The Return on Investment for Bootcamps

When you enroll in a bootcamp, you usually expect something from it — typically, a better job. Now, what that can look like can vary. Some people want more meaning in their work. Some people want a higher paycheck. And some people want a job that covers the bills without asking them to spend all their time away from their loved ones.

In any case, you want your investment to pay off. So let’s actually talk about it. Here’s a no-nonsense look at the return on investment for bootcamps.

All right, let’s talk prices

The first thing to tackle when we’re examining return on investment (ROI) is, well, the investment. So how much is it gonna cost? The answer is: it varies. Here’s a chart for some info*:

* You can also take out loans to finance a bootcamp education, but the precise terms of these loans will vary person-by-person, so we can’t give hard numbers for that here.

** The specific duration of the longest installment plan varies by program.

So, why the variance? Well, each of our programs lasts a different amount of time. For example, the Software Engineering bootcamp spans 10 months. The longer it is, the more you’re going to be interacting with our experts, and thus the more expensive it’ll be. In addition, complexity also matters. That’s why Data Science and Cyber Security are also priced in the top tier while being eight months long and seven months long, respectively. The material itself asks more from students and TripleTen experts alike. That leads to, once again, more hands-on time.

And this time with our experts goes far beyond simple tech tool tutorials. Naturally, we have instructors who will guide you through all of the increasingly complex skills and knowledge you’ll need for the world of tech. But we also have tutors, code reviewers, learning coaches, career coaches, and many, many more people who will help you go from wherever you are to having the greatest chances possible of landing a job in tech.

We were about to move on to the next section, but we’re going to just underline this. TripleTen can be viewed as a bunch of programs wrapped into one unified get-hired package. In fact, one of our Business Intelligence Analytics (BIA) students had this to say: 

Basically you have the BIA bootcamp, and then you follow it up with a whole separate Career Acceleration bootcamp. Drew Self, TripleTen grad

For full clarity, we now weave Career Acceleration into our programs much earlier, but the sentiment remains the same. Not only do you get instruction and hands-on feedback from experts in the field, you also benefit from guidance from career coaches who can help you craft and hone the professional artifacts such as your resume, LinkedIn profile, and portfolio. In addition, they’ll help you prep for interviews of all sorts — from the first intro interview all the way to the tech interview.

So that price tag covers much, much more than just tech skills and knowledge. It covers an all-in-one, comprehensive job-focused package.

What you’ll earn on the other side

But let’s get back to some numbers. After all, it is easiest to talk about ROI based on paychecks. So we’ll start out here. Here’s some data for you*:

And for ease of comparison, here’s a chart comparing the costs to the salary growth:

* You don’t see UX/UI Design or Cyber Security here because we launched them only partway through last year, and so we don’t have robust data on student outcomes yet.

Based on that data, here’s what the ROI looks like:

No matter what, within the first year of landing a job thanks to TripleTen, you’ll more than cover the cost of the bootcamp.

But that’s just in the first year. The investment doesn’t stop paying off.

A quick hypothetical to show what we mean

Let’s take a pair of twins: Ari and Blake. For the sake of the thought experiment, they’ve kindly done everything exactly the same — they even ended up in the same job, making the exact same salary. 

However, on their 29th birthday, Blake decides to go for TripleTen’s Software Engineering program, pays with the longest installation plan, and lands the absolute median job as described in the data above. In the first year, sure, Ari’s not regretting the choice to stay put — after all, in absolute terms, Blake’s only earned $480 more.

But once the bootcamp cost is covered, their paths diverge. Assuming that they’re both bound within the unchanging world of this hypothetical, if Blake earns that $15,000 more per year until they both retire at 65, Blake will earn $525,000 more than Ari over their careers.

If we include that return on the ROI graph, it becomes silly (But okay, here’s a number: over this hypothetical career, the ROI is 3,503%).

And keep in mind: that’s all assuming the lowest ROI. It also takes for granted that Blake won’t move from an entry-level role and earn closer to $132,270 — the median salary for software developers according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.

One last thing before we move on: this investment is backed by a money-back guarantee_{What You Need to Know about the TripleTen Money-Back Guarantee}. If you finish the bootcamp in a timely manner, follow all our experts’ advice and guidance, and don’t land a job within 10 months of finishing your program, you’ll get a full refund.

Going beyond monetary terms

So far, we’ve been focusing on the outcomes that are easiest to put in tables and charts, though. And bootcamps can bring value that goes far beyond a simple salary increase — more meaningful work or more time with family, for example. Just look at a few of our students.

For example, Dallin Sly was a trucker whose job asked him to work up to 70 hours a week, meaning he had no time for his family. Wanting to be more present with his wife and his kids, he went for TripleTen. And it has helped him land him the change he was looking for:

I'm able to spend more time with my family. My wife's pregnant right now, and being able to be there for her, take care of her through this pregnancy, is special. Because for those first two, I was gone for a lot of it.

Dallin Sly TripleTen grad

Or take Jessica Powers, who had moved from career to career, eventually ending up in customer service. Then she started losing her hearing. She knew she needed to find a new path — after all, the career was all about listening to the customer, something she would soon struggle with. She had to make a career transition fast, and learned quality assurance with TripleTen. Following that, she landed a career that both accommodated her needs and felt like the path she’d been looking for all along:

I actually feel like, for the first time in quite a while, I've found a spot like a puzzle piece that actually fits in the box.

Jessica Powers TripleTen grad

See, when we talk about ROI on a career, what you’re putting your money into isn’t just a vehicle for earning interest. You’re investing in a life — your life. So while, yes, in purely monetary terms, a bootcamp does provide good ROI, it does so much more. It helps you find a calling that speaks to you. It helps you get a job that doesn’t ask you to be absent from your family just to provide for them. It helps you land a career doing work that feels truly meaningful.

And, on balance, that’s probably worth more than charts and graphs could properly express.

See how the bootcamp has paid off for people like you

Dallin and Jessica are only two of the people who achieved the transition and are finding the investment more than worth it. See more by checking out our student stories.