Programming is one of the most valuable skills for the 21st-century workforce. Beyond jobs as a coder or programmer, this skill can lead to lucrative software development positions, which offer high levels of freedom, creative fulfillment, and job satisfaction. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that growth rates for coding jobs will be over five times higher than the national average, giving developers great job security as well. All in all, it’s a career with great prospects and potential.
Breaking into the tech industry, however, can seem daunting—especially if you’re already employed in a different area. Luckily, you don’t need to quit your job to start working towards a new career in tech.
Part-time coding bootcamps are one of the most flexible, affordable, and accessible ways to kickstart a new career, and you can complete the entire thing without missing a day’s work. While there are tons of different courses out there to choose from, there’s no need to go out searching for yourself—we have all the industry leaders right here on this list. All you need to do is pick one with a schedule, teaching style, and support structure that suits your needs.
What Is a Part-Time Coding Bootcamp?
When you think of coding bootcamps, you might imagine a group of students huddled in a room of computers for 10 hours a day, five or six days a week. This is how most bootcamps used to be—in-person and intensive. As the market for bootcamps expanded, however, part-time versions of courses were created to improve accessibility and bring bootcamps to full-time employees and other busy people.
The idea is simple—you study the same curriculum and graduate with the same skills, but you just take a little longer to get there. Now that online coding bootcamps are more popular, part-time programs are a lot easier to find, and some providers design part-time-only courses for self-paced learners that need lots of flexibility.
What Makes a Good Part-Time Coding Bootcamp? Our Criteria Explained
We reviewed the best part-time coding bootcamps currently available using a pre-determined list of criteria vetted by our editors, with input from a panel of Springboard subject matter experts, mentors, and career coaches. We looked at the curriculum, experience of instructors and mentors, job placement assistance, reputation, practical projects, and certification of each of these bootcamp programs. From schedules and pricing to curriculums and delivery, the perfect online bootcamp looks very different from person to person.
Part-time coding bootcamps are all about flexibility. Their main goal is to make bootcamp education available to people with jobs and commitments that they can’t step away from for multiple months. The catch is making sure that flexibility doesn’t come at the cost of quality. Here’s what we look out for.
Updated Syllabus
Some bootcamp providers have already been in the business for more than five or six years, but the tech sector is not the same as it was that long ago. Designed to cater to an ever-evolving industry, bootcamps should be ever-evolving too. This means their course content needs to be updated regularly with new trends and tools.
Flexible Learning Options
All part-time courses need to offer flexible online learning options for students. Some are still fairly intensive and suited better to part-time workers, while others give enough freedom for even the busiest people. While some full-time bootcamp programs have compulsory attendance, it’s better for part-time bootcamps to offer more leeway.
Quality and Experience of Instructors
Bootcamp instructors aren’t just people with knowledge—they’re people with practical experience. To help you learn about the job and industry you want to enter, you want instructors who have worked in the industry themselves. We avoid adding programs to our lists that are known to hire instructors right out of school or without the necessary hands-on experience.
Practical Projects
Because bootcamps aim to send their graduates straight into entry-level roles, they need to focus on teaching practical coding skills to handle real-world tasks. The best way to do this is by building a rigorous curriculum around hands-on projects. The key is not just to learn technical skills but to learn exactly what each skill is for and how it’s used by experienced professionals on a daily basis.
Rating
This goes without saying, but we never include bootcamps on our list unless they have high ratings and positive reviews. This is highly important because quality can vary quite drastically between bootcamps, especially if you’re looking beyond the industry leaders into lesser-known schools. Ratings also take into account bootcamp costs and financing options.
Career Guidance and Job Support
Bootcamp education is meant to present an accelerated path into employment, which means career guidance and job placement assistance are just as important as the technical curriculum. Career modules, mock interview practice, personal branding, resume guidance, and other services are critical to helping students get a foot in the door of an industry that’s new to them.
Specialization
Coding bootcamps can cover a lot of ground and often focus on a specialization like full-stack web development, front-end and back-end development, app development, and so on. Some offer different specializations within the course, allowing students to choose which one they want to pursue. Those without a specialization are often focused on the foundations, aiming to teach students with no previous coding experience whatsoever. We focus on high-quality foundational bootcamps and courses with in-demand and thoroughly explored specializations.
Best Part-Time Coding Bootcamps
Here are our 11 best part-time coding bootcamps.
The Springboard Software Engineering Bootcamp was purposefully designed as a part-time, online course. It has a project-based curriculum that’s full of mini-projects and larger-scale undertakings. By the time you graduate, you’ll have a number of projects to start building your professional portfolio.
The workload is a healthy balance between intense and self-paced, requiring around 20-25 hours per week of study. At this pace, you can complete the 800 hours of content in around nine months.
You don’t need to run home for live online classes—everything you need is accessible at whatever time you want to study. Your mentor, career coach, and student advisor are there for 1-to-1 calls according to your schedule.
PRICE
$16,200
RATING
FEATURES
- 1-1 mentorship
- 100% online
- Personalized career services
- Project-based curriculum
- Flexible scheduling options
JOB GUARANTEE?
Yes
Fullstack Academy
Fullstack Academy’s Part-time Software Engineering Immersive aims to emulate its full-time program as closely as possible. It’s the same curriculum taught in much the same way, but classes are just held in the evening. Specifically, they’re every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6:30 pm-9:30 pm for 28 weeks.
The Fullstack Academy course is built on pair programming and instructor-led sessions and ends with a capstone project for you to test your hard and soft skills. The career success team will be available to you for a full year after graduation, helping you expand your portfolio projects, optimize your LinkedIn profile, and perfect your resume.
PRICE
$19,910
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Fully online
- Live interactive classes
- Career support
- No previous experience required
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Thinkful
Thinkful’s Part-Time Software Engineering Bootcamp is quite different from their full-time course. It costs less, it’s self-paced rather than live classes, and you don’t need to complete a prep course before you begin. You’ll study with pre-recorded versions of the lectures and have live video calls with your personal mentor. You can also choose to participate in optional office hours if you have questions for the instructor.
Overall, you’ll be expected to study for between 20-30 hours per week and complete the course in around six months. Part-time students also have access to personalized career coaching services, including LinkedIn, resume-writing support, and unlimited technical interview practice.
PRICE
$9,975
RATING
FEATURES
- 1-1 mentorship
- Optional live classes
- Career services
- Office hours
JOB GUARANTEE?
Yes
Nucamp
Nucamp courses aim to keep the collaborative nature of online bootcamps but combine it with ultimate flexibility. Around 8-14 hours per week will be self-paced and independent study, and once a week, you’ll meet up online for a four-hour workshop with your instructor.
You’ll also work on a portfolio of projects with your peers, and you can stay in touch throughout the week on a dedicated community channel. If you need extra guidance from an instructor, you can reach out to them in a private chat at any time during the week.
PRICE
$2,124
RATING
FEATURES
- 1-1 career coaching
- Weekly live workshops
- Self-paced content
- Collaborative projects
- On-demand support
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
BrainStation
BrainStation offers two part-time courses—their Web Development Bootcamp and their Software Engineering Bootcamp. The part-time schedule at BrainStation includes two live classes on weekday evenings and a full day of classes on Saturdays. The schedule is made up of lessons, guided work sessions, and collaborative work lessons. During the course, you’ll always be working on some kind of larger project and constantly putting newly acquired essential skills to the test.
Beyond the classroom, you can keep in touch with your classmates and instructors with BrainStation’s Slack community. You’ll also have access to personalized career services to help get you, your resume, and your non-technical interview skills ready for the big job search after graduation.
PRICE
$16,500
RATING
FEATURES
- 1-1 support
- Live evening and weekend classes
- Career support
- Hands-on workshops
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
General Assembly
General Assembly’s Flex version of their Software Engineering Immersive course is the same curriculum at a different pace. It takes 24 weeks to complete and features live classes and individualized instructor support. Once you’ve graduated, you’ll even have access to a pool of over 19,000 hiring partners to assist your job search.
Throughout the course, you’ll work on a number of projects that you can gather into your first portfolio, so you’re ready to show employers what you’re made of as soon as the job search starts.
PRICE
$16,450
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Live weekend and evening classes
- Fully online format
- Same curriculum as full-time
- Career coaching
- Hiring partners
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Codesmith
Codesmith’s Immersive Software Engineering curriculum is available in a remote, part-time bootcamp format that runs over 38 weeks. Live classes take place every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Codesmith focuses heavily on projects, with multiple small projects during the first half of the course, and a large open-source project that dominates the second half of the educational program. After graduation, you’ll have access to career support for the rest of your career, no matter how many jobs you get.
PRICE
$20,925
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Live classes on evenings and Saturdays
- Technical interview required
- Career services
- Fully online
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Udacity
Udacity offers a range of completely self-paced courses, including the Nanodegree Program for Front End Web Developers. It’s aimed at prospective students who already have a little bit of familiarity and programming experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The entire program takes around four months to complete when you spend 5-10 hours per week studying—so it’s suited for even the busiest of people.
Despite the independent format, you can still benefit from real-time support when you get stuck on something, and career specialists are on hand to review your portfolios and LinkedIn profile.
PRICE
$1,596
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Fully online
- Completely self-paced
- On-demand support
- Real-world projects
- Career services
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Actualize
The Actualize Software Engineering Bootcamp begins with a five-week prework course that you’ll complete on your own schedule. It features pre-recorded lectures and lessons from the company’s CEO and a set of exercises for you to complete each week. Learning the fundamentals of programming languages introduces you to a whole new world, and the time it takes to digest all the new concepts varies from person to person. That’s why it can be more effective and less stressful to tackle the first few weeks independently.
Once you’ve completed the prework, however, it will be time to jump head-first into an immersive live-leaning schedule. For part-time students, classes are held from 7 am-3 pm on Sundays, and 4 pm-7:30 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. After graduating, you’ll chat with your career advisor every other week and get access to as many mock interviews as you need.
PRICE
$15,900
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Live classes on evenings and Sundays
- Career support
- Independent prework
- Fully online
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Flatiron School
Flatiron School’s Part-Time Software Engineering Bootcamp runs at a leisurely pace compared to some other schools, taking 40 weeks to complete altogether. You can learn at your own pace with pre-recorded lessons and optional live lectures. If you need to chat, instructors hold optional office hours and are available on Slack along with your classmates.
Before starting live classes at Flatiron School, all prospective students have to complete a self-paced prep course that takes them through the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It takes around 60-80 hours to complete, and it’ll teach you everything you need to know for day one of the course.
PRICE
$17,900
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Fully online learning platform
- Self-paced learning
- Optional live lectures
- Optional office hours
- Slack server
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
DevMountain
DevMountain offers in-person software engineering bootcamps, which is quite rare in the bootcamp industry right now, especially part-time in-person courses. It also has an online version, though, so you can escape the commute if that’s what you prefer. The online part-time course runs live classes every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It takes between 24-36 weeks to complete, and you can choose from a foundations course that starts at the very beginning or an intermediate course that skips the basics and focuses on a large-scale project
PRICE
$9,900
RATING
FEATURES
- No 1-1 mentorship
- Online and in-person part-time options
- Live classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
- Beginner and intermediate courses
- Career services
JOB GUARANTEE?
No
Get To Know Other Software Engineering Students
Matthew Dillon
Front End Developer at LaunchBadge
Elena Nurullina
Junior Web Developer at G/O Media
Geraldo Gomes
Software Engineer at Affirm
Making the Most out of a Part-Time Coding Bootcamp
Preparation and accurate expectations will help you adjust to bootcamp life more quickly and get the most out of your experience. Here’s some useful information to keep in mind.
How Do Part-Time Coding Bootcamps Work?
Although some online coding bootcamps only have part-time options, most are adapted from a full-time curriculum. What full-time students study over six or seven weeks, part-time bootcamps spread across as many as 24-36 weeks. There are two main ways course providers approach this: by figuring out a flexible live class schedule during evenings and weekends, or by transitioning to a self-paced teaching style with pre-recorded lessons and optional live lectures.
The first option aims to keep the intensive and collaborative elements of the full-time bootcamp by simply rescheduling classes to avoid the 9 am-5 pm slot on weekdays. The second is designed for self-studiers who want to take their classes at a slower pace and remain able to deal with any personal commitments that pop up.
Are There Any Prerequisites for a Coding Bootcamp?
There are prerequisites for some software engineering bootcamps. Three common patterns you’ll see are:
- Bootcamps aimed at complete beginners
- Bootcamps with some basic knowledge requirements and an optional prep course to help you meet those requirements
- Intermediate bootcamps that test your technical knowledge during the admissions process
- Bootcamps that prefer students with a high school diploma
Most bootcamps assess applicants on critical and analytical thinking to see how suited they are for the course. Just about everyone has the potential to master these skills if they’re willing to work hard, so everything will be fine as long as you read up on the skills tests and take them seriously.
What Should You Expect To Learn During a Coding Bootcamp?
Coding bootcamps, even part-time bootcamps, are packed full of new concepts to learn and in-demand skills to master. While curriculums vary depending on the provider and specialization you choose, there are some common topics you can expect to learn.
- Programming fundamentals: This includes concepts like variables, data types, control structures, functions, and object-oriented programming principles.
- Web development: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the core technologies taught in full-stack development modules, along with frameworks like React or Angular.
- Back-end web development: This covers server-side technologies such as Node.js, Express.js, and databases like SQL or NoSQL.
- Version control: This focuses on version control, collaboration, and code management with Git and GitHub.
- Algorithms and data structures: These are crucial for efficient problem-solving in software development. Some courses may also touch on machine learning.
- Testing and debugging: Testing techniques and troubleshooting errors are critical skills for any type of programmer.
- Deployment and hosting: Some modules may include deploying web applications to hosting platforms.
- Career studies: Many bootcamps end with modules on job search strategies such as resume writing, networking, and interview practice to help you reach your career aspirations.
What Jobs Can You Get After a Part-Time Coding Bootcamp?
Part-time online coding bootcamps can prepare you for an entry-level role in a number of areas. In other words, you aren’t limited to the job title attached to the course itself. Here are some examples of positions you can apply for after a part-time coding bootcamp:
- Junior software engineer
- Junior full-stack developer
- Junior software developer
- Junior UI/UX designer
- Junior data analyst
- Junior DevOps engineer
- Junior mobile app developer
- Junior QA engineer
- Junior front-end developer
- Junior back-end developer
- Junior game developer
- Junior security analyst
You can also transition into careers in tech that benefit from technical knowledge but don’t focus completely on it. This could include roles like technical product management, where you manage the products being worked on by teams of developers. Alternatively, you could get into technical writing, which involves writing up technical documentation for product features.
Starting a Coding Career Through a Bootcamp: Real-Life Examples To Inspire You
Here are some videos from real people that have completed bootcamps and found dream jobs in tech. They won’t tell you it’s going to be easy, but they do have some useful advice to help you through your own journey (we also have an entire post on jobs you can land after a coding bootcamp).
Tiff in Tech
Tiff is a bootcamp graduate that succeeded in getting a software engineering job. Check out her realistic advice and experience with the workload, timelines, and how easy it is to complete a bootcamp and land a job.
Emily Dowgialo
Emily also graduated from a coding bootcamp and landed a role as a full-stack developer—but she admits it wasn’t easy. Any career change takes a lot of hard work and perseverance, and she has plenty of tips from her own experiences.
FAQs About Part-Time Coding Bootcamps
We’ve got the answers to your most frequently asked questions.
Are Coding Bootcamps Stressful?
Bootcamps definitely have the potential to get stressful. You’re learning new things, talking and presenting to new people, making mistakes, and you have a lot of different tasks, projects, and homework to juggle. Even if you’re comfortable with a lot of these things, doing so much of it all at once can get intense. The good news is, that’s how it’s meant to be! There’s no need to get discouraged if you find things difficult, and it doesn’t mean you’re not up to the task or falling behind.
How Long Does It Take To Get a Job After a Coding Bootcamp?
There are no guarantees when it comes to job hunting, but there are trends and averages you can look at. If you’re wondering about the job outcomes of a specific bootcamp you’re looking at, you can check to see if they release a report or publish numbers on its website. In general, many bootcamps that offer a refund to students who don’t find employment have a job search period of six months. This means they expect most of their eligible bootcamp grads to find a job within this time frame.
What Is a Realistic Salary To Expect After a Coding Bootcamp?
This depends a lot on where you are, what kind of specialization your bootcamp had, and the role you land. The annual salary for the first year of a back-end development role is $91,125; for mobile app developers, it’s $71, 575; for professional web developers, it’s $64,485; for software engineers, it’s $104,914. If you’re aiming for a six-figure salary, it’s worth looking into the highest-paid areas and what bootcamp specializations will help you get the right hard and soft skills.
Since you’re here…
Interested in a career in software engineering? Join our mentor-led Software Engineering Bootcamp or our foundational Software Engineering Course if you’re just starting out. We help people make the switch every day (just peep our reviews). You can do it, too!
