Indian Coding Bootcamps are a Scam
The story of Wolf Gupta, the fake child prodigy who landed a INR 20 crore package at Google from WhiteHat Jr wasn’t enough for Indians to learn that coding bootcamps are a scam, not just failures. Even now, there is a visible allure of these coding bootcamps and people expect to land jobs through them. In India, coding bootcamps have often been hailed as fast-track solutions to lucrative tech careers, promising high salaries and a path to success in an industry where demand for skilled professionals is growing. But when looking for shortcuts for high paying jobs as software engineers, these bootcamps offering fancy certificates are increasingly becoming synonymous with disappointment and frustration for their students. They claim that their students can expect average salaries of INR 10 LPA, with some graduates already being placed in well-known startups like Zomato, Swiggy, and Ola. But the reality is quite the opposite. One Reddit user, who joined a bootcamp a year ago, shared their experience, saying, “The average package they mentioned is far lower than the highest packages we are getting now; the highest package hovers somewhere around INR 3-4 LPA, and many of those are internships where you earn just 10k-15k for 6-9 months.” The Overhyped Job Market This discrepancy between expectations and reality has left many bootcamp graduates disillusioned. The promise of being “job-ready” within a short period is often unfulfilled, with many students remaining unemployed for months after completing the program. One comment encapsulated the problem: “We were told we would be job ready by now, we are not.” All of this is when the job market is probably going through its worst phase. One of the common marketing tactics used by bootcamps is to claim that the job market is booming, and tech companies are hiring aggressively. However, students quickly find that this is not the case. In reality, the Indian job market for tech roles is highly competitive, and the types of companies hiring are often small, poorly funded startups. According to one Reddit user, “The companies hiring are indeed startups, but they aren’t Zomato or Swiggy. A few of my friends found out these are poorly funded startups where you might not be paid for extended periods.” So you might land a job, but not the one you are hoping for. Another commenter echoed this sentiment, pointing out that these bootcamps are essentially “repackaged versions of the IIT dream,” but without the rigorous screening that makes top-tier educational institutions valuable in the eyes of employers. The Value of a Coding Background Despite the widespread claim that no coding background is required, those without prior experience often find themselves struggling to keep up with the curriculum. While there are always a few outliers who succeed, most students from non-tech backgrounds are left feeling unprepared for the job market. One user noted that bootcamps often highlight the success of these outliers to lure in new students, but the reality for the majority is much different. “People who are not from a coding background won’t be job-ready by the end of the course. Of course, there are outliers, but the rule is, you likely won’t be job-ready by the end.” Perhaps the most common complaint about coding bootcamps in India is the quality of education. Many students feel they could have gained more knowledge from free resources like YouTube or Udemy at a fraction of the cost. Bootcamps often advertise “industry experts” as instructors, but the reality is that many tutors are former students or recent graduates who lack real-world experience. “Good teachers are an outlier, bad ones are the rule.” “Their programs are often priced even higher than a four-year engineering degree—quite the achievement, really,” said Dr Vaibhav Kumar, senior director of AI/ML practice, at ADaSci, while sharing that he interviewed some candidates from such bootcamps, and they do not even understand the fundamentals of the field. Bootcamps are Definitely Not Worth It For many, the allure of bootcamps fades quickly, leaving them feeling duped. You will be charged extremely high amounts of money for a substandard education which is far inferior to content available for free on the internet. “Any promises they make and any dreams they carefully curate to you are the exception, not the rule,” said a developer. As more stories of disillusionment emerge, there’s a growing call for transparency and better regulation in the bootcamp industry. Some users have suggested that government intervention is necessary to curb the false advertising practices of these programs. One comment captures this frustration: “The government needs to step in and curb the false advertisement.” Additionally, potential students are urged to do their own research before enrolling in a bootcamp. The appeal of coding bootcamps lies in their promise of a quick, lucrative career change, but the reality for most students in India falls far short of this dream. There are enough resources in the market to do without these coding bootcamps in India, and building your GitHub profile, participating in Hackathons on MachineHack, and running for Kaggle, is the ideal way to be 10x engineers. “If you’re an ed-tech company, remember that you’ve chosen a unique profession. You’re not just selling to customers; you’re responsible for genuinely educating those who trust you with their learning,” Kumar added.
They claim that their students can expect average salaries of INR 10 LPA, with placements in Zomato, Swiggy, and Ola. But the reality is quite the opposite.
They claim that their students can expect average salaries of INR 10 LPA, with placements in Zomato, Swiggy, and Ola. Not really though.
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Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.