This week I was asked to participate in a leadership panel for the Nashville Software School's Data Science program. While I typically shy away from speaking engagements because of my socially introverted personality, I jump at the opportunity to do anything with the NSS. Why? Because I recognize when an organization is offering a material benefit to the community – in this case, the Nashville Tech Community – and I prefer to allocate my free time outside of work and family to causes that deeply resonate with me.
Over the last few years, our analytics leads at Healthcare Bluebook have built a solid relationship with the NSS, with 7 of our last 10 junior hires being recent graduates from the program. The quality of the candidates and their willingness to learn has been exceptional, and the instructors are always asking for feedback on how to improve their curriculum and ensure the content is relevant in the real world. We participate in mock interviews, coordinate projects with the students, sit on panel discussions, and give feedback on students' final presentations of capstone projects. The interaction is truly symbiotic, and for me the chance to see a (currently virtual) room full of faces with eagerness and excitement in their eyes will keep me coming back for years to come.
Time to ruffle some feathers: in my opinion, this program and others like it are quickly outpacing – in quality and quantity – public and private universities that have increased tuition by 1,400% in the last 40 years. I graduated college with a BS and an MBA, loved every second of it, and wouldn't change a thing. But if I were in the same position with non-technical degrees and realized I wanted to switch careers and become a web developer or data analyst, I absolutely would NOT enroll again in a traditional university. I would instead find a program like the NSS that charges a fraction of the tuition and offers a comparable level of technical skills needed for an entry-level job.
To be be clear, not all coding bootcamps are equal, and many employ the same nefarious methods that landed for-profit colleges in hot water. My advice: 1) seek out community-funded non-profit companies like the NSS, and 2) if you see the words "Income Share Agreement (ISA)" prominently featured in marketing materials, run away fast. (ISAs can be a favorable alternatives to traditional college loans, but only in specific scenarios. Be careful if you decide to go this route.)
But what about the notion that college will always make you a more well-rounded job candidate? That's certainly worthy of a debate, but Exhibit A of my argument will be submission materials from every applicant to our recent junior technical roles. I'll then split those documents into two cohorts, one from traditional college graduates and another from NSS graduates. The trends are quite clear: in 70% of the cases, the NSS resumes are better structured, the cover letters are more compelling, and the sample projects are more relevant and better documented – universities, take notice.
Over the last few years, our analytics leads at Healthcare Bluebook have built a solid relationship with the NSS, with 7 of our last 10 junior hires being recent graduates from the program. The quality of the candidates and their willingness to learn has been exceptional, and the instructors are always asking for feedback on how to improve their curriculum and ensure the content is relevant in the real world. We participate in mock interviews, coordinate projects with the students, sit on panel discussions, and give feedback on students' final presentations of capstone projects. The interaction is truly symbiotic, and for me the chance to see a (currently virtual) room full of faces with eagerness and excitement in their eyes will keep me coming back for years to come.
Time to ruffle some feathers: in my opinion, this program and others like it are quickly outpacing – in quality and quantity – public and private universities that have increased tuition by 1,400% in the last 40 years. I graduated college with a BS and an MBA, loved every second of it, and wouldn't change a thing. But if I were in the same position with non-technical degrees and realized I wanted to switch careers and become a web developer or data analyst, I absolutely would NOT enroll again in a traditional university. I would instead find a program like the NSS that charges a fraction of the tuition and offers a comparable level of technical skills needed for an entry-level job.
To be be clear, not all coding bootcamps are equal, and many employ the same nefarious methods that landed for-profit colleges in hot water. My advice: 1) seek out community-funded non-profit companies like the NSS, and 2) if you see the words "Income Share Agreement (ISA)" prominently featured in marketing materials, run away fast. (ISAs can be a favorable alternatives to traditional college loans, but only in specific scenarios. Be careful if you decide to go this route.)
But what about the notion that college will always make you a more well-rounded job candidate? That's certainly worthy of a debate, but Exhibit A of my argument will be submission materials from every applicant to our recent junior technical roles. I'll then split those documents into two cohorts, one from traditional college graduates and another from NSS graduates. The trends are quite clear: in 70% of the cases, the NSS resumes are better structured, the cover letters are more compelling, and the sample projects are more relevant and better documented – universities, take notice.