Times are changing at a pace like never before. And coding quickly becomes inevitable in many industries, from manufacturing to marketing, from finance to health.
If you are a millennial and hoping to build a solid CV today, learning computer languages is essential. The same goes for early to mid-career professionals who are looking for a tech upgrade to reposition themselves in the jobs market.
Make no mistake! Ours was already the age of transformation before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it demanded constant improvement in both knowledge and its application. Now after the global health disaster, this is more of a time when all processes and interactions are computerized. Businesses rely on automations now more than ever and automations are everywhere.
In this context, stay idle for longer and you will certainly fall behind the curve, unable to compete. The ones who have taken on the challenge, on the other hand, are becoming real stars for employers. And that demand reshapes policymaking, too.
In Virginia, for instance, local and state authorities have long recognized the need for building what they call a “tech talent pipeline.”
Today, they tirelessly work to retain and expand the region’s pool of programmers to make the Commonwealth a good place to invest for companies. To aid in those efforts, all universities add specializations in areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and cybersecurity.
Where to Start?
After the first few paragraphs, many readers would testify to already feeling the sting of rapid change that takes place in their industries. Yet they would also complain about not knowing where and how to start addressing the growing challenge. The answer is from scratch. Just like you learned how to walk and talk, you should start from zero.
To do that, anyone can obviously register for and follow an online course. Taking your enthusiasm to a reputable e-learning platform such as Udemy would be more than enough. Plus, the cost to take a beginners class there can be as low as a few bucks. That, surely, is an amount anybody can spare to give their next career goal a go.
Those of you who would prefer being physically in a classroom or having real life interactions with instructors, however, should consider joining the following bootcamps, absolutely best of their sort in the D.C. metro area.
Flatiron School
Inside WeWork at Metropolitan Square, only steps away from The White House, Flatiron School has a beautiful D.C. campus where it offers a 15-week software engineering course.
They have so much confidence in the quality of their education and the job placement success of their graduates, they don’t event require any tuition before you become a professional developer. The only payment you make before that final stage is a $500, a fully understandable deposit that is there to ensure serious engagement from participants.
The course teaches full-stack development with Ruby on Rails and Javascript. Both are fundamental coding programs with which you can develop web applications and webpages.
The opportunity to take part in one-on-one sessions is terrific, to say the least, to fully internalize the programs’ syntax and features.
The school also provides students with a personal career coach who helps at every step of the process towards their successful employment. That includes introduction to potential employers, résumé review and preparation for job interviews.
Studying at the Flatiron campus, students also enjoy 24/7 access to the building, high-speed Wi-Fi and refreshments. You want to test drive and see in person first how they offer what they offer? Register at this link for a campus tour and more!
Don’t want to sacrifice the comfort and safety of your home while learning? There are also plenty of online classes you can take from Flatiron’s exceptionally professional instructors.
General Assembly
In downtown, there is a perfect alternative to all the success and comfort Flatiron provides: Pursuing to join the future workforce through General Assembly (GA) education and mentorship. It, too, has a nice campus near The National Mall, at 509 7th Street NW.
There, you can join a 13-week immersive course on software engineering and never have to worry about tuition at all. GA offers an income-share agreement with its students, like that of Flatiron, and only requires a payment in manageable monthly installments after they land their first job.
The course teaches how to build responsive webpages using Javascript, HTML and CSS, as well as full-stack applications by various other programs.
You can start your application online and an admissions counselor will be in touch with you shortly. And like the way it is at Flatiron, you can move the entire learning process online.
Thinkful
The only other school in town that could compete with the previous two thanks to its rigorous education is Thinkful. That it offers a more flexible and cheaper option by strengthening the impact of online classes with one-on-one mentorship is the reason why we feature it on this list.
Its five-month immersive software engineering course similarly covers training in Javascript, HTML and CSS. It has turned such a big success so far that it has almost nine in every 10 of its graduates sign a full-time contract with a tech employer in the first 180 days following graduation. And their median annual income is $60,000.
For you to become one of them over the next year or so, the school offers a convenient payment package, too. With that, you start paying your tuition only after you start working at a job that delivers an annual salary of at least $40,000.
Prior to such employment, you just keep searching your ideal job and make applications without paying a cent for the skills you learn.
To start the enrollment process, go ahead and spare the next 15 minutes to fill out this online form. You will then meet an admissions representative to help you go through your application. Together, you will decide which specific path would be best for you to pursue.
Good luck!