Tag Archive for: programming

Local Startup Opens Free Coding School for Adults

SAN DIEGO, CA, February 2017 – Local edtech startup, ThoughtSTEM, has launched a free coding school for adults. The initiative is called CodingSchool.io, and provides adult-learners with the opportunity to take classes that undergraduates would take in pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree in computer science. Most importantly: it can all be done part-time and at no cost.

For comparison, the cost of getting a computer science degree from a traditional university can range from $12,000 to over $120,000. Several coding “bootcamps” exist in San Diego, all carrying a pricetag of over $10,000. Graduates from 4-year universities and bootcamps can apply for software engineering jobs for which the starting salaries are around $63,000 and can range as high as six figures — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By contrast, CodingSchool.io aims to provide free coding education to San Diego residents. The curriculum includes coursework in basic programming, discrete mathematics, data structures, algorithms, and machine learning. Additionally, a huge component of CodingSchool.io’s philosophy is project-based learning, where students do hands-on, real-world programming by contributing to one or more of ThoughtSTEM’s globally distributed educational technologies — e.g.

CodeSpells
Vox-L
LearnToMod

ThoughtSTEM’s CodingSchool.io is free because part of the curriculum involves teaching children in San Diego after-school programs and summer camps. Since 2012, ThoughtSTEM has been San Diego’s leader in K-12 computer science education, currently teaching after-school coding programs at over 40 schools. Check here https://hughesairco.com/. Because ThoughtSTEM gets paid to teach kids; CodingSchool.io students get a free education by helping to teach.

“ThoughtSTEM is in a unique position to help people learn a valuable skill for free, while giving back to the community,” says Dr. Stephen R. Foster, head instructor at CodingSchool.io. He believes that adults and children alike should learn how to code.

About ThoughtSTEM, LLC
Founded in 2012, ThoughtSTEM currently teaches year-round computer science programs for kids at over 40 locations around the Greater San Diego Area. ThoughtSTEM also develops educational software that teaches computer science to students around the world, with titles including LearnToMod, CodeSpells, and Vox-L.

Contact:
Sara Lucchini
[email protected]
5520 Ruffin Rd. Suite 201
San Diego, CA 92123
Ph: 858-869-9430

Dev-BootcampSan Diego, CA (September 30, 2015) – Dev Bootcamp, the pioneer of the immersive coding bootcamp, is coming to San Diego. Applications are now open for the first 19-week (9 weeks remote, 9 weeks immersive, 1-week career training) intensive program that begins on November 9 at 707 Broadway, Suite 800.

“We can’t wait to hit the ground running in San Diego. The city has been building an economy based on innovation for years, and with such a great community of software companies and developers, San Diego shows all the signs of a city that is about to experience tremendous growth,” said Kevin Solorio, program director of Dev Bootcamp’s San Diego campus. “Prospective Dev Bootcamp students will find the developer community here extremely welcoming and open to mentoring and helping them achieve their goals.”

A new report by the National University System Institute for Policy Research finds that technology companies make up over 11 percent of payroll jobs and over 20 percent of total wages in San Diego. According to Glassdoor.com, there are over 5,500 open coding jobs in San Diego.

“We are confident that Dev Bootcamp will play a critical role in helping our regional economy grow and prosper. Our highly trained and educated workforce is one of the greatest strategic advantages San Diego possesses over other regions, both nationally and globally,” said Erik Caldwell, economic development director, City of San Diego. “Feeding the continued growth of this talent pool is something both business and public policy leaders see as a strategic imperative for our continued economic expansion. We would much prefer to see San Diegans getting trained for jobs in our own tech community rather than companies having to recruit talent from other regions. Dev Bootcamp helps accomplish that.”

Using input from past students, instructors and employer partners, Dev Bootcamp has continued to innovate on the program that effectively takes people with little to no practical coding to job-ready full-stack web developers in a matter of months. The 19-week program – 9 weeks guided remote learning, plus 9 weeks intensive on-site project work and 1-week career preparation – teaches students how to master the technical applications of trending web development languages and to develop the conceptual understanding of software development, so that they can quickly learn new languages as the need arises or as the market changes. Multiple learning modalities such as lectures, pair programming, group projects, and individual challenges are used to optimize student engagement.

The program’s unique “whole-self” approach to learning ensures that its students graduate with not only solid technical skills, but also an enhanced sense of self, and interpersonal skills like practicing empathy, giving/receiving feedback, and projecting leadership confidence, which enable them to work well in diverse teams.

Dev Bootcamp alumni who now work in San Diego attest to the importance of bringing the program to Southern California.

“While I was a student at Dev Bootcamp, I not only learned the tech skills that were part of the curriculum, but I also learned skills to help me adapt to any development environment I might face throughout my career,” said Charlie Dibble, a Dev Bootcamp alumnus currently employed in San Diego. “My current position as a software engineer has me working with an almost entirely different set of technologies than what is taught at Dev Bootcamp, but the immersive experience at Dev Bootcamp prepared me to quickly learn the other tech stack I come across. Bringing Dev Bootcamp to San Diego will bring more people with these skill sets to an already thriving tech community.”

Dev Bootcamp has graduated more than 1,700 students since it was founded in 2012, making it one of the largest bootcamps of its kind. After graduation, Dev Bootcamp focuses on maintaining engagement with its graduates through its active alumni community, inviting many alumni to engage as coaches and mentors for new students, celebrating new jobs that graduates land after the program, and offering perks like tickets to events and conferences.

For more information about Dev Bootcamp’s expansion to San Diego, contact Chris Nishimura at [email protected]. To enroll in a course, visit http://devbootcamp.com/locations/san-diego/.

About Dev Bootcamp

Dev Bootcamp pioneered the short-term, immersive developer bootcamp, a model that transforms beginners into highly employable web developers in a matter of months. The 19-week curriculum teaches the technical skills people need to work as a web developer, but also the functional and emotional skills that are critical to working in dynamic, cross-functional engineering teams. With more than 1,700 graduates to date, and locations in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and New York City, Dev Bootcamp continues to lead the industry through innovation and expansion. Dev Bootcamp is owned by Kaplan, Inc. For more information, visit devbootcamp.com.

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