kbfprivate

I'd say one of the biggest mistakes people make when learning web development is always following the latest trends. Web technology changes so rapidly that it always "feels" like you are falling behind. It's hard to resist the urge to learn that "flavor of the month" javascript library.

I agree. Learning a new library won't hurt you, but spreading oneself so thin means you won't ever dive deeply. I'd say learning 1-2 of the more popular JS libraries is adequate if you wanted to switch jobs. Every company chooses a library to fit their needs and it's usually not possible to require every candidate to possess deep knowledge of the less popular ones.

MY EYES ARE BURNING!!!

Conversely, everyone has different talents and the idea that anyone can become a great programmer gives false hope to people who don't naturally have those abilities. If you aren't gifted in solving problems, you will never be a great programmer.

Now, if someone has those talents and is interested in programming, they should absolutely pursue a boot camp if that is their only avenue. But this idea that anyone can become a programmer for a career is simply not true, the same way that saying anyone can learn how to play guitar in a band, become a doctor, or professional athlete.

One thing about programming is that you have to code to get good at it, there are no shortcuts

I believe this to be true. Coding Dojo claims 20 hours for 20 weeks is adequate to become a self-sufficient developer. How many of the 400 hours is spent learning a classroom environment vs hands-on programming?