While many of the more popular code bootcamps require the student to have some prior programming experience, Dev Bootcamp does not. They offer a "phase 0" which teaches the basics before the course begins.
Dev Bootcamp focuses on emotional intelligence through their "Engineering Empathy" curriculum.
This includes ways to manage stress and anxiety, giving/receiving feedback, and minimizing unconscious bias.
Hack Reactor is extremely selective, with a current admission rate of only 3%. This means that you'll be learning a long side a group of intelligent and driven students.
Throughout the course, Hack Reactor helps to get students job-ready by introducing common interview questions right from the start. Lectures are given on job hunting, and there is a focus throughout the program on building up a portfolio.
You are required to pay a $5000 deposit, which you get back when you finish the course.
Provided you get hired after App Academy, you pay them 18% of your salary for your first year as tuition. This, for many people, is a more realistic option than paying the $16K+ up front.
App Academy only accepts 3% of those who apply. Students are required to have some technical skills prior to beginning the program. This means you'll be surrounded by smart, passionate people when you take the course.
Going through the Bootcamp Prep program not only increases your chances of getting into the full-time program from 3% to 60%, it also allows you to skip the coding assessments and go straight to the interviews.
Plus, the money that you pay for the Bootcamp Prep program (about $3,000) goes towards the $5000 deposit, which you get back once you finish the course. App Academy chooses merit over how much you can pay, giving everyone a fair chance.
While pair programming definitely has benefits, it can be a con for some. Much of the course is spent pair programming, something many introverts will struggle with when doing it for 8+ hours a day, every day.
If you're paired with someone at a different level than you, it can slow down your learning or frustrate you.
While many other bootcamps will teach a couple of languages, Fullstack Academy uses only JavaScript. This means you are spending less time learning new syntax and more time gaining a more in-depth understanding of programming.
Where many bootcamps only have the one program, General Assembly has a few different options to choose from. These include Web Development Immersive, Android Development Immersive, and Data Science Immersive.
General Assembly has a much more relaxed application/interview process than a lot of other bootcamps. You aren't required to have programming experience before applying.
While General Assembly claims to have 90% hiring rate of the graduating program, this number may be inaccurate.
Some graduates claim that the hiring rate from their cohort was much lower (50-60% range).