I’m a self-taught developer and I’d like to say that in my experience, it’s been very difficult to me to be as productive with a new framework than developing in a framework I already know.

I mean, for me, sometimes the learning curve is steeper at the beginning. I remember when I learned MVC. Coming from the old paradigm (classic ASP.Net) it was hard, especially because at that time I commited to make a project with it.

I finished the project and I gained a lot of knowledge and experience however I made a lot mistakes, I implemented things in the wrong way and it took me a long time also.

I remember thinking at that time how easier would have been if I’d have taken some course or have partnered with someone to gain knowledge and better yet; experience. That’s a factor to consider when developing a project in a new framework because it will save you time and it will help you to improve the quality of the product.

Right now I’m planning (for the first time) to subscribe in an online academy to learn Rails. I’ve been studying it but I feel that I need to study it with people who pursuit the same goal.

I can’t prove it yet but I think a good course could save time and it could help me to be more efficient in the future.

Best regards.

Yep good point. Also, I wonder if there are C boot camps around.

The bootcamp environment also offers a more holistic approach that might include such things as best practices. I realize, however, that this is likely not as important to an existing developer looking to pick up another language or framework.

I’m now studying C on my own in order to gain a firmer grasp of what is going on in my Ruby code at a lower level. I’m sure a ten day immersive course would get me there quicker and if I was shopping for a job in the C world, I’d pay up and go.

Is this money going to turn into more money+time saved? If so, then do it.

I think understanding our personal time|money relationship will help us answer a lot of these questions. Before I followed your works I wrote off any paid education as a rip-off because I didn’t value my time much at all. Now that I’m squeezing every bit of time I can into my career development it all makes perfect sense.

Thanks for helping me realize this!

Yep, good points. I agree.

I agree with everything that John says here. I also think you need to consider your own financial situation at the moment. If the only way you can get the money together to pay for the course is by taking out a payday loan, then it’s unlikely to be worth the risk. However, if you have $10,000 or more in the bank then it’s much more likely to be a worthwhile investment because you’re still leaving yourself with an emergency fund in case your car breaks down or you need to replace your house or pay medical bills etc.

Obviously we don’t know exactly which course is being considered or what the reputation of the company is. So if you can, try to find out someone who has already been on the course and speak with them.

In general, even if someone is approached by a complete stranger asking them about whether something is value for money, they LOVE to talk about it. If you choose to invest the money, and then someone asks you this same question, I’m sure that you would be more than happy to share your opinions for free. Almost everyone is the same in this regard.