One would assume that issues of gender inequality in the technology sector would’ve evened out in 2021. But here we are, with women and people who are gender-diverse still underrepresented in the tech industry. Though culturally we have seen shifts towards gender equality in the last few decades, many industries still seem to have a glass ceiling that women and non-binary people have to break through.
A study conducted this year by Accenture and Girls Who Code revealed that the number of female tech workers was actually higher in 1984, at 35 percent, than it is today, at 32 percent. It also showed that 50 percent of women in tech dropped out of the profession before the age of 35, compared to 20 percent in other industries.
Many factors might have caused this outcome but Hackbright Academy aims to change that narrative. How? By running a coding bootcamp geared toward women and gender-diverse people in a bid to bridge that gender gap in software engineering.
Hackbright Academy is a software engineering bootcamp that offers a 12-week program, preparing women and non-binary people for dynamic and fulfilling careers in tech.
Secure your spot at Hackbright Academy today.What Makes Hackbright Academy Different?
Hackbright Academy is unique because it is a bootcamp designed for women, non-binary, and gender diverse people. Founded in 2012, Hackbright is geared towards changing the gender ratio in the tech industry and helping its students know that they will have exciting careers in this sector.
Learning How to Learn
For Ashley Trinh, Program Director of Hackbright, one of the core advantages to Hackbright’s teaching style is that students learn how to learn, rather than be boxed in knowing the specifics of only one coding language.
She says that it’s easy to think that hiring managers are looking for engineers who know a particular concrete programming language or a particular tech stack, but that’s not often the case. “Once you’ve engineered for a while, you start to understand that computers all work the same way,” says Ashley.
Put simply, if you have the fundamentals, wherever you go and whatever you’re working on, you can apply that skillset to new programming languages or tech stacks. “Technology is temporary, fundamentals are forever. That’s what we’re trying to teach at Hackbright.”
What does that look like in practice? Hackbright’s teaching style is to help students connect the specific technologies they’re learning to the fundamentals. This allows students to gain a better understanding of how they’re learning, not just of what they’re learning.
“We’re not teaching you this so that you become a React developer. This is just a vehicle for you to practice engineering, design, and creative problem-solving skills. We want you to notice how this API is structured [and] how these engineers have designed their web framework. Because you’ll notice that other web frameworks use the same pattern, just with different words to describe it.”
Ashley says it can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling the need to always teach the latest technology. However, at the end of the day, employers demand a solid understanding of the fundamentals and employees who know how to learn and do so quickly.
Technology is an ever-shifting field. The latest technology you learn today might not be the latest technology of next year. So it’s important to not learn what’s newest but learn how to learn, so you can stay on the cutting edge of the industry through your grasp on the fundamentals.
Accelerate Your Career With Soft Skills
The other part of the curriculum that sets Hackbright apart is its focus on helping students develop soft skills. As Ashley says, engineering is still a corporate position. You work in a team with other people. Those people are often managers, executives, and others who don’t work directly in technology and will need someone who can articulate the details to them.
“It’s important to learn to write persuasively and use verbal communication to defend your ideas [and] justify your decisions because that’s how you get visibility and accelerate your career,” she adds.
That’s why Hackbright incorporates multiple public speaking assignments into its curriculum. Students will gain experience presenting technical information to each other, as well as putting together a presentation or demo for their capstone project in video and written formats.
What Can You Learn at Hackbright Academy?
Prep Course
- Duration: 5 weeks (evenings and weekends)
- Tuition: $249
This course is for students who want to pursue a software engineering program but have no knowledge or background in coding. Hackbright Academy’s prep course helps you build this foundation as you fulfill the 37 hours of coding experience criteria for the software engineering program.
Students leave the course with a firm knowledge and understanding of Python, experience with pair programming, and all the essential tips required to solve any bootcamp application-level coding challenge.
Software Engineering Program
- Duration: 12 weeks full-time, 24 weeks part-time
- Tuition: $12,900
Hackbright’s Software Engineering course is conducted both full-time and part-time. The course is currently offered remotely, with plans to offer in-person courses when conditions allow.
This program focuses on Python, one of the most in-demand languages in the industry. Throughout the program, students learn the fundamentals of desktop and online software/web applications. Upon successful completion of the program, they would have gained the knowledge and confidence to pursue an entry-level software engineering role.
Program Overview
The curriculum is divided into 12 units, which cover a variety of modules.
- Unit 1. Software Engineering Fundamentals and Toolkit
- Unit 2. Dictionaries and Object Orientation
- Unit 3. Flask and the Web
- Unit 4. Front-End and Javascript
- Unit 5. SQL and SQLAlchemy
- Unit 6. Project Season and Project Technologies
- Unit 7-8. Project Season (cont.) and Applied Computer Science
- Unit 8-9. Project Season (cont.) and Algorithms and Data Structures
- Unit 10. Project Presentation Prep
- Unit 11-12. Career Weeks and Technical Interview Prep
Each day is a combination of real-time lectures, lightning talks, and pair programming as well as independent project work where students get to test out the theory they learned.
Hackbright Academy’s Career Development Program
For Hackbright Academy, its career curriculum and development program is as important as its coding curriculum. The career curriculum and development program runs concurrently with the technical training, with career coffees and career lectures occurring throughout the learning process.
Career lectures can help students get visibility with employers, Ashley notes. “If you can be more visible, you can be more successful.” Every student is eligible for a mentorship session, where students can ask their mentors about jobs and the industry. “They can help them network, introduce them to people, and start to understand what it’s really like to be a software engineer,” says Ashley.
Hackbright knows that community is important to learning, as it helps to grow your career, feel reassured, and secure about what you’re doing. Reaching out to the community allows students to see many different perspectives on the industry. The school also runs lectures on things like imposter syndrome and salary negotiation, as well as teaching how to format and prepare resumes.
“We want to create a culture of a community of learners rather than a community that’s trying to out-compete the other,” Ashley says.
How to Pay for Hackbright Academy
Pay Up Front
Hackbright Academy accepts upfront payments of $12,900 for its Software Engineering Program. If you don’t have the capacity for such bulk in a swing, Hackbright Academy offers numerous other payment and financing options for you.
Scholarships
Prep Scholarship
Students who complete Hackbright’s Prep course can apply their Prep tuition ($249) to the Software Engineering course.
Hackbright Changemaker Scholarship
Two half-tuition scholarships are awarded to applicants who show a strong technical aptitude and dedication to pursuing software engineering as a career. To be considered, applicants must submit a technical work sample as well as complete a technical interview.
Others
Hackbright Academy periodically offers other scholarship assistance programs for groups that have been historically underrepresented in STEM (including but not limited to: Women, Black, LatinX, Native American, first-generation college students, LGBTQ+, and/or people with disabilities).
Loans
Ascent Loans
Hackbright has partnered with Ascent Loans to provide students with loans starting at $2,000 that go towards their tuition costs, as well as up to $7,500 in living expenses for their time at the bootcamp. The loan repayment period stretches from 36 to 60 months, with a base rate of between 6.5 percent and 15.5 percent and a five percent origination fee.
The low fixed rates allow students to take up a loan without income or employment. Students can opt to make early payments or pay off the loan in full without prepayment fees.
Climb Credit Loans
Climb Credit and Hackbright are working together to offer students the option to apply for loans without affecting their credit score and to apply with multiple co-signers. Loans have 36-to-42-month terms, with base rates of 6.99 percent to 14.15 percent and a five percent origination fee.
Disclaimer: Federal loans are unavailable. Information was provided by Climb Credit and Ascent on September 8, 2021. Borrowers should verify all details and use whatever funding is best. More details at: https://hackbrightacademy.com/payment-plans/
Change the Face of Silicon Valley
Ashley’s biggest advice for someone wanting to join Hackbright Academy to pursue their dream in software engineering is to fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
“Software engineering is a cooperative process. So don’t assume that you have the best solution ever because your priority should be solving the problem no matter what, even if you didn’t come up with it. Don’t assume that you have all the answers, just follow the problem.”
If you think you could fall in love with the bootcamp, apply to be a part of Hackbright Academy’s next cohort today.
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.
