Say Hello to Oliver
I launched Constructor Labs back in November of 2017. I had the crazy idea that folks would be interested in learning JavaScript. While it is not the easiest language to learn, it has improved massively in the last few years and demand for those skills has only grown. Also, having worked as a developer for longer than I care to remember, I fancied a change. Launching a bootcamp seemed like an interesting way to build on my skills, help new folks get into the industry and also address the desperate need for developers.
For a long time a Computer Science degree has been the defacto gold standard for becoming a software developer. There were still plenty of self-taught folks around who managed to master software development by sheer focus and will power. What was interesting about those two groups was the difference in skill sets. The CS folks had a great understanding of theory and algorithms, but when it came to delivering great software fast, the self-taught folks were hard to beat.
That mirrored my own experience. My MSc in Computer Science helped me to understand how computers work at ones and zeros level. However, all the skills which made me employable came from working on my own projects as well as contracting at many companies which exposed me to a huge number of common problems in different settings.
The idea for the bootcamp revolved around packaging up all the skills I learned during my career, focusing on the parts I found most useful and structuring the course around them.
One big catch was finding other folks to join as instructors. Earlier that summer two big bootcamps went bust after dubious acquisitions by huge for-profit education providers. The entire industry had been branded as doomed and appetite for violating that narrative was running low in the developer community.
One person who believed in the idea from the beginning was Oliver Turner. He had been an mentor at Codebar for over three and a half years, an active champion of junior developers and diversity in the industry. While working at Ticketmaster as Front End Architect he created an internship programme to make it easy for junior developers to join the company. As well as providing a route into the industry, the programme also provided a valuable source of funding to Founders and Coders, a not-for-profit bootcamp in East London. Having seen Oliver teach, I was always impressed by the his careful and detailed explanations of even the most complex subjects. In short, Oliver was my number one pick for an instructor role at Constructor Labs.
After many conversations and discussions, I am delighted to announce that Oliver will be joining Constructor Labs as Director of Education and teaching the next cohort alongside me.
As more bootcamps start in London the key differentiator for Constructor Labs is having only the best developers. An instructor must have an in-depth experience of the tools they are teaching. I can’t think of anyone better qualified than Oliver to contribute to the continued success of the students at Constructor Labs. Please join me in welcoming him.
Want to become a software developer? Constructor Labs run a 12 week coding bootcamp in London. The technologies taught include HMTL, CSS, JavaScript, React, Redux, Node and Postgres. Everything you need to create an entire web app from scratch and get your first job in the industry. Fees are £3,000 and next cohort starts on 29th May. Applications are open now.
