Before you take the plunge

 

Learning to code can be extremely rewarding, open job opportunities, and give you the freedom to work from anywhere. Our goal is to equip you with the skills needed to succeed as a developer. That said, there is no silver bullet to becoming a successful software engineer, and you have a lot of things to consider when it comes to choosing your path forward. We want to be as clear as possible about setting expectations with our students. Below is a quick list of things you should know before signing up for CodingNomads courses, or any coding bootcamp.

  • Unless you’ve already got some solid skills, you will not be making a six-figure salary after leaving CodingNomads, nor any coding bootcamp. An entry-level software engineer can expect a $40-$60k USD annual salary as a full-time employee. You’ll have to put a few years in the trenches before you can consider six-figure salaries…but just a few years. Once you get experience under your belt, your career in software engineering will be able to take you anywhere.
  • At CodingNomads you will have to work hard. You should expect to spend a minimum of 15 hours per week studying and working through labs and projects. The more work you put in, the more you’ll get out of it. At 15 hours per week, you should expect it to take you ~6 months to become an entry-level developer.
  • Upon graduating CodingNomads or any other bootcamp, your learning process will just be starting. In essence, in the bootcamp you’ll be learning how to learn, as in software engineering the learning never stops. You need to be a patient, determined and persistent person to succeed as a software engineer. And you must always keep learning and learning.
  • There are free resources online that can help you learn software engineering. MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and many other schools publish open-source courses in computer science and software engineering. And these are just the beginning when it comes to the resources available to you. The purpose of our bootcamp is to guide you through the noise, focus on real-world engineering tasks and skills, help you build a network and community, and take you out of your daily norm so you can progress as rapidly as possible.
  • Landing your first job will take significant determination on your part. Our bootcamps teach you software engineering fundamentals, and instill the will within you to overcome unknown hurdles and challenges — both in job searching and working. We also spend time in mock interviews to get you ready. Even still, you may botch an interview or see a job you wanted go to someone else. This is normal in any industry. And another reminder to keep learning, building your skill-set, and increasing your value to prospective companies.