June 2016 Coding Bootcamp News Roundup + Podcast

Table of Contents

• Market Sizing Report
• Importance of Learning to Code
• Bootcamps Around the World
• Coding Bootcamps + Universities
• Paying for Bootcamp
• Outcomes
• TechHire
• Cool Things Schools Are Doing
• New Bootcamps & Campuses
• Favorite Pieces to Write in June for the Course Report Blog

Welcome to the June Course Report monthly coding bootcamp news roundup! Each month we look at all the happenings from the coding bootcamp world, including new bootcamps, what we’re seeing in bootcamps internationally, outcomes, and paying for bootcamps. Plus, we released our big Bootcamp Market Sizing and Growth Report in June! Read below or listen to our latest Coding Bootcamp News Roundup Podcast!

• Market Sizing Report
• Importance of Learning to Code
• Around the World
• Coding Bootcamps and Universities
• Paying for Bootcamps
• Outcomes
• TechHire
• Cool Things Schools are Doing
• New Bootcamps
• Favorite Pieces to Write in June for the Course Report blog

Market Sizing Report

Listen: 01:15

2016 Coding Bootcamp Market Size Study
June 22, 2016
Course Report
This year we surveyed 91 bootcamps around the US & Canada compared, with 67 last year. Highlights include:

• 18,000 students are expected to graduate in 2016 - that’s 1.7 times more than in 2015
• Around 61,000 students graduated with computer science degrees in 2015
• The average tuition price of qualifying courses is ~$11,500, with an average program length of 12.9 weeks.
• Based on those 18,000 graduates, we estimate tuition revenue from US coding bootcamps to be almost $200 million in 2016.
• Full Stack JavaScript surpassed Ruby on Rails as the most common teaching language, used in 33% of courses. Ruby on Rails now accounts for 30% of courses.
• There are now coding bootcamps in 69 US cities and 34 states.

Importance of Learning to Code

Listen: 03:30

More and more people are realizing the benefits of learning to code, and this month there have been a number of articles about why most people, especially those starting out in their careers could benefit from having coding skills.

Coding Bootcamps Look to Fill Tech Demand
June 13, 2016
By Andrew Sorenson, TWC News
A report from TEK systems found programming is the most in-demand tech skill for companies the fourth year in a row, which is fuelling the growth of coding bootcamps around the US.
Related: Course Report Ultimate Guide to Coding Bootcamps

Why Every Millennial Should Learn Some Code
June 20, 2016
By Laurence Bradford, Forbes
Laurence explains why basic coding knowledge is useful for almost every job. Learning to code improves your problem-solving and logic skills. Plus, companies in almost every industry now rely on technology to power and promote their businesses.
Related: Ruby on Rails vs Python and Django (also by Laurence Bradford)

Bootcamps Around the World

Listen: 04:50

We are seeing a big trend right now of free or nonprofit coding bootcamps opening in areas around the world where education is often hard to come by or where people can’t afford to pay for training.

Flatiron School Teams up with Re:Coded to Help Syrian Refugees Learn to Code
June 1, 2016
By Sarah Buhr, Tech Crunch
Iraqi NGO Re:Coded and New York-based code school Flatiron have teamed up help those refugees most susceptible to extremism in Iraq by teaching them programming skills. More than 200,000 refugees from war-torn Syria have fled to Iraq but are finding it difficult to get jobs. The hope is this initiative will give refugees the skills to make a living in their new home.

Reactor Core Announces Unique Curriculum Partnership to Teach Coding in Jordan
June 7, 2016
San-Francisco based Reactor Core has announced they are partnering with a coding bootcamp in Jordan to train Syrian refugees. Reactor Core runs a number of coding bootcamps including Hack Reactor, MakerSquare and Telegraph Academy, and has now shared the Hack Reactor curriculum with Jordan-based ReBootKAMP. The aim is to help refugees create a successful future for themselves, while helping to build a global pipeline of skilled tech professionals.

Afghan Coding School Opens Window of Opportunity
June 8, 2016
By Wadia Samadi, News Deeply
A coding bootcamp just for women has launched in Afghanistan to help women get educated and build a career. The school, Code to Inspire received the Google Rise Award for nonprofits promoting computer science education, and wants women to be able to earn their own income and support their families, breaking the tradition of men being the sole income earners. There are now a number of tech initiatives for women in the country including TechWomen Afghanistan, Technovation Afghanistan, and TechDera.

This Startup Trains Africa’s Elite Coding Apprentices for Giants Like IBM and Microsoft
June 10, 2016
By Ainsley O’Connell, Fast Company
Students are getting paid to learn to code in Nigeria and Kenya. African coding school Andela runs a competitive six-month training program where students get paid during training, and then go on to work for Andela hiring partners for 3 and a half years. Hiring partners include IBM, Microsoft, FlightCar, and Payoff, who have found it is cheaper to hire Andela fellows rather than San Francisco-based developers.

Coding Bootcamps + Universities

Listen: 06:55

Three Hard Truths That Will Save Higher Education
June 13, 2016
By Adam Enbar, co-founder of Flatiron School, Quartz
A new report has found nearly a third of Americans aged 16 to 29 have no work-related computer experience - showing the mismatch between what employers need, and the skills job seekers have. Adam writes about why a traditional “one size fits all” approach to education, like we see at college level, doesn’t work for everyone, and that education needs to be better aligned to outcomes and what the market needs - with institutes like coding bootcamps.

For-profit coding bootcamps better as educational add-on
June 17, 2016
By Jarett Carter Education Dive
Jarett says that with the rise of crash courses like bootcamps, niche institutes and degree-granting schools should collaborate with bootcamps to capture that market of people looking for job-ready, practical skills. He says this collaboration is actually necessary for the benefit of the overall economy.
Related: Collaboration in Higher Education: Universities + Coding Bootcamps

Paying for Bootcamp

Listen: 08:28

Are Skills-Building Boot Camps Worth the Bucks
June 16, 2016
By Kaitlin Mulhere, Time
Kaitlin Mulhere explores whether the often high costs of coding bootcamps are actually worth it for people trying to upskill and find a job or new career. She advises candidates to do their research and find bootcamps that are licensed by the state, have great employer partnerships, have transparent job placement statistics, and great reviews on Course Report.
Related: Coding Bootcamp Cost Comparison
Related: How to Calculate a Bootcamp’s ROI

Should for-profit crash courses get federal funds?
June 18, 2016
Economist
Now that coding bootcamps are starting to really see results and fill the demand for coders, while helping people get into the workforce, this Economist article asks whether these bootcamps should now be eligible for federal funding. With the uncertainty and lack of consistency surrounding job placement rates, it’s difficult for people to know for sure how effective each individual bootcamp is. But last year the Department of Education launched a pilot program to allow students to get federal aid for non-traditional providers, like bootcamps, as long they have been assessed by a third party. But the article ultimately concludes that it is too risky to use taxpayer money on these bootcamps.
Related: How to Pay for a Coding Bootcamp
Related: Exclusive Coding Bootcamp Scholarships

Outcomes

Listen: 09:53

Students demanding the facts about coding bootcamps
June 25, 2016
Darrell Silver, Thinkful CEO, Tech Crunch
The debate over outcomes, and how they can be standardized continues in this TechCrunch article asking how candidates can work out which bootcamps are actually getting great job placement results. It criticizes schools for marketing their programs using one-off achievements like someone getting a job at google, without setting reasonable expectations. Thinkful CEO Darrell acknowledges that there are definitely legitimate bootcamps out there, which do find great jobs for their students, but it’s so difficult for candidates to work out which ones those are. Thinkful, Turing, Lighthouse Labs and Flatiron School have released outcomes reports detailing their methods, and schools like Sabio, Turing, and Lighthouse Labs actually share that data on their Course Report school pages.

TechHire

Listen: 11:13

White House Announces TechHire Grant Recipients
June 27, 2016
At the end of June, the White house announced the recipients of $150 million dollars in TechHire partnership grants, including $126 million for at-risk and disadvantaged Americans. Communities around the country each received between $3 and $5 million to put towards training tracks in technology. Communities include Atlanta, Albuquerque, Brunswick, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Raleigh, New York, DC, Seattle, Indianapolis and more. Course Report has made a commitment to providing information to the community about employer satisfaction and outcomes, while highlighting TechHire communities.
Related: Course Report’s Trip to the White House

Cool Things Schools Are Doing

Listen: 12:14

Coding Bootcamp Fullstack Academy Will Fund Alumni-founded Startups
June 15, 2016
Lara Kolodny, Tech Crunch
Fullstack Academy launches fund to invest in its graduates
June 15, 2016
Ray Batra, EdSurge
New York-based coding bootcamp Fullstack Academy has announced the company will start investing in startups founded by their alumni. They aim to fund eight companies each year, to show students that they really believe in their skills. To qualify for investment, startups must have at least one Fullstack Academy graduate as a co-founder.

New Bootcamps & Campuses

Listen: 12:59

Skylab Coders Academy in Barcelona, Spain
Arkansas Coding Academy in Conway, Arkansas
Rmotr.com, online bootcamp
Digital Citizen in Miami, Florida
Hack School MX in Monterrey, Mexico
Ubiqum Code Academy in Miami and in Barcelona, Spain
Hactiv8 in Jakarta, Indonesia
Spiced Academy in Berlin, Germany
Elium Academy in Brussels, Belgium
Northwestern Coding Boot Camp at Northwestern University in Chicago
Port Academy in Oakland.

Coding School Leases First NYC digs on Hudson St
June 20, 2016
The Real Deal
Colorado coding bootcamp Galvanize has leased a space in NYC as they plan to launch a new campus. It will be the first East Coast location for the bootcamp which also has campuses in Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Favorite Pieces to Write in June for the Course Report Blog

Listen: 14:09

Alumni Spotlight: Jennifer Sardina of Flatiron School
June 16, 2016
By Imogen Crispe, Course Report

Employer Spotlight: Pat Poels, VP of Engineering at Eventbrite
June 10, 2016
By Liz Eggleston, Course Report