Whether you’re interested in learning programming or you’re already a pro and just want to take your skills to the next level, there are many places to take classes. Our favorite programming schools are listed below, though there are many others. If you’re already a programmer, we’d be interested to know where you learned to program and how – feel free to reach out at info@bwbacon.com!
Galvanize gSchool - http://www.galvanize.it/gschool-denver
Galvanize has campuses offering programming classes in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and San Francisco. Classes range from 12-week intensive bootcamps in data science to 12-month masters programs. Upcoming classes in Colorado are 24-week developer training programs that focus on a range of skills, including Ruby on Rails, Javascript, and HTML5.
Galvanize itself is an incubator where tech startups collaborate and grow, making it an exceptional place to learn. Plus, there are job opportunities waiting just outside the school door, so many graduates find work pretty easily.
In full disclosure, BWBacon was one of the sponsors for gSchool in its first year at Galvanize in Denver.
Skill Distillery - http://skilldistillery.com/our-program
Skill Distillery was the first school in Denver to introduce classes on Java and it’s still one of their specialties, though their 19-week bootcamp includes training in JQuery, Angular JS, SQL, and more. Other languages like Ruby on Rails may seem trendier now, but Java is still the most popular worldwide (partly because all Android mobile apps require Java as their base language) and jobs requiring Java pay better on average than for any other language.*
The team at Skill Distillery believes Denver is one of the best cities in the US for programmers and a great place to start your career. Cole Frock, the school director, says, “Denver is a tech town in general. There are lots of systems in place to support new tech companies, like Denver Startup Week and incubators like Galvanize and Industry.” Skill Distillery is a popular option for those looking to improve their programming skills; they've graduated more than 40k programmers over the last 20 years.
Turing School of Software & Design - http://turing.io/
Turing is actually a non-profit, so their hearts really are in the right place when they say they’re focused on student success. They don’t offer as much flexibility as schools like RefactorU, though – Turing’s only program is a 7-month, full-time commitment. At the end, however, students are considered professional developers, experienced with Ruby web applications, APIs, and more.
Turing is a little more expensive than some of the other schools on our list but they offer a job offer guarantee. If you don’t get an offer worth at least 65k a year within just three months of graduation, they’ll refund 100% of your tuition, which sounds like one heck of a deal to us!
RefactorU – http://www.refactoru.com
In addition to their bootcamp, RefactorU offers classes online (including 1:1 remote mentoring), and classroom courses on evenings and weekends, making it your best bet if you’re planning on working while studying programming. Their online courses can be purchased a la carte for as little as $25 a month, making them the most affordable school on our list, too. Their focus is on full-stack JavaScript, which Sean Daken, the founder and CEO, says is the future of web application development. “We’ve seen tremendous growth** in JavaScript related frameworks in recent years, and major brands like GE, PayPal, LinkedIn, eBay, and Amazon have made significant investments to migrate their legacy web technologies to Node.js,” he told us. RefactorU's bootcamp is popular too – in the last 12 months, they’ve graduated about 100 new full-stack developers.
Other bootcamps pride themselves on 90-hour weeks and the all-consuming nature of their courses, but RefactorU thinks students achieve better outcomes when they have some time to sleep, reflect, and renew. Their 10-week bootcamp in Boulder teaches students front-end and back-end development skills, all through hands-on projects and experiential learning, and requires about 50 hours in class each week, leaving the weekend free to enjoy all that Boulder has to offer. For those students who want to put in some extra time on the weekends, RefactorU provides weekend teaching assistants for students who want the extra help.
**http://strongloop.com/node-js/infographic/