Is a bootcamp or self-taught path better after my library coding group fell apart?

I was part of a free weekly coding meetup at the downtown library for 2 months. Then the organizer moved away and the group just dissolved. Now I'm stuck deciding between dropping $12,000 on a 12 week bootcamp or just grinding through free resources on my own. Half the people in the old group said bootcamps are a scam, the other half said they got jobs in 4 months because of the structure. Has anyone here made the jump from a meetup to a paid program and actually felt it was worth it?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryallen1mo ago

See I think bootcamps mostly just speed up what you could learn for free if you actually stick with it.

olivia_carr71mo agoMost Upvoted

But what about the accountability piece though? I tried teaching myself Python from free resources twice and just kept getting distracted or giving up when I hit a confusing part. The boot camp I went to forced me to actually sit down and struggle through it every day with other people who were just as lost. I wonder if most people who can learn everything for free are already pretty self disciplined or have a background that makes the concepts click faster.