Hey Hacker News!<p>Wanted to get some input from a community familiar with the tech world about a decision I'm trying to make. I want to go into software/web development for a career, and with high school finishing up for me it seems I have two fairly reasonable paths I could take. One would be attending university and obtaining a bachelor's or master's degree in CS, the other is attending one of the well-regarded bootcamps or similar schools such as Hacker School in NYC. I've applied to a few of the bootcamps and have a few interviews coming up, but I'm not sure if attending one of these and building up a coding portfolio of my own is equivalent to a college degree in the tech industry, even if it probably should be equivalent or better. Another factor is the time and money involved. 3 months in a bootcamp or hacker school and less than $20,000 cost vs. 4 years of university and probably $60,000-80,000 of debt upon graduation. What do you guys think? Any input is appreciated!
Personally, I think a bootcamp or hacker school is best for people looking to make a career change. You're still young, if you can afford college I would go to a school with a good tech reputation, make friends, have fun and code in your free time.
I dont think neither are appropriate. You wont learn much from a rushed bootcamp and in college they only teach you basics. I strongly suggest learning on your own.