Really wish I could fast forward to working as a developer professionally... the learning process takes forever and I'm so anxious and sick of the job I'm at...

I know exactly how you feel - I spent two years working at a company that's probably best described as the "white trash of retail" in order to save up for the boot camp I'm now on.

It will be worth the effort in the end, so don't give up! If you can afford it, going the boot camp route is definitely worth it - it will massively accelerate your learning and the decent ones will help you find a job afterwards.

That's actually my exact situation haha. I'm working at a shitty retail job while saving up for a really awesome bootcamp. Glad to hear someone else in the same scenario. I've heard good and bad about bootcamps but I feel like it's a good way to go for myself specifically.

Yeah, you're definitely not alone in what you are doing. Bootcamps can be a bit of a mixed bag so make sure you so your research. Make sure they teach TDD and agile and try to find out what sort of companies hire from them.

Check if there's an entrance test and what the acceptance rate is - only about 10% of applicants make it onto my course and they have some of the best companies in the UK as hiring partners. It's your hard earned cash at the end of the day so you don't want to waste it on some half baked course.

@FoolsGambit that's solid advice I'll definitely make sure to look into them further.

@phexter there are 2 of them I've looked at and they seem awesome solely because they don't really teach you just basics. They both give you a entrance test at the beginning that shows you know the basics, then they focus on building you up from there. Other than that I still need to research them more, cause at the end of the day, you're totally right I'd have no idea if they are good or not.

@phexter yes, that's true. My intention was to point out that a good boot camp is a great way to get you into a position where you are job ready.

Theres a big focus on my boot camp about teaching people how to self teach and learn effectively in a short period of time so you can pick up the tech stack at a new company and become productive as quickly as possible. They also help you develop a continued learning plan in the last couple of weeks and alumni are encouraged to keep in touch and reach out for help if needed.

As for how I know that the course is good, I'm pretty far in now so I have a pretty good grasp of what I'll walk out with skill wise. There's also seeing what kind of companies hire from the boot camp. Compare the market, thoughtworks, the financial times and Kurt Geiger are a few of the regular employers that jump to mind ☺