I haven't actually hired anyone from a bootcamp, but I was involved a bit with a local one to a minor degree (a guest lecture once).
I do think college in C.S. changed my brain in interesting ways, but the number of really good professors I had was probably small in my major, and smaller outside.
I find myself mostly using some very minor bits of discrete math in the end, and college left me with a employeeable but misguided interest in Java that I quickly learned I probably didn't like so much. Still, there were some abstract projects that were conceptually difficult. On the job learning is more useful.
Looking at the program I was talking to's syllabus, it was pretty much all "near best of breed" tech presented in a good order with a focus on automated testing.
Universities are trying to avoid being career farms, and yes, you want to learn things that last, but I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.
Some of the best people I've worked with with art or music majors. On a similar front, C.S. programs don't do a great job of teaching what industry really feels like - if I had known, I might not have gone into C.S. :)
A C.S/related degree helps a hiring decision, but I'm not sold on it if there are projects to back it up, and is no guarantee of awesomeness. I do like to see some four year degree on a resume still though.
I think you somewhat want proof of being able to learn, and also learning how to learn, and an appreciation for things like reliability and performance and "good code" and things like that. However you come to them is ok.
> "On a similar front, C.S. programs don't do a great job of teaching what industry really feels like - if I had known, I might not have gone into C.S."
Just curious, what would you have majored in to know what the industry is like?
Internships or co-ops I highly recommend along the way, but when you're that inexperienced you really won't see much of the organizational-structure/politics/churn/team-dynamics that can often exist.
I'm not saying don't do it, but I am saying the creative burst of coding awesomeness that I so much love about tech has a lot of other things around it all of the time, and you don't usually see that in college.
I do think college in C.S. changed my brain in interesting ways, but the number of really good professors I had was probably small in my major, and smaller outside.
I find myself mostly using some very minor bits of discrete math in the end, and college left me with a employeeable but misguided interest in Java that I quickly learned I probably didn't like so much. Still, there were some abstract projects that were conceptually difficult. On the job learning is more useful.
Looking at the program I was talking to's syllabus, it was pretty much all "near best of breed" tech presented in a good order with a focus on automated testing.
Universities are trying to avoid being career farms, and yes, you want to learn things that last, but I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.
Some of the best people I've worked with with art or music majors. On a similar front, C.S. programs don't do a great job of teaching what industry really feels like - if I had known, I might not have gone into C.S. :)
A C.S/related degree helps a hiring decision, but I'm not sold on it if there are projects to back it up, and is no guarantee of awesomeness. I do like to see some four year degree on a resume still though.
I think you somewhat want proof of being able to learn, and also learning how to learn, and an appreciation for things like reliability and performance and "good code" and things like that. However you come to them is ok.