Coding used to be a skill for the lucky.
Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen first fell in love with programming while attending a Seattle-based private school. It was one of the few schools in the country at the time to get a computer terminal. The pair was one of the few lucky ones to learn how to use it.
Minecraft creator Markus Persson got his start after his parents gifted him a Commodore 128 computer. He was only seven at the time. Known as the Yoda of Silicon Valley, Donald Knuth learned how to code during his freshman year in college after his school acquired an IBM 650 computer. “It was love at first sight,” he said.
Anyone Can Learn to Code Today
From Allen and Gates to Persson and Knuth, a pattern emerges. All of them learned to code—at a time when programming was still young—because they were lucky enough to get their hands on a computer, way before the hardware became a permanent fixture.
Today, that narrative has changed. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a school in the United States without computers. And whereas code was previously exclusive to the lucky, there now are plenty of options for people who wish to learn what has since been considered the language of the modern economy.
Of these options, one that’s gained increasing popularity is the coding bootcamps.
Get with the Programming
Tech companies cannot hire fast enough. This was the premise that led to the rise of coding bootcamps.
With their shorter yet equally intensive training programs, coding bootcamps can produce talents who have been primed and prepped for the demands of the tech industry.
The bootcamp allure has certainly attracted many. According to Career Karma’s latest State of the Bootcamp Market Report, nearly 45,000 students attended and graduated from coding bootcamps in 2020. That’s up by around 15,000 in student headcount from the previous year.
Several factors contribute to the growing fanfare. One of these is the prevalent belief that coding will soon become an assumed skill in most professions.
Put simply, to secure one’s relevance in the future of work, one will need to get with the programming. And quickly.
The problem is that with the rising number of bootcamp candidates, competition has become fiercer and standards for admission have risen higher. To get into the top-tier coding bootcamps, you’ll need more than passion to stand out.
Enter App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep Course, your one-stop on-ramp to even the most selective code schools today.
App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep Course: What’s In It For Me?
The premise of App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep Course is implicit in its name. Get trained up well enough that you’ll be ready to take on an immersive coding bootcamp education.
While it’s not the only prep course offered in the bootcamp space, it certainly is one of the best for several reasons.
Hit Six Birds with One Stone
App Academy’s prep course is agnostic yet intentional. This means that it wasn’t designed to direct you towards a one-way street to App Academy’s immersive software engineering programs.
Rather, undertaking the prep course will direct you toward multiple lanes, the destinations being any of these six coding bootcamps: App Academy, Flatiron School, Hack Reactor, Lambda School, Fullstack Academy, and Rithm School.
The prep course’s value proposition was designed around the recognition that the bootcamp you go to matters. And this is why although the program is a preparatory one, it doesn’t fall short on depth.
Training Wheels for New Developers
The promise is this: after 70 hours of study, you’ll be well-equipped to secure a seat in one of the country’s top coding bootcamps.
App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep Course focuses on exposing students to the fundamentals of JavaScript, arguably the most popular programming language in the world for eight years running.
Each week, you’ll work your way up from the most basic JavaScript concepts to the most advanced ones. True to the coding bootcamp structure, this prep course marries practice with theory.
So you won’t just be learning about JavaScript in theory, you’ll also get to try your hand at JavaScript programming through weekly bootcamp practice problems.
This will give you significant leverage when you sit in any technical interview during the bootcamp application process. And speaking of interviews, the latter part of the curriculum trains you for just that.
During this time, you’ll participate in a series of one-on-one mock technical and behavioral interviews designed to prepare you for the rigorous bootcamp selection process. By the end of the program, you’ll be able to walk in on any bootcamp admissions interviews with confidence.
A bonus: because this program is designed for individuals with little to no programming experience, App Academy offers tutoring sessions courtesy of App Academy’s instructors.
These sessions galvanize the students’ programming foundations, making sure that they stay on track with their learning.
Bootcamp Prep Live vs. Bootcamp Prep Online
App Academy delivers its prep course in two formats, albeit using the same curriculum. Depending on your learning needs and availability, you can either opt for in-person instruction or online self-paced learning.
There are three important points worth highlighting if you choose the Bootcamp Prep Live. First, you’ll need to attend either App Academy’s San Francisco or New York campus.
Second, the course is divided into a month of structured classes, lasting 2.5 hours a day for five days per week. Third, you’ll need to pay $2,999 to secure a seat in the course.
What if you go for the Bootcamp Prep Online? Two things. First, the class is self-paced and designed to be completed within two months. Second, you can avail of one of three plans: Standard ($995), Plus ($1,795), and Premium ($3,795).
All tiers offer the same curriculum. The difference lies in the number of tutoring and interview prep hours you’ll get. The higher the tier, the more hours you get for both. If you get accepted into any of App Academy’s immersive bootcamp programs, the cost of the prep course will be deducted from your deposit.
However it pans out, you’ll have nothing to lose but a little bit of time. Instead, you’ll earn enough knowledge and skills to jumpstart your development career.
Is the App Academy Bootcamp Prep Course For You?
It certainly can be if you fit either of the personas below.
1. You want to get into one of the eligible bootcamps.
The prep course is, after all, a preliminary step that you can take to get set up for the rigorous selection process that’s typically seen in top-tier bootcamps. App Academy should know.
To date, App Academy is one of the most selective coding bootcamps in existence, with an acceptance rate of a mere three to five percent.
This makes the school the perfect authority to offer a bootcamp prep course. It knows the skills, potential, and mindset that top-tier bootcamps look for precisely because it is one.
2. You want to gauge your interest in software development.
Is software development something you can do? Is it something you see yourself enjoying? Is it something you can make a career out of?
The bootcamp prep course gives you a firsthand glimpse into the world of coding. This makes it a great avenue for you to dip your toes into the field without having to spend too much time or money.
3. You want to learn basic coding skills.
Say, you don’t have any dreams of becoming the next Steve Jobs, no dreams of becoming a software developer, or any role in between. This bootcamp prep course can still be right for you.
In the digital age, it pays to be a computer geek. Literally and figuratively. With coding quickly assuming greater relevance in the modern economy, having some degree of coding knowledge has become a sharp career differentiator in whichever industry you work in. After all, the prep course doesn’t just teach you how to code. It likewise instills the value of analytical thinking and problem-solving, two of the most vital skills today.
Be Coding Bootcamp-Ready
App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep Course provides a foundation for its students to go further, whether in their present careers or towards further training.
Five years since its creation, the Bootcamp Prep Course—delivered live and online—has introduced over 2,200 students to the world of coding. All graduates who came in intending to get into one of the eligible bootcamps successfully secured their seats after the prep course.
The narrative is changing. Today, becoming a programmer is no longer just a product of luck, it’s also a product of potential and commitment.
In the same way, the top coding bootcamps in the country have set a high precedent for anyone who wishes to go through their doors. Will and luck are not enough. Grit, skills, and mindset make the cut.
Are you ready? You will be. Explore the App Academy Bootcamp Prep Course and get into some of the best coding bootcamps in the market.
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.
