Lighthouse Labs exists in a world where the obligations of working adults can prevent them from pursuing their education goals. Work and family can often eat up much of the time that many working people would otherwise have. However, this Canada-based coding and data science education company believes tech reskilling and upskilling should be accessible to all—regardless of how busy your schedules might be.
Its program offerings are designed to give students the freedom of choice to get a tech education that works for their lifestyle, between part-time courses, short-term intensive bootcamps, and longer-term, part-time programs.
Attractive Price Point at Lighthouse Labs
While the price point for education with Lighthouse Labs is often less important than the quality of its education and the job prospects that follow, it remains an important consideration for prospective students. At Lighthouse Labs, programs range between $1,446 (1,750 CAD) and $10,743 (13,000 CAD).
This price shifts, though, depending on the program you choose, the resources that will be made available to you, and your career goals. For example, Lighthouse Labs has recently revamped its approach to allow students who are not seeking jobs (non-job seekers) to opt out of career services, thus reducing their tuition to $7,850 (9,500 CAD). This, however, does not affect your overall bootcamp experience. You still enjoy the same top-tier curriculum, well-rounded support, mentorship, outcomes-driven education, and more.
Scholarships
To help make tech education more accessible, Lighthouse Labs offers various scholarship opportunities. There are two running scholarships at the moment: the COVID-19 Relief Scholarship and Flex Scholarship. Check out their financial guide for more information about financing.
COVID-19 Relief Scholarship
This initiative is meant to “help recipients develop skills that will allow them to launch new careers and get back to work during these unsettling times”. So far, over a million dollars has been released to provide students with scholarship opportunities, with more still available for prospective students.
For full-time programs, $2,480 (3,000 CAD) are awarded to select students enrolled in its Data Science and Web Development courses. Meanwhile, $645 (750 CAD) will be awarded to select students enrolled in any of its five part-time courses. Application deadlines for scholarships fall generally a month before the start date at which point prospective students must have gone through the admissions process. As admissions can take 2-3 weeks, we recommend applying for scholarships 6-8 weeks prior to your desired start date.
Flex Program Scholarship
This scholarship is meant to help anyone looking to make a career pivot and explore opportunities in tech. It can benefit those who have previously worked in industries affected by economic turbulence, such as retail, hospitality, tourism, oil and gas, manufacturing, and healthcare. It’s also open to those who are unemployed and underemployed, as well as those simply looking for a work-life balance.
“The intent of this scholarship is to make digital skills training as accessible and inclusive as possible,” Lighthouse Labs said. Eligible students will receive a $2,893 (3,500 CAD) scholarship toward its Web Development Flex Program.
How Scholarships Helped Lighthouse Labs Graduates Find Success
Sophie Dubois is a recent Lighthouse Labs graduate, and one of the first recipients of the COVID-19 Scholarship. When her studies abroad were brought to a screeching halt by the increasing spread of and concerns surrounding the pandemic, she returned to Canada and developed a coding hobby, which she later turned into a career with the help of Lighthouse Labs.
“I, along with most of my cohort, did not have a background in computer science. I have a bachelor’s degree in biology…I had no income and no job prospects, so I decided to turn my hobby into a career and join Lighthouse Labs. It was not an easy decision, but I have no regrets and am so happy I decided to dive headfirst and commit to this career change,” Sophie, who is now a junior software engineer, said.
Quinn Branscombe is another recipient of the COVID-19 Scholarship. Quinn spent years working jobs in thrift stores but felt that the time had come to make a shift in their career. After spending much time ruminating over their childhood dream of pursuing video game development, Quinn came across Lighthouse Labs during their time in quarantine.
As they worked on a larger personal project which involved building a custom engine module for Godot, Quinn realized that their biggest obstacle was their location. Being in a small town, there aren’t any local tech opportunities and they knew that their option was to pursue remote work.
“I thought about trying to get my start as a freelancer, but realized that my past experiences didn’t lend themselves well towards a marketable skill set. I read that bootcamps were an effective way to gather the skills and experience necessary to get a freelance job in a short amount of time, and that sounded perfect for my situation,” Quinn said.
For Charlie Hayes, a former tutor, the scholarship meant taking a huge financial load off their mind. “Scrounging together the funds was really difficult—the bank was taking forever with our loan application, and new expenses kept popping up. We (my wife and I) had planned several contingency plans, but they had all fallen through. In the end, it was the scholarship that allowed us to find the money without resorting to credit card cash advances. It was a lifesaver.”
Now, using the skills they acquired from Lighthouse Labs, Charlie is working on an educational application together with their former supervisor. Charlie’s now able to combine their technical skills and passion for education in a career that he enjoys.
Meanwhile, an alum and a COVID-19 Scholarship recipient, Meghan Hein wrote online about her scholarship journey. “Once I was accepted into the program, I then answered two essay questions in order to be considered for the scholarship. The essay questions asked how I have been affected by COVID-19 and why the course at Lighthouse Labs was important to me. After a few weeks, I received word I had been selected for the scholarship. I was so thrilled! The financial stress of attending a bootcamp during COVID became a lot more manageable after receiving the scholarship. What an incredible opportunity!”
Now that you’ve heard about some of the scholarship opportunities that Lighthouse Labs has to offer, let’s take a look at its impact initiatives and how Canada’s status as a tech hub makes it a great environment for tech aspirants from all walks of life.
Impact Initiatives at Lighthouse Labs
Lighthouse Labs works with many different organizations across Canada and worldwide to make tech education a collaborative effort. These include BC Teaching Teachers, and the Yukon Government Remote Bootcamp, among others.
Funded in part by the government of Canada, the Digital Skills for Youth program helps to connect post-secondary students to career opportunities so that their future work endeavors in the digital work field and tech world are more easily secured. Lighthouse Labs alum Jack Lobe, who made the career transition from environmental science to data analysis, said, “I don’t know where I’d be without the Digital Skills for Youth program, which helped finance my employment.”
Other impact initiatives that seek to further maximize accessibility through Lighthouse Labs include Youth in Tech, in partnership with Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, as well as the Indigenous Tech Talent Development in partnership with the First Nations Technology Council.
Seeing as women make up only 20 percent of individuals working in tech, Lighthouse Labs strives to increase these figures by working with organizations such as the International Development and Relief Foundation and The United Way Greater Toronto, for initiatives like Women Learning to Code and Take Leadership. These organizations boast a 100 percent employment rate for all their bootcamp grads and provide an introductory course covering Front-End Fundamentals in JavaScript as well as a full-time 12-week Web Development Bootcamp.
Canada’s Thriving Tech Scene
There has been a considerable rise in tech job opportunities in many major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary. Toronto in particular has boomed in terms of career and opportunity growth. According to Forbes, the Toronto-Waterloo corridor has shown impressive growth, comparable to the growth of a ‘unicorn startup’. Lighthouse Labs has a blog article detailing Toronto’s top tech startups so that you can get a deeper look at why the GTA is an ideal location to start a new tech career.
Ottawa, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary are also worth looking at for their tech opportunities. Lighthouse Labs has produced content on the best tech companies to work for in Calgary, as well as the best tech companies to work for in Vancouver. For a broader look at the scope of the state of the Canadian tech industry as a whole, Lighthouse Labs has a blog post on that, too.
Canada as a whole is no stranger to tech job opportunities, but what are some of the most ideal positions for prospective tech workers to pursue? Software development is huge in Vancouver for its salary prospects, and in Toronto, data scientists rake in significant pay.
Lighthouse Labs alum Fatima Altaf has undergone a dramatic career change; she went from shaping public policy to shaping lines of code, as highlighted in an interview with Lighthouse Labs. Many Lighthouse Labs grads also found new careers amidst the pandemic and have since branched out and found their careers developing at TELUS.
Alum Elissa Matsushita, for example, said, “I came to a point in my career where I couldn’t see myself being excited about my industry in the long run, and after years of hard work I decided I owed it to myself to explore my curiosity of the tech industry—and I’m so glad I did! I started off self-learning and taking online courses during evenings and weekends. I figured if I enjoyed it enough to spend my free time studying, it was worth a shot.”
Opportunities are also available to recent immigrants striving to succeed in a tech career in Canada. Take alumni Prachi Singh and Fayez Saadi, for example, who found new careers after acquiring skills through Lighthouse Labs.
Web Flex Bootcamp Program
The Web Flex Bootcamp is a 30-week program with a flexible schedule, allowing students to enjoy the comfort of remote learning while balancing the rest of their lives. It also comes with a comprehensive curriculum, personalized mentorship, and career support. Lessons are deployed via a mix of lectures, group projects, and mentorship. The curriculum covers in-demand tools like JavaScript, Node.js, HTML, CSS, HTTP, and more.
The admissions process includes an online application, a subsequent interview, and a logic/technical assessment exam. Once you’re enrolled, you can start work on your foundational prep work.
Career services and coaching are available through the Web Flex program (like the bootcamp). The team works to match students with the best-fitting developer roles based on their performance and strengths, as well as professional goals. Tech roles pursued by Lighthouse Labs alumni include data analysis, UX/UI design, DevOps engineering, IT support, and more. For further insight into the potential careers that Lighthouse Labs can help you launch, check out its most recent student outcomes report.
The Web Flex program is designed to be highly accessible. With its flexible format, students are able to balance both their personal lives and education without having to sacrifice one for another. Students don’t have to forego their current work or family responsibilities to upskill for a chance at a better career.
Lighthouse Labs recommends that students block out roughly 25 hours per week in order to work through the program. The school uses many online platforms like Slack, GitHub, and Discord to optimize the learning experience. Lectures are conducted online and are live-streamed, but they’re also available for viewing after the live session has concluded.
Learn with Lighthouse Labs
Lighthouse Labs has a large number of available scholarship funds, support resources, and impact initiatives to help those who otherwise might not have access to digital skills training.
Its Web Flex program is also designed to fit into your schedule and not the other way around. This makes it easier for aspiring programmers to obtain the skills they need to make a successful career pivot.
If you want to take that first step with Lighthouse Labs, contact the school for more information or start your application online.
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.
