If you want to pursue a career as a Web Developer, you might be wondering if it’s better to earn a college degree or enroll in a web development bootcamp. The answer to that question isn’t as clear-cut as you might think; it tends to vary from person to person depending upon their goals, budget, and availability. To help you make a well-informed decision, let’s see how bootcamps and colleges compare in six key areas: time commitment, curriculum, cost, job market, earning potential, and accreditation.
1. Time Commitment
There’s a pretty significant difference in the amount of time it takes to complete a bootcamp versus a degree. When taken full-time, most web development bootcamps can be completed in just one to five months. Many schools also offer the option to study part-time, which will increase how much time is required for completion. Even with the reduced study time factored in, you can still finish your bootcamp in less than a year.
The amount of time required to finish your college education depends on what type of degree you’re pursuing and whether you’re taking classes full or part-time. An associate’s degree, which is the lowest level of post-secondary education offered, typically takes two years of full-time study to complete. To earn a bachelor’s degree, you’d need to invest at least four years of full-time study while a master’s degree requires two more years beyond that.
If you were to pursue any of these degrees part-time, you’d need to extend the time required for completion by doubling it. That means it could take anywhere from two to twelve years to finish your post-secondary education. That’s a significant time investment — considerably longer than it would take to complete a bootcamp.
2. Curriculum
There are also some substantial differences between the curriculum offered in bootcamps and universities. Generally speaking, the education that a university student receives will be much broader in scope compared to what a bootcamp enrollee is exposed to. Bootcamps are skills-focused programs created to get students career-ready in just a few short months. A university education, on the other hand, is meant to develop the whole person, not just prepare them for their future career.
To accomplish this goal, university students are expected to complete up to two years of general education classes in addition to courses in their major. This is in stark contrast to bootcamp attendees who only take classes that can be directly applied to a career in web development.
When you take a closer look at the core classes computer science majors take, you’ll find another key difference. A student of computer science will be exposed to many of the field’s foundational theories in addition to building web development skills while taking their core classes. In contrast, bootcamps students learn very little of the theoretical and focus solely on the practical.
It seems these variances in curriculum don’t make much of a difference once students graduate and become employed in the web development industry. In a 2017 survey conducted by Indeed, 72% of employers reported that college and bootcamp graduates are equally prepared for the jobs they’ve been hired to do. What’s even more interesting is that another 12% of employers stated that bootcamp graduates are better prepared than college graduates and are more likely to succeed at their jobs.
3. Cost
When you look at the cost of attending college versus enrolling in a bootcamp, there’s a pretty significant gap between the two with bootcamps being the most economical choice by far. Let’s take a look at the numbers and some of the factors that contribute to the difference in cost.
The cost of a college education can vary depending on what type of school you attend and the degree you’re pursuing. The three main options for students to choose from, listed in order from least to most expensive, are a community college, a state school, or a private university. The average cost of tuition at a local community college in the United States is $3,400 per year while tuition at a state school averages out at $9,580. These tuition rates go up if you’re attending a school outside of your own state; out-of-state tuition averages $8,210 for community colleges and $27,437 for state schools. Private universities are even more expensive, with yearly tuition averaging around $37,200.
Keep in mind that these rates only include tuition; additional expenses associated with attending college have not been factored in. When you include other expenses that typically accompany a traditional university education, such as housing, books, and meal plans, the cost of attending college increases even more. For those enrolled in community college, the average total annual cost amounts to $10,300. Local students at a state school spend $25,615 to attend school while private students pay an average of $53,949 per year.
You also need to factor in how long it will take you to complete your degree. Let’s look at the least expensive option: an Associate’s Degree at a local community college. It will take 2 years of full-time study to finish that degree, which means it’ll cost you $20,600 total to complete your education. On the other end of the spectrum, a 4-year degree at a private university could end up costing you more than $200,000 overall.
That adds up to be quite a lot of money. And how do you plan to pay for that education? There are scholarships and grants available to college students, but they rarely cover all of tuition plus expenses. If you’re like a lot of students, you’ll need to take out student loans, which can put you under a financial burden for many years to come.
Now let’s look at the cost of attending a web development bootcamp. The average cost of bootcamp comes in at around $12,500 but this doesn’t accurately reflect the widely varying tuition rates that are available throughout the industry; if you check on Noble Desktop’s convenient Classes Near Me tool, you’ll see that the prices for bootcamps can range anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000.
As opposed to the college costs that were quoted above, the $4,000 to $20,000 tuition is paid one time only, not annually for multiple years. Bootcamps also have lower additional costs. While you may need to pay for a workbook or two, those costs are significantly lower than paying for four years’ worth of university textbooks. With a bootcamp, you also don’t have to worry about paying for on-campus housing, parking passes, and cafeteria meal plans, making bootcamps the most economical choice by far.
Many web development training schools also offer tuition assistance and payment plans to help you manage the costs. If you’re unable to pay the full tuition up front, your school will likely allow you to spread payments out over several months to make your education more affordable. You can even find some training facilities that allow you to take classes at no charge then pay them back a percentage of your income after graduation. And since bootcamps take a lot less time to complete than a university degree, you’ll be able to pay that tuition back sooner and not have it hanging over your head for the next decade like you would with traditional student loans.
4. Job Market
The job market for Web Developers is experiencing tremendous growth and is in dire need of new recruits to help fill open positions. In fact, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be 17,900 web development jobs opening up every year from now until 2030. That equals a 13% job growth rate — a much higher rate than the average growth for all occupations, which is predicted to be 8% over the next decade.
There’s even more good news on the job market front; not only are there many open Web Developer positions, but employers are also eager to hire bootcamp graduates to fill those roles. In a survey conducted by Indeed.com, 80% of the employers who responded reported hiring a bootcamp graduate for a tech role within their company. Employers also report being satisfied with the performance of these employees; 99.8% of those who had hired bootcamp graduates in the past said they would do so again.
5. Earning Potential
The earning potential for bootcamp versus college graduates is virtually the same; both can enjoy a lucrative career in web development earning six-figure salaries. Let’s look at wages for some of the most common positions in web development as an example. In the United States, the average annual salary for a Front End Web Developer equals $102,000. Full Stack Web Developers earn a bit more than that, bringing in $107,000 per year on average. Back End Web Developers tend to be the highest earners out of the three main specialties, making an average of $115,000 annually.
Keep in mind that these numbers reflect the earning potential for Web Developers, not starting wages. The first web development job you land after graduation — whether you’re graduating from a bootcamp or college — will be an entry-level position where you’ll likely earn $60,000 to $80,000. This is still quite a bit higher than the average annual salary in the United States, which was $56,310 in 2020. While you might be eager to increase your earnings quickly, the good news is that as you continue to work in web development and gain more experience, your earning potential will consistently increase.
6. Accreditation
One of the key differences between taking classes through a bootcamp versus a university is that bootcamps are largely unregulated while universities are accredited. What does accreditation mean? It simply means that an outside governing body has evaluated the school and its programs and determined that they meet the organization's high educational standards. The vast majority of not-for-profit colleges and universities are either regionally or nationally accredited.
In contrast, there are no governing bodies overseeing the curriculum of web development bootcamps. That means the quality of the education you’ll receive could vary considerably from school to school. If you’re considering enrolling in a web development bootcamp, it’s vital to look into the training facility’s reputation to discover what former students have to say. The sole purpose of a bootcamp is to prepare you for a job in web development; check the school’s ratings and recommendations to see if students have been able to secure a position post-graduation.
Summary
The choice between a college degree and a bootcamp is up to the individual depending upon their career goals, financial situation, and how much time they want to devote to their education. If you want to start your career quickly or don’t have the money to invest in a college education, your best bet is to enroll in a web development bootcamp. Because bootcamps remain focused on skills acquisition, they only take a few months to complete — that means you can start your first web development job in less than a year.
Enrolling in a bootcamp also won’t limit your earning potential; most of the same opportunities are available for both bootcamp and college graduates. If you want to get into management or earn a degree later on in life, you can always sign up for college classes. If the courses you take are job-related, your employer might even pay for them.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with earning a degree instead of enrolling in a bootcamp. If you want the full college experience and have the time and finances to do it, pursuing a university degree might be the better option for you. Whichever path you choose — bootcamp or university education — the field of web development is wide open and ready to accept qualified candidates.
Enroll in a Bootcamp to Start Your New Career
Are you ready to start your career in web development? The best way to do this is by enrolling in a web development bootcamp that can get you career-ready within just a few months. Depending upon your location, you may be able to find a web development bootcamp in your area. If there are none available, a viable alternative would be enrolling in an online web development bootcamp. By taking your bootcamp online, you get the same expert instruction and live feedback as you would from an in-person class except you don’t have to deal with troublesome traffic.
If you’re interested in learning more about web development but you’re not quite ready for an immersive bootcamp, another possibility would be enrolling in individual web development classes. That way you can get started on your learning journey while gauging your interest in web development as a career. If you’re trying to fit your education in with a full-time job or busy home life, then online web development classes might be the best option for you. They offer you the convenience of learning at home with the same high-quality curriculum as in-person classes.