Started by Ben DuPont, ZipCodeWilmington.com helps people of all ages seek and achieve a flourishing career in information technology. The tech CEO's institution educates job hopefuls on specifics of javascript and server side coding. The school is conveniently located in Wilmington, Delaware, and helps graduates find good paying jobs before and after graduating. These coding jobs have a potential starting salary of $50 to $55k annually.
Zip Code Wilmington - Zip Code Wilmington students Gabriel Humphrey and Kelsey Murphy were on the Delaware Way today talking about their new jobs as software developers! Gabe is working at Chatham Financial and Kelsey at Schell Brothers.
Ben DuPont says the following concerning Zip Code Wilmington:
"I've been getting a lot of questions about our new Coding school, so here is some background on Zip Code Wilmington. Jim Stewart, Porter Schutt, and I formed a not-for-profit called Zip Code Wilmington. Zip Code is a computer programming (or coding) school that starts in September to address the shortage of qualified people to fill hundreds of Wilmington area jobs that are currently available:
- A recent study commissioned by Governor Markell showed 1900 coding jobs in the Wilmington area
- The companies surveyed projected over 500 new coding jobs needed to be filled in the following 12 - 18 months
- The companies also said that many of those jobs would have to be filled at other locations outside of Wilmington due to the lack of qualified local applicants
Zip Code has partnered with major local IT employers: JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Capital One, Bank of America, CSC, and others to design a concentrated curriculum in Java (the most in-demand language). A typical Computer Science degree would get 400 hour of coding instruction. Our students get 700 hours. Here's a short video that explains our school: https://vimeo.com/129375158
The jobs are here, now, and pay an average of $55,000 for an entry level programmer — a salary level that can increase substantially. In Palo Alto, there are 4 similar schools, that have 98% placement rates at a starting salary of $105K. We should be able to do half that in Wilmington.
Our goal is to reach a scale of graduating 100+ trained coders each year into an Apprenticeship Program that we have designed in conjunction with the corporate partners mentioned above. We have partnered with the non-profit Tech Impact to operate the school. We've hired the head of the school, and the coding instructors (until our space is finished, they work from my office).
The first class enrolls this September and will be +60 hours per week for 12 weeks. The cost to the student is $2,000 up front, with $10,000 due upon graduation, however those completing the six month paid Apprenticeship Program following graduation will not owe the final $10,000, thus incurring a total cost of only $2,000. But, we've got lots of funds for scholarships - no one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay.
We have been fortunate to raise start-up funding from generous local companies, foundations, and the State of Delaware, which will allow us to be financial self-sustainable.
We are recruiting students for our first classes. We have 100 applicants for the first 20 spaces in September, and are now starting to recruit for the January class. Most applicants have some college or a degree, however we will not exclude anyone who has a strong interest and an aptitude for being a good coder. No prior coding skills necessary - but a good understanding of Algebra and a passion to learn are key.
You can help by forwarding to anyone you (or your children or friends) know that might be considering a career change - of just a good paying job. If you are active on social media, a mention, link (zipcodewilmington.com), or Like (facebook.com/zipcodewilmington).
In the future there will be two kinds of jobs; 1) people that tell computers what to do, and 2) people who are told by computers what to do - lets create a vibrant community."
Are you one of those people sick and tired of working $9 to $12 jobs at Delaware temporary employment agencies? Truth is, they make more money off of you and you earn for yourself. There's no pension plan involved working for a temp staffing agency. There's financial stability in the information technology industry. If you're ready to make healthy changes in your life and ready for an employment and life transformation, this might be your calling to register as a new student at ZipCodeWilmington.com.
DrewryNewsNetwork says Ben DuPont has done a fine job starting this wonderful school to help people find better work and improve their salary earning potential.