Bootcamp vs Degree Calculator: Short Cost + Fast Payoff vs Long Cost + Higher Ceiling
A $15K bootcamp + 6 months out vs a 4-year degree at $25K/yr: the bootcamp starts earning 3 years earlier, the degree often has higher growth. Compare lifetime income and breakeven year — assumes you land the job (bootcamp outcomes vary wildly).
Two paths optimizing different things
The bootcamp's structural advantage is time: 3-6 months of training + maybe another 3-6 to land a role, versus 4 years for a bachelor's. By year 3 the bootcamp grad has typically earned $150K+; the degree grad is still in tuition. That head start compounds for the rest of the career.
The degree's structural advantage is the ceiling: graduates of competitive 4-year programs (especially STEM) often start higher AND grow faster — promotion ladders in larger employers tend to gatekeep on credentials. By year 15-20, the degree path can overtake the bootcamp's head start and stay ahead. Whether that breakeven falls inside your working career is exactly what the tool computes.
How the math works
- Bootcamp path: year 1 = −cost (modeled as 1 year-equivalent of education time, conservatively delaying start). Year 2+ = bootcamp starting salary growing at the chosen rate.
- Degree path: years 1-4 = −annual tuition (no salary). Year 5+ = degree starting salary growing at its (typically higher) rate.
- Lifetime delta = sum of bootcamp cash flows − sum of degree cash flows over the career horizon.
- NPV delta applies the real discount rate; the breakeven year is where cumulative undiscounted paths cross.
Sources: Course Report Outcomes Reports for bootcamp salary medians and placement rates, BLS Education Pays for degree-path data, and Georgetown CEW for major-specific lifetime earnings.
The big simplification — placement risk: the model assumes you complete the program and land a role at the chosen salary. Course Report reports 60-80% placement at most reputable bootcamps; the unemployed-grad case isn't here. If you're risk-averse, model with the salary set to your fallback (the job you'd hold if the bootcamp didn't pay off).
Math runs locally. Inputs never leave your browser. Source on github.
Where this calculation doesn't apply
- The field requires the degree. You can't be a doctor, lawyer, or licensed engineer with a bootcamp. The comparison is for fields (mostly software, data, some design) where employers genuinely hire both routes.
- Bootcamps cluster around a few good ones. A top reputable bootcamp's outcomes look very different from the median; a sketchy program's outcomes are dramatically worse. Use specific outcomes data for the program you're considering, not the industry median.
- The degree path includes graduate school. A CS bachelor → master's adds 2 years + $40-80K vs the standalone bachelor's. The degree slider as-is models 4-year only; add grad cost by raising annual tuition or use the Grad School ROI tool.
- You're 30+ already. The 4-year degree's full earnings potential needs 30-40 years to play out. Career-changers in their 30s+ have a shorter window where the bootcamp's head start is much harder to overcome.
What to actually do
- For bootcamp salary, use the specific program's published outcomes report — not the industry median. CIRR-audited outcomes are the most trustworthy.
- For degree salary, use the salary for YOUR intended major, not the all-bachelor's median. Engineering grads vs humanities grads differ 2-3×.
- Stress-test both: re-run with each salary reduced 20% to model placement risk or post-grad recession.
- Layer in financing. If you're borrowing for the degree, the IDR and PSLF tools price the debt-side cost on top of this comparison.
- Treat the breakeven year as your "if I'm still in this field at year N, the degree wins" threshold. Plenty of careers don't last 25 years in the same lane.