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By now, you’ve definitely heard of Silicon Valley – the region in the San Francisco Bay Area that’s become the mecca for all things tech. But I bet you haven’t heard of something called the “Silicon Harbor” which happens to be the No. 1 midsize metro area in the U.S. for IT job growth.
Silicon Harbor is right here in Charleston.
According to USA Today, there were over 250 tech startups in Charleston employing over 11,000 people. And thanks to efforts by groups like Charleston Digital Corridor, more and more tech jobs will continue to locate to the Holy City.
As these jobs continue to open up in our area, we need to ensure that our workforce has the coding skills necessary to apply for them. However, the traditional four-year college model is simply too slow or expensive for many would-be coders.
That’s why Charleston needs more coding bootcamps.
Coding bootcamps are short-term, comprehensive curriculums that teach students to be expert coders in just a few weeks.
DevCodeCamp, a coding bootcamp based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an excellent example of a successful bootcamp and is leading the way in the Midwest. The school is punching out some impressive job placement numbers, with over 93% of devCodeCamp graduates going to work in good-paying coding jobs right after graduation.
And what’s great about coding bootcamps like devCodeCamp is that they’re usually flexible and accommodating to the various needs of their students. DevCodeCamp will house students for free, and help out our veterans by accepting the GI Bill.
Currently, Charleston has a few coding bootcamps – such as JRS Coding School and CODEcamp – but as more IT jobs come to our area, we’ll need more of them to ensure that Charlestonians have the tools for success.
We all know Charleston is one of the hottest spots in America. To make it an even hotter spot for tech – a world-class Silicon Harbor – we need more coding bootcamps.
Follow devCodeCamp on Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/devcodecamp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devCodeCamp/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devcodecamp/