Are Coding Bootcamp Developers Stronger Candidates Than Computer Science Graduates?

Coding bootcamp developersTechnology job requirements have made significant changes regarding mandatory four-year degrees. Organizations are opening their search for talent to individuals with skill-based learning programs like coding bootcamps. Companies like Google, IBM, Bank of America and General Motors are no longer requiring four-year degrees and are focusing more on demonstrated skills and experience.

This change will ultimately diversify the educational experiences between tech team members and increase the size of hiring managers’ talent pools when looking to fill tech roles.

As more companies begin to shift their mindsets towards traditional college degrees, many question whether bootcamps can generate the same or even higher quality talent. This changing mindset paired with an almost 11 percent decrease in U.S. higher education enrollment could mean further changes in degree requirements for jobs in the future.

Continue reading as we explore the benefits of hiring coding bootcamp developers in comparison to hiring candidates from more-traditional higher education backgrounds in tech.

Coding bootcamp developers have skills-based training. 

It is true that coding bootcamp developers spend less time in their program than the standard, four-year computer science graduate. However, the shorter amount of time in the program is focused on developing students through skills-based training and applying those skills making them job-ready for day one of their junior software developer role.

Students at bootcamps like Tech Elevator are coding on the very first day compared to the typical several semesters it takes before a computer science major ever writes a line of code. Ultimately, a computer science graduate will have good foundational and theoretical knowledge, but spend little time actually coding.

Bootcamp developers average 800 hours of code throughout the program and students graduate as junior full-stack software developers depending on the bootcamp program.  In comparison, some four-year college graduates write just half as many lines of code in a span of four years and need to be re-taught on the job.

Lundin Matthews the founder of AdminRemix stated, “both [bootcamp and computer science graduates] have merit, but from an employment perspective, bootcamps provide more concrete evidence of a candidates’ skill than a degree does.”

Coding bootcamp developers are career ready.

Coding bootcamps not only teach technical skills, but those like Tech Elevator have career readiness programs built into their curriculum. These career readiness programs like our Pathway Program™ are a vital part in achieving strong tech candidates who are ready to enter their first professional role.

The average student attending a coding bootcamp has seven years of prior work experience and is 31 years old. Career readiness programs like the Pathway Program™ are designed to take a student’s past experience and align it for a role in tech. The program teaches students to utilize and develop those transferable skills in their next profession position.

In comparison, computer science graduates are usually fresh out of college with limited coding experience for their first professional role. They enter the job market with less hands-on experience and less time focusing on their team-building and leadership skills.

Expand your hiring network with coding bootcamp developers. 

There isn’t a simple solution to hiring tech candidates. However, depending on your company’s needs there may be a hiring solution that not only expands your talent pools but also brings in talent on a regular basis.

More and more companies like Google, LinkedIn, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft hire bootcamp graduates to expand their existing hiring networks. And if you’re seeking a new channel to expand your hiring network, bootcamps provide a regular influx of talent, with fresh graduates more frequently throughout the year. Coding bootcamps like Tech Elevator have up to six graduation dates where many junior full-stack software developers enter the market looking for tech roles both remote and in-person.

Looking for ways to expand tech talent acquisition? 

If you’re looking for a talent solution that yields results with a shorter hiring time and more diverse tech talent, then look into hiring coding bootcamp developers.

Sign up to attend one of Tech Elevator’s Matchmaking events to interview our graduates or reach out to the closest campus team for more information.

Coding bootcamp developers - Anthony Hughes

Written by Anthony Hughes, Tech Elevator’s Co-Founder & CEO