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OTHER SCHOOLS

Every school system is different, bringing a host of pros and cons. Let's take a look together what your options are.

College
Popcorn Robot
Bootcamp
Builds a foundation
✓
✓
Updated technology
✓
✓
Hands-on learning
✓
✓
Builds a portfolio
✓
✓
Mentorship
✓
Low commitment
✓
Interview training
✓
Estimated time
4 years
2 years
3 months
Total cost
$120+k
$13k
$20k

PROS

  1. Life experience.

    Living with other students and cheering for sports teams is a fun experience. 
     

  2. Wide exposure.

    College exposes you to different classes that go beyond coding. This exposes you to a lot of different people and ideas.
     

  3. Getting a degree.

    A degree is valuable, but the new wave of coders is coming through non-traditional backgrounds. Employers now focus more on what developers can do and less on where they got their degree.

CONS

  1. Outdated.

    It takes over three years to update their curriculum. When they finish, you're already learning yesterday's technology.
     

  2. Theory over action.

    In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Great developers are born from great action, not theory.
     

  3. Too slow.

    College takes four years to get a degree. That's because the curriculum is bloated with classes you don't need.

College Campus

TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES

TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES

We often forget that the public school system was a technological marvel in the 1800's. Tasked with educating a whole country of children was not easy. The factory model was a brilliant system for educating massive amounts of people simultaneously.

 

The idea developed into higher education where universities grew to the size of small cities. While its contributions have been unmistakable, it has also been bogged down by its size and inability to update. 

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That's why the solution is not to think bigger, but to think smaller. Here's how we fix their problems.

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CODING BOOTCAMPS

PROS

  1. Fast.

    Imagine being able to build a whole new career in three months. Sounds amazing, right?
     

  2. Updated technology.

    Bootcamps introduce you to the latest technologies. You leave with a marketable resume that attract employers.
     

  3. Action over theory.

    Unlike traditional universities, bootcamps focus on practical applications over theory. This is the best way to become a good developer.

CONS

  1. Too fast.

    Full-time college students take four years to learn to code. Bootcamps claim to do it in one quarter. Does that sound realistic?
     

  2. Expensive and risky.

    Bootcamps cost $20k for three months of education. Not only that, you have to risk quitting your job in hopes that it pans out.
     

  3. Surface learning.

    Bootcamps teach you three frameworks on paper, but you can't build anything. They leave you unable to solve real world problems in any meaningful way.

CODING BOOTCAMPS

Bootcamps were born out of necessity. Universities are slow and the system doesn't allow for innovation. So bootcamps asked, "What if we just focused on one subject?"

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The concept is great. Not everyone has the time for a well-rounded education, especially if you have family and are changing careers. Since they focused on one subject, they shortened the learning curve. This led to cold war thinking as bootcamps raced to the bottom in learning time.

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Bootcamps are now competing on speed. Some claiming to teach you full stack web development in less than ten weeks. Now, there's a generation of bootcamp students stuck in their old career, because they are unable to contribute in any real world project.

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The solution is not to think faster, but to think slower. Here's how we fix their problems.

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