Whatever their undergraduate fields, résumé polishers and career switchers are finding that just about every industry needs coders. Private specialized outfits have dominated the market for coding boot camps, but colleges are aggressively getting into the game.
At the University of Central Florida, a 12-week full-time or 24-week part-time boot camp is offered through a partnership with Trilogy Education Services, says Todd Freece, director of the university’s division of continuing education. Similar programs with Trilogy are offered at the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Texas at Austin, and about 30 other colleges in North America, says Dan Sommer, the company’s founder and chief executive.
Colleges are increasingly offering three-year B.A.s and other accelerated programs in response to a growing market of money-conscious go-getters and career changers.
Prices range from about $8,000 to $10,000, depending on the institution and boot camps offered, the programs’ length, and whether they are online or in person. For example, George Washington University, catering to Washington’s federal, defense, and association employers, is working with Trilogy to offer a cybersecurity boot camp.
Northeastern and Case Western Reserve Universities offer boot camps at costs comparable to those of colleges that partner up. At Case Western, the program costs $9,500 for its 24-week part-time offering, and students can take out loans through the university or arrange a payment plan, says Brian Amkraut, executive director of the Siegal lifelong-learning program. At Northeastern, most of the boot camps cost just under $8,000 for both full-time and part-time sessions, says Chris Mallett, vice president for online experiential learning.
Tom Renicker, a graduate of the Case Western boot camp who now works as an application developer and teaching assistant in the program there, previously attended Cleveland State University and graduated with a biology degree in 2014. He says his interest in gaming led him to computing, especially after he became increasingly frustrated with the job market. “There’s this thing,” he says, “where you need a job to get the experience, but you need the experience to get the job.”
Freece, of Central Florida, says boot camps are a way out of that career netherworld.
Timothy Hayes was a 2013 graduate of Temple University who earned a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and chemistry. He moved to Orlando, Fla., and worked as a restaurant manager, bartender, and server. “Before I knew it, I woke up and two years had gone by,” he says. “I was mentally finished with that career. The hours stink, I was frustrated with where I was, so I decided I needed serious change.”
His affinity for science and math drew him to Central Florida’s 12-week boot camp. Six weeks after finishing, he found work as a junior software engineer at FanHero, which helps develop apps to make money from fans. He also works part time for, guess who: Trilogy Education Services — as a senior tutor.
Correction (4/2/2018, 5:53 p.m.): This article has been updated to reflect the correct title for Dan Sommer. He is founder and chief executive, not president and chief executive, of Trilogy Education Services.
