6 Places To Level Up Your Coding Skills in Atlanta
By: Megan Kelley, Contributing Writer, PowerToFly
Atlanta may be known for its bustling airport and sweltering summers, but it also has an up-and-coming tech scene that’s garnered national attention in recent years. CNN, MailChimp, BitPay, SalesLoft, and Yik Yak are just a few of the tech companies headquartered here.
Naturally, the city is also home to a multitude of coding schools and courses for students of all levels. Whether you’re starting from scratch as a career changer or just looking to pick up a new language or skill, Atlanta’s got you covered.
Course level: Beginner & Intermediate
Example courses: JavaScript Application Development; Big Data Analytics
Price range: $250 — $6,750
Although Tech Talent South’s bread and butter course is its eight-week code immersion program, this school also offers a variety of part-time and one-off courses at its Atlanta location. Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Nemec (herself a graduate of the immersion program) stresses that it’s the people — the instructors, the alumni, the students, etc — that make Tech Talent South unique. If coding schools were coffee shops, Melissa says, Tech Talent South would be your favorite local mom-and-pop shop.
The school doesn’t offer any classes specifically for women, but Melissa says: “Increasing diversity and women in our program and the industry has always been a major goal and a major part of our mission from Day 1.”
Course level: Beginner & Intermediate
Example courses: Intro to Mobile App Building with Salesforce; Beyond the Basics: Intermediate HTML/CSS
Price range: $40 — $90
Girl Develop It is a national nonprofit organization that offers affordable, “judgment-free” coding classes to women. According to the website, the group’s mission is “to create a network of empowered women who feel confident in their abilities to code and build beautiful web and mobile applications.” Caijsa Lewis, a co-leader of the Atlanta chapter, adds that Girl Develop It aims to “help women improve their careers and confidence in their everyday lives.”
Girl Develop It’s Atlanta classes are part-time, usually consisting of about 4 installments of 2-hours each. They provide instruction with a much lower commitment (and price range) than many other schools in the area and also give students a chance to be part of a supportive community of women in tech — perfect for beginners and veterans alike.
Course level: Beginner
Example courses: User Interface Design; JavaScript and MVC Frameworks
Price range: $13,900
The Iron Yard has two separate campuses in Atlanta — one downtown, and one that recently opened north of the city. Each class offered is a full-time, 12-week immersive that quickly ramps up from beginner level to more advanced concepts. Because of this, the classes are appropriate for motivated first-time coders as well as folks who are already part of the industry.
What makes The Iron Yard special? “We pride ourselves on hiring the best instructors in the industry to teach our immersive courses,” explains Public Relations & Media Specialist Stacy Merrick. Instructors are full-time employees, but are given time off between each cohort to “work on building their own projects, research and stay sharp on the latest development trends, and remain challenged as developers.”
Course level: Intermediate & Advanced
Example courses: Accelerated iOS with Swift; Android Essentials with Java
Price range: $3,700 — $5,800
Located at the stunning Callaway Gardens Mountain Creek Inn in Pine Mountain, GA, (with a second campus outside of San Francisco) Big Nerd Ranch offers full-time, multi-day, immersive coding bootcamps (including housing and accommodations). According to Director of Marketing Tasha Schroeder, “What sets us apart is that our immersive bootcamps are for more experienced developers.” The courses cover advanced topics such as iOS and Android app development and are aimed at people already in the tech industry. If you’re a woman in tech looking to learn an entirely new skill or just take your knowledge to the next level, this may be the school for you.
Tasha also mentions that the company is “firmly committed to increasing the number of women in tech,” and is currently working on some projects to help make that happen.
Course level: Beginner
Example courses: 16 Week Immersive Bootcamp
Price range: $12,950 — $13,950
DigitalCrafts offers one flagship course — a 16 week, full-time coding bootcamp — paired with optional evening electives such as UI/UX Design or Swift & iOS. The courses are aimed at beginners and career changers, but are also open to students looking for a refresher. DigitalCrafts employee Jake Hadden explains the school prides itself on helping its graduates find jobs. “We are striving to be the best when it comes to career placement,” he says.
Although Jake admits that DigitalCrafts classes have been filled primarily with male students in the past, the school is starting to see a shift to more female participants in upcoming sessions.
Course level: Beginner & Intermediate
Example courses: Web Development Immersive; Data Science Bootcamp (using Python)
Price range: $30 — $13,500
Offering both full-time immersives and part-time courses, General Assembly covers many topics at its Atlanta campus. Interested in a two-hour intro to Sketch for UX? Done. What about a 12-week class on Web Development? They’ve got that, too.
General Assembly has 15 locations worldwide, which means students get the benefits of a large, experienced organization, while still making a connection to the local tech scene. Win-win.
