This is part 1 of a 3 part series on why you should attend bootcamps. 

Part 2 - What key skills are employers looking for?

Part 3 - Which bootcamps should I attend?

Read our introduction to bootcamps here: What are Summer of Tech bootcamps?

“... We hire students based on their potential.” - Brian Bannister - Engineering Manager talking about Summer of Tech students.

Our goal at Summer of Tech is to prepare students to be work-ready and advance them in their job hunt. Attending Summer of Tech bootcamps enables students to build their potential and attract prospective employers. A 'bootcamp' is a free student event delivered by industry volunteers, Summer of Tech alumni, Summer of Tech team members, employers, and partners.

Four reasons why you should attend bootcamps 

Here are four reasons why you should attend Summer of Tech bootcamps.

1. Learn key skills that employers want

   You have the opportunity to learn about the skills that employers want in a candidate. However, it isn’t necessary to have all of them when applying for a job. It will boost your chances and impress an employer if you’ve attended a bootcamp for relevant skills and have some knowledge of that topic. (Learn more about what key skills are employers looking for)

2. Interact with potential employers

   Summer of Tech volunteers run bootcamps and work for companies hiring students and graduates. Bootcamps allow employers to share their knowledge (and passion for a topic). Employers want a chance to interact with students and see which candidates they should keep tabs on for the recruitment season.

3. Have something to talk about in an interview

   When talking to past interns or alumni, many of them have expressed that attending bootcamps is a great way to learn about skills that employers think are important. Let’s be realistic, when you go to a bootcamp you’re not going to become an expert in just a couple of hours. But you will have enough information to leverage a conversation with employers. Knowledge about relevant skills will give you an advantage in an interview. 

   What’s a better response from a student in an interview? 
   

   “What do you know about “Python?” 

   “Never done it before” or “I went to a bootcamp, and I found this interesting…”

   Attending more bootcamps will give you more opportunities to have conversations with employers with tools/skills that they use every day. 

4. Find an interest or a passion

   There are so many facets of technology, and it can be really difficult to know what area you might like or want to work in. Bootcamps allow you to find out about various technologies and see if some of them interest you. Our recommendation is to be curious and try different topics to find something you might enjoy.

   If you’re interested in a skillset, you can continue developing those skills and create something that you can show a potential employer. I’ve seen students showcase their apps, portfolios, websites, machine learning algorithms to employers, which helped them get hired.
   

Some data on bootcamp attendance…

We’ve been looking at our data for insights on bootcamp attendance. Last year (2021), the average student who got a job attended 7.9 bootcamps, compared to 2.7 bootcamps for students who didn’t get a job. 

When we looked at our top students over all the years at Summer of Tech, they attended numerous bootcamps every year. Our top student (aka, they had multiple offers from employers) attended over 60 bootcamps over 3 years. It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-year or in your final year; you should start attending bootcamps to increase your potential and chances of getting hired.

“Summer of Tech requires giving up some of your time... I have always said to treat it like a uni/polytech paper. Dedicate the time to it and keep on top of making sure you sign up for bootcamps.”

- Joseph Whyle - Sharesies

Make an effort when you can

Boot camps are a big time commitment, especially if you have to work to support your study. We’re working hard to make ALL of our bootcamps online so that you can watch them and follow along when it suits you.

Remember to reach out to the Student Experience on Intercom or Slack if you need any help finding boot camp resources. Our goal is to help prepare to get hired. We’re here to help :)

TIP: Do you know you can view all of the past events and videos? Click the “Online” and “Past events” buttons on the event page to find lots of great videos on several topics.