The Best Apprenticeship Programs for Coding Bootcamp Grads

Coding bootcamps are great for anyone who wants to learn how to code. If you want to increase your chances of getting a job, you should supplement your bootcamp education with a coding apprenticeship. These coding apprenticeship programs may be organized either by the bootcamp or by a company that is interested in scouting skilled tech talent. 

This article is your guide on how to get a coding or computer programming apprenticeship after bootcamp training. It covers some of the best coding apprenticeship programs in the industry and gives you an idea of how much you will earn if you’re selected for one of these job training opportunities. 

What Is a Coding Apprenticeship?

A coding apprenticeship is an on-the-job learning program that allows students to get hands-on technical training right after they finish a bootcamp program. During the apprenticeship, bootcamp graduates work side-by-side with seasoned professionals. They are often assigned a mentor who oversees their work and offers guidance. 

Benefits of Tech Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is an extension of classroom training. As a job training program designed to give you real-world experience, it will allow you to adapt to the rigors of a regular full-time job, making the transition from student to worker seamless.

Apart from professional experience, a coding apprenticeship gives you a chance to build your portfolio and log hours of coding practice. If your performance is excellent and the company has a slot to fill, you might be recruited for a permanent position. Additionally, all companies are required to pay their software development apprentices. 

The Best Coding Apprenticeship Programs

So, which coding apprenticeships should you consider, and how much does a coding apprentice make? In the US, the average software engineering apprentice earns about $88,938 per year, according to Glassdoor. However, salaries depend on the company and program in question. Below are some of the best bootcamps and training providers with coding apprenticeships.

Creating Coding Careers

Located in San Diego, Creating Coding Careers is a bootcamp and coding apprenticeship program rolled into one. The bootcamp side of the organization, formerly San Diego Code School, is a mandatory pre-apprenticeship where students learn the fundamentals of software development and work to prove that they can succeed in a real-world coding environment. 

The top performers in the pre-apprenticeship program are paired with Creating Coding Careers’ hiring partners for life-changing tech apprenticeship opportunities. Potential placements include roles in application development, product management, tech sales, and data engineering. Space is limited, so make sure you outwork the others during the pre-apprenticeship process.

LaunchCode

LaunchCode is a free tech training institute dedicated to bridging the talent gap in the tech industry. It offers computer programming apprenticeships for fresh bootcamp graduates or any other entry-level programmer who wants to gather more experience. The full-time coding apprenticeship program is a paid opportunity that requires a commitment of 40 hours per week. 

LaunchCode has over 500 hiring partners and the apprenticeship program can be done through any of them. The payment varies from company to company, but it’s usually fair. At least four out of five students are retained for a permanent position after their first three months as an apprentice. 

Moove It

This tech firm offers a bespoke coding bootcamp for Spanish-speaking women with tech experience who want to become software developers and are looking for hands-on learning and training opportunities. The program lasts four weeks and covers HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React. By the end, students will be able to build a full application from scratch.

This bootcamp opportunity functions as a kind of coding apprenticeship in that Moove It was just a software company before it started its own coding bootcamp. Now that it enrolls students and conducts training, the company can hire from its own pool of software developer trainees. 

Code Ingenious 

Code Ingenious focuses on helping people join the enterprise project development sector. Bootcamp graduates across the United States can apply for a Code Ingenious apprenticeship, where they turn their classroom learning up a notch with modern, in-demand technologies. Apprentices learn JavaScript, React, and a host of other tools.  

Apart from the programming languages and frameworks you master, you are also going to learn soft skills that will make your portfolio attractive to prospective employers.

8th Light

This is a great option if you want a software development apprenticeship in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or London. The program runs for about three months, during which students work with other software developers and client teams. Like other programs, apprentices are assigned a mentor who sees them through the entire process. 

Successful candidates at 8th Light can choose between software development, user experience design, or both.

What Companies Offer Apprenticeships?

Pursuing an apprenticeship program that links you to a company is one of the fastest ways to get the experience you need. However, you can reach out to apprenticeship companies directly if they advertise opportunities publicly. Some of these companies are listed below. 

Microsoft 

Microsoft’s apprenticeship program, called Microsoft LEAP, is for aspiring program managers, computer programmers, and cyber security engineers. You must have a foundational knowledge of coding before you can apply to its software and programming apprenticeships. It is 16 weeks and can pave the way for full-time positions at Microsoft or other major tech companies.

You don’t need a college degree to apply for Microsoft LEAP. However, only students who have attended bootcamps for project management or software development can apply. You also need at least six months of experience in software development to qualify.

Google 

Google pays people all over the world to participate in its work-study program. Apart from software apprenticeships, there are also apprenticeships in data science, project management, and more. The software engineering apprenticeship program runs for about 20 months. 

During the apprenticeship, you will learn about distributed systems, scalability, and other technology solutions. You will receive fair wages as well as a few other benefits. Candidates who pass the series of interviews and get accepted into the program receive career coaching that will make it easy for them to land jobs afterward. 

Amazon 

The Technical Apprenticeship at Amazon is a program specifically designed for military veterans who want to learn Amazon Web Services (AWS) and get on-the-job training for careers in cloud computing. These are some of the most coveted apprenticeships for IT in the world, with AWS having captured 34 percent of the global cloud infrastructure market, according to Statista. 

All AWS apprenticeships are paid and last 12 months. Eligible candidates can train for one of seven roles, including cloud solutions architect, cloud support professional, and technical account manager. Each apprenticeship opportunity is preceded by a 10-to-14-week training course. The precise length of your course will be determined by the role you’re training for.

IBM 

Apprenticeships are one of many entry-level opportunities at IBM. Unlike other entry-level jobs, however, this so-called New Collar Initiative is for candidates who didn’t go to college. IBM believes that companies miss out on skilled workers when they only recruit college degree holders. To change that, IBM is investing $250 million in its apprenticeship program through 2025. 

Since becoming an apprenticeship company in 2017, IBM has significantly improved the diversity of its workforce. Now, candidates from underrepresented demographic groups and untraditional educational backgrounds have a better chance at working for IBM as systems support professionals, software engineers, and electrical engineering technicians. 

Hashrocket

This Chicago-based web development company offers apprenticeship services to bootcamp graduates who know how to use Ruby on Rails. The apprenticeship runs for about nine months. Students are mentored during that period to help them become senior web developers. Hashrocket only accepts one apprentice each year, so getting in might not be easy. 

If you’re fortunate enough to get accepted, you will have amazing networking opportunities. You will meet other senior developers in the company, to whom you can reach out with questions or inquiries. Apart from your payment, you will get healthcare incentives and 401(k) retirement benefits, and you can join the development team at conferences outside the city or country. 

Detroit Labs

This company offers a three-month paid apprenticeship program for software engineers. Some of the topics you will master are quality assurance (QA) engineering and mobile development. You don’t need any prior experience before applying for one of these software apprenticeships, but you must be from or live in Detroit. 

Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices are offered full-time positions at Detroit Labs. However, you may also be recruited as a junior developer and go to work for some other tech company. 

What Are Some Alternatives to a Tech Apprenticeship?

Tech apprenticeships are far from your only option for jobs after a coding bootcamp. The hands-on training that you’ll get in a bootcamp might be sufficient on its own, especially if your bootcamp focuses on real-world projects that you can add to your professional portfolio. Below are a few alternatives to the apprenticeship model that bootcamp grads should consider. 

Entry-Level Job

Entry-level coding jobs for bootcamp grads are never a sure thing, but getting a job straight out of a coding bootcamp isn’t as uncommon as you might think. Some coding bootcamps even attract students with job placement guarantees, which come with tuition refunds for those who fail to secure a full-time position after they graduate. 

Freelance Work

Depending on your bootcamp’s focus and the industry in which you want to work, freelancing might also be a viable option. If you attend one of the best web design bootcamps, for example, you will gain insight into an industry where freelancing is a popular way to do business. In this scenario, your clients would be businesses that need well-made websites to sell their products.

Coding Internship

Since eligibility for the best coding and computer science internships is usually limited to college students, you’ll probably have to enroll in a degree program before applying. But tech internships are a common gateway into prestigious companies and high-paying opportunities, so bootcamp grads who intend to go to college should keep them in the back of their minds. 

Should You Attend a Coding Apprenticeship After a Bootcamp?

Yes, you should attend a coding apprenticeship after a bootcamp if you want to further solidify your career in tech. These job training programs are designed to improve the return on your bootcamp investment while boosting your portfolio for some of the best tech jobs.

LaunchCode, Creating Coding Careers, and Moove It are all looking for qualified candidates to join their next cohort of apprentices. The companies listed above also offer motivated students the chance to develop in-demand tech skills. If you don’t get a job after completing a bootcamp, you should consider applying for a coding apprenticeship.

Coding Apprenticeship FAQ

Where do you apply for tech apprenticeships?

The best way to apply for tech apprenticeships in the United States is through the Apprenticeship Finder tool on the US Department of Labor’s official website for registered apprenticeships. Here you can look for open apprenticeships in the fields of information technology and cyber security, filtering the results by your preferred job title. 

What companies offer paid tech apprenticeships?

Some high-profile companies that offer paid tech apprenticeships are Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Apprentices at tech giants not only make respectable salaries but also collect various benefits. For example, the average participant in the Microsoft LEAP apprenticeship program earns $52,953 per year and another $19,583 in bonuses, according to Glassdoor.

Do companies hire bootcamp grads?

Yes, companies of all kinds hire bootcamp grads, whose training is specifically geared toward closing the well-documented digital skills gap. Since the supply of workers with computer science degrees is not high enough to meet the demand, companies need to hire candidates from untraditional educational backgrounds, including coding bootcamp graduates.

Are there online apprenticeship programs?

Yes, online apprenticeship programs have become increasingly common since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some apprenticeships do require the bulk of on-the-job training to be conducted onsite using the physical tools of the trade, many tech apprentices can perform their tasks remotely, using a computer in their home offices.