Bootcamps Are a Tough Business

I started in the coding bootcamp industry around 2014. It was a lot of fun; a real breath of fresh air compared to consulting. At first a teacher, I eventually moved into management at a couple of different bootcamps.

One feeling that's stuck with me is that running a private school, especially one focusing on fields like software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, etc., is a really tough business. Actually, I'm still not sure how anyone makes a significant profit in this space, but maybe that's not the point for all organizations? Hmm...

Your students always need more resources. How well a group of students did usually looked like a bell curve: a few were excelling, most were getting by, and a few were really struggling. For the latter two groups, they needed more time and more support. But both are expensive for a bootcamp, especially when the whole model is about churning out graduates who are around the same level of qualification, all at the same time, every 3-6 months, while maintaining a constant student-teacher ratio that is based on... who knows? I can't help but feel worried when I think about this business model.

For on-site programs, the ratio was between 1:8 and 1:16, with 1:12 being the sweet spot. Back in the day, on-site, you were paying a minimum of $150,000/year for a senior teacher, and bringing in $20,000 * let's say 12 students, every 3 months:

$20,000 * 12 students * (12 months / 3 months) = $960,000

$960,000 - $150,000 = $810,000 gross profit

Ah, but wait a minute. On paper, this seems to check out quite nicely. Some of the reasons it didn't in practice, during my time:

• Miscellaneous operational costs (computers, parties, events)
• Students not able to become qualified in their 3-month window (repeats)
• Problems collecting payment
• Ebbs and flows in demand for the program
• Increase in competition from the proliferation of bootcamps
• Accommodating ADA students is very expensive
• Potential fines from the NYS Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision
• Calling in the cleaners when someone comes down with meningitis

For online programs, the student-teacher ratio was a little wider, perhaps upwards of 1:20? I can't quite remember. An increase in the number of students served and the reduction of operational costs make this a bit "easier" of a business. It appears the online programs I'm aware of reflect this: they seem to be doing well.

What's the future of bootcamps? Maybe a better question is what is the future of education? I think bootcamps have done some great things in pushing traditional higher education to realize that it's not just about the pedigree anymore, but actual results. This is evidenced by most universities now having some sort of offering like a bootcamp.

Bootcamps have done a lot of good, and some of the results I've seen have been absolutely wonderful. But like anything, including their traditional counterparts, they'll have to continue to evolve.