Emma and Ashley met at a coding bootcamp. Both had four year degrees, both had worked in different roles related and not to their respective degrees (wildland firefighting! Conservation Corps! education!), and both had “aha!” moments when they were working in education-related roles that led them to coding and the bootcamp they attended. We talk about what is good about that learning environment and what can be challenging - where they feel like maybe they were a little ahead of a recent graduate of a traditional CE program, and where there might be stigma associated with coming from a bootcamp (and what they might do to overcome that stigma).