Best Online Coding Bootcamps to Prepare for Tech Interviews

If you’re looking for a reliable resource or program that will help you nail technical interviews at Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google, and other Tier-1 tech companies, signing up for a coding bootcamp might be your best bet.

Coding bootcamps are designed to train students and professionals to become better software developers and programmers and crack technical interviews at the world’s leading tech companies. In fact, according to Course Report, several big technology companies prefer candidates who’ve graduated from such bootcamps because they find them to be more suited and qualified for programming roles. 

A survey by Indeed states that 12% of employers think coding bootcamp graduates are more prepared to be top performers, and 72% think they are just as prepared to be top performers as candidates with computer science degrees. A software engineer that graduates from the leading coding bootcamps can expect to get over 50% salary hike on an average. 

Therefore, if you want to take your career to the next level, signing up for an online coding bootcamp might be a game-changer for you, taking you several notches ahead of your peers.  

You might have questions — What is a coding bootcamp? Do I need one? How do I find the one that’s best for me? How much time will I have to invest? And many more.

In this article, we answer these questions and help you discover the top coding bootcamps, and narrow down on the one that’s perfectly in line with your career goals.

Here's what this article will cover:

1. What is a coding bootcamp?
2. Difference between online coding bootcamps and online courses
3. Are coding bootcamps worth the cost?
4. Should you enroll in a coding bootcamp?
5. How to decide which coding bootcamp is the best for you
6. Interview Kickstart’s coding bootcamp and what makes it special

What Is a Coding Bootcamp?

A coding bootcamp is an intensive and comprehensive short-term technical interview training program that helps aspiring software engineers and developers crack coding interviews at FAANG and other top tech companies. They train students in programming, problem solving, and other practical tech skills that employers specifically look for and value today.

These bootcamps are designed for students and professionals who are working full time or part time, allowing you the flexibility of setting your own learning pace.

Based on your preference, you can opt for an in-person or online coding bootcamp. 

• An in-person bootcamp takes the old classroom-like approach, where generally you’ll be spending approximately 40 hours a week in the classroom. These bootcamps work well for those who don’t have a full-time job. However, if you’re a working professional, online coding bootcamps would be better for you.
  
  
• Online coding bootcamps offer the same experience and learning as the in-person ones, except they’re 100% online. These are typically one-on-one sessions with a mentor and also include training based on self-learning guides. 

The duration of a coding bootcamp can be anywhere from 6 to 30 weeks, and on average, it can be 14 weeks long. The average cost of coding bootcamps is around $14,000, with the prices varying from $10,000 to $24,000. Many online coding bootcamps have employment support as a part of their offering. Some even offer partial refunds if you don’t get a job.

Cracking technical interviews in big technology companies is not a cakewalk. These interviews are intentionally designed to be complex and lengthy. Plus, the competition is super-stiff as only 5% of engineers who apply make the cut. Coding bootcamps significantly increase your chances of being in that marginal segment of candidates, catapulting you toward your next dream job. 

What’s the Difference Between Online Coding Bootcamps and Online Courses?

Online coding bootcamps come with a higher price tag when compared to online courses, owing to their intensive schedules and high success rates. When deciding on enrolling for one of the online coding bootcamps, it’s worth comparing it with the seemingly similar alternative — online learning courses.

Here are the key differences between an online coding bootcamp and an online course.

A coding bootcamp and an online course are designed for different goals, and an online course cannot work as a substitute for a bootcamp.

Are Coding Bootcamps Worth the Cost?

The answer is most definitely a yes if you consider the average salary increase you can expect. Coding bootcamp grads receive a 56% salary increase on average, according to Course Report, a popular bootcamp review platform.

Coding bootcamps are generally intensive programs aimed at helping students become effective problem solvers. The best companies in the world are constantly looking for great problem solvers to help find solutions to existing problems and work on creative technological solutions. This is also why some employers prefer to hire bootcamp grads over others.

Plus, coding bootcamps not just help you level up your professional skills in technology and software but also offer you thorough practice to ace your next big technical interview. When you compare the price with the benefits, coding bootcamps are certainly worth the money you spend!

Should You Enroll in a Coding Bootcamp?

A good coding bootcamp can effectively elevate your coding aptitude to an expert level, irrespective of where you start — as a beginner or an intermediate programmer. They take you several notches ahead of your peers.

Here are the primary reasons to enroll in a coding bootcamp.

• To acquire the right skill-set to crack coding and other technical interview rounds
• To get access to guidance and mentoring when preparing for technical interviews at FAANG and other global tech giants
• To save your most valuable resource – time
• To upskill and up-level your programming and coding skills for faster career progression 
• To get placed at one of the top tech companies as top coding bootcamps have impressive placement rates

If you can relate to any of these reasons, you should seriously consider enrolling yourself in a bootcamp. However, before you do that, you should also be aware of the other side of the coin.

When determining if a coding bootcamp is the right choice for you, you should consider the following aspects so that you can take a well-thought-out decision:

• Accelerated and rigorous learning approach of such bootcamps may not work for all
• Some employers prefer to hire experienced candidates as compared to university or bootcamp grads
• Coding bootcamps are intense programs that demand hard work and dedication, so before you enroll, be sure that you’re ready to put in the work
• While most good coding bootcamps have superb placement records, employment is not 100% guaranteed
• Finding coding bootcamps that offer top-quality learning is a challenge

You should know what you stand to gain from a coding bootcamp. Ask yourself — “Will the skills I learn be of practical use to me and align with my career goals?”

How to Decide Which Coding Bootcamp Is the Best One for You

Once you are sure you want to enroll in a coding bootcamp, the next step is to narrow down the top coding bootcamps that you can select from. Some coding bootcamps, as recognized and reputed as they may be, fail to deliver on quality. Don’t fall into the popularity trap.

10 Questions to Help You Pick the Right Coding Bootcamp

We have curated a list of 10 critical questions that will help you decide if a coding bootcamp is good, and more importantly, if it’s the right one for you.

1. Does the bootcamp have a comprehensive curriculum covering a wide range of concepts that feature in technical interviews?
2. Does it offer the behavioral and soft-skills training to crack interviews at FAANG and other tier-1 tech companies?
3. Does it offer coaching for candidates to promote their personal brand online (through optimizing their LinkedIn profile and CV) and land technical interviews?
4. Does it focus on fundamentals such as data structures, algorithms, and systems design?
5. Does it offer customized programs to match your career goals?
6. Does the program include mock interviews with experienced professionals and interviewers capable of giving you the right feedback?
7. Does the training emphasize on problem solving and approaching problems through patterns?
8. Does it have a teaching faculty of trained and qualified instructors who are abreast with developments in the world of technical interviews?
9. Does it offer employment? Are there any refunds if you don’t land a job?
10. Does it provide you access to a mentor who can closely guide you through your technical interview preparation?

These are some of the key questions that will help you select the coding bootcamp that’s perfectly in sync with your requirements.

Interview Kickstart’s Coding Bootcamp – Why It’s Worth It

Interview Kickstart has designed a coding bootcamp to help software developers and engineers crack technical interviews in the top tech companies in the US. We have developed this program keeping in mind the real needs and pain points of candidates that prepare for technical and coding interviews at tech companies. 

We also want our students to be at par with any top software professional from any of these companies. That’s why we have the best faculty you could imagine — complete with actual hiring managers that conduct mock interviews and give real-time actionable feedback to our students. It really can’t get better than this! 

We make sure our grads get magnified returns on every penny they spend.

Here’s why Interview Kickstart’s coding bootcamp is the best in the US:

Focus on Problem Solving

The program is designed with an increased focus on developing students’ problem-solving skills. Our instructors will train you to classify problems based on inherent patterns in them. 

This allows you to approach new problems by finding probable solution patterns. While it may seem convenient to mug up solutions to popular or commonly asked problems, Interview Kickstart does not encourage that. We want to train you to solve any kind of problem, not just the ones you’ve solved before.

15 Live Mock Interviews‍

Interview Kickstart offers 15 live mock interviews with instructors who are actively working as hiring managers and technical leads at FAANG. These instructors can give the right feedback, enabling students to bring out their very best in technical and behavioral interviews.

Most other mock interview resources fall short of giving the right feedback, putting you on the back foot during interviews.

Comprehensive Curriculum With an Emphasis on the Basics

Interview Kickstart’s curriculum is exhaustive and in-depth, covering data structures, algorithms, systems design, among many other technologies and programming languages. 

It also offers dedicated training on cracking behavioral interviews at tech companies. Most bootcamps don’t cover this as part of their training program.

Extended Support Period

IK’s coding bootcamp is a 2-month program with a 6-month long support period. During the support period, our students get access to highly experienced faculty to clarify problems/doubts, guidance on enhancing their online brand through LinkedIn optimization, and employment support to help them land interviews with their dream companies.

Regular Upgrades to the Curriculum

Due to their close association with the interview process, our instructors constantly upgrade the curriculum to meet the industry’s best standards and latest trends.

If you wish to know more about our coding bootcamp, register for our Webinar today.

Made Your Decision Yet?

Before you make a decision, you must perform your due diligence. Don’t fall prey to bootcamps that do not deliver on their promises. If you wish to nail challenging tech interviews, you need a resource that has proven its worth. This was our attempt to help you navigate your options and select the perfect one for you.

To learn more about Interview Kickstart, do not forget to register for our webinar. Clear all your doubts regarding our bootcamp and technical interview prep. We look forward to seeing you there!

Frequently Asked Questions About Coding Bootcamps

1. When should you join a coding bootcamp?

You should essentially join a coding bootcamp when you decide to either upgrade your software and programming skills or land a job in the software development space. 

Most students prefer to join a coding bootcamp when their technical interview is around the corner. Many top companies, including FAANG, allow candidates to postpone their interviews on request, giving them sufficient time to study and prepare.

Ideally, you must give yourself a minimum of two months to prepare for coding interviews, especially if you’re appearing for FAANG interviews. In these two months, you’ll have to devote considerable energy and time to solving coding problems on data structures, algorithms, and system design.

Note that these three segments usually make up for the chunk of questions asked at coding interviews.

As a software engineer, enrolling in a good coding bootcamp will give your preparation the right direction and structure. Bootcamps are particularly intense, and their curriculum exhaustive. Giving yourself enough time to learn concepts, absorb them, and solve tricky problems is absolutely necessary, simply because this cannot happen in a week or two, regardless of how good a programmer you are.

2. How should you rate a coding bootcamp?

When rating a coding bootcamp, here are the few essential factors to keep in mind:

• Faculty: Who are the trainers, and what experience do they have? A good combination of faculty will be experts in the tech ecosystem who are also actively involved in the hiring process at FAANG and tier-1 tech companies. For example, IK’s Coding Bootcamp has a solid faculty of 70 trainers consisting of instructors, coaches, and interviewers from top tech companies.
• Program and curriculum: What’s the curriculum of the bootcamp, and what training they cover? A good coding bootcamp will offer extensive learning programs covering the basics as well as advanced technologies. It will also provide dedicated training for different kinds of interview rounds, both technical and behavioral.
• Success rate: Check the numbers. What are the employment rates? What’s the average salary of the bootcamp grad? Do they offer a refund on the tuition fees?
• Technical and behavioral interviews: Does the coding bootcamp solely focus on technical skills training? Or does it also offer training for cracking technical and behavioral interviews? Ideally, a good coding bootcamp should also include mock interviews and feedback in addition to the technical/behavioral interview prep and training.
• Reviews from students and alumni: Read the reviews and learn about the experience of the current batch of students and alumni.

All of this will help you rate a coding bootcamp and then shortlist the ones that are the best for you!

3. Can coding bootcamps get you a job?

Most certainly! A good majority of candidates that have graduated from coding bootcamps have been able to secure a job. Out of these, 79% have landed a job that’s related to the skills they’ve acquired in coding bootcamps. Also, the average salary lift of these grads post bootcamps was 56%, with an average salary of $69,079.