Four Programs For Folks Interested In Software Engineering

Thinking of making a career change? Software Engineering might be the move for you. Coding bootcamps vary in length but most can be between 12-16 weeks. They are courses/lessons designed to give you the skills you need to transition into a job as a programmer. If you’re looking for guidance and actionable courses, the options below may be best for you, and best of all, they are FREE!

CareerFoundry Web Development for Beginners Course

This is a great beginner course that is only five days long and based around a project which is a website that you build on your own. This is valuable as you can add it to your portfolio and get a taste of what being a software engineer could look like without making a four-year commitment. They offer more programs, but this is a great starting point.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a great place to start with free coding boot camps. They take a “learn by doing” approach. The company offers a huge range of paid and free options; Codecademy’s web development courses are an excellent way to learn to code quickly. Once you complete the beginner's courses in HTML and Ruby, you can move on to intermediate classes in CSS, the React library, and so much more. They also have one of the most diversified free courses ranging from learning Game Development as well as how to program Amazon Alexa devices.

Skillcrush

With this Skillcrush course, you can learn:

• HTML & CSS essentials: Learning the basic building blocks that go into every website.
• Visual and web design basics: Designing standout digital brands and stunning websites.
• Javascript 101: Learning the basics of the web’s most popular programming language.
• User Experience (UX): Learn to design and deliver digital experiences that are guaranteed to succeed.

The best part about these free courses and boot camps is that you can use them to build your portfolio and grow your clientele one-on-one as you search for your next gig. This will allow you to consistently use the skills you learned and stay relevant to companies and individual business owners.

freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp is an online learning platform that offers multiple free coding boot camps. The topics range, but some of the ones offered are Responsive Web Design, APIs, Frontend Development, and Machine Learning with Python. freeCodeCamp also offers thousands of coding challenges and rehearsals to common web developer interview questions; this is an excellent way to prepare for interviews. 

May these boot camps steer you in the right direction should you choose to pursue a career as a software engineer. Remember, your effort and dedication will tell you the results you will yield. Also, if opportunities don’t present themselves, create them. One of the beauties of not immediately getting a job is that the skills learned through these boot camps can help you start off as a freelancer and build your portfolio as you apply to jobs.