Code Fellows Launches Programmer Training Courses in Portland

–Code Fellows, a Seattle-based digital trade school, today announced that it is expanding its operations into Portland, one of the nation’s fastest growing tech communities. Code Fellows will introduce its 4-week Foundations I course – designed to teach the basics of Computer Science and Web Development to people who are starting their journey as software developers or want to know more about software development. The first Portland-based Foundations course will be held November 3 – 26, Monday and Wednesday evenings, from 7-9 pm.

“Portland has emerged as one of the fastest growing tech communities in the country with a wealth of software programming and app development job opportunities”

“Portland has emerged as one of the fastest growing tech communities in the country with a wealth of software programming and app development job opportunities,” said Kristin Smith, CEO of Code Fellows. “Our aim is to help cultivate local programming talent by teaching the skills that companies of all sizes in Portland are seeking. The Foundations course we’re introducing here helps aspiring developers learn the fundamentals that are critical to becoming a professional software developer in any programming language or software stack.”

In addition to learning the fundamentals of computer science and web development, students in the Foundations Icourse will work with instructors to develop a personalized growth plan that will prepare them for more advanced learning in specific software stacks including Javascript, Ruby on Rails, Python, and iOS.

According to a recent study from Dice.com, a leading career site for technology and engineering professionals, Portland was named the sixth fastest-growing city in the United States for tech jobs. Buoyed by Portland’s burgeoning tech community, Forbes also recently identified Oregon as the fourth fastest-growing state for tech jobs with 3.57% annual growth – placing it ahead of Washington, New York, Massachusetts and California. Yet, despite the area’s rapid tech job growth, a shortage of qualified software developers exists. The Oregon University System awarded just 278 bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science in 2012 – just two more than it did 10 years earlier. In that same period, the overall number of undergraduate degrees from the university system climbed by more than 50 percent.

“Oregon’s Silicon Forest not only hosts a number of the country’s largest tech employers – like Intel and HP – but a number of other small app and software development shops that are hungry for top programming talent,” Smith said. “We hope to play a pivotal role in Portland’s technology community by fostering the critical development of the area’s brightest programming minds, and helping the city’s most innovative companies connect with them.”

Code Fellows, which launched in Seattle in January 2013, has graduated more than 250 web and mobile developers from its eight-week, full-time training program with an average starting salary of $75,600 per year. The top reported salary offer for a Code Fellows graduate to date is $155,000.

For more information about Code Fellows in Portland, visit the Portland Open House on Thursday, October 9^th from 7-9 pm PT at the Addo Building (931 SE Sixth Ave., Portland, OR 97214). During the Open House, prospective students will have the opportunity to speak directly with Code Fellows instructors and administrators and to have all of their questions answered. To RSVP for the Portland Open House, visit:https://www.codefellows.org/calendar#oct-09-pdx-open-house.

To learn more about Code Fellows, or to apply, visit www.CodeFellows.org.