In early 2020, “normal” became a thing of the past. The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) tore across the globe and has since transformed the way the world does business. Organizations of every size and industry are changing in real-time to keep up with their customers, employees, and competitors.
A serious side-effect of the pandemic has been the impact on how tech companies operate. Suddenly the future of work is here: a larger remote workforce, asynchronous teamwork, newly revealed skill sets. And as the tech world evolves, it’s up to us to ensure we provide the tech industry with professionals who know how to adapt.
The world’s pace is accelerating, and so must ours.
From Bootcamp to Career Pipeline
We continue to invest in the quality and rigor of our curriculum, refining it to better train and support our target demographics. We also continue to maintain conversations with employers to guide us toward the right level of training for long-term success. Based on feedback from employers and observations of our most successful alumni, we’ve discovered that engineers well-versed in the MERN stack are in high demand. Changing to this streamlined stack will require less transition time between front-end and back-end lessons.
That’s why we’re introducing a 9-month full-stack Software Engineering program with a focus on the MERN stack. This new program format lays a strong foundation for critical thinking as well as coding skills, offering students an accelerated path to higher earning potential in the tech industry.
Kenzie’s earliest User Experience and Software Engineering cohorts were a full year in length because, unlike 3-month coding bootcamps, we prioritize teaching our students the why as well as the how in software engineering. We teach our students to develop the right problem-solving skills and mindset to transition successfully to any tech job they’re qualified to earn. That includes a foundation in critical thinking, design thinking, collaboration, and communication skills.
The addition of these skill sets has a real impact on how our students prepare for the workforce. Even before the onset of the pandemic, we discovered that learners who complete 6 months of the program demonstrate the perseverance and dedication to succeed in the tech job market. A 9-month program combines an accelerated coding stack education with a schedule that allows our students to take care of their families.
Engineering Future-Proof Careers
The Kenzie Academy educational model is learner- and outcome-focused, designed for a variety of non-traditional learners. Their common goal: to move toward careers in tech and retrain themselves for a rewarding career in a new economy.
But time is relative these days: especially for our students, many of whom are front-line workers. Balancing work, family, and everyday life is a challenge, even under the best of circumstances. The new normal is pushing us to move toward better, more efficient ways to prepare our students for their next career steps.
To continue our mission, we must be flexible and balance challenging our students with providing them support during this uncertain time. We partner with our students here at Kenzie, and that means delivering an educational experience that allows them to work while they learn.
Our educational model is just one part of the career equation. We are also investing heavily in our career preparation and job readiness curriculum. The range of soft skills necessary for our learners is wide; so we’ve designed our career services to give our students valuable guidance and confidence, from day 1 of classes to their first day on their new job.
We are confident that this new 9-month program format would allow more learners to succeed, improve career outcomes, and provide flexibility. In 2021, the tech industry will need even more skilled workers. Kenzie Academy is ready to meet that challenge.
Learn more about our full stack program here.
Ready to jumpstart your career as a UX Designer or Coder? Learn more about our Software Engineering and UX Design programs, or check out our free beginner’s coding program Kenzie Free.
