Best Classes Irvine, CA

Find & compare hands-on courses near Irvine or live online in coding, design, business, and more. We’ve chosen over 50 of the best tech courses from the top training providers to help you find the perfect fit.

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Irvine, California, is a master-planned city with a booming economy centered around technology, healthcare, education, and retail. With a high jobs-to-population ratio and leading employers like UC Irvine and Blizzard Entertainment, it offers exceptional career prospects in a growing community.

The City of Irvine, located in Orange County, California, has a population of about 314,000 people. The Greater Irvine Chamber calls this city a “jobs magnet, ” explaining that this is due in part to the fact that Irvine is a master-planned community, and was intentionally designed in a way that facilitates business. It says, “The Master Plan called for a variety of professional office buildings in strategically located business centers to ensure a strong and steady job base.” The chamber finds that the city’s effort to strategically plan for business has paid off and reports, “Today, with over 17,000 companies in Irvine, including one-third of all Fortune 500 companies, the city is a jobs magnet. In fact, Irvine has more jobs per resident than any city in America. Its jobs-to-population ratio of 94.8% is #1 among American cities.”

According to the City of Irvine, its top employers are: the University of California, Irvine (approximately 28,500 people employed); Peraton, which is a national security and technology company (17,000); the Irvine Unified School District (5,500); Edwards Lifesciences, a medical technology company (3,100); and Blizzard Entertainment, a video game company (2,300).

Tech and innovation are an important part of the Irvine economy, driving many of its businesses, which include companies in manufacturing, cybersecurity, automotive technology, energy, medical devices, and biochemical research. The Chamber says, “Top global technology companies have chosen Irvine as the location for their headquarters, including Edwards Lifesciences, Allergan, Broadcom, Alteryx, Ingram Micro, Masimo, Cylance, Mazda, Rivian, and Blizzard Entertainment, to name a few.”

An Overview of Major Irvine Industries

  • Retail & Ecommerce: Retail is an important part of Irvine’s economy. The Greater Irvine Chamber explains that, like many other aspects of the city, the retail sector was well planned. It says, “The Master Plan… made sure the city offered conveniently located local and regional retail centers.” It reports that the city’s retail sector is very successful: “Filled with interesting choices of boutique stores, national chains, and established and trendy dining concepts, the centers generate more than $60 million in annual revenue, which, along with the city’s business centers, helps keep Irvine’s economy strong.” Two of the biggest retail centers in Irvine are the Irvine Spectrum Center and South Coast Plaza.
  • Healthcare and Medical Technology: According to the City of Irvine’s 2024 Irvine Innovation Economy Report, healthcare is one of the main drivers of the city’s economy, generating more than 20,000 jobs. The report explains that the healthcare center includes telehealth, genomic sequencing, and advanced diagnostics. According to the Orange County Business Council website, LocationOC.com, “The [healthcare] industry has seen remarkable growth, increasing by more than 100% in the last 20 years, and is projected to expand another 20% in the next decade.” According to the California Employment Development Department, major Irvine employers in the health field include AbbVie, B Braun Medical Inc., Masimo, and Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
  • Video Game Development: The video game industry is experiencing continual growth, and it generates billions of dollars a year. It has a significant presence in Irvine. Blizzard Entertainment, creator of many well-known games such as World of Warcraft, is headquartered in Irvine. Other game companies in Irvine include Obsidian Entertainment, Twitch, and Amazon Game Studios.
  • Aerospace and Defense: According to the Innovation Economy Report, Irvine’s aerospace and defense sector could contribute millions in income over the next five years. This sector includes both established companies and new innovators in this field, and has a strong tech influence. Boeing, which is one of the largest aerospace companies in the world, has a presence in Irvine. Another notable company based in Irvine is Terran Orbital Corp. This company creates satellites used for communications, imaging, and data gathering within the aerospace and defense industries. In 2024, Terran Orbital was named “Best Business of the Year” by the Greater Irvine Chamber.
  • Education & Virtual Learning: Irvine has many top-ranked educational institutions, and its education sector employs tens of thousands of people. The University of California, Irvine, employs the most people in the field of education. Other colleges and Universities in Irvine include Pepperdine University, Concordia University, Stanbridge University, and Irvine Valley College. The Irvine Unified School District is also a major Irvine employer and serves grades K through 12.

Irvine Salaries and Work Culture

Salaries in Irvine are high compared to many other U.S. cities. According to U.S. News & World Report, the median household income in this city is about $138,000, which is substantially higher than the national average of only about $75,000.

Irvine also has a high level of diversity. The City of Irvine insists, “The City of Irvine is recognized as one of the most ethnically diverse and fully integrated cities in the country.” According to the Greater Irvine Chamber, more than 80 different languages are spoken within the Irvine community.

Future Job Outlook in Irvine

Many experts predict strong job growth in Irvine for the future, particularly in tech. Healthcare and education are also experiencing strong job growth. According to a 2025 California Employment Development Department (EDD) report, the unemployment rate for Orange County, which includes Irvine, is 3.8 percent, which is lower than the national average. The report also talks about specific areas of growth, stating, “Four industry sectors expanded over the year. Private education and health services increased the most, adding 11,500 jobs. The government added 3,600 jobs, leisure and hospitality increased by 1,200 jobs, and other services gained 700 jobs.”

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Irvine Tech Topics

  • Design

    Graphic Design

    Graphic design is visual communication through artwork or combining images and text. Graphic designers create logos, ads, social media graphics, magazines, books, websites, apps, and more.

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    Web Design

    Web design combines elements of user experience design (how the website works), visual or user interface design (how the website looks), and coding (how the website is actually built and made to function properly). Some web designers touch on all three areas, while others focus on one specific skill. If you like to design or write code, there's a role for you in web design. With billions of unique websites and more being created every day, web designers continue to be in high demand.

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    Video Editing

    Video editing is about telling a cohesive story through combining different video clips, footage, and effects. Video editors are able to achieve this using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Final Cut Pro.

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    Photoshop

    Adobe Photoshop is widely known as the best photo editing software for photographers and photo retouchers. It's also used by digital painters as well as graphic designers for creating a wide variety of designs such as social media graphics, web designs, app designs, graphics that will be animated in Adobe After Effects, and much more.

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    After Effects

    Adobe After Effects is the industry standard for video post-production, compositing, effects, and animation. It's one of the most important apps for motion designers and can be used for creating animations and videos for social media, YouTube, websites, TV, and movies.

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    UX Design

    User experience (UX) designers work on creating functional, meaningful, and enjoyable user experiences. UX design focuses on ease of use, navigation, and functionality of products (which are commonly digital products such as websites and apps).

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    Adobe

    Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of industry-leading apps dedicated to creativity, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, and many more. Adobe Creative Cloud has what you need to create projects using photo editing, bitmap or vector illustration, digital design, animation, audio, augmented reality (AR), and more.

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    InDesign

    Adobe InDesign is the industry-leading layout design tool for print. Publishers of magazines, books, newspapers and other media rely on InDesign for page layouts and graphic design. InDesign can also be used to create digital documents such as PDFs and eBooks.

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    Premiere Pro

    Adobe Premiere Pro is the leading choice for video editing for TV, movies and the internet. It allows users to weave together video clips, graphics, and audio to produce professional grade video projects. It offers seamless integrations with Adobe Audition, After Effects, Photoshop and more.

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    AutoCAD

    AutoCAD is a computer-aided design software used to create scale blueprints, schematics, and models. It’s used by engineers, interior designers, manufacturers, and architects. AutoCAD offers intelligent objects for creating common plans such as electrical and plumbing design plans.

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    Illustrator

    Adobe Illustrator is one of the most popular vector graphics applications. With seamless integrations across Adobe Creative Cloud, Illustrator is widely used by individuals and organizations to create resizable illustrations, design elements for videos and motion graphics, all through its powerful vector creation tools.

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    Motion Graphics

    Motion graphics refers to animated graphic design. It blends together text, sound, motion, animation, and visual effects to communicate a message or tell a story.

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  • Coding

    Web Development

    Web development encompasses all of the layers involved in building a website or web application. Websites are made up of two parts: the front-end and the back-end. Web development is used to create beautiful, interactive, and functional websites in nearly every industry.

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    FinTech

    FinTech (financial technology) includes new technologies that aim to improve or automate financial services. Your banking app, stock app, invoicing software, and bitcoins are all examples of FinTech. The FinTech (financial technology) industry has moved far beyond early entrants like PayPal. Many experts predict that this industry could replace up to 50 percent of all bank jobs within the next few decades.

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  • Data

    Data Science

    Data science is one of the fastest-growing career fields, with competitive salaries and nearly endless opportunities for specialization. Data science uses machine learning algorithms, statistics and other analytic tools to understand data.

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    Python

    Python is an easy-to-read, versatile object-oriented programming language. It is often compared to Java, Ruby, and Perl. It is available under an open-source license and is a favorite among programmers.

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    SQL

    SQL is short for Structured Query Language and refers to a programming language designed for relational databases. SQL organizes data and allows for queries and sorting of data.

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    Excel

    Microsoft Excel is the leading spreadsheet application and data analytics tool. With Excel, you can create charts, tables, automate workflow, track budgets and financials, and much more.

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    Data Analytics

    Data analytics is the process of analyzing raw data to draw conclusions. Data analytics are used to study all kinds of data, including productivity, production, profit/loss and much more.

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    Tableau

    Tableau is a data visualization tool used to simplify raw data. Data visualizations take data and turn it into easily understandable analysis diagrams – even for non-technical users. Visualizations can be used for data journalism, business insights (BI), reporting, and research.

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    AI

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative field in technology that leverages advanced algorithms and data to enable machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, creating career opportunities in numerous industries. By learning AI, professionals can gain cutting-edge skills essential for roles in sectors like tech, finance, healthcare, and more, positioning them at the forefront of innovation and problem-solving.

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  • Digital Marketing

    SEO

    SEO is the practice of optimizing your pages and website for search engine ranking. With a variety of SEO strategies and techniques, you can boost your websites ranking to start bringing in organic traffic. In SEO classes, participants will learn the fundamental ideas of SEO and strategies to succeed in the search engines.

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    Google Analytics

    Google Analytics is a free web and marketing analytics tool offered by Google that provides valuable information about your website traffic. Google Analytics is a fundamental component of digital marketing as it serves as the aggregator of our online efforts. It allows us to measure web traffic, see the success of our marketing efforts, learn about our users, and understand their behavior on our site. Google Analytics does much more than count website views; it provides a deeper understanding of what is going on before, during, and after a website visit.

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    Social Media Marketing

    Social media refers to websites and applications that allow people to interact, and commonly used tools are Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Instagram. Social media marketing involves leveraging those digital channels to achieve your business goals.

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  • Business

    Microsoft Office

    Microsoft Office is a suite of software with an integrated collection of applications for word processing, and creating spreadsheets, databases and other media. Many offices, schools and individuals use Microsoft Office.

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    Project Management

    Project management is the art of leading a team to achieve a common goal. As a field, project management involves managing people, scope, time, quality, and budget.

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    PMP Certification

    The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is an industry-recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). To qualify for the PMP exam, a specific amount of hours and education level be met which makes this certification in-demand and valuable to employers.

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  • Web Development

    JavaScript

    JavaScript is a coding language primarily used to add interactivity to web pages. JavaScript is an essential language for Web Developers and is most commonly used for front-end development. With its libraries and frameworks, JavaScript is more efficient and versatile than ever before.

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    WordPress

    WordPress is used on over 37% of all websites, and growing. It's a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that lets you create and manage a website or blog. It’s popular for blogging, but you can build websites that don't even have a blog.

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  • IT

    Cybersecurity

    Cybersecurity refers to the protection of internet-connected assets. These assets can include servers, systems, hardware, software, and data. Cybersecurity professionals work to prevent and defend companies, governments, organizations, and individuals from cyber-attacks that seek to interrupt service or compromise data. These experts must stay informed about new technologies and threats.

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Training Locations in or Near Irvine

    Careers and Salaries

    Learn in-demand technology and computer skills to launch a new career in design, programming, marketing, business, and more. See the career pages for more information on required skills, tips for landing a job, typical day-to-day work, and where to find job postings.