I felt the bootcamp really exaggerated outcomes. They said like 95+% got jobs. In reality, probably only roughly 30% got "real" coding jobs (a bunch got support or testing jobs at well.) Some ended up empty handed, one of us is working at Trader Joes.
Bewares statistics! They can be easily manipulated.
They definitely do. Every one that I've interviewed has unrealistic expectations on salary or hourly rate.
These camps are telling their students that they should be getting $75/hr all day long. The reality is that most should be like $20-30/hr. They'd be better served if they were told to go for a fair rate, get a job and experience and were prepped on how to negotiate as their skills increase.
That being said - I really like the personalities of the people coming out of the camps and I've hired a few. They're generally hungry and excited.
OP didn't say anyone from his cohort is actually unemployed. The job at Trader Joes may not be what that person was envisioning, but it is a job.
Even if they claim something more specific than literally any job at all, they'll probably count anyone doing something related to IT (if only for a week).
I've also read about boot camps hiring their alumni as teachers/tutors for a bit if they can't find a job. I always assumed that's mostly to be able to count those people as successfully placed.
Bewares statistics! They can be easily manipulated.