3 Easy Ways to Prepare for a Bootcamp

Easy Ways to Prepare for a Tech Bootcamp

3 Easy Ways to Prepare for a Bootcamp

Every day, students around the world are taking the first step by attending a coding, data science, or cybersecurity bootcamp. In the beginning of your bootcamp journey, it’s important to hit the ground running and stay on-track with the curriculum and course materials. According to Course Report’s 2018 Coding Bootcamp Market Size Study, the average bootcamp is 14.3 weeks long. That’s less than four months to receive what some compare to a year’s worth of knowledge.

So how do you ensure that you’re fully prepared and will be able to stay on track when diving into an intensive program? Here are a few ways to prepare for a bootcamp before your first day of class.

1. Complete Your Assigned Pre-Work

Many bootcamps give their upcoming students “pre-work” to complete before the course, much like homework. Pre-work is designed to lightly familiarize students with the programs and frameworks the program will use. That way, each and every student is fully prepared to start the first day on the same page, which makes the coursework move more quickly.

“Pre-work is designed to make sure all of our students arrive on day 1 with a basic understanding of programming fundamentals.” - DigitalCrafts

2. Build a Foundation with Online Resources

To gather more of a coding background outside of your pre-work, there are plenty of online resources available to help you learn how to code. Simply find out what languages, programs, and frameworks your program will use and teach (often found on the course page of the website, or by asking a member of the bootcamp team.) Head to Codecademy or Free Code Camp and find some beginner-level tutorials or guides for your topics.

3. Get Ahead of The Game with a Bootcamp Prep Course

A Bootcamp Prep Program is the best way to ensure that you’re fully prepared for an immersive coding program. Schools like Flatiron School, Hack Reactor, Fullstack Academy, and Codesmith offer prep courses that perfectly pair with their bootcamp curriculum. Depending on the prep program you select, you can prep from a week to a month in advance, either in-person or online remotely.

Students can also consider First Step Coding, a prep course with both in-person and live-online programs. With beginner-friendly courses and small class sizes, First Step Coding is the perfect platform for students to ramp up their skillset before going into a bootcamp. First Step Coding goes a step further than online tutorials, offering dedicated instructors, real-time support, and partnerships with some of the greatest bootcamps in the industry, including Skills Fund partners Galvanize, Hack Reactor @ Galvanize, and Flatiron School. First Step Coding offers in-person programs in Boston and San Francisco, and the online program serves the entire country.