2U’s decision to shut down its coding boot camps is the latest sign that changes are afoot in the alternative credentials sector.
In the 2010s, people who wanted a faster, cheaper on-ramp into a well-paying career increasingly turned to coding boot camps instead of traditional college degrees.
For anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000, students—many of whom already had four-year degrees but were looking for a career change—could enroll in a boot camp and learn to code in a matter of months. After graduation, they could expect to land an in-demand job as an entry-level coder at a tech company.
Despite allegations that some of the for-profit companies running boot camps misled students about curricula and job-placement rates, thousands of students flocked to the programs, and more than 100 boot-camp providers started up during the 2010s.
