is sad because the problem really wasn’t that difficult. It was just a re-phrased version of a classic algorithm problem/concept.

I wish [RU person 2] could’ve showed me around RocketSpace a bit more because I never even got to see the part of the office the RocketU students use. I only got to check out a portion of the main RocketSpace floor.

However, the real bummer is that the whole experience felt a bit more corporate (for lack of a better word) and a bit less start-uppy than the other bootcamps. This is pretty ironic considering that RocketU is part of a startup accelerator called RocketSpace.

There are a few reasons for the “corporate” feel: The office space felt less fun and energetic (it’s less intimate; it’s less open due to the presence of many small dividers), RocketU doesn’t have its own blog filled with stories to get you pumped up, and RocketU is too young to have a promo video showing off its cool students. Plus, RocketU is run by people with experience in corporate training. So like I said earlier, the vibe I got from RocketU was very different from the vibe I got from its competitors.

That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if my impressions are just plain wrong because RocketU doesn’t have as much outreach/marketing and my interviews weren’t particularly long.

For the record

I did not send followup emails or thank you emails after my interviews. I know you’re supposed to do that for job interviews, but I wasn’t sure what to do for bootcamp interviews. Looking back on it, I wish I had at least sent thank you emails even though everything worked out in the end.

A gopher snake - Image Credits: NatureMapping Animal Facts

Supah Random Time

I recently moved a baby snake from my parking garage. I did it for two reasons: (1) Save the baby! (2) Play with a snake!

I then did something much more random. I wrote up a detailed email about the mini-adventure, and I sent it to my apartment’s building manager…because why not? Actually, there’s a good reason to not do this: it’s weird. Then again, I don’t do this type of writing very often, so it was fun. Below, you can find a relevant YouTube video. Below that, you can find an slightly edited version (emphasis added) of the email I sent to a stranger.

The Email

Hi [Apartment Management],

If you are busy, don’t bother reading this email now. There is no urgency. This is just an “FYI” sort of thing.

I feel obligated to let you know that I removed a small snake from the parking garage at [address]. I threw it outside about 100 feet from the building.

I probably looked rather ridiculous during the whole situation. If someone alerts you to “suspicious activity” involving a short Asian man with glasses, black jacket, black gloves, brown backpack, red tennis racquet, and plain cardboard box…well…that was me.

I was walking to my car on [floor number] when I noticed the baby snake. It looked harmless, but it was hanging out in the middle of the floor, where cars were likely to run over it. In fact, I was likely to run over it. This motivated me to move it. [ Ed. note: wow that was a dry paragraph :( ]

I went back to my apartment to gather some supplies. I put on a pair of batting gloves. I then put on a pair of tactical gloves over the batting gloves (I was not a soldier or a cop; I was given tactical gloves when interning for the Navy; they wanted the interns to move some warehouse crap so they gave us nifty SWAT gloves to make us feel special).

I proceeded to “arm” myself with a tennis racquet and a small cardboard box. I felt quite safe…until I finally approached the snake and it started lashing out. I hope there are no security cameras that captured my fear on tape.

I began circling the snake, and I was unpleasantly surprised that its eyes/head followed my feet rather than following the racquet or the cardboard box. It seemed to know that my tools were not vulnerable. It seemed to know my feet were actually part of my body. Luckily, it had no way of knowing my feet were armored by some decently tough boots.

After I ran around the snake a few times, it probably got dizzy because I was able to finally get behind it without its head tracking me. I slowly moved my box and racquet closer to him. With the type of bravery often associated with stupidity, I swatted the snake into the box. I was really quite proud of myself at that point.

But of course there was a plot twist. I walked over to the garage gate, but I guess its sensors are designed to discriminate against non-machines because it would not open for me the same way it opens for my car. I went back to my car, which was still resting in its parking spot. I hit the garage opener button inside the car. Nothing happened, so I considered driving my car closer to the garage gates.

That would require leaving my snake box on the floor or bringing the snake box into the car with me. I didn’t want to create a “suspicious package” situation, so option #1 was out of the question. I had no way of keeping the box shut other than holding it closed with my hands, so removing my hands from the box to drive seemed like a bad idea. That’s how option #2 vanished.

I ventured into a stairwell to find an exit. To my dismay, I ended up at an exit door that recommended I do not disturb it lest it disturb the rest of the building with an emergency alarm. Faced with the facts, I had to use the elevator to go down to the lobby. By the way, is there a way to get to the lobby via stairs? Maybe I missed a door.

I finally made it outside. I walked down the road to get to the spot where [street #1] and [street #2] split (or merge, depending on your mood). I walked about 10 feet up [a hill]. It was here that I decided to open the box and drop the snake. It was here that I probably looked the most suspicious (and awkward). I made a motion similar to tossing water out of a bucket, but no snake was ejected from the box. I’m sure nearby drivers thought I was a lunatic had they looked my way as they drove by.

I slowly turned the box towards my face to look inside. I didn’t completely aim the top of the box at myself because I’m not crazy, but as I peered into the box at a very acute angle (or obtuse, depending on your mood), I realized the little animal was hiding under a flap. I felt a certain sense of guilt at that point, but the baby was likely going to face death by Goodyear if I hadn’t disturbed it.

I turned the box in a few different ways until I heard the snake fall from its hiding spot. Finally, I released the snake. It landed belly up, which made me feel like a jerk one last time.

For the record, I did some quick online research just now. It was likely a harmless gopher snake. I watched a YouTube video of a man letting a wild gopher snake bite him because apparently those babies have no teeth. How interesting.

Regards,

Jeff

By the way

I’m an idiot.

Sometimes.

Image Credits: original boot by MilitarySpot.com; ridiculous editing by me

In this blog post, I’m going to cover some basic info and tips about applications and interviews for coding bootcamps. The bootcamps are selective programs. Read on if you’re curious about the application process and/or if you need some help preparing for interviews.

I can only provide my thoughts based on applying to Coding Dojo, Hack Reactor, RocketU, General Assemby, and App Academy. This blog post won’t be very bootcamp-specific, but in part 2 of 2, I will write detailed descriptions of my personal application and interview experiences.

Applications

I filled out applications for RocketU and Coding Dojo first. Then I submitted applications for Hack Reactor, General Assembly, and App Academy. All applications consisted of web forms that were fairly straightforward, but some included interesting mini-essays. You can visit their respective websites and find the forms yourself, but I just want to mention that they aren’t too time-consuming.

On the other hand, I heard Dev Bootcamp’s application asks you to make a video of yourself so they can check out your personality. That might be a bit more time consuming. I didn’t bother applying to Dev Bootcamp because I wanted to enroll in a bootcamp program ASAP, but Dev Bootcamp’s application page shows their classes are sold out for the next 6 months!

Check for dates

That reminds me: you should check to see what dates are available. Unfortunately, not all sites make it crystal clear. You might waste a lot of time reading a website only to find out later that their next open enrollment is too late for you.

Examples

Note: These examples will probably be out-dated within a year or so. I imagine these companies will change their websites in due time.

Dev Bootcamp - Their website doesn’t tell you they’re sold out for 6 months until you reach their application page, which you probably won’t do until you’ve read a lot of the other pages on their site.

Hack Reactor - You have to scroll down about 33% of their single-page website before you find their start dates in a section entitled The Program. When I was just skimming, I missed these dates because my eyes were naturally drawn to the big jQuery, HTML5, etc. logos displayed just below the dates.

Coding Dojo - They actually show their next start date right away. The first thing you read on their website is when, where, and how much does it cost. Good job, Dojo!

General Assembly - A navigation bar at the top helps you skip to the Schedule list of available dates.

RocketU - The RocketU single-page website shows info about their non-bootcamp programs before getting to the bootcamp overview. They provide a navigation link to jump to the bootcamp info, and that’s when you’re greeted with next available start date and tuition cost. Not bad.

App Academy - Their navigation bar at the top of the page includes a link to dates. Their application allows you to appy to multiple dates. Nice touch! I don’t remember if any other applications have that ability.

Don’t fret for about one week

Also, you should relax after submitting an application because it took 2-7 days for the bootcamps to respond to my applications. I think some bootcamps provided automatic confirmation emails to let me know they got my application, but if I recall correctly, at least one bootcamp didn’t give me any sanity-fostering confirmation email.

If you don’t hear back from a bootcamp right away, keep in mind that they’re flooded with applications. I suggest waiting a week for them to respond to you before sending any followup emails.

Interviews

It’s important to consider that the interview process is as much an opportunity for them to wow you as it is a time for you to impress them. This is why I looked forward to each interview. I couldn’t wait to be wowed.

Before each interview, I reviewed my research on the particular bootcamp. I re-visited the bootcamp’s website and their blog to find nuggets of info worth asking them about. A lot of my questions probed for elaboration on something very specific to the bootcamp in question.

I had handful of standard questions about logistics, a few questions comparing them against their competitors, questions about curriculae, etc. You can find a list of questions at the end of this blog post. I didn’t ask all my prepared questions though. Sometimes, you need to evaluate how your interview conversations are flowing. I can’t say I flawlessly navigated these conversations, but I made conscious decisions to ask or not ask certain questions as the circumstances required.

My interviewing advice

• Write down a ton of questions to ask for the final half/third of your interview. Asking a lot of questions makes you look AWESOME.
  • Ask questions that show you’re planning ahead (i.e., questions about logistics).
  • Ask questions that show you’re serious (i.e., very specific/thoughtful questions).
• Be prepared to answer basic questions that you already answered in your application forms. Examples:
  • Why do you want to do a bootcamp?
  • How did you hear about us?
  • Why do you want to learn to code?
  • Can you handle the intensity of our program? Are you sure? Are you sure you’re sure?
  • What prior programming experience do you have?
• Do NOT panic during the technical portion of the interviews. If you don’t know something, just admit it. They don’t expect you to be an expert; they just want to see how much you know so far by asking progressively harder questions until they get to topics beyond your current experience.

I panicked a bit in my Hack Reactor and RocketU interviews. In both cases, the interviewer was nice and helped me out. In both cases, I walked out with positive vibes.

Interview questions for YOU to ask

You might think it’s hard to come up with interesting questions. I used to think that way, but then I stopped being cynical for 2 seconds so then my mind could do some brainstorming. Here are a few ideas for finding inspiration:

Question Topics

• Ask questions about something interesting mentioned on the bootcamp’s blog.
• Ask questions about specific topics covered by their curriculum.
• Find the interviewer’s LinkedIn profile or Twitter feed. You might find something cool to ask about.
• Ask for examples of something they brag about (e.g., if they brag about guest speakers or networking events ask more about those).
• Check out my list of factors. Formulate questions about them.

Examples

Logistics

• What are the exact start and end* dates for the cohort that starts in (INSERT MONTH HERE)?
  • *Note: Some bootcamps don’t provide end dates on their websites.
  • Are there any holidays or breaks?
• How many students and teachers are there?
• Does the bootcamp use a rolling cohort system?
• What are a typical day’s hours?
  • What percentage of students stay extra late?
• What are your payment plans/options?
  • Do you have a refund policy?
• Are there any special requirements?
  • Do I need a Mac/Linux?

Qualifications

• What kind of industry experience do the faculty have?
• How do you help students find jobs?
• How often do students find jobs after graduation?
• Do you have any hiring/company partners?
• Do you conduct any alumni outreach?
  • What kind of support do you provide to alumni?
• What are the roles of the various faculty/staff members?
  • How much attention will I get from lead instructors versus part-time instructors versus junior assistants?

Technical

• Why did you choose to cover language X instead of language Y?
• How much of the curriculum features group projects versus individual projects versus quick assignments?

Personality/Culture/Vision

• What’s your favorite bootcamp-hosted event?
  • E.g., fire-side chat, guest speaker, social event, networking event, etc.
• Why did you decide to work for the bootcamp?
• What is your favorite part (aka sprint) of the curriculum?
• What personality traits do your students have in common?
  • How much experience do your students have before starting the course?
• Do you ever kick out students? (You may want to re-phrase this question to be less blunt)
  • How do you help struggling students?
  • How do you ensure no students fall behind?
• What are you doing to improve the bootcamp?
  • Are you hiring more teachers? Extra staff? Specialized staff (e.g., job hunting, alumni outreach, etc)?
  • Are you expanding into other cities/locations?

Image Credits: original boot by MilitarySpot.com; ridiculous editing by me

How do you research bootcamps?

When you’re about to buy a car, you gather relevant data by going to KBB, Edmunds, and other sites. You read editorial reviews and watch video reviews. You can investigate possible issues by searching forums and recall databases.

When comparing cars, you consider fuel economy, reliability, style, and niceties. When comparing any big expenditure, you consider price and value. As for determining which aspects of a car really matter to you the most, it’s pretty intuitive to just think about your daily life.

So what do you do when “shopping” for a coding bootcamp? It’s a lot like shopping for cars, choosing a university, or making any other big decision: it’s time-consuming, it can be overwhelming, and there’s a ton of info for your consideration. However, it’s pretty easy to learn how to research cars and colleges thanks to the abundance of resources out there –but bootcamps are new, so it’s no surprise that learning how to research them seems mysterious. I’m going to help you.

When I started looking at coding bootcamps, I wasn’t sure what to do other than basic Googling and looking at compay websites. This blog post serves as an examination of how to examine bootcamps.

What factors should you consider?

I’m not claiming you need to thoroughly analyze every item in the list below. Just like any other big decision, you need to prioritize various factors based on your own preferences and needs.

• Curriculum: What will you learn? How will you learn it?
  • Technical Skills: Which programming languages will be taught? What tools of the trade will you learn? What about Test Driven Development (TDD)? How many frameworks will you be exposed to?
  • Non-Tech Skills: Does the bootcamp cover job interview prep? Paired programming? Presentation experience? Resume workshops? Listening skills?
  • Intensity: How much time is devoted to various topics? How difficult is the bootcamp relative to other bootcamps?
• Faculty: How many teachers are employed by the bootcamp? What qualifies them to teach you and earn your money?
• Job Placement: Other than teaching you relevant skills, how can a bootcamp help you get a job?
  • Alumni Success: What kinds of careers have previous students earned after attending the bootcamp (employment rate)?
  • Network: How well-connected is the bootcamp? How many employers are in touch with the program?
  • Image: What kind of reputation does course have? Are employers familiar with the brand?
  • Initiatives: Does the bootcamp conduct a hiring day? How many employers show up to the hiring day? Does the bootcamp offer job interview training? Does the bootcamp have a staff member dedicated to helping you find a job?
• Schedule: Is there any flexibility in when you work? Are there any days off? Holidays?
  • Typical Day: Students often dedicate more than 8 hours per day, but what about faculty? Will the long hours make it difficult to commute?
  • Start & End Dates: Do you want to get started right away? If so, the start date surely matters. The end date might affect your ability to find a job ASAP. What if the end date is right around the end of employers’ fiscal years?
• Cost: How does a bootcamp’s price compare to its competitors? Why did they choose a particular price?
  • Payment Plans: What’s the initial deposit? Do you pay in chunks, or all at once upfront? Can you defer payment until after a certain date?
  • Discounts: Are there any scholarships for minorities/females? Are there any refunds or partial refunds upon getting hired by their employer network?
  • Value: How much faculty time do you get for your money? Does the bootcamp provide computers? Does the bootcamp provide extra nice office space?
• Facilities: Speaking of office space, are the facilities boring, or do they add to the learning experience? Where are they located? Will the location involve high commute costs? How feasible is it to live in a hostel near the bootcamp?
• Character: Does the bootcamp feel like a startup, a corporate player, or an amateur hour?
  • Personalities: What’s the culture like? Do they welcome total noobs, or do they demand demonstrable coding experience?
  • Long-Term Vision: How does the bootcamp treat its alumni? Does the bootcamp plan on expanding its territory or re-investing in a single location?
  • Extras & Perks: Free wifi? Duh. Free lunch? Oh nice. Organized outings? Sports? Happy hours? Guest lectures from industry experts?

How do you prioritize factors?

Not only do you want to know what factors to consider, but you also want to know how much you should care.

For factors like cost and location of facilities, it’s obvious how to think about their impacts relative to your life. For factors such as curriculum and long-term vision, it can be hard to figure out what matters to you. Should you look for a bootcamp that focuses on Ruby on Rails or Python with Django? Should you believe it when people say picking a programming language doesn’t matter?

Other factors might actually surprise you once you dig into them. For example, it might bother you to find out that some of your tuition/time is being spent on mandatory yoga classes.

(For the record, I like the idea of mandatory yoga, but I’ve seen negative reactions to the fact.)

I will try to explore the question of “how do you prioritize factors?” in much greater detail in upcoming blog posts that focus on a few factors at a time.

How do you gather info?

• Bootcamp website: Most bootcamp websites provide an overview of curriculum, tuition, etc. They don’t always do a good job of telling you the quality of their faculty or the typical day schedule.
• Comparison sites: A pair of new websites have been created to help you compare bootcamps by providing spec sheets. They don’t do a good job of providing info on bootcamp culture. What’s nice is that they have reviews, but the reviews basically feel like Quora comments.
  • bootcamps.in: Has a few helpful articles and a big list of self-education resources.
  • bootcamper.io: No articles, but cleaner aesthetics and better layout.
• Quora: This is a fantastic resource if you want to hear from both students and co-founders. I’ve seen a lot of posts by founders of Dev Bootcamp, RocketU, Hack Reactor, and a few non-San Francisco bootcamps. Some posts feel like advertisements, but some feel like authentic, honest nuggets of insight.
• Student blogs: There are a lot of blogs out there by current and former students. They often cover curriculum details. They sometimes talk about bootcamp culture. It’s nice to read success stories, but you might also find tales of unfulfilled expectations.
• YouTube and Vimeo: Searching for videos can help you find out more about a bootcamp’s facilities, student personalities, etc.
• Admissions interviews: These are going to be your best chance to get your questions answered about typical day schedule, payment options, job placement, etc. Just keep in mind that the answers are biased.

You can also find press coverage of bootcamps, but I’ve found that they generally fail to give you much insight. Most articles are just explaining what a coding bootcamp is. Some press coverage involves video interviews and whatnot. Those are worth watching because even though they’re edited fluff pieces, they still give a glimpse into personalities and facilities.

Overview

CheckiO is a website that aims to teach programming by providing an online gaming world with some social features heavily emphasized. CheckiO is meant for beginners and experts alike, but all coding challenges must be completed in Python.

The creators have quite a bit of hype behind them. They have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. They have cultivated a thriving community of users. So yeah, my interest was piqued.

Side note: The site doesn’t seem to use secure HTTPS. It lets you log in with your other social media and developer community accounts (Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, GitHub, Stack Exchange, etc) so does that mean it’s safer to log in with a Twitter account rather than with a native CheckiO account?

Disclaimer

I did not play with CheckiO for more than a few hours, so that’s why I call this blog post a mini-review.

I think giving it a couple of hours is enough to pass judgement considering that most users will probably give up or continue based on their initial 10 minutes on the site. But my point is that it’s possible that CheckiO is a much deeper, richer website if you’re patient enough to explore it.

What I Thought

It looks like the CheckiO community is quite strong, but the site is designed to attract users with a visual wow factor that is misleading. The visuals don’t really tie into the actual coding experience very well. It reminds me of when I first tried Neopets. I was disappointed to find that interaction with the pets was limited to static interaction rather than real-time, animated interactions.

Although the visuals of the CheckiO world seem to be geared towards attracting a younger crowd, that potential user base will be deterred by the detachment of said world. Try as they might, the creators of CheckiO fail to make the world, the backstory, the characters, etc. feel relevant when facing a coding challenge. It’s kind of like how some action movies and video games have plots that barely exist because the creators focused more on the action than the story. I get the sense that the creators of CheckiO are actually trying hard to make their story feel relevant, but it’s just not working for me.

In other words, CheckiO wants to prevent users from thinking it’s just another site full of coding challenges by showering the experience with cool graphics and a backstory. They want you to think it’s an edutainment experience rather than a purely academic one. They want you to think CheckiO is a game rather than a series of assignment akin to homework, but it just doesn’t feel like a video game.

The bulk of the experience is not something that could be described as “gameplay.” The in-browser IDE screams “boring” when compared to the home screen presented after logging in. This is a big bummer because everything you see leading up to a coding challenge makes you think you’re about to see something really cool and interactive. It actually makes me think I’m about to see a mini-game. Instead, you end up setting your eyes on a very unappealing IDE.

Despite its attempts to the contrary, CheckiO is just another site full of coding challenges. The challenges are fun for people who already enjoy programming, but the site just doesn’t live up to its potential to reach out to a new, bigger, untapped audience. The user experience really needs to be remade to properly engage users quickly. Instead, it leaves you a bit confused because it looks like a site full of features and gamification, but you can’t quite figure out how to enjoy the benefits.

Given the current success earned by CheckiO, I have a feeling more patient yields more rewards when using the site, but I still have a hard time imagining that “coding on CheckiO” could ever be described as “playing CheckiO.” I feel bad to give CheckiO a thumbs down because they’re the type of underdog with the type of good intentions that I want to support.

Woo!

• Thriving international community
• Fun coding challenges

Boo!

• Long load times
• Tangled navigation
• Omg bubbly/glassy UI is so 2009 duh
• Solutions not displayed for first few challenges (even after you pass them)
• The weird capitalization in the brand name “CheckiO” bothers me :p

Image Credits: Hack Reactor

I have enrolled in the September 23, 2013 cohort of Hack Reactor (aka HackR), which is a 12-week coding bootcamp (or “academy” as they say) located in downtown San Francisco. I will pay them thousands of dollars so I can spend about 72-80 hours/week training, learning, and exploring –all in an attempt to gain the skills of a software developer (with a focus on web tech).

Hold up. What’s a coding bootcamp?

Coding bootcamps are training courses that teach students the fundamentals needed to become immediately employable in some field of programming (generally web development, but some bootcamps focus on smartphone apps). Most bootcamps require full-time commitment (you must quit your job) and are pretty intense. Students generally “work” for more than 40 hours per week.

I put “work” in quotes because it in this case, I’m using the word to cover many different things that happen in a typical day at a bootcamp. Students listen to lectures by faculty and guest speakers. Students program in pairs. Students study and complete assignments. Most importantly, students get a ton of hands-on learning experience. Bootcamp curriculae typically involve projects that help students establish a portfolio of apps.

Bootcamps are a great option for people who want to switch from a non-computer science career to a programming-heavy career. That said, there will be some CS grads in some bootcamps because college often neglects to teach relevant hard skills like how to use git.

Coding bootcamps are also called programming bootcamps, developer/dev bootcamps, etc. The term “bootcamp” is sometimes replaced with “immersive course” or just “immersive.”

Check out this video to get a sense of the Hack Reactor vibe:

Why pick Hack Reactor?

In the coming days and weeks, I am going to extensively blog about my experience researching different bootcamps in a series unsurprisingly entitled Coding Bootcamp Research. The series will cover all the ins and outs of how I examined my options, the admissions processes, and my decision to choose HackR over its competitors.

To give you the gist of it, I chose HackR because it seems to produce the smartest bootcamp “grads” through a combination of high quality faculty/curriculum and lots of time. What I mean by “lots of time” is that faculty are on the clock from 9am-8pm x 6 days/week instead of the typical 9am-6pm x 5 days/week found at other bootcamps.

The claim that HackR has the best grads is backed up by…more claims. They claim that 100% of their grads find a developer job within 3 months after graduation. They claim that the average starting salary of their alumni is somewhere around $100,000 (I don’t remember the exact dollar amount because the raw amount matters less than how high it ranks). No other bootcamps claim to have such high levels of success.

Why should I believe Hack Reactor? Because I trust them. And I would normally litter such claims in my blog with relevant links, but the previous few paragraphs lack links because I will simply discuss these things in much greater detail in future blog posts.

I have a lot to say regarding HackR’s pros and cons. I have a lot to say about the pros and cons of App Academy, Coding Dojo, General Assembly, Dev Bootcamp, and the brand new RocketU as well. So stay tuned.

So… what now?

I have about a month of funemployment left before HackR dominates my life. During that time, I have to deal with financial concerns, HackR introductory homework, and my own personal goals.

Money, money, money (moneyey!)

This is about to get a bit personal, so prepare thyself.

I need to deal with tuition. $2,000 down. $15,780 to go. In the word of the great philosopher, Bart Simpson: “Eep.” Luckily, my mom has offered to cover my tuition. At first, I was reluctant to accept. After all, I have the money…sort of (most of my money is in stocks). I wouldn’t have much left over if I paid tuition myself, but the real reason I hesitated to accept my mom’s generosity was based on principle.

I like being independent in many ways. Financial independence is one of those ways.

I often question what my mom thinks rather than just accepting her ideas at face value. I changed my mind about her offer by using a thought process I use whenever I encounter this questioning that routinely visits my mind. The process is simple. I ask myself, “How would I feel if I were the parent?” Obviously, I easily consider what happens when I’m the child. So when I consider the parent perspective, I can imagine being a parent considering the child perspective too.

But let’s not get too cyclical/meta because I was telling a story that actually has an ending.

As I thought about things from the view of my hypothetical, futuristic, child-rearing mind, I realized that if I were in my mom’s shoes, I would very much want my son to accept my money. The reason? Principle.

OMG @RebootJeff just paradoxed himself #WTF #ICallBS #hypocrisy

Shut up and listen. You can posit that I’m merely rationlizing a money-grubbing stance, and I know that’s what it looks like, but I hold myself obligated to meet the same standards and expectations when I’m finally a parent. In this case, the expectation I’m talking about is the responsibility (and deep desire) to help my child become a Neil deGrasse Tyson badass get really awesome education.

Not to mention, my family has that traditional Asian risk-aversion baked into its collective mind. However, as my mom pointed out, pursuing fantastic educational opportunities shouldn’t be considered a (financial) risk to avoid if the parent can help out.

The curriculum begins now

There are a few tasks to accomplish prior to the first day of class other than making HackR rich(er). The bootcamp’s pre-course work requires about 90 hours of dedication (about 50 hours mandatory + about 40 hours optional). I’ve been instructed to…

1. Complete a lot of Code School tutorials (which is a bit of a bummer because I’m tired of online tutorials).

2. Learn more JavaScript through some TDD challenges using Jasmine and Mocha (I don’t know what these are if they’re not hot beverages).

3. Learn about git via various videos and tutorials (which should be easy because I already know some git).

4. Build a basic Twitter clone (which sounds so difficult that I can’t wait to do it –what an odd feeling).

5. Check out a list of optional online resources.

My own pre-course to-do list

I plan on completing most of the optional pre-course work (in addition to the mandatory parts), but I also hope to make time for some other pre-course goals of mine. Maybe some are covered by the pre-course work, but here’s a comprehensive list:

Relevant

• Watch videos re: Sublime Text wizadry

• Consider PAYING for Sublime Text to get rid of the money-begging feature

• Figure out regex

• Get intimate with that scary thingamabob known as Linux shell

• Buy a notebook that is made of something called “paper”

• Conform to a proper sleep schedule (makes me cry just thinking about it)

• Watch more lectures from Berkeley’s CS169: Software as a Service

• Buy tons of snacks/drinks because I won’t have much time for grocery shopping during bootcamp weeks

• Attend lots of dev meetups, especially Odin Project meetups

• Think of how I want to make my own HackR vlog

Not-so-relevant

• Take one last hit of that autocross high

• Finish reading some rather disturbing-but-amazing Batman comic books

• Deactivate my online dating profiles because I won’t have time for that crap (although it’s not like I was a total playa to begin with)

• Help a roommate build a new PC (he’s never built one before)

• Make at least 1 more faux vlog episode

• Make at least 1 music recording

Most of all, I want to write up a LOT of blog posts documenting all the research I did when investigating coding bootcamps.