What is Dev Bootcamp?
Dev Bootcamp is a 9-week intensive training in an intimate class and lab setting. Class is 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. We teach professional web development using Ruby on Rails.
What kind of people are you looking for?
You are a self-starter. You are self-directed and motivated. You are tenacious, often seen struggling earnestly and relentlessly with a problem, just because you have to figure it out. You are resourceful. You know when you're stuck, and how to ask for help. You are a genuinely kind and good person, often inclined to give a hand. You see the best in others. To you, not only is the glass half-full, but you're grateful that there is a glass in the first place. You love learning, and you really, really want to build cool things.
So I'm going to be sitting in class for 40 hours a week?
No. That would be terribly boring and ineffective. You will spend a little time every day learning through curated tutorials and books, and a lot of the time practicing what you learn. You'll work in pairs and small groups on an exciting integrated curriculum. Your brain will be buzzing as you solve problems, tackle challenges, and build applications until you're confident in your mastery of the skills. If you have an idea for a web app you want to build, then definitely bring it.
What's the arch of the curriculum over the 9 weeks?
Phase 1 (weeks 1-3): Basic Ruby, how to think and communicate like a programmer, Database and ActiveRecord.
Phase 2 (weeks 3-6): How the web works, MVC, and front end development, HTML CSS and Javascript.
Phase 3 (weeks 6-9): Putting these all together through the Rails framework and building an original APP from scratch! Good wholesome family fun!
I don't know any programming. Is that ok?
Absolutely. No previous computer science background is needed. We teach you everything from scratch. However, you do need you to be proficient with a computer.
Do I have what it takes to be accepted?
If you are smart, passionate about learning technology, and driven, then yes; you don't need any special super powers to be a programmer. You don't need advanced math or calculus. It's not dark magic, it's a language, and a way of thinking about the world. Anybody who wants to can learn it and become proficient. Many people don't think this is true. Ignore them.
I have a programming background, should I do this?
Sure. About half our students come to us with some computer science background or other technical experience.
I am over 40, and I hear that this could be a hindrance in getting a junior developer job, can I apply?
It is true that this industry tends strongly towards younger junior developers, amongst many other tendencies we at Dev Bootcamp feel committed to questioning and redirecting, e.g. white, male, etc. Previous experience is really not required for Dev Bootcamp and we don't interview or assess based on that or age. We assess more based on the following:
(1) willingness to commit up to 1000 hours of your waking life to learning what we teach in 9 short weeks (yes, we did the math and 1500 total hours means you get to do anything you want with the other 500. we recommend sleep). No, seriously, have you ever worked 80-100 hours per week? Do you know what it takes to work that hard? Our students do. On day 1.
(2) ability to learn what we teach as determined by 2 pre-job interview interviews. Sounds complicated but it means you don't get through unless you pass an assessment every 3 weeks until your real-world assessment -- the hiring interviews. Our 88% hiring rate means about 9 out of every 10 students who walk in our doors will walk out with a job. How do we do it? We don't. You do. Questions? See number (1) above.
(3) humility, passion, self awareness, and a willingness to help others.
If you bring those to your application and interview you should be fine. Also regarding employment, our oldest graduating boot was 42 and was snatched up by tap joy. We have another boot coming in who is in their 60's. Age might end up being a limiting factor in finding a job but by no means a deal breaker.
I am very young, a teenager, can I apply?
We have no age minimum at Dev Bootcamp. We require and expect a certain emotional and intellectual maturity from our applicants, but it's been demonstrated to us over and over again that age does not always directly correlated to maturity. Again if you've got the commitment and passion, you're more than welcome in our community. Having said that however, if you are still in or planning on going to school, you might want to reconsider Dev Bootcamp. The reason is learning to code is like learning a new language, if you don't use it you lose it! Dev Bootcamp starts you on the path of becoming a software developer but if you don't get a job soon after graduating you can quickly lose most of the skills you learned.
What do I need to do to prepare?
We want you to be prepared and ready to get the most from your time here so we have prerequisite curriculum for you to complete before you arrive. We estimate this prerequisite work will take approximately 50 hours of learning. This work is mandatory and must be completed. There will be staff support throughout the prep period.
However, if you'd like to prepare more by yourself before you apply and before our official prep period begins, we both commend and strongly recommend that! Here are some links that should help: Andrew Fowler's tumblr, and Jesse Farmer's Quora answer on prep
What happens after bootcamp is over?
It's best not to make too many plans right after bootcamp ends. Students typically continue coming to the office to finalize their projects, share interview tips, and support each other through the hiring process. Even though there's no official staff support, it's still a rich time for your learning -- you don't want to miss out on it.
Can I see some of the projects that past students have created?
Absolutely! We're proud of what our students have created while they're with us. Here are a few projects from our 2012 cohorts: instatap.es (source), filters.io, Wi Chai (source), Speech Hacker (source), Hang Your Boots (source), GitParty (source), and GMailytics (source)
How many people will be in the class?
To maintain a great learning environment, each cohort will be limited to about 18 students with two dedicated teachers. We overlap our cohorts, so at any time there will be three cohorts going on at the same time in different phases of DBC.
Do you accept foreign students?
Absolutely! However, we don't have the resources to offer payment plans or visa assistance.
Are you guaranteeing me a job?
Nope. Just a kick-ass training.
Do you have a job lined up for me?
Not exactly. We have made connections with many companies in Silicon Valley, Chicago, and several other major US cities that are interested in Dev Bootcamp grads. If they make you a job offer and you accept it, we refund part of your tuition after 100 days on the job.
How many students will get jobs at the end of the program?
Our goal is for everyone who wants full-time employment to get multiple offers, but we obviously can't guarantee or predict that. In 2012, over 90% of the graduates looking for a job found one, with an average starting salary of over $80k.
Does Dev Bootcamp take a percentage of my income when I get a job?
No, we don't take any of your income. Your new employer pays us a fee directly, which is usually 20% of the value of your first year's salary. You get paid your full salary.
How long will it take me to find a job?
Most students start interviewing the week after graduation, and offers can be as early as two weeks to two months from graduation. By the third month most of our students have jobs.
When I hear the word bootcamp I think of pushups. Will there be pushups?
Probably. There will definitely be yoga, stretching, and even basic meditation and mindfulness training. Sitting in front of a computer all day can be tough on the body and mind, and we will be teaching you good habits and ways to take care of yourself.
Is this going to be easy?
No, this will be very hard work. But it should also be a lot of fun. Want to take a leap with us?
What is the difference between a web application and a web site?
Web sites are static, like an online brochure. Your dentist has a web site. Your bank has a web application. Web applications have a two-way exchange, usually including some form of data input, retrieval and manipulation.
I’m not a US citizen, can Dev Bootcamp help me get a visa?
We don't help with the visa process, if you can find a tourist visa that will get you here for 9 weeks that should be fine. Student visas would need support from the school that we don't provide. Know though that if you choose the tourist visa this complicates your job search. You'd need to go back home and get hired from there, as far as we know US immigration does not like people looking for jobs on tourist visas. But you’d need to do your own research on this matter.
Do companies hire non-citizens?
It is definitely a much more complex issue for companies to hire non-US residents, but depends on the company size, policy, etc. We can't really speak to that. You should check in with any companies that you like.
Can you help me find accommodation?
We do not provide help, but previous boots have found houses that they've rented together (hacker houses) that have been relatively affordable (approx. $500 each). If you're accepted, 60 days before your cohort begins you will be invited to a facebook group with all other boots. That would be the place to coordinate housing, etc.
Can I commit to anything else during the same time?
Don't even think about committing to anything else. If you have a job, quit or take time off. If you're in a relationship, send them a variation of our personal apology letter.
Dear boss/friends/family, I'm training at Dev Bootcamp for the next 9 weeks, learning to be like Neo. See you on the other side. I love you and I'm sorry.
Can you really become a programmer in 9 weeks?
Software engineering is a craft that takes years of deliberate practice and learning to master. Our goal is to graduate world-class beginners, and jumpstart your journey towards becoming an elite coder. Having said that, we are betting that in 9 weeks you can learn enough programming to start contributing value to an engineering team as an entry level developer, where your learning can continue on the job.
For a more in-depth look at how we manage to teach people to program so quickly checkout Jesse Farmer's answer on quora.
What does the application process look like?
Here's what you can expect:
Once your application and video are submitted, you will hear back from us within a week.
If you are selected for an interview, you will schedule one with either Chicago or San Francisco.
Once your interview is complete, you will hear back from us within 48 hours with a decision.
If you are accepted, you will have one week to pay your deposit, fill out an acceptance form, and select your cohort. This one week deadline can be extended under special circumstances, you would need to communicate with us about that within that week.
After this your application process will have been completed, you will be receiving your prep material and starting your prep period 60 days before your cohort's start date.
What are the cohort times and when can I apply?
You can find a list of the cohorts, full and available, on our application page http://apply.devbootcamp.com.
You can apply now for any available cohort in the future, no maximum lead time. However, the sooner you apply, the more likely you are to secure a place in one of the earliest available cohorts.
Can I come visit the school?
Yes, you can, but only at very specific times. In order to honor and respect our space for the boots that are working hard there, we do not allow walk ins or visits except on our Thursday night speaker series. You can come in any Thursday that is not a holiday. In San Francisco it starts at 6:15pm, and check out our Meetup page for more upcoming events open to the general public: meetup.com. In Chicago it starts at 5pm.
When can I start doing the prep work once admitted?
We will be sending out information about your prep work. You will receive this 60 -50 days before your first day at Dev Bootcamp. You cannot ask for or receive this prep material any earlier than 60 days before your cohort begins. We want the entire cohort beginning at the same time.
I would really like to get into a cohort that’s already full, is there a waiting list for closed cohorts, or any way I can get in earlier?
We appreciate your excitement to get started, we get it, it’s exciting stuff. We do have people drop out at the last minute sometimes and we do have people on the wait list to fill their position in these cohorts. But how you get on a wait list is by applying, being accepted to one of our available cohorts, and then asking to be placed on the wait list for an earlier one. We do not accept applications for closed cohorts.
How does rolling admissions work and how many students are there exactly per class?
16-20 boots are admitted every 3 weeks for a 9 week intensive. Meaning you'll be with around 55 or so boots of varying levels throughout the course, and you'll meet and network with over 80 students throughout your time here. But your main cohort will be a very intimate 16-20 boots with two teachers and a facilitator.
What are my payment options?
Tuition for Dev Bootcamp is $12,200. We require a $1000 non-refundable deposit upon acceptance to reserve your placement. There is no time limit on this as such, but your place will not be reserved until you pay your deposit.
We offer one payment plan, the tuition must be fully paid before the start of the prep period (61 days before assigned cohort begins).
When exactly you make the payments before the deadline is up to you.
We offer a $500 scholarship if you're female, a veteran of the U.S. Military, or from an ethnic minority group underrepresented in the software engineering field (African American, Chicano/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander).
I am a veteran of the US Armed Forces. Do you accept the Post 9/11 GI Bill?
Unfortunately, we don't currently accept tuition payments via the GI Bill. This is something we're actively working on. Among other things, it requires us to get certified through various per-state certification agencies, a process which can take 8-12 months or more. And we've barely been around for longer than that. Right now we're moving at the speed of government on this issue. We do have a $500 discount for veterans though.
Do you offer any accreditation?
No we do not offer any accreditation, we are focused on graduating world class developer beginners whose accreditation is their own skill. Seems to be the main accreditation that any company cares about today.
What's the schedule? How many hours per day will I be working?
Everyone needs to be at bootcamp from 9 am to 6 pm. This is where the bulk of the instruction, practice, code reviews, competitions, etc. will take place. Having said that, we expect that folks will want to work more than 8 hours a day (and maybe even weekends).
Where exactly will this take place?
We are opening our Chicago office on April 22nd, in River North, close to the Brown Line. We will be in the heart of the tech boom and surrounded by tech companies like Braintree, Google Chicago, Belly, Trunk Club, Hashrocket, and Thoughtworks.
Dev Bootcamp
351 West Hubbard St. (at Orleans)
Suite 701
Chicago, IL 60654
Our original office is located in San Francisco, in the Chinatown district close to downtown. It's a great location. There are TONS of great tech companies nearby, like Twitter, Google SF, DropBox, Square, ZenDesk, FourSquare, Zynga, Instagram, Yammer, and many more.
Dev Bootcamp
717 California St. (at Grant)
San Francisco, CA 94108
What sort of salaries are Ruby on Rails developers starting at?
Ruby on Rails is a very hot technology. In the United States, the average starting salary for a Ruby on Rails developer is about $75k. In San Francisco and New York, it's closer to $90k.
- Salary sources:
- http://mirrorplacement.com
- http://simplyhired.com
- http://indeed.com
- http://quora.com
Why Ruby on Rails?
We focus on Rails for many reasons. The easiest to discover is the demand for Rail developers in the job market. But why is there such high demand for Rails developers? It's because startups love Rails for how quickly you can express your product ideas with it. It's ideal for time-to-market sensitive projects. The software developer community embraced Rails because it removes a lot of the mundane issues of web development, and it has had strong test suite integration from the beginning. One of the core reasons we choose Rails is because of its vibrant international community and its overall friendliness toward beginners.
Do you have something against Python?
We think Python is great. It's just not our favorite technology. Dev Bootcamp instructors tend to know Ruby best.
How transferable are the skills of coding in Ruby as opposed to Python? And vice versa?
Once you're proficient in Ruby, your skills tend to be easily transferable to the LAMP stack. We've found that is true between Ruby, Python, and PHP, mainly because they're all dynamic languages, and have a similar lineage in Perl. Some of our students have been hired by companies that only do Python!
Is the tech community moving towards Rails?
Countless startups have been adopting Rails since its release. Some of those startups have grown enormous, such as Twitter, Github, Groupon, and Hulu. Since then it has gradually grown into the more conservative corners of the tech community and it continues to be one of the fastest growing web frameworks in the world.
How long does the whole application process take?
The whole application process shouldn't take more than a month, including interviewing, etc. But it varies based on what steps need to be taken.
Why are you doing this?
We really want more people to learn how to code and live better lives. Seriously ... we're not just saying that. We also think that college is broken. Recruitment is broken. And we want to make a dent in both of these industries.
Feeling adventurous? Apply now.
How did students feel about the last Bootcamp?
They loved it. Check out the full survey results from students surveyed after the spring 2012 program.
Are the teachers Ruby experts?
Our facilitators have a wide range of backgrounds, from masters degrees and multiple years of professional coding to recent graduates from our own program. We're actively developing our technical skills, but our real goal is to be awesome facilitators of learning.
Is food and lodging covered?
No. Besides bringing in some pizza and some coffee every now and then, people would need to pay for their own living expenses. Once the cohort is accepted, we'll send out links for out of towners to coordinate if they want to share accommodation with each other.
Do I need to bring a laptop?
No. We will be providing computers. Having said that, if you have a laptop, bring it. It won't hurt. The workstations we provide are all Mac OS X computers, and we recommend bringing a Mac laptop if you can, though we understand some folks may bring a Windows or Linux laptop.
