Just realized I wasted $200 on a coding bootcamp prep course

I thought I needed this fancy prep course before starting a real bootcamp. It was $200 for videos and exercises that basically just covered HTML tags and basic CSS. Then my buddy showed me freeCodeCamp which does the same stuff for free. I wish I had just jumped into the free resources first instead of spending money to get motivated. Has anyone else bought prep materials they regret?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_burns9d ago

Read an article that said most bootcamps expect you to come in with zero coding knowledge anyway... so these prep courses are just preying on people's fear of being behind. The money's gone but at least you learned the lesson early before shelling out for the $15k bootcamp itself. freeCodeCamp is legit, I know people who went through their whole curriculum and got jobs without ever paying a dime.

michael_williams8d ago

Alright, man. I call B.S. on the idea that this is some kind of "life lesson." Losing money on a stupid prep course is just losing money. It's not a Deep Learning Experience. You could have gotten that same "lesson" by watching a few YouTube tutorials and donating twenty bucks to a random charity. People just love to turn every dumb mistake into some profound wisdom. Losing 500 bucks on a course you didn't need doesn't make you smarter, it just means you're down 500 bucks. Let's not pretend it's some kind of character building moment.

ivan4628d agoTop Commenter

Feels you on this one. @ray_burns is right too, those prep courses are basically just feeding on anxiety. I've seen so many people drop cash on them thinking they're gonna fall behind if they don't, and it's just a waste. It's not a life lesson, it's just a crappy purchase. People online love to act like every bad decision is some spiritual growth moment, but sometimes you just made a dumb call and it cost you. Hope you bounce back fast and don't beat yourself up over it.