Dev Bootcamp has been quietly launching software development careers in Chicago for 5 months. I figured it was time for an update. I'll start with some stats, and then I'll share a few stories. And then I'll get back to work.
Our cohorts graduate every 3 weeks, and thus far we've graduated 5 cohorts, which represents 70 people. Official cohort employment numbers are gathered at the 3 month mark post-graduation. I'm happy to say that 90% of our first cohort is employed, with salaries ranging from $50k to $100k, with average salary in the $70k's. These junior software developers are landing apprenticeships and entry-level jobs in Chicago at Groupon, Eight Bit, BrightTag, Sprout Social, NCSA, and Instructure. They're also spreading across the country by landing jobs in Austin, San Francisco, Boulder, Minneapolis, and New York City.
We've had students relocate from all across the country to experience Dev Bootcamp. Many of them have unexpectedly fallen in love with Chicago during their stay and haven't left. We had a 19-year-old from South Dakota land a great gig at Kohactive. We had an improv-loving, 20-something from Washington DC get his foot in the door at Braintree.
We've acted as a stepping stone for people to move across the country. We had a 33-year-old chimney-sweep from Kentucky graduate in late August, and within 3 weeks land an awesome job at Mondo Robot in Boulder, where he's moving his wife and 2 young children. We had yet another 20-something from Washington DC increase his previous salary by 250% after he landed a job at Clinkle in Silicon Valley.
Along the way, we've consistently been inspired by our students. Like Katherine Champagne, who's heygirl.io project went viral while she was with us, and who is now coding every day at HD Made in New York City. Or Rachel Warbelow, an elementary school teacher in Las Vegas who spent the summer with us, built a classroom management system as her final project, released it, and is currently using it (and continuing to develop it) every day to keep her students and their parents engaged.
Finally, we've had the support of a remarkable group of mentors, who spend hour after hour volunteering with our students, giving them countless nudges in the right direction. Most recently, our students have been spending time with Aaron Bedra, Attila Domokos, Bill Van Der Laan, Doc Norton, Kunal Bhatt, Liz Abinante, Lucas Willett, and Phil Corliss.
If you're interested in meeting our students, we have 4 more Employer Days this year. You can RSVP here and please prepare to have your mind blown!
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