Get Paid to Sharpen Your Skills with Software Engineering Apprenticeship Programs
Software Engineering is still a hot role especially if you live in a big metropolis due to high demand and transferable skills from other technical roles. To become a software engineer you can go two different paths, the main one being a degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science which might not be a possibility for many people.
The good news is that if you have software engineering knowledge already but not a degree, you can sharpen those skills via apprenticeship programs and break into tech. Since the software engineering role is becoming more common and the demand won’t stop anytime soon, there’s a lot of apprenticeship opportunities out there now.
I’m always so excited to hear stories of other folks who also broke into tech. My friend, Juliana Almeida, transitioned to Software Engineering and she’s often sharing apprenticeship opportunities in her LinkedIn. We collaborated to share with you a list of software engineering apprenticeship opportunities you should keep in mind.
What’s an Apprenticeship Program?
Since you learn while you work, the apprenticeship programs are a great way to enter the software engineering field. The idea is basically to work and learn with folks who already have experience in the field.
- Can be a paid opportunity
- Takes between 1 to 4 years to finish
- May require certain skills depending of the apprenticeship program
- Ideal for people from bootcamps and other non-traditional educational backgrounds
- You don’t need to have a Computer Science degree although it’s important to have at least a little bit of software engineering knowledge
- Opportunity to engage with engineering teams and be mentored
- Some programs prioritize folks from historically excluded groups and underrepresented communities in tech
To Check Now
Lesbians Who Tech:
Their program is focused on LGBTQ women and non-binary techies to kickstart careers in technology. They named the scholarship after LGBTQ and technology legend, Edie Windsor, to recognize her heroic victory over the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and to celebrate her technical leadership as a computer programming pioneer at IBM.
UTP — Urban Technology Program:
The School District of Philadelphia and Launch Philly have partnered with CodedbyKids and Boomi to create the Software Developer Apprenticeship program to provide on-the-job experience in the software development industry to young women and men in the city of Philadelphia.
Moringa:
A fellowship program that partners underrepresented students in tech with impactful projects for real organizations. They provide a 12-week professional development opportunity. The goal is to continue to extend career pathways by supporting early career professionals, especially those who remain underserved and overlooked.
Bitwise:
Their web & app development apprenticeship program is built to bridge the gap between learning and working in the tech industry. Apart from the day-to-day workload, apprentices will have several opportunities to sharpen their skills and give back to the larger tech community by leading workshops, meetings, and co-teaching classes in this paid program.
Blend:
They’re on a mission to bring simplicity and transparency to consumer banking. The Blend x Onramp Fullstack Apprenticeship is making intentional investments in diversity, inclusion and belonging. They also provide training plans to help you prepare for the technical assessment and materials to help you put your best foot forward in the application itself.
Coinbase:
The Coinbase x Onramp Fullstack Apprenticeship provides candidates with the rigorous skills training and support they need to launch a successful tech career. This program is for people from all backgrounds, regardless of previous education or work experience.
Hackbright Academy:
They’re partnering with Walmart to waive tuition for up to 15 women and non-binary people who apply and are selected for a special remote Full-Time Software Engineering course. Applicants must be living near Sunnyvale, CA, or Bentonville, AR, or be willing to relocate. U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
Microsoft:
Software Engineers are all about implementation across the full stack of Microsoft’s products. Whether building the front-end of software, back-end APIs or testing coverage, a software engineering role is all about the code.
Education Loan Finance (ELFI)
Women and ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. To help underrepresented students pursue their educational goals, ELFI recently published two free guides highlighting a list of organizations that offer STEM specific scholarships:
elfi.com/scholarships-for-black-and-african-american-stem-majors/
To Check in 2022
- Twitter — Participants will go through a one-year program with full-time employment benefits. Apprentices are provided with hands-on experience while being paired with dedicated coaches and mentors to set them up for a successful career in engineering.
- Lyft — Lyft apprenticeships are ideal for people from bootcamps (and other non-traditional educational backgrounds) who are ready to dive in and learn more about software engineering in a fast-moving, high-availability space.
- Airbnb — Kapor Center Pathways to Tech workshop in partnership with Airbnb developed an apprenticeship program is a six month opportunity to build onramps to full-time software engineering roles.
- Twilio — Twilio Hatch is a 6‑month software engineering apprenticeship program designed to provide access to software engineering roles for persons with non traditional educational, professional and personal experience.
- Bumble — Bumble has partnered with CodeOp to offer a paid six-month technical training programme to women+ (inclusive of women, trans and nonbinary) who want to make the leap into tech.
- Plaid — Plaid Apprenticeship Program invites talented candidates from non-traditional software engineering backgrounds to build at Plaid. A critical component of this is making sure more people have access to the financial services they need.
- Dropbox — IGNITE Engineering Apprenticeship Program provides apprentices the opportunity to learn with Dropbox for 6 months, and if it goes well, they are given the opportunity to join Dropbox as a regular employee afterward.
- Microsoft — Microsoft Leap is a global apprenticeship program designed to accelerate job-readiness for careers in technology focused on diversifying the tech pipeline by onboarding non-traditional tech talent.
More opportunities: https://apprenticeships.me/
I have invested many hours of my life dedicating to help others to learn about Product Management best practices. For this reason, I am adding small ads in my post. And one of the products I use is SoFi Checking and Savings. You’ll earn up to 3.00% APY and pay no account fees. Use my link to sign up and you’ll get a $25 bonus and up to $250 when you set up direct deposit.
👋 Feel Free to Clap and Share your Thoughts!
Find more at our LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Check our podcast. Follow our LinkedIn page and Newsletter!
Disclosure: At PM101, we strive to provide our readers with valuable and honest information on Product and Program Management. As a way to support the blog and continue providing valuable content, some blog posts may contain affiliate links or promotional content. By clicking on these links and making a purchase, the writer may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This commission helps to keep the blog running and allows the writer to continue providing valuable content and increasing her coffee and kombucha consumption. Rest assured, we will always provide honest and informative content and use affiliate links and promotional content only as a means to generate revenue to support the blog.
