Are Java Bootcamps Worth It?

You can choose between many options when studying Java, each with different benefits and drawbacks. The best option depends on how well you need to know the language, your prior coding experience, your available time, and your education budget. For some students, bootcamp courses are their ideal intersection between speed and completeness, presenting thorough, professional instruction in a focused, fast format. A Java bootcamp teaches enough about Java to use the language in most career settings while excluding unnecessary details. This article discusses how bootcamps compare to other learning methods for Java.

What is Java?

Java is an open-source programming language and computing platform created at Sun Microsystems in 1995, now supported by Oracle. It is a high-level, general-purpose language, designed so that a programmer can write an application once and run it on any device with Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software. This wide utility makes Java one of the world’s most popular programming languages, used to create web, mobile, and desktop applications, web and database servers, machine learning systems, and smart appliances. Java is an object-oriented language, allowing programmers to build projects faster by using shared code libraries and reusing previous code. Java’s syntax is highly similar to C++ and C#, which makes it easier to learn, and its long history and consistent popularity have generated many resources for learning and support. Other programming languages have also been adapted to run on the Java platform, making it a useful system for coders to understand even if they do not primarily write in Java.

What Can You Do With Java?

Programmers can use Java to create software for most platforms, including web, mobile, and desktop applications. Software products created with Java include video games; social media and entertainment platforms; ride-sharing, hospitality, delivery, and other service scheduling apps; mathematical software; and research software for measurement, experimental control, and data analysis. Businesses seek Java programmers to create and maintain enterprise applications to manage their operations, including tasks like inventory management, service scheduling, and retail sales. Java also supports cloud storage and processing, enabling more distributed services. Similarly, Java programmers can write code to operate web servers, database servers, and smart devices. Java-powered devices include home security systems, smart appliances, self-driving vehicles, and robots. Java-based applications were at the forefront of early Big Data and continue to be significant among data mining, machine learning, and generative programs. Java programmers now build many chatbots, search assistants, and other expert systems.

Why Learn Java in a Bootcamp?

Bootcamps are an intermediate option among live instructional courses, more thorough than short classes but less complete than professional certificate programs. Java bootcamps are the best option for students seeking a complete grounding in the fundamental elements of Java coding plus training in its professional uses in the shortest possible time. Bootcamps are often centered around a particular career, and Java bootcamps usually specialize in web development, mobile development, machine learning, or other popular uses of the language. Bootcamps also typically provide career support, including applied projects useful for a starting portfolio, employment advice, and placement assistance. However, other training options have their own advantages, and students should consider these alternatives to see if they prefer a bootcamp versus another type of course.

Bootcamps Compared to College

Few college courses teach Java alone. Instead, degree programs such as computer science, software development, web development, or data science will include Java as part of a more comprehensive, multi-year course of study. For students who only intend to learn Java, a full degree course is far longer and more involved than they need. Even students who want to learn Java to pursue a career like software development might find the expense and length of a college degree unmanageable. Still, if your interest in Java is part of a larger educational and career plan, one that justifies the cost and effort of college study, a degree program might be preferable. A college degree program provides additional detail and practice unavailable in a bootcamp or other career training courses. Many degree programs also do not expect prior programming knowledge and include lessons in basic computer science. Finally, college courses extend over longer durations, allowing more time for practice and guidance, whereas bootcamps progress quickly and require students to practice outside of class to keep up with their quick pace.

Some universities and colleges do offer shorter professional training programs of one or two years, which include a smaller number of courses. These programs tend to be focused on a specific skill set, such as web development. While shorter and less expensive than a full degree program, these courses still include more subjects than Java alone and are still considerably more expensive than a bootcamp. Some institutions do offer individual courses on Java, usually through their continuing adult education programs. These courses are similar to certificate programs offered by technical training schools and are still longer and more costly than a bootcamp. These courses also offer fewer scheduling options, constrained by the host school’s personnel and calendar.

In comparison, a Java bootcamp will primarily cover the language itself, limiting its advanced lessons to a few necessary techniques and tools. This selection is guided by a bootcamp’s focus, which is usually a particular type of project or career related to Java. Java bootcamps also streamline their introductory material, avoiding lengthy discussions of theory or comparative computing. These omissions make bootcamps faster and shorter by avoiding topics unrelated to their goal. While this extra information can be interesting and might be useful for certain work, it is unnecessary for most career-focused students. 

Thanks to their shorter length, bootcamps can be scheduled more often and offer more potential dates for students. Plus, many bootcamps offer part-time scheduling options, with shorter, less frequent class sessions that allow students to maintain their employment while studying. Bootcamps are far less expensive than a single semester of college instruction, yet bootcamp courses often have expert instructors and advisors comparable to a college program. 

Bootcamps Compared to Self-Paced Courses

Another option for Java study is self-paced courses, which may also be called on-demand or asynchronous study. These courses teach Java through pre-recorded video lectures supplemented with written manuals. These materials can be downloaded and viewed at a student’s convenience, allowing them to study and complete exercises at any available time. Self-paced study removes the limitation of a fixed schedule, making it an ideal option for students who cannot commit to a fixed schedule. Other students may wish to progress more slowly to allow themselves more time for practice and retention. Still others, especially those already familiar with another programming language, may want to work faster than possible in a live course. However, the absence of a live instructor can slow many self-paced students. While most self-paced courses include feedback options like phone appointments, email, chat rooms, and/or message boards, getting answers and advice through these routes is always slower than in a live classroom.

In trade for lacking a live instructor, self-paced classes are less expensive than live ones. Some self-paced courses are even as thorough as bootcamps, covering the same topics with similar examples, exercises, and practice projects. Unlike bootcamps, students can take as long as they need to understand each concept before moving on. On-demand programs may also offer optional lessons that expand a course to include additional advanced topics and allow students to customize their education.

Students must be careful, however, not to let the unscheduled convenience of a self-paced course delay their completion. Some on-demand courses charge on a subscription basis, meaning that taking longer to finish the necessary classes requires more payments. Other self-paced courses have a maximum time limit, and students who do not finish in time must re-purchase the whole course. Several factors can slow self-paced students. The absence of immediate feedback is the primary difficulty, since coding errors are difficult to diagnose alone, especially for novices, and early mistakes can persist if not corrected quickly. Working alone, on an irregular schedule, also provides less motivation than regularly scheduled classes with others present. Compared to students in live classes, self-paced students must be more resourceful, managing their own focus, motivation, and reference materials.

For students who can manage these challenges, self-paced courses are a useful option, especially if they cannot meet the scheduling demands or expense of a live class. However, Java bootcamps have several further advantages over self-paced study. First, live classes include more current information about their subject, while pre-recorded lessons are updated more slowly. Second, an expert instructor can provide direct advice and guidance based on their experience. Third, bootcamps ensure fast completion in a specific time frame, sped by instructor feedback and streamlined lesson plans. Finally, bootcamps provide more career preparation and guidance than self-paced courses, including discussions about potential employers, advice for interviews, and help building a portfolio. The best self-paced classes may include some discussion of career planning but rarely address individual students’ concerns.

Bootcamps Compared to Free Training Options

After more than 30 years of regular use, Java has accumulated a wealth of free online resources including virtual textbooks, interactive websites, and video tutorials. Most of these resources are introductions to Java or discussions of individual topics like advanced techniques or coding frameworks. Video lessons are available on social media sites like YouTube, coding and technical schools like Codeacademy and freeCodeCamp, and general teaching sites like Udemy and Coursera. Free tutorials can also be found on Java-specific websites like LearnJavaOnline.org and Java Code Geeks. These resources are most useful for new students investigating Java but also include material that helps experienced programmers learn more.

These resources are available free of charge, but as a consequence, they lack most of the advantages of paid courses. Most importantly, having no paid instructor, free resources provide little to no feedback. Students must look up answers to their questions, diagnose their mistakes, and maintain their own scheduling and motivation, all of which will slow progress even with the best free lessons. Free resources also rarely provide any guarantee of instructional quality or accuracy. Free lessons from well-reputed coding schools are more likely to be of good quality, but in turn, these offerings are usually limited, provided as demonstrations to encourage visitors to purchase a complete course. Like self-paced classes, pre-recorded free lessons can become outdated and are certainly less current than live instruction. Free lessons on social media rarely provide an organizational structure, requiring viewers to sort out the relationships between topics. Finally, free study programs rarely provide any career guidance, cannot verify students’ accomplishments, and include no career support.

The best use of free resources is to gain an initial understanding of Java’s features and uses, which can help students decide if they want to learn more or pursue a Java-related career. Free lessons can also be a supplement to other Java classes, providing additional perspective, examples, and coding challenges to build students’ experience. Current Java programmers might find free tutorials useful when researching unfamiliar tools or coding techniques. However, gaining full competence in Java from free resources alone is difficult, due to their many limitations. To reach the proficiency required to use Java professionally, students need a comprehensive, formal course of study from a qualified instructor.

Learn Java with Noble Desktop

NextGen Bootcamp hosts a Java Programming Summer Program both live online and in-person in New York City. This bootcamp course teaches professional Java coding to high school and college students. The course takes about two weeks on a full-time schedule, beginning with an introduction to programming that grounds each concept with its corresponding uses in Java. Students then continue through lessons on more complex topics like file management, object-oriented programming, and recursion. In addition to class instruction, students receive a proprietary workbook, complete practical projects, and can review the recordings of each class session. After completing this program, students receive a verified digital certificate.

For adult learners, Noble Desktop offers online Java Private Tutoring in three-hour increments. This instruction is 1-on-1 and personalized to each student. Though designed primarily for beginners with little or no programming experience, the tutoring program progresses quickly to higher-level programming concepts and includes a complete, original project suitable for a starting portfolio. Students can also use this course to prepare for further computer science studies.

Another high-level, general-purpose programming language, Python, is used for many of the same purposes as Java. Students interested in Java coding in fields like web development, software engineering, or data analysis might also want to learn Python. Noble Desktop offers two live online bootcamp courses on Python, available individually or as a single combined bootcamp: Python for Data Science and Python Machine Learning. 

Noble Desktop’s Python for Data Science Bootcamp has no prerequisites and begins with an introduction to Python itself. After covering the language’s core concepts, terms, and syntax, the course addresses coding techniques through sample tasks like data collection, analysis, and visualization. This bootcamp includes lessons on several related Python libraries: NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib. The Python Machine Learning Bootcamp may be taken separately but requires prior experience coding in Python and using its NumPy and Pandas libraries. This class teaches several machine learning algorithms through examples and projects coded in Python. It also addresses the theory and practice of machine learning, including data cleanup and organization, algorithm selection, and evaluation of learning performance. Both individual bootcamps take about one week on a full-time schedule, and each includes one 1-on-1 mentoring session with an instructor. The combined Python Data Science & Machine Learning Bootcamp, which takes around three to four weeks on a full-time schedule, covers both individual bootcamps and then adds additional units on automation in Python, advanced data visualization, and interactive elements. The combined bootcamp also includes four 1-on-1 mentoring sessions. All three bootcamps come with proprietary workbooks, award students a certificate upon completion, and may be retaken once within a year.