Refactored: My Attempt at Breaking into Tech During the Rise of the Coding Boot Camp

by Sean Rogers

Thirty-nine years old, laid off from a bookstore, and working in the backroom of a grocery, Sean Rogers thought the time was right to start his career as a software developer. The only he knew nothing about technology. Just the opposite, he held on to CD players and flip phones long past the point of prudence.

Enter Tech Elevator, an in-person coding boot camp boasting a 92% job placement. Welcome to 14 weeks of intensive education, larger-than-life characters, and a bumbling yet inspiring attempt at becoming a programmer.

As more people than ever begin looking for new careers, interest in coding boot camps has surged as a replacement for the traditional four-year degree. " My Attempt at Breaking into Tech During the Rise of the Coding Boot Camp" is a wild, funny, stressful insider’s look on a movement that is changing the face of education the world over.

Genres: Memoir

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2021

About the author

Sean Rogers is a software developer and a writer living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Kelsey Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible! I really wish more people were writing memoirs about their experiences in coding bootcamps. It's the Wild Wild West right now with all these bootcamps cropping up, and the experience of going through a coding bootcamp is the very definition of an interesting story.

I loved all the observational character details about the different students in the bootcamp and the staff members. Very on point haha! I've been through a coding bootcamp myself, and I definitely recognized a lot of the same sorts of people haha. Love it.

Overall, very instructive and inspiring. And just damn good writing! One of the best nonfiction books I’ve read in years. I loved how Sean set up exactly where he was in life before starting the bootcamp with his family needs, health problems, and financial challenges. Really set the stakes and made me feel like I was right there with him on his journey.

[Sara Burriesci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on a whim after seeing an ad for it on Facebook, and I absolutely loved it. The best parts are the descriptions of the author's classmates. I was really rooting for them all.

[Thomas Ryan Leibrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

I am 38 and was considering a coding boot camp and now i definitely want to do this. Good book.

[Lēna]

It’s an interesting account on the coding boot camp experience and was motivating on many levels. I have nothing to do with coding whatsoever. I only took one coding class before in college which was on C programming but hardly remember much of it.
The book made coding a lot more exciting and accessible in my eyes than my class had ever managed to do though I had a very good professor.
I thought it offered a simple intro that had been missing before. That is, a look into the big picture of coding in simple terms.
It wasn’t an absolutely elaborate account on coding, which is better since it’s a memoir and would lose its flavor otherwise.

Though I do have to note that there was some parts and aspects that I didn’t like: such as the too excessive swearing, for example : it took away from the quality of a well-formed book.
And some others that I’d not like to mention ‘cause they’re not a part of a constructive critique.

I loved the parts on coding the most.

[Davetropeano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining Quick Read

Fast paced memoir that tells the positive side of the coding boot camp phenomenon. The irony is that the one code example in the book has a logic mistake or typo. Regardless, this was an entertaining story. Bootcamps are the 21st century version of technical institutes with the added piece that they are challenging the need for a four year degree to get an entry level programming job. This is a story of hope worth reading.

[Christian Burchfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, quick read! I am always a bit skeptical of programs that basically "guarantee" a job upon completion, so it was interesting to get the perspective of an insider, especially since the experience seemed to be largely positive (though challenging). As a fellow yinzer, I particularly enjoyed all the Pittsburgh references...there's just something fun about being able to say "hey, I know that place!" while following along with the story.

[Marc94 · Rating 5 out of 5]

While there was an error with at least the first code example (> instead of < was used, if I recall correctly), I found this to be a really engaging and entertaining read. I had considered a coding bootcamp too around this time, so it was also interesting seeing how one of them supposedly played out.

[Gio Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Loved this book . It was very relatable and humorous. I felt anxious for the narrator and couldn't wait to see if the boot camp was successful for him or not.