Dive Brief:
- Free Code Camp offers free online coding tutorials and then partners with nonprofits to give students project experience for their resumes.
- Wired reports that Free Code Camp helps bridge an experience gap for newly minted programmers who otherwise may not be marketable to employers.
- Free Code Camp is a volunteer venture on the back end, relying on peer learning more than teachers to help students get through any problems they encounter with the online coursework, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Coding bootcamps have sprung up across the country, offering mostly returning students an opportunity to retrain and get back into the job market with highly sought after skills. Programmers are in high demand, but to be considered qualified, applicants must prove they’ve done more than take classes. Some coding bootcamps prepare students for industry certifications, which are highly respected. But smaller organizations, especially, that are looking for all-around proficiency need to see the project experience Free Code Camp provides its students.
As coding bootcamps and other alternative education programs figure out how to make their graduates marketable, traditional higher education will need to figure out how to keep up. When people can secure high-paying programming jobs with a six-week, intensive program, the value proposition of four-year college training in certain fields goes out the window.