I've spent over three years teaching full-stack development at Ironhack.
I genuinely enjoy mentoring students, watching them grow from complete beginners to enthusiastic developers. Seeing them land their first tech jobs is deeply satisfying.
But this week I walked away. Not because I stopped caring about teaching, but because the economics of bootcamp instruction have become unsustainable.
The Pay Gap
In November 2024, I taught a five-week Node.js and Express course at EOI (Escuela de Organización Industrial), Spain's premier business school. Total contact hours: 40. The payment rate was more than double what Ironhack was offering me.
Both institutions are teaching technical skills to adult learners. Both charge premium tuition. Yet one pays more than double what the other does.
The Hidden Costs
Teaching at an international bootcamp might look like a privilege, and in many ways it is rewarding work. But the compensation only accounts for contact hours and It doesn't include:
Preparation
The real work isn't teaching syntax or following lessons. It's teaching students how to think algorithmically, how to break down problems and reason through solutions. That transformation from following tutorials to thinking like a developer is what makes the difference.
Support beyond code.
Students arrive dealing with more than technical challenges. Economic instability, automation anxiety, the gamble of retraining in a precarious labour market. What bootcamps call 'mentorship' often goes beyond technical support of these systemic pressures.
Hours spent in these conversations never appear in the job description or pay structure.
Administrative overhead.
Attendance tracking, progress reports, coordination with programme managers—all unpaid labour. When you factor in these hidden costs, the effective hourly rate drops.
Three Years, Zero Adjustments
I started at Ironhack in 2023 at €12,000 per cohort. Three years later, in 2026, the rate was still €12,000. During that period, Spain and Europe experienced significant inflation. My costs increased. The bootcamp's tuition fees increased. But instructor compensation remained frozen.
Payment Delays
Payment reliability became an issue. Over the past few months, invoices that were supposed to be paid before the end of the month arrived on the 8th, then stretched to two weeks late. Other instructors reported waiting three months or more.
When I raised concerns about payment timelines, I was told the finance team "couldn't promise" timely payment, though they "thought" they would pay me. This isn't a sustainable basis for professional work.
The Negotiation That Wasn't
Before the latest cohort, I requested an adjustment increase to account for my three years of work. I wasn't expecting them to agree immediately, but I did expect a counter-offer.
Instead, I received a flat rejection. "That's the budget we have for the bootcamp, and we cannot exceed it."
No middle ground offered. No acknowledgment of the three years without adjustment. Just a firm no, followed by: "Tell us if you're still available to start tomorrow."
That response made the decision easy. After three years of frozen wages, payment delays, and a refusal to even negotiate, I declined and walked away.
Moving Forward
I love watching students have that breakthrough moment when a concept finally clicks.
But I can't continue under conditions where compensation hasn't moved in three years, where payment timelines are uncertain, where workload triples without adjustment, and where even modest requests for market-rate pay are met with flat refusals.
I'd love to continue teaching elsewhere. Whether it's mentoring at other institutions or teams of developers.
For now, I'm prioritising projects where fair compensation and professional respect aren't negotiable.