The greatest marketing campaign is likely one that you’ve never heard of and are unsure of its origins or even the company behind it.
It’s not Nike, Coke Cola, nor any technology company. The campaign embodied by a single slogan is the mastermind of the Da Beers cartel:
“A Diamond is Forever” Continue reading →
I often get asked by programmers and aspiring programmers if I know of any good job opportunities currently available. I always offer to keep my ears open for anything and am happy to do what I can to help.
To non-developers, they only hear about the large paydays at Google, Facebook, etc. that recent college grads snag and incorrectly assume that programming jobs must fall into the lap of every programmer. That’s just not the case.
For anyone looking for work, it’s always smart to work your extended professional network to find jobs, and that’s true of programmers. I typically see that many roles are not filled through online job postings nor the traditional application & interview process. Instead, many roles are filled through networking and 3rd party services (recruiters).
To take advantage of these non-traditional job channels, developers can do the following:
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In the Spring 2011, I found myself at a crossroads. I had recently closed the doors on a 4 month part-time mobile app project; our team decided to go our separate ways. I had caught the entrepreneurial bug, but had no clear path to take next.
I was determined to start my own company and I set the following criteria:
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Codecademy is a service that lets people take free online coding classes, and has received $12.5M in institutional capital. It’s an awesome idea, but how will it make money if it’s billed as free (emphasis added)?
Learn to code interactively, for free.
I became fascinated with code later in life than your typical self-taught developer. Part of my journey included using CodeYear and Codecademy to kick off my programming.
While, I didn’t continue on with CodeYear, it wasn’t because of a lack of interesting in programming or Codeacdemy material. In fact, I became more and more interested in learning web development. Codecademy was great material to kickoff my process, which sent me down a path of continued learning and interest. Codecademy appears to be committed to creating a great, engaging product first and then worry about developing Revenue Models later. However, I’m sure it’s on their (and their Investors) minds.
Here are the options, in decreasing likelihood:
The site has great traffic, visitor time on the site, and user engagement. Plus, the target audience is very niche, interested in Technology and Computer Programming. The team will have to be careful to deliver ads in a manner which won’t dilute the learning experience.
All these new programmers are going to need the latest and greatest web development tools. Codecademy would be able to highlight products geared towards the lessons and could even create lessons or projects which interact directly with the software/tools for sale. What better to attract a lifelong user of your internet product then when they are first learning?
While it is possible the team will sell additional content, such as lessons or products, it doesn’t seem to their advantage to place any barrier in front of an already interested participant. Most users who gain the basic knowledge, when faced with a pay model, would likely jump ship and find another source online to fulfill their needs.
A job board would make for a great PR story. Imagine it now “Total noob acquires all knowledge from Codecademy and lands dream developer job at Google” or some other great company. But, the reality is that the typical user’s skills are going to be light years behind actual professional development talent. It’s difficult to believe the site would ever generate critical mass of qualified developers to justify a job board.
Codecademy will continue to grab the attention of those looking to dip their toes into programming. How do you think they will leverage the product to make money?
Developer Bootcamps, an intensive 8-14 week program, allow someone with very little to no experience to immediately jump into the path of becoming a developer. With increasing rates of unemployment, underemployment, and falling wages, these programs have popped up to fill a need – tech companies are in need of developers and people are always looking for means to jump start their career and quickly make more money.
DevBootcamp, General Assembly, and App Academy are a few well known names in quickly growing and crowded list of options. Each program is slightly different, but the cost associated for you to participate is typically north of $10,000. While there is a shortage of developers, are these programs really the answer? More importantly, are they the right solution for you?
When I began my journey to learn to code, I investigated these programs, including in classroom and virtual options. Ultimately for me, charting my own course was my best option. For others, a more structured, group environment may be the best option. But, spending that kind of cash requires some serious thought and research into your potential return on investment.
A scarce amount of hard facts and data exist on graduate outcomes. I’d love to see these organization voluntarily share the raw data on graduates’ hiring rates and financial gains. Unfortunately, you’ll usually only find anecdotal results or headline-grabbing “88% Have Offers At Average Of $79K” declarations. I want the raw data and stats, and think anyone considering these options deserves it.
In an absence of empirical evidence, there are resources trying to provide guidance. You can turn to active Quora Discussions and Technedo.co is trying to grade developer bootcamps. But, the “grade” is based on sentiment reviews by existing participants, who are inherently biased.
There are certainly success stories available to verify that you can achieve your goals by completing a dev bootcamp. You could potentially double your salary, nab a salary of more than $80K, or successful begin your own successful startup.
However, for every success story there are a dozen participants with unfulfilled dreams and empty pocketbooks. My company is currently hiring developers in Los Angeles, and we’ve witnessed firsthand the hardships of graduates. The trend we’ve experienced in recruiting two graduating classes of local bootcamp is that companies compete to hire the select few top tier talent, while the majority of alums continue to freelance or are hired directly by the organization to teach the next cohort or help run operations.
Yes, my experience is very unscientific. But, my gut tells me the success stories are the exception and not the norm. All developer bootcamps are not bad. Your participation and success should depend on several factors:
When you’re thinking about learning to code and before considering plopping down big bucks for a developer bootcamp, you’ve got to first understand your own end goal. Is it more money? It is better technical expertise to help at your existing job? Do you want to boost your resume? Know the destination before you lay down the path.
Without the raw data to know actual results, you’ve got to find a previous graduate with your similar makeup in order to best approximate what to expect. Ask the organization to set you up with an alumnus with similar professional, personal, and education backend as yourself? Take that person to coffee or jump on skype and politely grill them with questions. What’s their learn style? What did they like about the program? dislike? How were they viewed by employers? Use these data points to map out your own potential outcome. And ask them to be your mentor.
Obviously if you spend the ~$10K and score an $80K job, your resources were put to good use – amazing ROI! But, you need to evaluate other potential results, how that will impact you both professionally and financially, and determine if the risk/reward pays off. If you end up freelancing for 12 months after you graduate, will you be happy? What about if you work 2-3 low-wage internship/apprentice jobs after graduating, will you be fulfilled? Evaluate the 3-4 most likely outcomes and then decide if should move forward.
Do you think developer bootcamps are worth the investment for a beginning developer?