We are a not-for-profit organization founded in June 2016, dedicated to the vision of a talent-fueled pipeline for our region’s software sector. To build this pipeline, we work with employers, educators, and community organizations to identify, train, and advocate employment of people with the skills to work in the tech sector: software, data, IT, and creative.  We seek overlooked, non-traditional talent and we deliver programs to skill them up to work in the tech sector.

Our goal is to remove the economic and cultural barriers to working in technology.  Part of that involves empowering people with aptitude and motivation. Part of that mission involves changing mindset in our region about who can be a technologist, and how to evaluate candidates for technology jobs.

The hard skills that you will learn depends on which class you take. Look in our  courses section  to find out what the technologies, objectives and overall features of each.

Across all classes, the way we teach the class is built to develop the soft skills that employers in this region tell us they need and value: how to research and practice with developer tools, how to learn with and from peers, how to problem solve as part of a team, how to network with others in the field…overall, how to understand and be a useful part of the software development process.

Each class has an application process that begins with an online questionnaire.  When we are in recruitment mode, application links are on the upper right corner of each page on this website, and various other places on this site and social media. Some courses have a two-step process, where the second step might be a qualifying exercise or an interview with the instructor.  Acceptances are determined by Albany Can Code. When we are not in recruitment mode, you will find a link to our information sheet on each course page, as well as our home page. When you fill this out, we will add you to our mailing list and get in touch with you as soon as we are ready to accept applications for a cohort.

We evaluate applicants to look for demonstrated interest, aptitude, and motivation. The Front End Web Dev class is for relative beginners who have a strong interest in learning to learn to make webpages and websites, and be part of a web app building team. The Automated Testing class is also suitable for relative beginners to coding who nevertheless know that they want to work in a software company.  JavaScript Fundamentals is a good class for someone who has a background in the basics of coding, but isn’t quite at an intermediate level. SQL/ETL and JavaScript Frameworks are both intermediate courses that require a strong background in HTML and CSS, as well as the basics of JavaScript.

The enrollment process varies based on the partner working with us to offer the individual class. Once accepted, Albany Can Code gives students all the information that they need to enroll for the class and to get started in the funding process, including referring students to the Department of Labor at county level to apply for financial aid.

A job is not guaranteed. However the market for technologists is solid and we do our best to prepare students, and to advocate for their hiring.

Some of our employer advisory council members are able to arrange internships and interviews for graduates who are on solid learning curve and ready to enter the tech workforce. Other graduates find that their enhanced resumes, technical and workplace skills are sufficient to land interviews and great tech jobs outside the Albany Can Code employer network.

In all cases, the course is not just a class to build relevant hard skills, it is a program to establish the habits of learning languages; to practice teamwork in a software development context;  to flesh out a resume; and to meet and work with local mentors, employers, and tech recruiters.

  The first step is to fill out an online application. When we are in a recruitment period, applications will be found on the top right corner under the “Apply” tab. It can take 2-3 weeks for the admissions committee to notify applicants of their decisions. In some cases applicants may be asked to schedule a phone call with a program manager for some follow up questions before a decision is made.

Once an applicant is accepted, they will receive a link to register with AlbanyCanCode. After this step is taken, they will receive specific instructions for registering with the community college or BOCES partner and tuition payment. At this point, prospective students can begin applying for funding through third party funders.

Tuition for all Fall 2019 classes is $1650. Each class is a 12-week (72 hours in  class plus lab) course that meets for a total of six hours a week. 

Tuition grants are available for veterans of the United States armed services. There are several other funding streams available to students based on an individual’s situation. Examples of grant criteria for federal or state tuition include: underemployed or unemployed persons, veterans, persons with disabilities, and other demographics.

Interested students must first apply to Albany Can Code to be accepted. Accepted students will be referred to the registrar at the community college who assists students in connecting to and applying for grant funds.  

This can be a long soul searching conversation 🙂 But read the following before you write an email or call to ask for help figuring it out.

Front End: Are you interested in websites from the aspect of how they look to the end user? That’s the Front End.  If you come from a design, project management, creative, entrepreneurial background, or if you have a bit of some programming experience but no exposure to how websites are put together, this is probably your best fit.

SQL/ETL: Learn how relational database drives work and how you can use them to access and manipulate data, including generating reports. This class is best for a student with familiarity with HTML and CSS and strong intermediate computer skills.

JavaScript Fundamentals: Are you interested in learning JavaScript, but not ready to join an intermediate-level course? JavaScript Fundamentals may be the class for you! We begin by building student skills in functional programming, higher order functions, callbacks, currying, recursions and promises.

JavaScript Frameworks: Have you already learned client-side page making languages (ex. HTML, CSS, jQuery, bootstrap) and want to go further into building dynamic, functioning sites? Do you have a solid foundation in JavaScript? This is your path.

Salesforce Applications: This class prepares students for a job as a salesforce administrator. Salesforce is a popular customer relations management tool. This course does not require prior programming experience.

Python for Data Analytics: Are you interested in learning more about data analytics as an application for Python? Python is a very popular programming language, which has a very intuitive syntax, making it a great first programming language. This is a great class for someone eager to get into programming, as well as those who are looking to learn more programming languages. The class will also cover basics of data analysis. 

Thanks to a generous grant from SEFCU, we are able to provide tuition scholarships for veterans, as well as support services like transportation and childcare. Email admissions@albanycancode.org to learn more.

Our classes are offered through the non-credit side of our community college partners.

Community colleges offer curricular instruction, normally on an open enrollment basis, as part of a multiple-course sequence of academic study. Their mission is simple and broad: education.

AlbanyCanCode has a more specific mission: empowering those who have potential to enter the tech field, or to break barriers to progress in their careers, within a short period after graduation. We exist to eliminate the disconnect between what employers & the economy need, and talent. Our courses are the key element of a mentoring ecosystem. Albany Can Code students gain:

• practical, hands-on training in key, job-relevant languages, plus all the adjacent tools, frameworks and libraries;
• experience with software workplace tools and practices;
• career guidance with resume support, networking and job introduction;
• opportunities to join app devt teams working on community projects, for seriously relevant portfolio development

In short, Albany Can Code has a alignment and connections with employers that community colleges do not.  We’re doing more than teaching a coding skill, we’re preparing our students to find the right fit in the workplace, and advocating for their employment after graduation. We’re a coder mentoring machine – and the student outcomes show it.

It’s a bit of a process – first you need to be accepted, then the community college or partner will direct you to the grant sources they work with and advise you on how to proceed.

Since most of the tuition assistance funds are from federal or state budgets, the funds available and the eligibility criteria vary from county to county and from season to season.  Generally speaking, personal income and employment status are the key criteria.

Yes. A working laptop with good internet and a fair amount of memory. For SQL/ETL students will need a machine with a Windows operating system. An aspiring developer needs a professional grade tool: tablets, smart phone, chromebooks don’t have the storage space or interface necessary.

If you have the aptitude, the passion for code, the willingness to practice, and the communication and teamwork skills to be part of a team – absolutely. Yes.

Of the cohorts graduated so far, more than 30% graduates – none of whom have a computer science degree and some of whom have no degree at all – have leapt from hourly jobs in warehouses, bars, and temp agencies to full time, entry level software positions paying $45,000-$62,000.

Where employers hire entry level technologists, they look for:

• hard technical skills in currently used technologies,
• an understanding of software development and/or IT enterprise management processes,
• teamwork and communication skills, and
• aptitude and passion for computing, proven by a portfolio of projects.

On the topic of employment, some but not all of our students seek full time employment, or a total career change. Some want to work as freelance web developers. Others use their upgraded skills as technologists to advance their existing careers. Among our students are computer science majors who have not completed a degree, and who lack real world project experience; IT professionals who have hit a ceiling in their job advancement; entrepreneurs who want to be comfortable with web and mobile app development; artists, musicians, hackers, mid-career project managers.

Yes! Send us an email and we’ll put you directly into the funding application process for 2018.

Students who successfully complete the requirements for the course will receive a certificate of course completion from AlbanyCanCode. These requirements include: attending a minimum of 75% of the classes, completing all assignments given during the course, participating in a positive way during class meetings, and taking part in the final project.

Note, however that hiring in the software industry is typically based on demonstrated competency rather than certification.  Coders are evaluated by prospective employers based on their ability to talk about, analyze, and solve problems.

The most important credentials you can acquire through our classes are: your Github account (with your projects and scripts in it) and your resume (which we will help you update.)

FreeCodeCamp, Codecademy, Udemy, Lynda.com, the Odin Project, StackOverflow, YouTube, the New Boston….the list of online code instruction providers is extensive.  They are terrific. Whether your career direction is toward being a tester, a coder, a developer, an engineer, a database programmer, or another flavor of technologist, your ability to use these and other online resources to keep your skills up to date is key.

Albany Can Code gives students a structure to learn a well-rounded set of skills that are relevant to local employers.  The curriculum uses online materials, books, and labs to ensure hands-on practice, in person, with peers and instructors to keep you on track.  Albany Can Code offers more than hard skill instruction. It’s a full program: Software developers working in the Cap Region teach and give guest lectures, labs, and workshops.  There is a resume improvement program, and a direct flow of student resumes to employers in our employers advisory council.  In the web dev courses, students are put in project teams to create websites for amazing community initiatives – the kind of project that gets you an interview.

The life transformations have been incredible – within weeks of graduation, our students have gone from barback to $62,000 data analyst; pizza shop to $55,000 junior app developer; IT help desk to $60,000 full stack developer; hourly warehouse job to $40,000 entry-level data system internship.  None of these folks had Computer Science degrees. Some had no degrees at all.  Just aptitude, motivation, and the advocacy and mentorship of the Albany Can Code staff.

It doesn’t mean you should give up on our program, or on learning to code! If you get the email that directs you to try some more self-study or exploration, that’s exactly what we hope you do. Learning to code takes practice, curiosity, attention to detail, and persistence.

It’s important that on the first day of class, students are at the starting line that allows them to gain traction, start ascending the learning curve, and be ready for an entry level position around graduation time

Email info@albanycancode.org – and we’ll see if we can help.