May 2020 Coding Bootcamp News

Table of Contents

• The Latest on Coding Bootcamps in the Time of Coronavirus
• Bootcamps Reskilling the Workforce
• Q1 Earnings Reports & Layoffs at Bootcamps
• Is Online Learning The New Normal?
• Tips for the Remote Tech Job Hunt
• Bridging the Tech Gap: Diversity in Tech News
• New Coding Bootcamps + Courses + Campuses
• Our Favorite May Pieces on the Course Report Blog

While the global pause on life-as-we-know-it continued through May, we continued to see coding bootcamps taking extraordinary action to meet the needs of those who are unemployed or underemployed due to COVID-19. May was also abuzz with ideas on how to reskill a workforce through partnerships with bootcamps, and plenty of advice for those on the remote job hunt now. Plus, we’re diving into how large edtech companies Chegg, K12, and 2U fared in Q1 and the 14 new coding bootcamps we’ve added to the Course Report school directory. 

Curious about what happened in April? Check out last month’s episode with the biggest bootcamp news from April 2020.

The Latest on Coding Bootcamps in the Time of Coronavirus

• Juno College of Technology sold its 12-acre campus this month. BetaKit reports that the sale was in process before the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the bootcamp plans on re-opening its newly renovated downtown Toronto campus as soon as it is safe to do so. 

• BetaKit also reports that Juno College of Technology has expanded its pay-what-you-can Income Share Agreement program, increasing their ISA budget to about $1 million.

• Several bootcamps are trying to secure PPP loans – The Hill and BizJournals talked to Juha Mikkola, co-founder of Wyncode about their experience with the PPP loan application process.

• Fox News reports that Grand Circus in Detroit is offering a community relief scholarship to anyone who has lost their job or lost working hours. The scholarship covers 50% of the bootcamp tuition. 

• The Miami Herald reports that Wyncode, which transitioned online for COVID-19, is offering free tuition to its July cohort for eligible students that qualify for CareerSource resources. 

• In a press release, Codeworks says they are now offering a free, online JavaScript course to help companies reskill their workforce.

• In Africa, the Chatsworth Rising Sun reports that Le Wagon has joined forces with Honoris United Universities to provide a free, online web development course. 

• In a press release, Revature announced its “CodeFirst,” which provides free, instructor-led virtual coding courses to essential workers and their families as well as others who have been impacted by COVID-19.

• To support those affected by COVID-19 in Indiana, The Indy Channel reports that Eleven Fifty Academy now provides a free, online intro to coding course.

• WRAL.com reports that Momentum transitioned their in-person course to an interactive, online classroom, and also held a virtual Demo Day.

Bootcamps Reskilling the Workforce

• Riaz Moola, the founder of Hyperion Dev, was quoted in South African publication IOL about the future of work and the skills workers will need to succeed.

• In Forbes this month, the founders of School16, Sergei and Vadim Revzin, wrote about the future of adult education and remote learning. 

• In FE News, Anna Stepanoff, CEO & Founder of Wild Code School, answered the question of whether e-learning could be the future of vocational training.

• This month, a piece in Forbes also mused that the two foundational skills for the future of work will be coding and empathy.

• On St. Louis Public Radio, Jeff Mazur, the executive director of LaunchCode spoke about the shortcomings of vocational programs in a post-Coronavirus world. 

• Data scientist Rahul Agarwal published a critique in BuiltIn about the legitimacy of new data scientists entering the field right now and if bootcamp curriculums are rigorous and comprehensive enough. 

• Sejuti Das of Analytics India Magazine wrote an opinion piece addressing the shortage of data scientists and his concern that data science programs are training students to be a jack of all trades, master of none. 

Q1 Earnings Reports & Layoffs at Bootcamps

• EdSurge dove into earnings and projections for several public edtech companies post-outbreak, including Chegg, K12, and 2U. 

• According to TechCrunch, Chegg experienced its third data breach in the past three years, which also affected Thinkful employees.

• With the increasing demand for online learning amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SeekingAlpha reports that 2U’s Q1 results were strong and much of the growth is attributed to Trilogy.

• Business Insider reports that Flatiron School, as part of WeWork, also laid off at least 100 employees. Flatiron School will also close its London and Atlanta campuses.

• In a press release, Udacity announced that its new Chief Marketing Officer is Kenny Kim, the former Global Head of Growth Marketing for Google Shopping. 

Is Online Learning The New Normal?

• UK’s software bootcamp Makers published a piece in the Cambridge Independent about how it's addressing the wellbeing of its students right now.

• Technically Philly attended a virtual demo day at Tech Elevator this month and wrote about the experience.

• By the way: A recent Economy League of Greater Philadelphia report shows that Philly’s tech sector is among the strongest during the pandemic, and is likely to grow as more companies adapt to remote work and increased technical and cybersecurity needs.

• On the Course Report Blog, we did virtual coding bootcamp tours with LearningFuze and Codesmith this month.

• A FinExtra piece weighs the pros and cons of debt, reminding us that taking on debt in the form of ISAs or loans is sometimes a positive necessity to investing in your future.

• In Protocol, Lambda School CEO Austen Allred expressed his concerns about traditional education transitioning online.

• VentureBeat reports that GitHub just released a new Codespaces function, which makes it easier for developers to join a project, launch a developer environment, and start coding all from their browser.

Tips for the Remote Tech Job Hunt

• The Daily Mail broke down the ins and outs of how to master a Zoom job interview. 

• In Forbes, recruiters shared the top 9 mistakes job seekers are making amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

• TechSpark published advice and a list of resources for tech talent who have been furloughed. 

• InformationWeek published their list of the top 10 programming languages that are in demand right now.

• Crunchbase covered how the financial services industry is still going strong, and points out that bootcamps like Flatiron School are ensuring that there is a pool of talent. 

Bridging the Tech Gap: Diversity in Tech News

• Forbes reported on a recent TrustRadius survey that illustrated four ways in which women in tech are negatively impacted by COVID-19. 

• The Voice reported on a new coding bootcamp, The Black Codher, which was created to help unemployed black and minority ethnic females in the West Midlands area of England find opportunities to work in the tech industry. 

New Coding Bootcamps + Courses + Campuses

• WISHTV reports that WGU (Western Governors University) has partnered up with Indianapolis-based Kenzie Academy to offer a new avenue for students to earn an IT degree. 

• The New School launched a course called “Live Coding,” which incorporates writing code in order to change a live process, like sounds or visuals, usually during a performance. This course is part of The New School’s new minor program, “Code as a Liberal Art,” which treats computer science as a means for creative expression, cultural criticism, and civic awareness. 

In April, we added these 14 new bootcamps to the Course Report directory:

• University of Miami Digital Skills Bootcamp (powered by HackerU)

• Nexus at University of Michigan Cybersecurity Bootcamp (powered by HackerU)

• New Jersey Institute of Technology Cybersecurity Bootcamp (powered by HackerU)

• Hofstra University Bootcamp (powered by QuickStart)

• Colorado State University Pueblo Bootcamp (powered by QuickStart)

• Syracuse University Bootcamps (powered by Stack Education)

• Suffolk University Bootcamp (powered by Stack Education)

• Emerson College Bootcamp (powered by Stack Education)

• Coding Deep Dive

• EmergingEd

• Le Reacteur

• Deep Dive Learning Academy

Our Favorite May Pieces on the Course Report Blog

Liz’s favorite piece this month was interviewing Jane Shaw, the IT Manager at Progressive Insurance. Even during the pandemic, Progressive is still hiring Tech Elevator bootcamp grads. Jane gives great advice in this Q&A about how to stand out in the interview process as a bootcamp grad, so it’s a must-read.

Jess’s favorite blog piece was her Q&A with Fullstack Academy cybersecurity bootcamp grads, Fabianna and Sarah. Jess enjoyed hearing about their bootcamp experience, their tips for getting the CompTIA certifications, how they made the job hunt work for them, and what a cybersecurity professional actually does every day.