Written By Liz Eggleston
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Overview
Course Report is excited to present the results of our latest and most comprehensive survey of graduates in the coding bootcamp space. We have surveyed graduates from 101 qualifying coding schools and received 3,043 qualified graduate responses.
The majority of graduates of coding bootcamps are finding full-time employment, and 79% of graduates surveyed say they've been employed in a job requiring the technical skills learned at bootcamp, with an average salary increase of 56% or $25,000. The average starting salary of a bootcamp grad is $69,079. This year's Bootcamp Alumni Outcomes & Demographics Study dives into graduates' success, analyzing not only demographics and outcomes, but also how previous experience, income, location, and other factors impact a student's average salary and ability to get a job. In 2020, we also found interesting insights into funding types, income sharing agreements, bootcamp length, and the resilience of bootcampers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks so much to the schools who participated in this study and helped distribute it to their alumni networks!
Key Findings
In our sixth annual graduate survey, and the most complete cross-school study of its kind in the coding bootcamp industry, we find strong evidence of salary growth, with respondents reporting a $25,000 increase in median salary in their first job after attending a coding bootcamp.
| Change in Salary | Before | After | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Salary | $44,350 | $69,079 | + 56% |
| Median Salary | $40,000 | $65,000 | + 63% |
In addition, bootcamp attendees are more likely to be working full-time after graduation.
| Change in Employment | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp |
|---|---|---|
| Employed Full-Time | 57% | 78% |
| Employed Part-Time | 9% | 3% |
| Employed Freelance | 5% | 2% |
| Self-Employed/Entrepreneur | 4% | 2% |
| Homemaker/Stay-at-home parent | 2% | 0% |
| Student | 6% | 1% |
| Unemployed | 18% | 14% |
Most graduates take 1-6 months to find their first job. As students continue their job search after graduation, job placement trends upwards.
| 17% | 22% | 27% | 13% | 6% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| placed | placed | placed | placed | placed | |||
| PRE-GRADUATION | 30 DAYS | 90 DAYS | 120 DAYS | 120+ DAYS |
We ask respondents to share key demographic data and find that the average age of a bootcamper is 31 years old and women make up 35% of the bootcamp industry. Race/ethnicity demographics show that the bootcamp industry must work harder to bring more racial diversity into the industry.
| All Respondents | 2020 Graduates | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Average | Average |
| Years | 31 | 31 |
| Gender | % | % |
| Female | 35% | 41% |
| Male | 63% | 56% |
| Non-Binary | 2% | 3% |
| Race/Ethnicity | % | % |
| White/Caucasian | 72% | 69% |
| Black/African American | 5% | 6% |
| Asian | 15% | 17% |
| Native American/Pacific Islander etc. | 1% | 2% |
| Hispanic | 10% | 8% |
| Other | 7% | 7% |
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted global employment, including tech jobs. Bootcampers were not immune to the tough job market in 2020, but we were pleased to hear that 75% of bootcamp alumni either experienced no change due to COVID-19 or shifted to remote work. The fact that 50% of bootcamp alumni were able to move into remote work during a global recession demonstrates the resilience of these tech jobs.
| COVID-19 Impact |
|
|---|---|
| No impact | 25% |
| I shifted to remote work | 50% |
| I was laid off or furloughed | 9% |
| I graduated during COVID-19 and am still searching for a job | 10% |
| COVID made it more difficult to find a job | 3% |
| I took a pay cut | 1% |
This outcomes report also finds:
- The average student paid $14,214 in bootcamp tuition.
- The typical attendee has 7 years of work experience, has at least a Bachelor's degree, and has never worked as a programmer. However, the number of students with degrees appears to be declining slightly over time, reflecting the general sentiment in the bootcamp industry that traditional degrees are not a predictor of success.
- Graduates report an average satisfaction rating of 8.7/10.
- Online Bootcamps and In-Person Bootcamps produced almost identical average salaries – great news for bootcamps that transitioned to remote learning during COVID-19.
- Speaking of COVID-19, bootcampers were not immune to the tough job market in 2020. However, 75% of bootcamp alumni either experienced no change due to COVID-19 or simply shifted to remote work, demonstrating the resilience of these tech jobs.
- In addition to loans, Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs) and Deferred Tuition continue to trend upwards in the bootcamp industry: 19% of graduates used either an ISA or Deferred Tuition (while 60% of bootcampers were offered one of these options).
- 8% of 2020 bootcamp graduates have military service and 6% use the GI Bill to cover tuition – this number is on the rise.
The "Survey Insights" tab shows who is most successful after bootcamp:
- Graduates working in San Francisco earn the highest average salaries ($97,666) followed by Seattle graduates who earn an average of $88,586. 100% of respondents in Nashville reported being employed!
- 79% of respondents report that they've worked in a job requiring the technical skills they learned in the bootcamp. Graduates who learned Swift report the highest salaries ($90,500).
- Women continue to gain ground amongst bootcamp graduates – in 2020, 41% of graduates are women. Women and men report similar salaries after graduation.
- Students who did some self-teaching before starting class earn ~$3,000 more than complete beginners.
- The average bootcamper reported a $25,000 lift in median salary after graduating from a bootcamp – while low-income students see a lower average post-bootcamp salary than middle and high-income students, they see a high lift in salary after graduation (200% growth).
- Students who used an ISA or Deferred Tuition actually report higher average salaries – ~$79,000 on average compared to those who opted out of an ISA/Deferred Tuition Plan and earn ~$69,500/year.
- The length of the bootcamp actually does have an impact on post-graduation average salary: Graduates of 16+ week-long bootcamps earn ~$8,000 more than graduates of 8-week-long bootcamps.
Results
Who is Attending Bootcamps?
Student Demographic Profile
Respondents self-reported demographic information such as age, gender, race, and veteran status. The student profile is summarized below in Tables 1a-1e.
The average age of respondents across all graduation years was 31 years old. The median age was 30 years old.
| Age | All Respondents | 2018 Grads | 2019 Grads | 2020 Grads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 31 years | 31 years | 31 years | 31 years |
| Median | 30 years | 30 years | 30 years | 30 years |
While women are still underrepresented in coding bootcamps, the percentage of women improves year over year (41% in 2020!) and continues to outpace the percentage of women in traditional computer science degree programs. We compare our findings on gender enrollment to the 2019 Taulbee Survey, an annual survey of computer science programs at accredited universities. The Taulbee study estimated that 21% of 2016 Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science were awarded to females. Our study suggests that bootcamps (35.5% female) compare favorably to traditional computer science departments (as well as masters programs) on gender diversity.
| Gender | Total | 2012-17 Grads | 2018 Grads | 2019 Grads | 2020 Grads | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 62.7% | 66.3% | 63.3% | 62.3% | 56.3% | |
| Female | 35.5% | 32.4% | 34.6% | 35.9% | 41.3% | |
| Non-binary | 1.8% | 1.3% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.4% |
Bootcamp graduates have a very strong over-representation of Asian graduates (17% of 2020 graduates vs. 5% of US population) and underrepresentation of Black/African American bootcampers (6% of graduates in 2020 vs. 13% of the US population). We compare ethnicity in respondents to the 2010 US Census.
Overall, White/Caucasian individuals made up the majority of bootcamp attendees (~69%). For respondants who graduated between 2007-2017, only 2.5% identified as Black/African American, so the majority of bootcampers are still white but the racial makeup of bootcamps is slowly shifting closer to US census data year-over-year. Table 1c shows ethnicity for bootcamp graduates in the US/Canada only.
| Ethnicity | US Census | All Respondents | 2020 Grads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic/Latino | 16% | 10% | 8% |
| White/Caucasian | 72% | 72% | 69% |
| Black/African American | 13% | 5% | 6% |
| Asian | 5% | 15% | 17% |
| Native American, Pacific Islander etc. | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Other | 9% | 7% | 7% |
About 79% of bootcamp attendees were US Citizens having been born in the US. About ~15% of bootcamp attendees were not US Citizens, and about ~6% of bootcamp attendees were naturalized US Citizens. Table 1d shows citizenship for bootcamp graduates in the US/Canada only.
| Citizenship | All Respondents | 2020 Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| US Citizen, Born in the US | 78.8% | 77.9% |
| US Citizen, Naturalized | 6.5% | 7.4% |
| No | 14.7% | 14.7% |
6% of bootcamp attendees had a military service background, though we see this proportion rise steadily over time. Among 2020 grads, those with a military service background had a higher average salary lift ~$31K versus ~$18K for those without a military service background – more on that in the Insights tab! Table 1e shows military service for bootcamp graduates in the US/Canada only.
| Military Service | Total | 2012-17 Grads | 2018 Grads | 2019 Grads | 2020 Grads | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 6% | 5% | 7% | 6% | 8% | |
| No | 94% | 95% | 93% | 94% | 92% |
Education
Most individuals (~55%) attending coding bootcamps held a bachelor’s degree. This level appears to be declining slightly over time and the group of bootcamp attendees with "Some College" is increasing over time. This could say something about the market share that bootcamps are taking from universities; it's also likely due to the popularity and ubiquity of bootcamps in recent years (bootcamps are an option for a wider group of people). Interestingly, Foreign Language majors had the highest average salaries of all bachelors degrees – $84,663.
Fields of study are widespread. The most frequent pre-bootcamp education fields are Business & Public Administration, Psychology/Philosophy/Sociology, Engineering, Computer Science and Life Sciences. These fields accounted for ~40% of all bootcampers in 2020.
| Study Field (Top 5) | 2020 Graduates |
|---|---|
| Business/ Public Administration | 15% |
| Engineering | 7% |
| Life Sciences | 7% |
| Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology | 6% |
| Computer Science | 5% |
Location of Bootcamp Attendance
85% of graduates attended bootcamp in the United States or Canada. 13% of all graduates attended bootcamp in Europe – this represents ~83% of the attendance outside of the US and Canada. ~2% of all graduates attended bootcamp in South America & Mexico – this represents ~10% of the attendance outside of the US and Canada. ~1% of all graduates attended bootcamp in Asia, Australia and Africa.
| Location | Percent of Total | Percent of Abroad |
|---|---|---|
| United States & Canada | 85% | n/a |
| Europe | 12% | 83% |
| Australia | 0.6% | 4% |
| South America & Mexico | 1.5% | 10% |
| Asia | 0.4% | 3% |
| South Africa | 0% | 0.3% |
Overall, 15% of bootcamp graduates attend their full-time bootcamp online – as shown in Table 3b. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed most bootcamps online in 2020. Note that for 2020 graduates, 58% of graduates attended their bootcamp online.
| Location | All Years | 2020 Grads |
|---|---|---|
| In-Person | 85% | 42% |
| Online | 15% | 58% |
Pre-Bootcamp Programming Experience
Most respondents (56%) did some self-teaching prior to attending bootcamp, and 39% were complete beginners prior to enrolling.
| Former Programming Level |
|
2020 Grads |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Beginner | 39% | 47% |
| Some self-teaching in my free time | 56% | 49% |
| Experienced Programmer | 5% | 4% |
Pre-Bootcamp Work Experience
The average previous work experience among students is ~6.9 years, although slightly higher for 2020 graduates (~7.3 years). 18% report being unemployed prior to bootcamp enrollment, as shown in Table 5a. However, one impact we see of COVID-19 is that 26% of 2020 graduates reported being unemployed before bootcamp.
Applications & Student Motivations
By far, most graduates report applying to a coding bootcamp in order to get a job as a programmer (91%). However, more 2020 graduates indicated that they were motivated to attend a bootcamp in order to get a non-technical job (eg. project manager, product manager, etc). Most bootcampers applied to only one school and were accepted to the bootcamp on the first attempt. Table 6a shows motivations for bootcamp graduates in the US/Canada only.
Finally, the most important factor to a future bootcamper when deciding between bootcamps are Alumni Outcomes, and Alumni Outcomes are becoming more important over time (perhaps in light of newer initiatives like CIRR). Average ratings (Table 6b) give some idea about the importance of factors. Instructors and Curriculum are the next most important factors. 2020 graduates seemed to be looking closely at curriculum and programming language as they researched bootcamps.
Programming Language Learned
Bootcampers learn a variety of programming languages at coding bootcamp, but none more popular than JavaScript. 47% of bootcamp graduates report learning JavaScript as the main teaching language.
| Programming Language | % Of All Graduates |
|---|---|
| JavaScript | 47% |
| Ruby on Rails | 17% |
| Java | 15% |
| C#/.NET | 9% |
| Python | 5% |
| Other | 7% |
Tuition
Average tuition for a coding bootcamp is $14,214, with most students paying for school themselves or with the help of external loans (Table 8a). The extent to which individuals are “Self” funding their bootcamp experiences appears to be decreasing over time. This is compensated by the rise of External Loans through lending partners like SkillsFund and Climb Credit. Additionally, 6% of bootcamp graduates used the GI Bill in 2020. This year over year comparison is shown in Table 8a.
Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs) and Deferred Tuition are two trends on the rise in the bootcamp industry. Table 8b shows graduates' use of these options. Note that for 2020 graduates, 60% of respondents either used or were offered an ISA/Deferred Tuition. Interestingly, students who chose to use an ISA or Deferred Tuition earned higher salaries after graduation and saw greater salary lifts – see more in the Insights tab – but also paid slightly more in tuition. 7% of graduates used an ISA and 13% of graduates used Deferred Tuition.
| All Respondents | 2018 Graduates | 2019 Graduates | 2020 Graduates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition Cost | USD | USD | USD | USD |
| Median | $14,000 | $14,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Average | $14,214 | $13,564 | $15,178 | $15,423 |
| Source of Funding | % | % | % | % |
| Self | 45% | 44% | 36% | 33% |
| External Loan | 22% | 24% | 25% | 23% |
| Family | 17% | 17% | 15% | 12% |
| School Financing | 7% | 3% | 13% | 16% |
| Scholarship | 6% | 6% | 6% | 10% |
| GI Bill Benefits | 2% | 3% | 3% | 6% |
| Employer | 2% | 3% | 2% | 1% |
| ISA/Deferred Tuition Use | All Respondents | 2020 Graduates | Median Tuition Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used Income Sharing Agreement plan | 7% | 11% | $17,000 |
| Used Deferred Tuition plan | 13% | 8% | $17,000 |
| Bootcamp offered, but student opted out | 27% | 41% | $14,000 |
| Bootcamp did not offer | 52% | 40% | $14,000 |
Trends in Bootcamp Lending Partners
The most popular lending partners used in the US/Canada are SkillsFund and Climb Credit (Table 9), although 19% of 2020 graduates appear to have used a new lender in the bootcamp space: Sallie Mae. The distribution of lending partners is shown below for those graduates who used External Loans.
| Graduation Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lending Partner | All | Pre-2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Skills Fund | 41% | 35% | 50% | 44% | 23% | |
| Climb Credit | 25% | 25% | 27% | 22% | 29% | |
| Sallie Mae | 4% | 1% | 0% | 5 | 19% | |
| Earnest | 4% | 10% | 1% | 1% | 0% | |
| Affirm + Lendlayer | 4% | 9% | 2% | 1% | 3% | |
| Other (credit cards etc.) | 24% | 21% | 20% | 29% | 26% |
"Other" answers mention repeatedly using banks and school funding.
Success Insights
We've analyzed post-bootcamp success by a number of factors, including location, race, gender, educational attainment, and more. The following tables dig deeper into analyzing the types of students who see the most success after graduating from a coding bootcamp.
How does Socioeconomic Status Impact Success?
The average bootcamper reported a $25,000 lift in salary after graduating from a bootcamp, going from earning $44K pre-bootcamp to $69K in the first job after bootcamp. Do low-income students experience the same increase in salary as middle and high-income students? We find that low-income students see a lower average post-bootcamp salary than middle and high-income students, but a high lift in salary after graduation (200% growth).
Students with previously high salaries may even take a pay cut to change careers! We found that 92% of graduates who experienced a salary decrease still scored their bootcamp satisfaction at least a 7 out of 10.
| Mean Salary (USD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Income | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | Salary Lift |
| ≤ $30,000 | $20,551 | $61,745 | 86% | + 200% |
| $30,000 – $40,000 | $36,586 | $67,238 | 89% | + 84% |
| $40,000 – $60,000 | $50,875 | $70,113 | 90% | + 38% |
| > $60,000 | $86,829 | $83,323 | 89% | - 4% |
How does Past Education Impact Success?
There is a strong relationship between pre-bootcamp educational attainment and post-bootcamp salary. Students with a Doctorate degree reported the highest average salary of $83,250. However, Table 17 reveals that bootcamp graduates with no college degree also have very positive outcomes (77% salary growth).
| Education | Pre-Bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No college degree | $34,869 | $61,836 | 83% | + 77% |
| Associate's degree | $41,591 | $57,762 | 82% | + 39% |
| Bachelor's degree | $45,266 | $71,267 | 90% | + 57% |
| Master's degree | $54,498 | $74,774 | 88% | + 37% |
| Professional degree | $64,870 | $66,619 | 96% | + 3% |
| Doctorate degree | $69,654 | $83,250 | 92% | + 20% |
How does Race/Ethnicity Impact Success?
Asian respondents have the highest average post-bootcamp salary; White respondants were the most likely to be employed after graduation. Native American/Alaskan/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander bootcampers reported the highest salary lift post-bootcamp.
| Ethnicity | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
| White | $44,712 | $68,532 | 90% | + 53% |
| Hispanic | $44,861 | $65,219 | 84% | + 45% |
| Asian | $47,084 | $75,617 | 86% | + 61% |
| Native/Pacific Islander | $41,211 | $69,909 | 84% | + 70% |
| Black/African American | $43,078 | $64,081 | 77% | + 49% |
| Other | $38,540 | $64,388 | 82% | + 67% |
How does Gender Impact Success?
Women make up 36% of coding bootcamp alumni. There weren't many differences observed due to gender observed – both males and females have similar pre and post-bootcamp average salaries, and also similar employment rates 86%-88%, and salary lift 53%-59%. Females had a slightly greater salary lift – 59% salary lift versus 53% for males.
Note: "Non-binary" was not included in Table 19 as there were not a significant number of cases.
| Gender | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | $44,760 | $69,648 | 86% | + 59% |
| Female | $45,236 | $69,096 | 88% | + 53% |
How does Programming Language Learned Impact Success?
Respondents who learned Swift, Ruby on Rails, and Python had the highest post-bootcamp average salaries, with Swift showing the highest salary lift of 93% (Table 20).
| Language | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift | $47,000 | $90,500 | 50% | + 93% |
| Ruby on Rails | $46,618 | $81,111 | 95% | + 74% |
| Python | $54,910 | $78,604 | 74% | + 43% |
| JavaScript | $44,639 | $67,325 | 85% | + 51% |
| Java | $41,129 | $64,719 | 92% | + 57% |
| C#/.NET | $40,729 | $59,752 | 92% | + 47% |
| Objective-C | $42,500 | $58,000 | 100% | + 36% |
| PHP | $46,900 | $51,867 | 100% | + 11% |
| Visual Basic | $39,500 | $40,000 | 75% | + 1% |
How does Location Impact Success?
Cities with the highest average salaries remain the largest tech hubs with plenty of developer jobs: San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City were among the states with the highest average salaries (Table 21). However, we also notice strong salaries in "secondary markets" like Denver, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Minneapolis.
| City | Pre-bootcamp | Post-bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $51,370 | $97,666 | 92% | + 90% |
| Seattle | $52,101 | $88,586 | 87% | + 70% |
| New York | $49,483 | $87,205 | 83% | + 76% |
| Denver | $46,053 | $80,183 | 95% | + 74% |
| Boston | $52,503 | $73,728 | 93% | + 40% |
| Atlanta | $46,902 | $71,263 | 86% | + 52% |
| Los Angeles | $41,850 | $70,500 | 89% | + 68% |
| Washington DC | $45,632 | $68,720 | 91% | + 51% |
| Minneapolis | $38,614 | $67,278 | 94% | + 74% |
| Columbus | $42,284 | $66,975 | 97% | + 58% |
| Houston | $48,688 | $65,828 | 79% | + 35% |
| Chicago | $47,047 | $65,238 | 79% | + 39% |
| Portland | $39,629 | $64,167 | 83% | + 62% |
| Nashville | $35,454 | $63,820 | 100% | + 80% |
| Saint Louis | $41,744 | $60,789 | 84% | + 46% |
| Cleveland | $37,293 | $59,237 | 91% | + 59% |
| Pittsburgh | $39,756 | $58,960 | 94% | + 48% |
| Cincinnati | $41,617 | $58,894 | 93% | + 42% |
| San Antonio | $45,159 | $58,313 | 93% | + 29% |
| Miami | $46,840 | $55,433 | 78% | + 18% |
| Indianapolis | $37,574 | $49,530 | 70% | + 32% |
| Toronto | $36,964 | $45,214 | 81% | + 22% |
| Vancouver | $32,068 | $38,831 | 84% | + 21% |
| Montreal | $27,293 | $35,884 | 93% | + 31% |
How does Military Status Impact Success?
Those with military service on average had a higher post-bootcamp salary (~$73K) versus those without military service (~$69K). Table 22 shows that those with military service were also more likely to be employed post-bootcamp (90%) versus those without military service (87%).
| Military Service | Pre-Bootcamp | Post-Bootcamp | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | $48,525 | $73,288 | 90% | + 51% |
| No | $44,090 | $68,635 | 87% | + 56% |
How does Bootcamp Length/Duration Impact Success?
Length of bootcamp does have an impact on post-graduation average salary, with graduates from longer bootcamps making higher average salaries than individuals graduating from shorter-term bootcamps. Table 23 shows that graduates of 16+ week-long bootcamps earn ~$8,000 more than graduates of 8-week-long bootcamps.
| Bootcamp Duration | Post-Bootcamp Salary | % Employed | % Salary Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Weeks | $60,189 | 82% | + 47% |
| 12 Weeks | $70,497 | 90% | + 57% |
| 16+ Weeks | $72,693 | 90% | + 59% |
How does Preparation Impact Success?
Most respondents (59%) did some self-teaching prior to attending bootcamp, and 35% were complete beginners prior to enrolling. Table 24 demonstrates a pro-tip for future bootcampers: students who did some self-teaching before starting class earn ~$3,000 more than complete beginners.
| Former Programming Level |
|
Post-Bootcamp Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Beginner | 37% | $66,748 |
| Some self-teaching in my free time | 58% | $69,854 |
| Experienced Programmer | 5% | $76,735 |
How do ISAs/Deferred Tuition Plans Impact Success?
For 2020 graduates, 60% of respondents either used or were offered an ISA/Deferred Tuition. 7% of graduates used an ISA and 13% of graduates used Deferred Tuition. Interestingly, students who chose to use an ISA or Deferred Tuition earned higher salaries after graduation and saw greater salary lifts – see Table 25. However, remember that students who use an ISA or Deferred Tuition plan also pay slightly more in tuition (~$17,000) vs students who don't use these tuition plans ($14,000).
| ISA/Deferred Tuition Use | Salary Lift | Post-Bootcamp Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Used Income Sharing Agreement plan | + $42,829 | $79,047 |
| Used Deferred Tuition plan | + $34,122 | $79,459 |
| Bootcamp offered, but student opted out | + $21,764 | $69,572 |
| Bootcamp did not offer | + $22,452 | $65,696 |
Student Outcomes
| Employment Status | Time to Job Placement | Graduate Satisfaction with Bootcamp |
| Post-Bootcamp Salary | Salary Progression after First Job | |
| Popular Job Titles | Bootcamp Career Services |
Post-Bootcamp Employment
Most alumni (78%) are in salaried, full-time positions, with others reporting working part-time, independent contractors, or running their own businesses. Note: In Table 10a, employment status is shown for all graduates. In Table 10b, you can see how Employment Status for 2020 graduates changes based on time since graduation. Because it takes most alumni 1-6 months to accept a job after graduation, we find that alumni who graduated in January-May are more likely to be employed. This trend is compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic – more on that in the Insights tab!
| Employment Status | Pre-Bootcamp | Post-Bootcamp |
|---|---|---|
| Employed full-time (30h+ per week) | 57% | 78% |
| Employed part-time (<30h per week) | 9% | 3% |
| Employed freelance or independent contractor | 5% | 2% |
| Self-Employed Entrepreneur | 4% | 2% |
| Homemaker/"Stay-at-home" parent | 2% | 0.2% |
| Student | 6% | 1% |
| Unemployed | 18% | 14% |
| Graduation Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Status | All | 2020 | 2020 (Jan-May) | 2020 (Jun-Dec) | |
| Employed Full-Time | 77% | 52% | 70% | 42% | |
| Employed Part-Time | 3% | 6% | 6% | 6% | |
| Employed Freelance | 2% | 4% | 3% | 4% | |
| Entrepreneur | 2% | 3% | 4% | 2% | |
| Homemaker | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Student | 1% | 4% | 1% | 5% | |
| Unemployed | 14% | 32% | 16% | 41% |
A majority of bootcampers (79%) report that they have had a job leveraging the technical skills acquired in bootcamp in their post-bootcamp employment.
| Graduation Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed? | Total | Pre-2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Yes | 79% | 92% | 80% | 78% | 57% | |
| No | 21% | 8% | 20% | 22% | 43% |
Post-Bootcamp Salary
Alumni report an average first salary of $66,079 and an average most recent salary of $75,135. Most recent salaries are in line with the first salary after bootcamp for 2020 graduates who have not had time to change jobs or get a promotion yet.
| First Salary Post-Graduation | All | 2020 Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Average Salary | $69,079 | $65,718 |
| Median Salary | $65,000 | $65,000 |
| Most Recent Salary | All | 2020 Graduates |
| Average Salary | $75,135 | $64,973 |
| Median Salary | $70,000 | $65,000 |
The most common job title for bootcampers is Software Engineer.
| First Job Title | All Graduation Years |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 32% |
| Front-End Developer | 11% |
| Junior Web Developer | 11% |
| Associate/ Junior Software Engineer | 8% |
| QA Engineer | 2% |
| Teaching Assistant | 3% |
| UX/UI Designer | 2% |
| Product Manager | 1% |
| Mobile Developer | 1% |
| Data Engineer | 1% |
| Other | 25% |
Time to Job Placement
Over three-quarters of bootcampers found employment within 3 months of graduating. About 17% of bootcampers had a job offer before graduating.
| Graduation Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Search Length | All Years | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Got a Job Pre-Graduation | 17% | 19% | 23% | 8% | |
| < 1 month | 22% | 24% | 23% | 14% | |
| 1-3 months | 27% | 27% | 23% | 23% | |
| 3-6 months | 13% | 10% | 11% | 11% | |
| >6 months | 6% | 4% | 5% | 6% | |
| Still unemployed | 15% | 16% | 15% | 37% |
Salary Progression After First Job
Most coding bootcamp graduates (75%) are still working in the first job they landed after graduation (Table 13a). Within the first year of graduating (2020) almost all the respondents (89%) were still working in their first job post-bootcamp.
| Number of Post-Graduation Jobs | All | 2020 Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75% | 89% |
| 2 | 19% | 10% |
| 3 | 5% | 1% |
| 4 | 1% | 0% |
As bootcamp graduates move into their second and third jobs, they earn higher salaries! The typical pay progression (according to median salary data) from all respondents starts at $65K in the first job post-graduation. Moving from the first job to the second job, bootcamp alumni see a 23% salary lift to $80K. Finally, in going from the second job to the third job there is another 19% salary lift to $95K. (Table 13b).
| Job | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Job | $65,000 | $69,079 |
| 2nd Job | $80,000 | $80,943 |
| 3rd Job | $95,000 | $99,229 |
| Change in Job | % | % |
| Increase 1st to 2nd Job | 23% | 17% |
| Increase 2nd to 3rd Job | 19% | 23% |
| Increase 1st to 3rd Job | 46% | 44% |
Career Services
The most common career services offered are resume preparation assistance and networking events (Table 14a). Overall, bootcamps have been pretty consistent in offering career services year-over-year up through 2020. The one exception to this is career day which is less common in 2020 than it has in past years. Anecdotally, we've seen many schools moving Career Day online in 2020, but this is easier said than done.
| Services Offered | All | 2020 Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Resume preparation assistance | 93% | 99% |
| Career day, demo day, networking | 87% | 77% |
| Job placement services | 64% | 63% |
| Apprenticeship or internship | 20% | 22% |
| None of the above | 2% | 2% |
Job guarantees are becoming less popular in bootcamps over the years (Table 14b). We see these job guarantees being replaced by Income Share Agreements and Deferred Tuition Agreements, where students don't pay tuition until they get a job.
| Job Guarantee Offered | Online | In-Person |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 20% | 18% |
| No | 80% | 82% |
Graduate Satisfaction
Overall, bootcamp satisfaction and recommendation scores are very high – graduates report an average 8.76/10 satisfaction rating and would recommend their coding bootcamp to a friend 8.45 times out of 10.
- Only 6.5% of respondents rated their satisfaction a 5/10 or lower.
- Only 9.9% of respondents rated their likelihood to recommend a 5/10 or lower.
| Overall Program Satisfaction | Average Score | NPS (Net Promoter Score) |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction (1-10) | 8.76 | 45% |
| Recommended (1-10) | 8.45 | 49% |
How did COVID-19 Impact Bootcamp Alumni in 2020?
At Course Report, we kept tabs throughout 2020 (and into 2021) on how coding bootcamps are responding to and meeting the needs of their current and upcoming cohorts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online coding bootcamps were already using Zoom video, Slack, GitHub, and VS Code Live Share for pair programming, online lectures, and to connect mentors and instructors with students. In-person coding bootcamps swiftly transitioned to delivering live remote instruction and so many bootcamps offered new hardship scholarships and initiatives to support students breaking into tech now.
One impact of COVID-19 that we see in the data is that 26% of 2020 graduates reported being unemployed before bootcamp. This is much higher than previous years and makes perfect sense in light of the economic recession starting in March.
We asked respondents how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted their careers. 75% of bootcamp alumni either experienced no change due to COVID-19 or shifted to remote work. 25% of bootcamp alumni were negatively impacted by COVID-19, which meant that they were either had not found a job, were laid off/furloughed or took a pay cut. The fact that 50% of bootcamp alumni were able to move into remote work during a global recession demonstrates the resilience of these tech jobs.
| COVID-19 Impact |
|
|---|---|
| No impact | 25% |
| I shifted to remote work | 50% |
| I was laid off or furloughed | 9% |
| I graduated during COVID-19 and I'm still searching for a job | 10% |
| COVID made it more difficult to find a job | 3% |
| I took a pay cut | 1% |
However, bootcampers were not immune to the tough job market in 2020. We heard anecdotally from bootcamps and students that the job search was taking longer during the COVID-19 pandemic than usual. The average unemployment rate for all graduates is 14%, but the average unemployment rate specifically for 2020 graduates was 32%, and the majority of that reported unemployment came from those graduating in the latter half of the year (June to December 2020).
In March 2020, coding bootcamps reacted to stay-at-home orders quickly by transitioning online. Average salaries for In-Person bootcamp alumni were almost identical to salaries for bootcampers who learned Online – about $69,000.
| Online or In-Person |
|
|---|---|
| In-Person | $69,078 |
| Online | $69,097 |
Related Reading: Are Tech Companies Hiring Coding Bootcampers during COVID-19?
Participating Schools
Respondents in the 2020 Coding Bootcamp Student Outcomes & Demographics Study graduated from the following 101 bootcamps:
| Academy Pittsburgh | Covalence |
New York Code + Design Academy*
|
| Academia de Código | Craftmanship Academy | NewForce |
| Acclaim Education | DecodeMTL |
Noble Desktop
|
| Actualize | Deep Dive Coding |
Prime Digital Academy
|
| Ada Developers Academy | Dev Bootcamp* |
Reboot Academy
|
| Adventure Code School* | DevMountain |
RED Academy*
|
| Alchemy Code Lab | DigitalCrafts |
Redwood Code Academy
|
| App Academy | Eleven Fifty Academy | Rithm School |
| Application University | Epicodus | Sabio |
| Arkansas Coding Academy | Flatiron School |
SD Code Bootcamp
|
| Awesome Inc U | Fullstack Academy | Skill Distillery |
| Berkeley Boot Camps | Galvanize | Skillcrush |
| Bloc | General Assembly |
Software Guild
|
| BoiseCodeWorks | Georgia Tech Boot Camps | Springboard |
| Bottega | Grace Hopper Academy |
Startup Institute
|
| BrainStation | Grand Circus |
Suncoast Developers Guild Academy
|
| C4Q Access Code/Pursuit | Hack Reactor | Tech Elevator |
| Careerfoundry | Hackbright Academy |
Tech Talent South
|
| Claim Academy | HackerYou |
Techtonic Academy
|
| Code Academy | Helio Training | Techtonica |
| Code Fellows | Holberton School | The Iron Yard* |
| Code for All | Inventive Academy |
The Software Guild
|
| Code Louisville | Ironhack | Thinkful |
| Code Platoon | Kenzie Academy | Turing School |
| CodeBoxx | Lambda School |
UNC Charlotte Boot Camps
|
| CodeCraft School* | Launch Academy |
UNH Coding Boot Camp
|
| Coder Camps | Le Wagon |
University of Arizona Boot Camps
|
| Coder Foundry | LearningFuze |
University of Denver Boot Camps
|
| Codesmith | Lighthouse Labs |
University of Oregon Coding Boot Camp
|
| Codeup | Makers Academy |
University of Toronto Boot Camps
|
| Codify Academy | MAX Technical Training** | V School |
| Coding Dojo | Momentum |
We Can Code IT
|
| Coding Temple | Montana Code School | Wyncode |
| Nashville Software School |
Zip Code Wilmington
|
* These bootcamps are no longer operating.
** Formerly Cincy Code IT.
Methodology
We received responses from graduates from 3,043 graduates from 101 coding schools commonly referred to as "bootcamps". We received 1,181 responses in 2020 and carried over 936 responses from the 2019 survey and 926 responses from the 2018 survey. The total responses were filtered by the below inclusion criteria, and then cleaned to remove outliers. The surveys were sent to graduates and all figures are self-reported by the respondents.
INCLUSION CRITERIA
To qualify for inclusion in the survey, a respondent must have attended a school that (a) offers full-time, in-person instruction of 40 or more hours of classroom time per week, (b) is not degree-granting, (c) provides programming-specific curriculum.
GRADUATES
To qualify for inclusion in the survey, individuals must have completed a course offered by a coding bootcamp (as defined above) prior to December 4, 2020.
INCENTIVES
Participation in the survey was voluntary. An incentive for a $500 Amazon Giftcard was offered for participation.
ABOUT COURSE REPORT
Course Report, founded in 2013 by Adam Lovallo and Liz Eggleston, operates https://www.coursereport.com/, which helps potential students find, research, and apply to coding bootcamp programs. Course Report offers a directory of schools, webinars, thousands of reviews, and interviews with teachers, founders, students, and alumni.
