#codeschools

Earlier today, Course Report  released the data from their 2015 Coding Bootcamp Survey. The survey results represent responses from a total of 63 US/Canada-based coding schools (including Epicodus), and revealed some interesting data points.

Market Growth Rate

Course Report estimates that the code school market will grow by 2.4x, to an estimated 16,056 graduates in 2015, up from 6,740 in 2014.

Tuition Range

The average tuition of the courses that qualified for the survey is $11,063, with an average program length of 10.8 weeks. For comparison, Epicodus classes are $3,400 and run about 20 weeks long, including a five week internship.

Teaching Languages

Ruby is the most commonly taught language and is used in 39% of courses. Course Report estimates that code schools will graduate 9,748 Ruby developers in 2015. JavaScript also gained momentum and now accounts for 23% of courses.

For students choosing a code school, selectivity matters, here’s why:

1.  Selectivity is an indicator of classmate caliber.

One of the most important factors in the educational experience at a career accelerator is the students.  A student’s classmates are one of the most important aspect of the career accelerator experience.  The classmate's intelligence, experience, attitude, and work ethic all impact the student's learning experience.  A strong class creates a competitive atmosphere that pushes students to improve.  Classmates are also the first line of instruction.  Students explain concepts to each other and bringing various perspectives to the same problem.  An environment of talent and motivation is a career accelerator's best educational asset.

It seems reasonable that low acceptance rates indicate a higher quality of accepted students.  A school’s selectivity can be an excellent sign of the education a student will receive at a career accelerator.

2.  Selectivity is an indicator to employers.

Employers don’t have the time to vet job candidates on their own.  They are busy, and thus look to digestible indicators to assist them on judging job candidates.  The reputation of a school is exactly one of those indicators.  Most code schools have not yet developed strong industry reputations with many employers.  Employers have to look to other indicators to evaluate a school and its graduates.  A low acceptance rate can go a long way in indicating the caliber of students at a school.  

For example, when a student from a school with a 5% acceptance rate applies for a job, that is an excellent indicator.  The school has vetted and selected that student above 19 other potential junior developers.  The employer can rely on a school's selection process and selectivity rate.  That low acceptance rate is a great indicator that an employer should give that student another look.

In the absence of broad school brand recognition, a low acceptance rate serves as a good proxy for school prestige.

This article is not intended to say that selectivity should be the number one metric a potential student considers.  It may not even be one of the most important factors.  But, selectivity can serve as an excellent indicator of the caliber of classmates a student can expect.  And can also indicate the type of graduates an employer can expect.  As such, it is an meaningful statistic for students making their decision about where to attend code school.

"I hope to see Ruby help every programmer in the world to be productive, and to enjoy programming, and to be happy. That is the primary purpose of Ruby language.” - Yukihiro Matsumoto, Designer & Developer of Ruby

Ruby is a general purpose, high-level programming language created in the 1990s and over the past two decades, has played an ever-increasing role in the programming world. With the popularity of Ruby on Rails for web applications, the language has become a favorite for many developers and programmers. One of the advantages of Ruby is it’s syntax, which is much easier than other “lower-level” programming languages. This makes it easier for students with little to no experience and increases the opportunity to jump in and begin to learn code.

With it’s popularity and demand rising proportionally, code schools have sprung up across the country, eager to help potential students understand and harness the power and simplicity of Ruby.

The following are 9 schools on hack_app that will teach you Ruby and put you on a course to speaking the language fluently.

1. Anyone Can Learn to Code (Chicago, IL)

Anyone Can Learn To Code is a nights-and-weekends web development bootcamp that is beginning this summer in Chicago. It's a 12 week program focused on Ruby, Rails, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TDD, and API development, and expects no previous programming experience from the student.

2. Bitmaker Labs (Toronto, ON)

Using their practical approach, Bitmaker Labs teaches Ruby, Rails and JavaScript. Their methods of teaching the languages and frameworks includes recreating the functionality and implementation of some of the world’s most popular web applications, including Amazon.com and Kickstarter.

3. BrainStation (Toronto, ON)

BrainStation is located in downtown Toronto and offers web and mobile development courses. BrainStation uses intimate class sizes to offer collaborative, project-based learning, facilitated by industry professionals in order to create a classroom environment that mimics the real world.

4. CodeCore (Vancouver, BC)

CodeCore is an 8 week intensive program for Web Software Development. If you’re an entrepreneur, company or professional, CodeCore aims to give you the skill set to take your business/career to the next level. Learn from nine instructors in a project based environment focused on Ruby on Rails with foundations in HTML/CSS, Javascript/jQuery and popular APIs.

5. DevChamps (Dallas, TX)

DevChamp’s goal is to jump-start your career and brighten your horizons by teaching you how to code. DevChamps strives to provide affordable technology education through a project-based hands-on teaching approach with corporate mentorship to advance careers.

6. DevPoint Labs (Salt Lake City, UT - Las Vegas, NV)

DevPoint Labs is a 11 week immersive training in an intimate class and lab setting. They established a curriculum of tools, lectures and skills that will build you into a developer. DevPoint Labs has two locations: 1. Salt Lake City, Utah and 2. Las Vegas, Nevada.

7. The Iron Yard (Charleston, SC - Atlanta, GA - Greenville, SC)

The Iron Yard Academy teaches intensive, three-month courses that mentors students into professional junior-level programmers. Their program aims to go beyond tactical skills and dig into what it means to think like a software engineer. They believe programming is a lifelong study and is best learned by living a lifestyle of continual development.

8. MakerSquare (Austin, TX)

MakerSquare is a 10 week immersive full-time web development training program located in Austin and Dallas, TX. MakerSquare takes individuals who have tried to learn web development on their own to the next level - employable. They teach the full-stack (Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, HTML/CSS) and various JavaScript frameworks like Backbone.js.

9. Tech Talent South (Asheville, NC - Atlanta, GA - Durham, NC - Charlotte, SC )

Tech Talent South's mission is to grow tech talent in the Southeast and empower students who are on a mission to do something big. Their beginner-focused code immersion programs aim to take you from being completely new to code, to a “web dev pro” in eight fast paced, and exciting weeks. They are currently looking for passionate, persistent, and creative people who are on a mission to do something big.