The software development field is expanding at a rapid pace, and many companies need technical talent to keep up. Because people are using the internet more than ever to work, stream, date, learn, and shop, companies of all stripes are looking to meet the growing demand for online tools.
If you’re an unemployed American looking to make a change during your job hunt, you’re with the majority. A coding bootcamp could be your fastest route to a stable lifelong career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects software development jobs to grow by 22% by 2029, much higher than the projected rate of 4% for jobs in general.
Bootcamp providers like Tech Elevator are helping everyday people—without any prior technical experience—make the switch into tech every year. And Tech Elevator does more than just teach people how to code. It helps students build confidence as they start a new chapter in their professional lives.
The Tech Elevator Program
Over 450 companies have hired over 1,700 Tech Elevator graduates since it started offering bootcamps in 2015. The bootcamp’s success in the field is due to its curriculum and unique Pathway Program for career development. After passing Tech Elevator’s admissions process, students start learning the industry-ready curriculum that’s made the program a success.
Students choose between Java and C#/.NET at the beginning of their course. After laying a foundation in their programming language of choice and its frameworks, students add database skills with SQL. From there, students open up their learning path with tools including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Vue.JS, and APIs. Throughout the project-based curriculum, students receive expert guidance from professional software developers.
This curriculum is the same for every Tech Elevator campus, including its National Live Remote cohorts. Beyond the curriculum, the school provides a community experience where students work together and build a network to succeed.
Students have several options for joining these communities. Tech Elevator operates physical campuses in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. It’s also started laying the groundwork for future campuses in Charlotte, Chicago, and Dallas.
These future campuses are operating as part of the National Live Remote cohort for now. The National Live Remote cohort lets students take advantage of Tech Elevator’s curriculum and the Pathway Program no matter where they are.
Tech Elevator is committed to making its program accessible to all with a range of financing options. Students can pay for their education with grants, the GI Bill and Veteran Benefits, borrower-friendly private loans, the new income share agreement (ISA) loan, or scholarships like the Represent Tech Scholarship.
The ISA loan program at Tech Elevator is a new offering for upcoming cohorts. Students pay a $2,000 deposit and then don’t pay again until they’ve landed a job with a salary of at least $40,000. After students have reached that minimum income threshold, they pay back 10% of their monthly pre-tax income until they either reach a set amount of payments, a payment cap of one and a half times their tuition, or the end of a 48-month payment window.
ISAs make Tech Elevator’s program more accessible for students who may not be able to afford a career change immediately. With a 10% monthly income share, a four-year payment window, and a 1.5x payment cap, this ISA is one of the most generous options in the bootcamp industry.
But at the heart of Tech Elevator’s push to increase opportunities for everyone in software development is the Represent Tech Scholarship.
The Represent Tech Scholarship
The Represent Tech Scholarship covers a majority of tuition for one qualifying student in each cohort, each year.
The program launched in 2020 with Tech Elevator pledging $1 million in scholarships for underrepresented people in tech over the next three years. Students qualify based on racial or ethnic identity or gender identification, which includes female, trans, and non-binary students.
Though the program just launched, Tech Elevator already has commitments from its hiring partners to strengthen the scholarship pool. As the scholarship pool grows, more marginalized people will gain access to the world of tech.
Building a New Career
The school’s cutting-edge curriculum and robust career services have led to measurable success with its 95% graduation rate and a 92% job placement according to a 2019 CIRR report.
The Tech Elevator Difference
Tech Elevator’s application process is accessible to all, and it starts with a single step: the timed aptitude test.
Coding skills are not necessary for this free assessment, so don’t be intimidated by the name. Instead, it tests your aptitude with core skills for programmers like pattern recognition and logic. The 25-minute time limit also gives applicants a sense of working in a fast-paced environment like what they’ll encounter over the fast-paced 14-week program.
This assessment helps future students determine if they have what it takes to be a software developer. It’s certified as unbiased which ensures that anyone with the right aptitude can pass, a fact which reinforces Tech Elevator’s commitment to making tech careers more accessible.
From there, the application process continues with an application, followed by an interview, then a logic-based assessment. After you’re admitted to the program, you start learning how to launch your new career with the Pathway Program.
Career Prep as You Define Your Path
The Pathway Program helps students build the confidence they need to start a new career in tech with over 30 career prep sessions during the bootcamp. Through three distinct phases, students amplify their strengths with career-focused coaching sessions, presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and more.
Phase One: Finding Your Strengths
Students start the program by identifying their top five strengths using methods from StrengthsFinder 2.0. Students from any background and level of experience can discover what sets them apart from the competition with this tool.
After students identify their strengths, Tech Elevator starts working with students to hone those strengths into their stories. Students build their strengths into a short elevator pitch that condenses their personal story and strengths into a digestible package.
Phase Two: Building Your Brand
At this point, students have identified their strengths and built a digestible narrative and they’re now ready to build their personal brand as they market themselves to companies.
Sessions in this phase focus on helping students build their LinkedIn profiles, rework their resumes and get ready for upcoming interviews with four full weeks of interview prep. Expert career guides and mentors in the industry contribute to coach students on how to put their best foot forward as they network and continue to learn coding concepts in the classroom.
Phase Three: Forming Connections
In the final phase, Tech Elevator brings students and hiring partners together for employer matching interviews.
In this speed dating style experience, recruiters interview students in fast-paced 25-minute sessions. If they like what a student has to offer, they invite them to the next step in their hiring process.
The concentrated setting and multiple interviews give students plenty of opportunities to make an impression on potential employers. As students graduate from the program, career support continues and grads are able to tap into the robust alumni network across the country.
Conclusion
Tech Elevator provides opportunities for people of all ages, ethnicities, and gender identities to enter the booming tech workforce. With no coding experience required to start the program, anyone can take the next step to explore how the program could support their career goals.
The next live online bootcamps start on May 10th for all of their physical campuses, and on June 28th for the National Live Remote option with fall options starting in September and October. There’s no application deadline, but Tech Elevator sends out 30-40 hours of mandatory pre-work five weeks before the program begins so it’s best to sign up for bootcamps as early as possible.
Here are three ways to learn more about Tech Elevator:
- The school’s virtual open houses cover topics like the job market in tech, the Tech Elevator curriculum, and the Pathway Program. Throughout these events, attendees can ask questions to ensure the program is right for them.
- You can start diving deeper into Tech Elevator’s curriculum with its free Learn to Code events and resources section.
- Take the aptitude test to determine if coding could be a future career for you.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
Thanks for a great article. We are very proud of what we do to help our students change their careers and lives.