START LEARNING TO CODE
WHAT IS HACKBRIGHT’S PREP COURSE?
Hackbright Academy’s aptly named Prep Course packs a lot into five short weeks. For one, it’s Python programming for beginners. Yet, from Hackbright’s perspective, this live, online opportunity to learn Python from scratch can become your intro to software engineering.
The reason is because Python is the core language of our curriculum, meaning you can kickstart your potential software engineering bootcamp journey by picking up the fundamentals of this widely used language.
To be clear, knowing these fundamentals are required for a Hackbright bootcamp, so what you learn in Prep may help you pass the Technical Interview. Of course, it takes more than just a few fundamentals of a programming language to advance. (Read: Programming Languages: Popularity, Does it Matter?) You’ll need to start thinking like a software engineer. We can help with that too.
A Community Is Waiting for You
Hackbright Academy was founded with the mission to #ChangeTheRatio of diversity in tech and provide people with personalized paths to success. Enroll in Prep to join our mission and discover if bootcamp is right for you.
Critical Skills
Try a top programming language, an engineering mindset, real projects and collaboration.
Community
Join the safe, welcome, inclusive learning environment we launched with in 2012.
Direction
Get first-hand bootcamp experience, Outcomes team advice, the chance to pursue a new career.
WHAT PREP TEACHES
Think of Prep as true software development for beginners.
Whether you’re considering changing careers or leveling up your tech foundations to grow within your existing role, the after hours schedule (see below) means you can keep your day job or daytime commitments while exploring this potential path.
Here’s how the five-week course breaks down:
1. Intro to Python Syntax
2. Logic, Control Flow, & Iteration
3. Functions & Debugging
4. Data Structures & Python Tools
5. Project Building & Next Steps
But that’s just the week-to-week instruction. Your learning derives from hands-on projects that will likely include coursework outside of class. If that’s OK with you, read on.
While not as intensive as a full bootcamp, Prep is an investment of time and focus. Because of that investment, Prep is more than a Python course for beginners. Prep can help you discover a passion for software engineering. Before you embark on a full Hackbright Academy bootcamp, it’s important to know you love to code before committing to doing it all day, every day.
ARE YOU READY TO START PREP?
We have one prerequisite for Prep: You should have a genuine interest in pursuing a career in software engineering. This interest can mean different things to different people. One good barometer is that you’ve spent considerable time browsing through online resources or talking with acquaintances in the industry. On top of that, here are a few characteristics to suggest a career in software engineering is right for you:
- You enjoy problem-solving and finding creative solutions for complex problems
- You have a passion for technology including tinkering with new gadgets and software
- You have good analytical skills, such as identifying patterns and trends
- You enjoy collaborating with a team and are interested in strengthening your communication skills.
Prep—and ultimately, our software engineering bootcamps—can help you translate these characteristics into real-world skills:
FOUNDATIONAL, REAL-WORLD SOFTWARE ENGINEERING SKILLS
- Familiarity with the Python programming language
- Greater comfort translating real-world problems into computer programs
- Experience with collaboration through pair programming
- Work through bootcamp application-level code challenges.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
We are currently offering Prep at $249.
Graduates of Prep can qualify for a $1,000 scholarship towards the cost of a full- or part-time course.
Classes are on Tuesday and Thursday 6:30 p.m.–9 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Pacific Time.
Ready to get started? Find upcoming dates and enroll.
