As you’re scouring the internet and researching to find the best coding bootcamp, you’re sure to ask yourself the following question at least a handful of times: “Many of these bootcamps offer similar programs/benefits…which one is best and how do I make a decision?” This is a very fair question, and it can be difficult to provide a perfect answer. With that being said, we wanted to dedicate this blog post to essentially brag about ourselves (joking, but also serious). We want to clarify any uncertainties and provide you with a clear picture of where/how we differentiate ourselves from other bootcamps. While we will never talk down on our competitors or lie about them in an attempt to prove our “superiority”, we definitely have more value to offer to students in certain aspects, which is what we want to highlight on.
Without further ado, here are things that make Skillspire different:
- Social Impact
This is undoubtedly number one on the list, as it’s at the very core of the company. CEO, Yasmin Ali, started Skillspire with the vision to help formerly underrepresented communities (women, minorities, people of color, immigrants, refugees, and veterans) upskill and break into the tech sector. As the tech industry has been historically dominated by Caucasian males, Ali felt that this gap in representation wasn’t right. In her own words, “Why is tech not an option for these people?” Skillspire is proud to have taught countless number of people who fall into the underrepresented populations. As Ali says, “Our mission goes much farther than the business itself.”
- Personal Relationships
This is a huge one, and it really boils down to the extent to which Yasmin gets involved with even the nitty-gritty day-to-day tasks within the company. Ali has quite literally spoken with every single Skillspire student on a 1-on-1, personal basis. She knows the students’ stories, backgrounds, work experiences, life circumstances, difficulties, hardships, etc. Not only does she empathize with each individual student, accordingly, she has also bent over backwards to make it easier for students to take our courses. From scholarships to discounts, to payment plans…Ali is always going out of her way to provide students with opportunities that they may not otherwise receive.
Terri Pauly, Skillspire Director of Business & Strategy, is the one who connects with students and helps them with everything related to career support. She helps them out with LinkedIn, resumes, job searching, and much more. Terri works tirelessly around the clock in an effort to provide all of these students with the mentorship and guidance needed to land their first jobs.
- Instruction Style
While every bootcamp will claim that their curriculum is the best (and we are no different), we realize that’s a dead beaten horse at this point. What we actually want to focus on is the mechanics of how we teach.
All our cohorts feature relatively small classroom sizes of 5-15 students. Why? This allows for more personalized student-instructor interactions. Instead of being one in an army, you’ll feel “closer” to your instructor. Additionally, even during COVID-19, all our programs are live online sessions. We don’t believe in the model of creating a mass library of pre-recorded videos and then leaving you to be with a TA to answer questions. We believe that students need guidance, and that students like to have an expert who is taking them step-by-step through every lesson/concept.
- Affordability
Because Skillspire was founded with the mission to help historically underrepresented populations break into the tech sector, Ali set out to establish a price point that was feasible for the majority of the masses. Even for people who find the current price point difficult, Skillspire has a number of student-friendly scholarships, discounts, and payment plan options that make it even easier for students to afford tuition. Additionally, Skillspire is approved to accept GI Bill benefits, and many veteran students have walked through our doors to take our courses. While it isn’t uncommon for coding bootcamps to cost around $20K in overall tuition, each and every one of Skillspire’s courses is priced well below the $10K mark.
- Time Commitment
I need to preface this point by making a disclaimer: our courses are not “easy”. They are not for you if your eyes are set on a simple path that doesn’t involve struggle, hard work, and perseverance. Our best students, historically speaking, have always put in hours upon hours of hard work and hustle into this, and you shouldn’t expect to achieve great results with anything less than that.
WITH all that being said…we’ve structured our courses in a manner whereby the time requirements are not as significant as many other full-time coding bootcamps. Because we realize that our target population can’t simply quit their full-time jobs and surrender their monthly paychecks, all our courses are part-time. Class sessions are held during evenings and weekends, to accommodate for the standard 9-5 work schedule.
Final Thoughts
The above factors are the primary ways in which we feel Skillspire is different from other coding bootcamps. While we never attack another school’s reputation or attempt to elevate ourselves at the expense of another bootcamp, we do sincerely feel that we provide more value through the above means. While other coding bootcamps are free to disagree with us, ultimately, the student is the ultimate judge. The student’s decision is the unbiased verdict that silences all word-fought battles. So…we ask to urge you to evaluate us against the competition and to conclude for yourself. Who do you feel offers the most value?
