OTOH it is gatekeeping you need a degree to code. And a bootcamp completion is not a fake degree. No more than a CS degree is a fake programming vocational qualification.

I'm not saying 'all bootcamps are bad' here, I'm saying 'this particular bootcamp is bad'.

I think there's a clear distinction between CS and Software Dev.

The latter _can_ be self-taught, or learned with a bootcamp, if it's good. It's essentially a trade which means practice is everything. And also includes a good bit of project management.

The former is a scientific field, much like physics, sociology, etc. and having a CS degree is useful for doing research (which in CS could mean coding, and could mean writing software, e.g a new type of database/algorithm/other) hence the confusion between the two. And some/most Software Devs need to understand/improve/adapt artifacts from the field of CS, so a CS degree is often beneficial for software devs, but not needed.

So, I don't think it's fair to say that it's a 'fake programming vocational qualification', it's not what it's for, and people that say the contrary misunderstand what a CS degree is.

Computer Science is and was never intended to be a pathway to programming. If you want a career in software engineering then you should get a degree in Software Engineering and also a Masters in Systems Engineering.

Coding bootcamps aren’t bad but in my opinion they should accompany a CS/SWE degree + Masters.

You should have systems thinking skills and be a lifelong learner. It’s not a one shot