What to consider when choosing the Best Coding Bootcamp for You

What to Know When Choosing the Coding Bootcamp that's Right for You

The sixth in our series on coding bootcamp reviews

Nucamp's Review Of Coding Dojo

Learning to code is a great way to enter the IT job market.

And coding bootcamps can teach you how to code in a matter of months.

Many prominent companies are hiring coding bootcamps graduates every day.

Software engineers are in high demand, and this demand is expected to grow.

So, once you decide to shift to a career in tech, how do you decide which bootcamp to attend?

In our Reviewing Online Coding Bootcamps blog series, we described the 7 criteria to help with your decision: cost, commitment, curriculum, class format, community & collaboration, career services, compliments & critiques.

The next school we're assessing is Coding Dojo, which offers online bootcamps focused on Data Science, Cyber Security and three software development courses.

• 16-week Full time Software Development Immersive
• 18-34-week Part time Software Development Accelerated
• 30-week Part time Software Development Flex

We will focus on the software development bootcamps.

The 7 criteria you need to research when choosing the coding bootcamp that's right for you.

1. Cost

The Cost of the 3 Coding Dojo Software Development bootcamps range from $9,995 to $16,995 depending which option you choose.

• 16-week Full time Immersive Software Development $16,995
• 18-34-week Part time Accelerated Software Development
  • 1 stack: $9,995
  • 2 stacks: $13,495
  • 3 stacks: $16,995
• 30-week Part time Flex Software Development $9,995

They offer the following Financing Options:

• Pay full tuition up front
• Weekly Installment Plans
  • Immersive - $16,995
    • 4 weekly installments of $4,186.25.
  • Accelerated 1-stack - $9,995.
    • 4 weekly installments of $2,436.25.
  • Accelerated 2-stack $13,495.
    • 4 weekly installments of $3,311.25
  • Accelerated 3-stack $16,995.
    • 4 weekly installments of $4,186.25.
  • Flex - $9,995
    • 4 weekly installments of $2,436.25.
  • Ascent Loan
    • 3-month Deferred Payment
    • 3-month Interest-only repayment
    • Immediate repayment
  • Climb Credit Loan
    • Details not on website
• 30-week Part time Flex Software Development $9,995

2. Commitment

Time Commitment for their bootcamps:

The 16-week Full time Software Development Immersive conducts 5-hour lectures and Monday through Friday plus labs. The estimated commitment between lectures, self-study and project work is 70-90 hours/week.

The 18-34-week Part time Software Development Accelerated differs in duration based on the choice of 1 stack, 2 stacks, or 3 stacks. 1-hour lectures are conducted 2-3 days/week, plus evenings. The estimated total time commitment is 25-35 hours/week.

The 30-week Part time Software Development Flex has 1-hour lectures 2-3 days/week, plus evenings. Estimated time commitment is 10-15 hours/week.

3. Curriculum

The 16-week Full time Software Development Immersive allows students to choose between the Java or C# stack.

Course includes the following:

• Programming Basics: programming concepts such as variables, loops, array, functions etc.
• Web Fundamentals: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and your choice of Java or C#
• Python full stack: Python, MySQL, Flask, Ajax, jQuery, Agile
• JavaScript full stack: MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js, NPM, Socket.io
• Can choose between Java stack or C# stack:
  • Java stack: Java8, JSP, Spring MVC, JPA, Junit, JVM
  • C# stack: C#, .net core, asp.net core, MySQL, entity framework, Azure, AWS

The 18-34-week Part time Software Development Accelerated allows students to choose whether to choose 1, 2, or 3 stacks. Python is required. The two other optional stacks are JavaScript and Java.

Course includes the following:

• Programming Basics: programming concepts such as variables, loops, array, functions etc.
• Web Fundamentals: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Python full stack (required): Python, MySQL, Flask, Ajax, jQuery
• JavaScript full stack (optional): MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js, NPM, Socket.io
• Java full stack (optional): Java, JSP, Spring MVC
• 2 capstone projects

The 30-week Part time Software Development Flex is focused on the Python full stack.

• Programming Basics: programming concepts such as variables, loops, array, functions etc.
• Web Fundamentals: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Python full stack: Python, MySQL, Flask, Ajax, jQuery

4. Class Format

All classes are 100% online with live instructors and teaching assistants.

Classes include lectures, practical labs, office hours, code reviews, independent study, and peer collaboration.

30-minute small group code reviews are offered upon request.

Class sizes are capped at 75 students for part time lectures.

And capped at 45 students for full time lectures.

The 16-week Full time Software Development Immersive holds 5 5-hour live lectures Monday-Friday plus lab hours. TAs are available Monday-Friday when classes are in session.

The 18-34-week Part time Software Development Accelerated holds 3 1-hour live lectures per week. Two 1-hour office hours per week. TA Support is available at specific hours every day.

The 30-week Part time Software Development Flex holds 2 1-hour live lectures per week. Two 1-hour office hours per week. TA Support is available at specific hours every day.

5. Community & Collaboration

• Discord Community where students can collaborate with other students and Coding Dojo staff.
• 30-minute small-group code reviews offered upon request.
• Student Services Team help with time management, tech issues.
• Teaching Assistance available for set office hours each day.

6. Career Services

Students have lifetime access to the following career services:

• Portfolio building
• LinkedIn profile
• Resume writing
• Job application guidance
• Interview prep
• Mock interviews
• Technical job skills tests
• One-on-one career service manager coaching

7. Compliments & Critiques

Course Report Reviews

"The first month was HARD. I thought I was going to give up. The assignments are fast, and I spent all of my free time studying. It was difficult not to compare where  I stood to others in my class. At my toughest moment, I reached out to my Career Services Manager and my TA. They both helped encourage me and offer support when I needed them.  I would say the most important take-aways for those looking to join the bootcamp: Make sure you have a support system. Don't compare yourself to others in the class. Stay dedicated and find the motivation behind why you're doing this."
—Lee, Full Time Immersive

"Tough boot camp but worth the money for it if you can afford it. Staff was great. Only issue I had was the how new a couple of my instructors were. Python was where I was really affected by it but other than that I got the support I needed. Definitely would recommend anyone looking for a boot camp to attend."
—Jeff, Full Time Immersive

"I believe that this course is good for complete beginners but it is too expensive for the value you get. That's in regards to the knowledge you come out of the program with and your chances of breaking into an engineering role, particularly in this economy. If you are going to go through with the course, I highly recommend taking only 1 stack (i.e., language). They're extremely similar and it's not possible to become proficient in multiple languages during the course's timeframe. Honestly, my biggest regret in this course was taking more than 1 stack."
—Sean, Part-Time Accelerated

"access to the Login/Learn platform is cut off at six months after graduating. I will be frank that this strikes me as a bit ... strangely miserly. I mean, students are paying quite a bit of money for the bootcamp. Why cut off their platform access after such a limited amount of time? Especially because, again, speaking frankly, most students will still need to practice with a lot of these concepts after graduating, given how fast-paced the bootcamp is. I think students would look a lot more fondly on the program without this red tape."
—Amber, Full Time Immersive

Course Report's rating: Coding Dojo vs Nucamp:

• Coding Dojo - 4.42 average rating from 620 reviews.
• Nucamp - 4.74 average rating from 1707 reviews.

Key Takeaways

Coding Dojo offers both full time and part time options for their Software Development bootcamps.

The cost is on the high side at $16,995 for the full time immersive program.

Several reviews were critical about the lack of knowledge depth of the instructors and TAs.

Each student has different needs, circumstances, and learning styles.

Each bootcamp offers different scheduling options and class formats.

Before committing to a coding bootcamp, be sure it meets your specific requirements so you can successfully reach your career goals.

The Nucamp Difference

Nucamp's primary mission is to educate and help people successfully upskill or make a career change into the exciting and ever-changing tech industry.

You can receive an education without quitting your job or breaking the bank.

Our coding bootcamps are high quality, with flexible schedules, and one of the most affordable in the industry.

Nucamp Offers A Variety Of Online Coding Language Courses Including:

1. Web Fundamentals bootcamp (HTML, CSS, Bootstrap) that spans 4 weeks for $458
2. Back-End, SQL, and DevOps with Python bootcamp that spans 16 weeks for $2,124
3. Front-End Web Development bootcamp with JavaScript, React.js, and React Native that spans 17 weeks for $2,124
4. Full-Stack Web Development bootcamp with JavaScript, React.js, React Native, ExpressJS, NodeJS, and MongoDB that spans 22 weeks for $2,602
5. Complete Software Engineer bootcamp that covers everything above plus a 4-week job hunting course, all spanning 11 months for $5,644

Classes are part-time, online, and structured with one week of self-paced, hands-on, guided study. Then a live online weekend workshop.

We keep our student to instructor ration to 15:1.

Our instructors all teach part-time for Nucamp because they all work full-time in the IT industry.

They use the technology that they teach every day in their jobs.

This ensures our instructors have in-depth real-life industry experience and stay current on the latest trends.

We're confident we can help you make that career shift and encourage you to compare what Nucamp's online coding bootcamps have to offer.

To learn more, reach out over chat by clicking the chat icon at the bottom right corner of our website.

Or if you're ready:

Register in your community