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If you’re thinking about a coding boot camp, you’re not alone.  IT staffing companies have seen an explosion in boot camp popularity in the last few years.   IT recruiters certainly find that many candidates seeking new IT jobs (especially their first programming roles) have a boot camp on their resumes.  The questions is, are they worth it?  The tuition for many of these boot camps is often in the thousands, so it’s imperative you make back that money with some great IT jobs.  Here’s how to make sure you pick the best boot camp for you.

1. Do research on the job market in the area you live in. What are the most in-demand programming languages?  Just as importantly, what are the most in-demand programming languages for the kinds of roles you want?  IT staffing firms would advise you to make sure you understand not only what skills are marketable, but what skills are marketable and will land you a job you will at least moderately enjoy.  You don’t want to realize that you hate the kinds of roles you paid thousands of dollars to be able to land.  IT recruiters find that people who hate their jobs rarely succeed at them, or at least succeed at them long-term.

2. Seek out recommendations. Ask people in your network if they have gone to, or know of, boot camps that are effective.  Check online at sites like Course Report.  You might also reach out to your IT staffing agencies to see if they can recommend any great local boot camps for the kinds of roles and skills you’d like in the future.

3. Once you find some programs that look good, IT recruiting agencies suggest that you step back and look them over one last time. Ask questions about them, including these:

• What is the rate at which grads land their ideal roles?
• What is the rate at which students graduate?
• Do these boot camps offer connections to internships, projects or potential employers?
• Can you handle the final cost of this boot camp, or will it be too expensive of a risk?

4. Based on all these steps, make a choice.  IT recruiting companies would urge you to consider the fact that sometimes, your best choice may be to skip the coding boot camp (at least for now).  Sometimes there truly aren’t any coding boot camps that would be a good investment in your career.  Though boot camps are being hailed as the new gold rush, there are many that won’t help you land the IT jobs you want. The wise IT professional sees this– and saves their time and money.