Changing careers - Government Skills Bootcamps

[ChildcareIsBroken]

I'm looking into changing careers and considering applying for a skills bootcamp in one of the tech jobs.

Has anyone done this successfully?

I'm wondering how realistic it is to do while working part time but taking care of a toddler on other days? I'll have the time in the morning, evening, during naps and on weekends.

What path did you go for and are you happy?

TIA

Bumping this as I'm looking for the same answers

Shame there's no answer, but I'm seriously thinking of giving it a go @Shesasuperfreak.

I applied and I'm starting in December. But I would love to hear from people who have completed it and can give some advice.

That's great! Good luck! How did you decide what to go for?

I didn’t do a bootcamp but DH helped me upskill over a few years while working part time with kids. There are some free moocs and tutorials or cheap udemy courses if you want to try out and see if it’s something you like (before committing to a bootcamp).

I looked into a bunch of the bootcamps for cybersecurity but every single one had been cancelled or it was impossible to actually apply for it so I went with the free hoppers roppers one recommended on here and then I’m getting the “part time student loan for a second degree in priority subjects” to do a BSc cybersecurity with the OU as that is designed to work alongside other commitments.

Sky is just launching a free software dev bootcamp as part of their Get into Tech initiative for women.
getintotech.sky.com/

I chose this one Trilogy Skills Bootcamp in Front-End Web Development.

This all so helpful, thank you!
I think I'll try some free resources to help me determine what's the right path for me.
I'm currently stuck at a job where the only progression is possible if I get some extra training, I just need to determine what's the most beneficial and will lead to good job prospects.

for web stuff html and css is accessible and important.
for many general programming tasks python is useful - the good thing is there are lots of tutorials and if you get an error, type some of the key words into google - and someone will probably have had the same error before.

if you like the free stuff, there are some good and cheap courses on udemy (wait until sale when they cost about £15-18). Go for the ones with 20,000+ users - if people have problems they post on the forums and the course creators answer questions.

there should be coding groups for women around. It can be discouraging when you get lots of errors and your code won’t work - but persevere. The most likely cause is a typo (if you don’t type it exactly correct - including spaces and punctuation marks you often run into problems). At the beginning it seems a bit silly as you feel like you are just copying out something from the screen and practicising typing. It is supposed to be be like this! You learn by having errors, spotting them and fixing them. Good luck!

What free IT skills boot camps?

For most IT jobs, you need certification and these cost '000s and take months, plus firms want experience too.

I’ve 20+yrs in marketing and am retraining as an artist and doing the CAD gov boot camp, I’m 3 or 4 weeks in and it’s a superb course and should really help me long term!

You're correct about experience, but you don't necessarily have to IT certifications. I've never gone for any job that requires them, and I know a lot of people who don't have them. IT does cover a wide skill range though. So many different jobs.

You can't just go on these courses and get a well paid job at the end, you need work experience. There are computing graduates struggling to get into IT.

Agree that a lot of firms want experience BUT there are opportunities out there for someone just starting out - you just have to look on jobs websites for what employers in your area want and slowly build up your CV. It took me about 3-4 years building up skills in my spare time and keeping an eye on jobs websites before spotting the perfect opportunity. But I hadn’t done any specific courses. Some courses (often paid ones) will help match you up to firms interviewing for an entry level job.

I'm joining this thread as I am dabbling in coding and am applying for a Hyperion one at a RG university. I've enjoyed the application (mostly!) and wanting to learn more. I don't have any background in computing besides an interest as a child in some v basic BBC computer coding ;) and maths alevel, languages degree. I am currently employed in another industry working part-time and just exploring options really, but I'd like to learn more coding and study part-time to see where it leads.
I can see I am not a particularly appealing prospect compared to 20 odd year olds who have probably been coding from birth. But for me I'm enjoying it and have an interest (and a job elsewhere in the meantime) so it feels like a fairly low pressure way of testing the waters and considering if I might be suited to a career change.

I did one of these earlier in the year and thought it was crap tbh. Code First Girl courses, however, are fab!

Thank you for this thread @ChildcareIsBroken , I didn’t know the gov bootcamps existed!

I did one but then dh got ill and died so I’m only just going back to the recordings from jan.

One woman had her portfolio website ready to go and had multiple offers a week to the day after we completed the course. She said they were all interested in React which we covered.

@Fluffycloudland77 - so sorry about your husband. Best of luck with the rest of the course. LinkedIn is quite a good place to have a profile (lots of recruiters looking on there) - I think you might be able to put a link to a GitHub or personal projects.

Thanks, that's a really helpful perspective.

That sounds great. I'm glad you feel it's helpful already.

Good luck! I hope it'll help you.

I'll have a look at those.
Which one did you do?

I'm glad it helped. I found out myself only recently and also from Mumsnet.

I'm so sorry for your loss. And thank you for sharing your experience.