Tech workers, and particularly coders, tend to fall into a certain stereotype. But the young, male, nerdish college dropouts often seen in movies and other media are not necessarily the norm.
“Our coders come from all walks of life,” says Andrew Ott, the founder and executive director of CodeSquad. “They might be an Uber driver, barista, social worker, prison guard—you name it. To succeed in our program, you have to be comfortable with a computer, but you don’t need a coding background or a college degree. Most of our students are in their 20s or 30s, but we’ve had career changers in their 40s or even 50s. We work really hard to pick the applicants that can do the work, regardless of age or background.”
Each year, more than 300 people begin the CodeSquad application process, but only 20 are admitted. “It’s a competitive process,” Andrew explains. “You have to fill out an application, submit a résumé, and complete a coding assignment after watching some self-paced training videos. The third round is the interview, and we select a 20-person cohort.”
In just six months, CodeSquad trains participants to become “full-stack” software developers, meaning they learn to build both sides of a software application. Participants learn front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and React, and back-end technologies like NodeJS, APIs and cloud deployment. Communication and teamwork are also part of the training, and CodeSquad is introducing new Artificial Intelligence units this year.
“It’s an intensive program with 275 hours of live classes over six months,” Andrew says. “That’s more than 12 hours per week of live classes and probably 10 hours of homework every week. We also build in vacation time corresponding to the Boston Public Schools calendar, as a way to help the parents in our program.”
With 98 graduates since the organization’s founding in 2017, the CodeSquad team is excited to pass 100 next year—and share nearly a decade of graduate success stories.
“One of our first few students was doing temporary administrative work around Boston, but she didn’t have a steady paycheck,” Andrew recalls. “She was the first person in her family to finish high school, and the uncertainty of those temp jobs made it hard for her to put food on the table. But about a year after she graduated, she got a job as an application developer at a major university and started making $55,000 a year, plus really good benefits. She used the money to help support family members across the country.”
Another applicant had her own housecleaning business with other members of her family. “She handled the business side, and they cleaned,” Andrew says. “Since graduating from CodeSquad, she has earned master’s degrees in both cybersecurity and IT. Her goal is to transition her family business to software development instead of house cleaning.”
CodeSquad graduates who find a technology job earn over $90,000 per year on average, and work for Fortune 500 companies like Capital One, UnitedHealth, and Liberty Mutual.
“Grads sometimes struggle with finding that first paid coding job,” Andrew says. “It’s a big step for any new graduate no matter who you are, but especially since this is an accelerated program. Software developers often take four or five years to get to this level of proficiency, but our grads go straight on the market after six months. There has also been a slowdown in the software job market lately, partly because of Artificial Intelligence.”
In response, CodeSquad has created the new Pathways Project. “We approach small businesses with a proposal to build a website or application for them,” Andrew explains. “We charge a very reasonable price, and one of our graduates does the work.” CodeSquad connects the recent grad with the client, and helps with project management and any unexpected technical challenges.
The inspiration to incorporate coding into a nonprofit mission came from Andrew’s particular background. After working in tech market research and Internet startups, he switched to the nonprofit sector. “It took almost 10 years before I realized I could combine the things that I love: nonprofits and technology,” he comments. “I was a volunteer mentor for a couple of years at Year Up in Boston. They provide youth job training, and I always admired their model and thought I could do something similar with software. Several Year Up alumni became my first test audience for CodeSquad.”
Andrew has also taken advantage of opportunities from The Lenny Zakim Fund to learn more about nonprofit management. “I’ve been to every summer Institute since we became a grantee, and I’ve attended at least a dozen workshops. We’ve also benefitted from pro bono legal and managerial advice. We received more money from other funders, but with The Lenny Zakim Fund, it’s clear they really want us to succeed.”
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Current needs at CodeSquad include individual donations, software and recruiting professionals to speak on career panels, and small-scale web projects as part of the Pathways Program. If you’d like to get involved, please contact Andrew Ott at info@codesquad.org.