Coding bootcamps are designed to help aspiring programmers forge a new career path, taking students from absolute beginner to highly skilled in a relatively short amount of time. These intensive and skills-based programs are often viewed as a viable alternative to a university degree. Instead of spending years taking general education classes, you’ll only learn skills that can be directly applied to your new career.
Completing a coding bootcamp can set you up for a job in mobile app development, computer science, and software engineering, as well as front-end, back-end, or full-stack development. Coding bootcamps also provide you with an opportunity to network with other potential programmers and can even match you with a mentor to guide you through the learning process and advise you on your new career.
The languages covered in coding bootcamps can vary depending on their focus. For example, a front-end development bootcamp might cover HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Sass, and Git, but not include PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python, and.NET, which are typically used in back-end development. You should determine a target career path before enrolling in a bootcamp to make sure the learning outcomes match your goals.
Sydney Careers for Coding Bootcamp Graduates
Learning how to code can open the doors to a variety of career options for coding bootcamp graduates in Sydney. A few of the most common positions include Front-End Developer, Back-End Developer, and Full-Stack Developer, which typically earn between $120,000 and $129,000 per year. If you want to focus your career on creating apps for cell phones, you could work as a Mobile Developer earning an annual salary of about $135,000.
You could also choose to specialize in a specific coding language by becoming a JavaScript Developer, Ruby Developer, SQL Developer, Python Developer, or .NET Developer. Salaries for these positions often run from $123,000 on the low end to $152,000 at the high end of the spectrum. For more general roles that require coding skills, you could work as a Software Engineer, Product Manager, Software Project Manager, or Computer Scientist, where you could earn anywhere from $81,000 to $124,000.
Whichever career path you choose, you’re sure to receive a high return on the investment you made into coding classes. With most of these jobs earning more than $120,000, you’ll be making significantly more than the median salary in the Sydney area.
In-Person Coding Bootcamps in Sydney
In-person coding bootcamps offer you a great opportunity to network with fellow students as you learn within the structure of a typical classroom setting. For those who prefer face-to-face instruction, there are two options for in-person coding bootcamps in the Sydney area.
One of the schools offering in-person learning is General Assembly, located on Market Street near Sydney Town Hall. General Assembly holds a wide variety of coding classes, including day-long introductory programs, an intensive 12-week ||CPN827||, plus courses on specific programming languages.
The University of Sydney offers an in-depth coding bootcamp through its Centre for Continuing Education in Newtown. In this 24-week immersive, students learn HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, React.js, Node.js, MongoDB, and MySQL, plus all the additional skills they’ll need to start a career in web development.
Virtual Coding Bootcamps
Virtual bootcamps are a great way to learn a new skill without having to deal with long commutes in busy Sydney traffic. With virtual learning, you enjoy many of the same benefits that in-person learning provides such as live classes taught by an expert in the field, hands-on training, and real-time interaction with the instructor and other students—while remaining in the comfort of your own home.
If virtual learning sounds like a good fit for you, then check out the coding bootcamps offered by Noble Desktop. The comprehensive 288-hour Software Engineering Certificate is perfect for those who want to put their coding skills to work as a Software Engineer or Full-Stack Developer. If you’re more interested in learning how to code the graphical side of the website that users interact with, then you should enroll in the 72-hour Front-End Web Development Certificate. For those who want to apply their coding skills to the field of data science, there’s the 84-hour ||CPN411||. Each of these programs offers one-on-one mentoring sessions to help you make the most of your bootcamp and provide guidance in starting your new career.
Additional online coding bootcamps are available through schools such as Fullstack Academy, DigitalCrafts, Ironhack, Coding Dojo, LearningFuze, Flatiron School, and more. There is a wide range of bootcamps to choose from with various specialties and flexible scheduling, so you’re sure to find a program that meets your needs. Costs for these programs vary widely—you can find anything from $915 for a 24-hour, language-specific bootcamp to $19,910 for a 17-week comprehensive coding bootcamp with many options in between.
Coding Classes in Sydney
If you’re eager to start learning coding but don’t feel ready to commit to a lengthy bootcamp, then you might consider taking one or two individual coding classes first. By completing less intensive courses, you can start to attain coding knowledge while gauging your interest in the field. If you choose to enroll in a bootcamp after finishing your shorter courses, you’ll have an idea of what to expect from training and be better prepared for the challenge.
To explore all the available coding class options, check out the listings provided by Noble Desktop’s “Classes Near Me” tool; this shows there are more than 50 coding classes offered in the Sydney area. For an introduction to the field of web development, which includes HTML and CSS, consider the 18-hour Web Development Level 1 class. If you already know HTML and CSS and would like to learn additional languages, you could sign up for the 18-hour JavaScript and jQuery class. If you look at the listings, you’ll find there’s a class for virtually every specialty—it’s just a matter of picking which class appeals to you the most.
Choosing a Coding Bootcamp
With an abundance of options available, you might be wondering how to choose the coding bootcamp that is right for you. The best way to proceed is to limit your options using four factors: area of specialty, learning style, scheduling, and cost.
The first step to finding a bootcamp that meets your needs is to determine what specialty you’d like to focus on. The best way to do that is by selecting a prospective career path. Do you hope to work as a Front-End Developer? Then find coding bootcamps that are targeted toward that specialty. If your goal is to become a Software Engineer, then hone in on bootcamps with a related curriculum.
Once you choose your focus, you should consider the remaining factors to narrow your options further. Do you learn better from home or in a traditional classroom setting? Are you able to study full-time or do you need flexible scheduling on nights and weekends? How much can you spend on a bootcamp without stretching your budget too far?
If you still have several choices remaining, then look at additional benefits provided by each bootcamp such as one-on-one mentorship and job placement assistance. Perks like these can make a considerable difference over the course of your coding education and career.