[Sohcahtoa82]

Is a bootcamp grad much different than a university grad?

While in school, I read blogs claiming that the majority of CS grads can't code. I got the hint this may be true in one of my 3rd-year classes where we had to work in groups of 2 or 3 over the course of the semester to write a program that was essentially like an alpha version of SimCity. At the last day of class, we had to present our work. Half the groups didn't complete the project, and one group only had a blank window with a Help button that presented a wall of text. Then, during my senior project, in my group of six, two of them admitted to not knowing how to code, with one of them saying they didn't even want to code, they just became a CS major because they heard CS majors have low unemployment and good salaries.

I've digressed a bit, but...

When I finished my degree, I didn't have a software engineering internship under my belt, so I made sure to list personal projects on my resume. I think the presence of projects done on my own time for my own enjoyment and learning was a key factor in landing my first job.

So no, I don't think there's anything offensive about rejecting a candidate if a bootcamp is all they have to show.

[bradknowles]

I’ve worked with people who have MBAs but aren’t really developers or even devops types.

It’s interesting to see them get frustrated so easily and have a hard time plowing through problem after problem making small changes until they finally get to something that works.

Someone who has only done a boot camp hasn’t demonstrated that they can work on problems for weeks or months before they can see real progress.

Someone who has an actual degree from a legit university or college, has at least proven that they can spend months or even years working on something until they get their reward. They won’t necessarily be able to program their way out of a wet paper bag, but they have at least one advantage on people who only have the boot camp certificate.