Make Learning a Part of Your Lifestyle with App Academy

More than 50 percent of working adults in America are unhappy in their current jobs, according to the 2020 Great Jobs Report. At the same time, the country is witnessing a record high in job openings at 10.934 million in July 2021. 

Put simply, the workforce is ripe with opportunities and a career change appears to be a possible move toward these opportunities. So, why aren’t more people making the jump? 

For starters, a career shift can be challenging, especially for those looking to break into a thriving field like the tech industry. Just like any other career path, education is the first step but it requires financial and time commitments that most would consider a luxury. 

Enter, coding bootcamps or training providers offering in-demand digital skills at a fraction of the time and cost of universities and colleges. Coding bootcamps can bring you from zero to 100 before you realize it. Oftentimes, they focus on intensive learning that leads toward positive results. But sometimes, the pace can be too fast to keep up with. 

App Academy believes that tech skills should be made accessible to everyone interested in learning. That’s why its programs are designed to fit into your life, and not the other way around. App Academy offers a free learning platform for learners who prefer self-paced training and a part-time course for those looking for more flexibility.

App Academy Open: Learn to Code for Free

App Academy Open is a free, self-paced resource that provides extensive materials on software engineering. It totals about 1,500 lecture hours on Python, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, React, and other key topics. 

App Academy Open offers the same curriculum as the bootcamp’s full-time, in-person Software Engineering program, which runs through a strict 16-week schedule and costs $17,000 when paid upfront. Though the curriculum is the same, App Academy Open differs from the paid course in the following ways.

Schedule and Learning Environment 

App Academy Open has a vast library of video and text materials, delivered in a clear structure. Yet, unlike the paid courses, it does not provide a collaborative learning environment that connects cohorts. Instead, each learner is given more freedom, learning entirely at their own pace.

Access to Live Lecturers and Instructors

Full-time learners have access to live lectures and other collaborative opportunities. That said, App Academy Open learners are not left entirely to their own devices. You can turn to App Academy’s community chat to get live help whenever you need it. 

App Academy Open also offers an affordable option for learners who are looking for extra features called the Mentorship Plan. At $29.99 a month, learners will have access to an exclusive Slack channel where they can reach out to App Academy instructors whenever they hit a bump in the road.

Pair Programming

Pair programming is a unique offering that App Academy offers to students in the paid courses. It involves students working together to complete a task or carry out a project. It’s known as an exercise that can help foster better understanding.

That said, App Academy Open learners still get the chance to find one another and collaborate through platforms like Reddit and Discord. This grants them some degree of engagement that they need so they don’t completely learn in a silo. 

Assessment

App Academy Open learners are not required to complete any assessments or capstone projects throughout the course. However, a series of coding challenges and projects are available to help them become proficient at coding.

Job Search Support

App Academy Open does not offer job support, unlike the paid courses. To enjoy this feature, students may have to upgrade their classes. However, App Academy Open learners can take advantage of a special module dedicated to career preparation, incorporated directly into the course. 

Primarily, App Academy designed its Open platform to accommodate students seeking foundational knowledge in programming. Yet, it can also serve those who wish to have more control of their learning process with its less intense format. According to the school, App Academy Open has helped over 4,000 people find jobs in tech.

App Academy Online Part-Time Software Engineering Immersive Program

The Online Part-Time Software Engineering Immersive is a 48-week program with lesser intensity than its full-time counterpart. The flexible design allows learners to efficiently combine their daily routine with the demands of learning programming.

Like the full-time course, the curriculum is based on the live-learning, instructor-led model. The syllabus, however, is slightly different. It includes modules on developing and testing algorithms, front end and backend software engineering, and Python. Within those units, students will learn how to use Redux, React, Express, and SQL, among others. 

Overall, a typical Online Part-Time Software Engineering Immersive student will spend 27.5 hours of learning weekly. The schedule includes allocations for projects, personal study time, and class sessions. The schedule is as follows:

• Monday to Thursday: 6pm to 9pm EST (for students on the East Coast)
• Monday to Thursday: 7pm to 9pm PST ( for students on the West Coast)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
• Saturday: 9am to 3:30pm PST (for all cohorts)

Aside from the flexible nature of the curriculum, part-time students also enjoy some other features.

Support on the Weekends

App Academy provides help to students during regular office hours plus some additional time on weekends. These extra hours are only available on-demand and they include:

• Friday, evenings
• Saturday, after class
• Sunday, throughout the day

Income Share Agreement for Part-Time Students 

App Academy offers a unique offering for part-time learners: an Income Share Agreement (ISA) payment option. Per the ISA structure, you must make a $3,000 deposit to start the program. 

Then, once you land a job paying $50,000 per year, you can begin paying your tuition by relinquishing 15 percent of your monthly income to the school for a set amount of time. It should be noted that the ISA option is not available to residents of New York or California due to the regulations in those states.

Cohort Mentor

Learners have access to industry professionals who will lead a cohort, otherwise known as mentors. The mentor’s role is to provide expert advice, insights, and assistance to students on class-related issues.

Career Assistance

The part-time program also comes with career assistance, which prepares learners for job search after graduation. The team teaches students how to prepare for and conduct themselves at interviews. Aside from that, they help students through portfolio building, salary negotiation process, and so on. 

Get Extra Tuition Support with the App Academy Access Scholarship

App Academy is committed to creating an inclusive environment for students from all backgrounds. That sums up the idea behind its Inclusion and Diversity policy.

In line with that philosophy, App Academy partnered with Facebook to create the Access Scholarship program. The initiative aims to help women and members of underrepresented communities. With a sum of $500,000 in fundings, it aims to grant $5,000 toward tuition for 100 students.

The scholarship is open to:

• Women
• Students from underrepresented communities: Black, Latino/Hispanic, or Native American/Alaskan Native
• Those in need of financial assistance

Anyone who meets any of the criteria listed above can qualify provided they were accepted into the online Software Engineering course. Candidates should note that the scholarship recipients are subject to standard cancellation, withdrawal, and refund policies outlined in the course catalog.

Other App Academy Financing Options

For those that cannot afford the upfront payment, there are several other options available to choose from. They include the above-mentioned ISA and the Deferred Payment plan.

The deferred payment option is similar to the ISA as they both involve installments on your salary after getting a job. However, the deferred tuition plan does not require you to make a deposit first. In other words, you will not pay any money until you get hired. 

After getting a job, the payback will be done in monthly installments but in flat rates rather than the percentage format that ISA uses. 

Experience Accessible and Flexible Learning with App Academy

App Academy operates on a student-first philosophy. Its programs are designed to suit learners from diverse backgrounds. App Academy Open is great for those looking to build strong foundational skills at zero cost. 

Meanwhile, the online part-time software engineering course provides a flexible balance between learning to code and maintaining your lifestyle. Likewise, the Access Scholarship amplifies the bootcamp’s goal to increase Inclusion and Diversity in the tech space. 

Visit App Academy to join the community and begin your application process. If you’re not sure where to start, take the App Academy quiz here.