Tulsa is known as the “world’s oil capital” but in recent years, the city has diversified into different sectors like finance, aviation, and more prominently, technology.
The city witnessed a 19 percent total tech growth over five years, according to CBRE. In 2020 alone, it recorded a total of 12,460 tech employment. The same report listed Tulsa as one of the Next Tech Markets, citing its potential to “offer additional talent pools to employers seeking to expand their geographical reach and uncover opportunities”.
Venture capital (VC) firms like Cortado Ventures, Oklahoma Life Sciences Fund, and i2E have made Tulsa their home base, with more to follow. Remote workers and digital talent have also flocked to Oklahoma’s second-largest city, thanks to initiatives like Tulsa Remote and Techlahoma.
As the city gears up to dominate the tech space in Oklahoma and beyond, one school has placed itself at the forefront of this maneuver: Holberton School Tulsa. It aims to be the training ground and incubation lab to breed the tech skills needed in Tulsa.
Take advantage of Holberton School Tulsa’s flexible financing options to fund your computer science training and take one step closer toward your dream tech career.
Apply to Holberton School today.What Is Holberton School Tulsa?
Holberton School Tulsa is part of a global network of software engineering schools present in five continents. Holberton School has dedicated itself to training students in developing and advancing their tech skills to meet the needs of a technologically advanced society.
“As our city continues to innovate and grow, it’s critical that we cultivate our own startups and ensure that Tulsans of diverse backgrounds may benefit from the technology sector’s economic advantages. By starting locally, Tulsa will improve life for its own residents while serving as a model for others across the country,” Executive Director Libby Ediger said.
Placed in the heart of Tulsa, Holberton School Tulsa is dedicated to serving underrepresented communities in tech, providing them with an equal playing field to be competitive in the tech space. It has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 2020.
Holberton School is named after a pioneer and a visionary. Born in 1917, Frances Elizabeth Snyder Holberton was one of the six original programmers of the first general-purpose digital computer, ENIAC. She went on to assist in creating what would be known as modern-day software engineering.
The school strives to live up to the legacy through its career-oriented programs, designed to prepare students to take on entry-level positions in tech from the get-go. “We are committed to preparing students academically and professionally to meet the constantly changing employment requirements needed to be successful in a career in software engineering,” it said.
With about 70 percent of its students from the Tulsa area, Holberton School seems to be living up to its promises of supporting the city’s drive to become a major tech hub. The remaining 30 percent comprises students from other major cities across the US such as New York, Florida, California, and Boston who have relocated to Tulsa to begin their tech career journey.
Why Learn Tech Skills with Holberton School Tulsa?
Holberton School Tulsa aims to remain progressive in its offerings as technology evolves. This is evident in the way the programs and experiences are structured.
Low Barrier to Entry
To secure a seat in Holberton School Tulsa, prospective students are not required to have a college degree or coding experience. They only need to have a high school diploma or equivalent experience alongside a passion for learning.
The entire application process is automated with little to no human involvement to mitigate unconscious bias. Students are also provided with flexible financing options for them to choose from. This is to maintain students’ focus without the limitation of financial burden.
Learning-By-Doing Methodology
Holberton School Tulsa has taken a creative approach to nurture and educate its students to stand out in the tech job market. This is achieved by having project-based and peer learning at the core of its programs.
It believes that peer learning is a great way to increase comprehension and engage students in building collaborative working skills. And by working on real-life projects, students will be able to improve their critical thinking skills, be well-grounded in basic concepts, open up their creative minds, and expand their knowledge base.
The school also trains its students using real-world data to prepare them for real-life skills application. By the time they graduate, they are already familiar with practical projects and common challenges and are ready to face them head-on.
Professional Development Skills Training
Having technical proficiency is not enough; you need well-rounded skills to be able to land a job. That is why, from the moment students are enrolled in Holberton School Tulsa’s program, they are provided with an immersive professional growth workshop, meetups, projects, and work simulations that will prepare them for their first tech job role and beyond.
Students receive constant drills in the following:
- Mock interviews. To build students’ confidence in answering interview questions convincingly and ace them, mock interviews prepare students by mirroring real-world interview scenarios and teaching students to communicate their ideas and answers.
- Technical writing. Technical writing skills will allow students to comprehensively communicate their ideas and share their knowledge.
- Whiteboarding. Whiteboarding is an essential skill in the tech industry that would aid students in presenting their ideas clearly, conducting effective planning, and passing interviews.
- Collaboration. Most businesses depend on collaborative work to be successful. Collaboration skills will enable students to work with other team members towards business growth by applying their interpersonal, communication, and project management skills learned during the program.
- The framework. The framework is designed to provide the structure and order necessary in balancing and maintaining a productive learning environment which will be helpful to students once they begin their careers.
Vibrant Student Community
There is no dull moment in the students’ journey towards becoming tech professionals. Aside from the immersive in-class learning experience, students organize events to engage with other community groups in Tulsa such as Tulsa Remote and Techlahoma.
Built-In Career Services
The career services provide continuous assistance to graduates for job placement in their respective fields of study. This service is free of charge to all Holberton School students. The service includes resume building, portfolio building, interview-facing skills, and job search-related assistance.
An Overview of Computer Science Programs at Holberton School Tulsa
Holberton School Tulsa offers seven computer science programs in areas like full stack development, blockchain, machine learning, and more, as listed below. Holberton School’s programs run on a full-time schedule, lasting between 12 and 20 months. Students are trained in critical areas of career development on top of crucial development tools and concepts.
They also acquire skills that can set them up for a successful tech career such as critical thinking, project management, research information, time management, goal setting, project prioritization, collaborative learning, and collaborative working.
Classes are typically held in person in Tulsa but students in other parts of Oklahoma can also learn online.
See the full list of programs below along with the corresponding careers you can pursue when you graduate.
- Computer Science and Machine Learning
Potential Career Paths: AI Engineer, Python Developer, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Big Data Developer, Machine Learning Infrastructure Developer, and Tensorflow Developer. - Computer Science Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Potential Career Paths: Game Developer, Mobile Game Developer, Systems Engineer, AR/VR Content Developer, Interactive Designer, Immersive Experience Designer, Gameplay, and Programmer - Computer Science, Linux Programming, Advanced Algorithms, and Blockchain
Potential Career Paths: Junior Software Engineer, Software Engineer, Embedded System Programmer, SRE, Junior Blockchain Engineer, Unix Developer, Distributed System Developer, and C Developer. - Computer Science and Full Stack Web Development
Potential Career Paths: Full-stack Web Developer, Frontend Developer, React Developer, NodeJS Developer, Python Developer, Javascript Developer, Backend Developer, UI/UX Developer, and Q/A Developer. - Computer Science and Back End Web Development
Potential Career Paths: Backend Developer, Python Developer, and Javascript Developer - Computer Science and Front End Web Development
Potential Career Paths: Frontend Developer, React Developer, Javascript Developer, or Web Integrator. - Computer Science and DevOps Engineering
Potential Career Paths: DevOps Engineer, System Administrator, and Site Reliability Engineer
Holberton School Tulsa Tuition and Financing Options
The cost of Holberton School Tulsa programs depends on their duration. To fund the training, students can choose from several flexible financing options or opt for a deferred payment.
The school also offers an Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) option where students only pay their tuition if they land a job that pays at least $40,000 a year. The payment is a fixed percentage of their monthly salary for a maximum of 42 months, or until the tuition cap is reached. This option is suitable for students looking for an alternative to an upfront payment.
Holberton School Tulsa also offers Need-Based Living Assistance up to $1,500 a month for eligible students. The entire repayment is waived if students remain in Tulsa after graduation.
Start Your Tech Career in Tulsa
Tulsa’s tech boom presents career switches and tech aspirants with a golden opportunity to be a part of an emerging tech community. Priming students to claim their spot in this thriving sector is Holberton School Tulsa.
“At Holberton, we scrap traditional lecture halls in favor of hands-on experience. We throw students off the deep-end into projects, offering them a learning framework that enables them to master problem-solving. Not only are students exposed to the fundamentals of software engineering, but they also have access to content on topics like augmented reality and machine learning: something not previously available in Oklahoma,” Libby said.
Visit Holberton School Tulsa’s website to see how its programs might fit your needs or enroll directly in one of Holberton School Tulsa’s programs to begin your tech career journey 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.
