Why do Part-Timers Struggle to Learn to Code?

Before founding San Diego Code School, I was the Chief Academic Officer at a coding bootcamp program that offered a part-time option. The information I am going to share is from my observation of students from many cohorts over the past two years. I am sharing my thoughts with the hope it will help students make an informed decision about how they can successfully learn to code in a short period.

TLDR; While I think part-time programs can work, it's not a great fit for the majority of students. A part-time accelerated coding program is tricky at best. Painfully discouraging and ineffective at worst.

There are two main reasons most people may think they want to learn part-time:

1. Fear of making a mistake and winding up unemployed if they quit a job to go back to school.
2. Not wanting to make the changes in lifestyle a full-time immersive program requires.

The concept of learning to code part-time comes up a lot in response to the fears people have, NOT because it is a good solution. It's reasonable to assume the best outcomes come from students that focus on school full-time, and so given that option, most people would choose it. But, it also seems reasonable to assume that a part-time program would be the most natural fit for most working adult's current lifestyle.

After all, if you don't have to quit your job, you can hedge your bet a bit in case things don't work out, right? I thought the same until I had a larger sample size of experience from which to draw different conclusions.

Many people exploring the idea of an immersive program have perhaps taken a few classes already, have been self-teaching themselves, or have some level of prior experience coding. These are all great methods to learn to code. They just take a long time and are entirely different from a part-time program. Most part-time immersive programs are different because the promise is that in a more extended period than the full-time program, students will be able to achieve the same outcomes. These part-time programs typically run 24 to 36 weeks instead of 12 weeks.

I learned (after considerable effort managing the classroom experience) that part-time enrollment doesn't work well for most students. Part-time code programs make it much more difficult to commit the required focus and energy to realize success. While students enthusiastically want the option and are willing to enroll in high numbers, they don't do as well. In my opinion, part-time programs are less likely to lead to excellent outcomes. The goal of job readiness in a short period is much harder to reach. My previous students would begin with great intentions and make promises, to themselves and the instructors, about how hard they would work. But even the best of intentions was not enough for most to execute. Don't get me wrong, it can be done, but most students are not willing to be as diligent, resourceful, and gritty as necessary to make it work. More of our students would have likely been successful in a full-time program.

I've had many candidates ask "Can't I just take night classes?".

Learning to code is really hard; I mean really, really, hard. It requires a lot of mental energy, and most people just don't have it after they have worked an 8-hour day. Imagine how exhausted you typically feel at the end of a work day, and then imagine that every day you still have to commute to class and do something very hard for 4 more hours.

It is often compared to night school or taking a night class at your community college, but it's not the same. Learning to code is much harder than an evening undergrad class at a community college. Much... much harder. It requires concentration, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration with others. These skills demand energy and are tough to do well, especially when you are tired.

Or candidates ask "Why can't I code 3 days a week and work the rest?"

Learning to code requires practice and repetition. You need a ton of time with your hands on the keyboard. You need to be coding every day to get traction.

It's tough for us to reinforce the small daily habits we know employers are looking for, like being on time and accountability. Let's face it, your boss is going to ask you to stay late, or there will be traffic or any number of reasons why you are more likely to not be able to get to class on time if you've already put in a full day of work. I'm not going to give students a hard time for being late if they are trying to pay the bills, but the student is NOT receiving all the benefits of the program by struggling to balance work with the challenges of learning to be a developer.

Is learning to code a priority?

With a part-time program learning to code is taking a back seat to everything else. It's not a high enough priority for most, and it needs to be to learn in a short period. If priorities are family, work, then school, there will undoubtedly always be conflicts and tough decisions to be made about where to be and how to juggle priorities. The most successful students I have had were the ones that prioritized school and sometimes use part-time work as a means to get through school.

The value of an immersive program is that you are "immersed," not partially, but entirely. You have your hands on the keyboard 10-12 hours per day for 3 months straight. That leads to excellent outcomes.

Students that go to through a part-time program don't spend as much time before and after class with their cohort. A class may end late in the evening, and folks are ready to get to bed so they can work the next day. Or you are spending only part of the week on campus. It's tough to build strong collaborative relationships with fellow classmates when you don't get a chance to grab a bite to eat, hang out and chat, and generally interact on a more human level outside of class hours every single day. I observed students in evening classes talking more during class about their lives and stresses of work. This was often a distraction and source of negativity that isn't needed when others are trying to stay focused and get classwork done.

And all the while, slowly the pain builds.

Initially there may not be enough pain or the issues I have already described just don't seem obvious, but eventually, it comes. The experience is hard, but just not hard enough at the very beginning. So even with pure angelic intentions, many quickly realized they were not making progress as fast as they would like. Then the stress of the work also begins to take its toll. Like a frog in boiling water, by the time you realize you are getting cooked, you can't escape. Eventually, many students just want the pain to end. And these same students are not as concerned about the outcomes at that point. They don't care about being prepared for the job. They are working to get to completion, to earn a certificate, instead of mastery of a set of skills that will be needed to shine during a technical interview.

Why not just self-study if you want to go slower?

I'm convinced that the majority of students that were successful as night students could have learned on their own if they had taken the same amount of time. Take 1-2 years to learn in the evening and weekends on your own. You can learn to code without attending a certificate program. It has its own unique challenges, but it is doable.

I realize that a lot of folks want mentorship and guidance to study, but the alternative to a full-time class is not necessarily a part-time program.

So, can it be done?

In fairness, there were success stories that I saw in the previous program. Most of them were students that quit part time and joined full-time at the point where they realized it wasn't working for them. There were a few that got jobs and left the program early once they got a foot in the door. Unfortunately, everyone else dropped out. A large number of students just stopped coming to class - which is understandable, since they didn't have as much skin in the game. They quit school and kept working at their jobs. It's been unfortunate to see, but learning to code is not for everyone.

For those interested in forming a plan to transition from working a job to enrolling in a full-time program for a career change feel free to contact me on LinkedIn. In my next post I'll share a few ways to game plan. I'll share tips for success based on what I've seen work for a lot of people in the past.