She considered getting a master’s degree — but with a full-time job and two young children at home, she feared that she would have very little time left to spend with her family. 

When a friend recommended Monash University Coding Boot Camp, Mandy knew she had found her perfect fit — so she enrolled in the six-month program and got to learning.

Projects turned personal endeavors 

The boot camp started by teaching HTML and CSS, but gradually expanded to cover additional programming languages including JavaScript, jQuery, React, and more. Mandy worked on around 20 projects throughout the program — each one teaching her new, valuable skills.

Toward the end of the boot camp, Mandy worked on a solo project aimed at simplifying the  grocery shopping process. As a working mother of two, she was spending a lot of time planning and creating shopping lists — and she wanted to change that.  

Her solution? A web app called Dine In At Home. “Having a pen and paper with you while you shop is just too much,” Mandy explained. “With this app, people are able to add items to the list, cross off items, and share lists with other people. It makes grocery shopping much easier.” 

Mandy also included a feature where you can upload recipes to generate a shopping list of necessary ingredients. Lists are easily shareable, so Mandy can send her husband to do the grocery shopping without worry. If she forgets to tell him to buy a certain item, she can simply add it to the list and he’ll see it. 

“I just wanted to create something that would save time,” Mandy said. “Grocery shopping is very boring and time-consuming, but the app makes it more interesting and saves time.”

Looking ahead, she’d like to build a feature that allows shoppers to input items they already have in their kitchen — so if a recipe calls for flour but they already have that ingredient at home, the app won’t add it to the list. Mandy would also like to allow shoppers to upload their own recipes to reference when they go grocery shopping. 

Finding the right fit 

Throughout the boot camp, a supportive team of trainers, tutors, and career counselors all helped learners achieve their goals. One of Mandy’s tutors even helped her with additional training after the boot camp was over and still keeps in contact with learners. Her career counselor, Rita, was also a huge help.

“When you’re applying for jobs and nothing is coming out of it, sometimes you can get really depressed,” said Mandy. “But every time I spoke to Rita, I would feel so motivated and energetic and ready to keep applying.” 

Her family also helped keep her motivated both during and after the boot camp, specifically her husband. “He was very supportive and encouraging while I was studying at the bootcamp,” she said. “Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my studies.” 

Mandy’s persistence paid off not long after the boot camp. She was working at Victoria University as a QA web tester — and while the job was fine, she wanted to do something else. She found a position as a web application developer/tester and knew it would be the right fit.

“I could continue using my testing experience and skills while also developing skills in coding and development,” she said. “It’s hard to find applicants with a good balance of both, so they felt I fit right in, too.”

Today, Mandy works at Orygen: a nonprofit organisation that specialises in youth mental health and has partnerships with universities in Australia, Canada, and the United States. There, she focuses on optimising an online platform called MOST (Moderated Online Social Therapy). 

“The website allows people from ages 15 to 25 to take an assessment to determine what kind of therapy they need,” Mandy explained. “Then they can interact with therapists, clinicians, and career counselors.”

This resource provides people with information, breathing exercises, tasks, and more to help with their mental health and connect them with certified professionals from the comfort of their own home. 

Mandy hopes to stay with Orygen for a while, and plans on finishing up her grocery shopping app in the future. For now, she’s enjoying working for a company with a meaningful purpose and flexible hours that allow her to spend more time with family. 

Looking to redefine your future? Explore the Monash University Coding Boot Camp today.

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The rising demand for tech education for adults is a global phenomenon, and Australia’s skilled labor market is acutely impacted by the trend. Half of jobs in Australia will require high level coding skills by 2030 according to a report produced by the Regional Australia Institute. Another report from Deloitte estimates that Australia will need over 200,000 more technology workers in the next five years.

As competition for tech talent gets fiercer, global tech companies are eyeing cities down under for expansion. Atlassian, Google, Salesforce, Square, Slack, and Amazon have all opened offices in Melbourne alone, driving the city to offer the most competitive salary increases in Australia’s IT sector. Melbourne’s local workforce has an opportunity to benefit from a growing tech sector, but there’s a clear demand for more skilled workers.

Australia’s education system has much to be admired for how it directly ties university rankings to career competitiveness. But the rate of change in the technology industry means that the tech skills someone learned five years ago are mostly obsolete today. Top universities across Australia recognize the need to provide adults with or without a technical background with opportunities to quickly learn up-to-date technology skills.

Monash University joins a network of over 40 top universities globally that recognize the power of partnership to establish high quality, career-oriented learning programs that can quickly adapt to the needs of the community. Together, Monash University and Trilogy Education will deliver a coding boot camp that enables the residents of Melbourne to pursue rewarding careers and fuel the city’s tech scene.

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According to a report by the Australian Computer Society, the demand for tech workers is set to grow by almost 100,000 to 758,700 workers by 2023. By this time, almost 3 million Australian workers will be employed in occupations that regularly use tech.

Boot camps are an excellent way for Australians to break into the country’s rapidly growing tech industry. These short-term, intensive classes prepare hard-working adult learners for the digital jobs that employers are eager to fill: software engineers, front-end and back-end developers, web developers, and software developers, among other in-demand positions. 

While completing a boot camp is not an easy endeavor—the program requires diligent classroom study, dedicated out-of-class work, ambitious group project collaboration, and thoughtful distraction-free concentration—the payoffs can be immense. Just consider these potential boot camp ROIs.

A new job

The career trajectory of today’s worker can seldom be traced as a straight upward-trending line. Workers are more mobile than ever, exploring new professional avenues as opportunities arise. With boot camps, those opportunities present themselves front and center. If you find yourself in a dead-end job, if your previously chosen field is shrinking, if the discipline you attended university for no longer interests you, then you can make the decision to reskill for a better career fit. The boot camp teaches the skills necessary to land a new job in the tech space. While completion of a boot camp does not guarantee new employment, it certainly positions you to make the most of your newly acquired skill set and signals to employers that you are ready and able to make the leap to a more rewarding job.

Better salary

Employers are hungry for suitable tech talent, and they will pay handsomely for skilled team players. Boot camps are taught by experienced practitioners who guide learners through the latest coding concepts as well as projects that stress collaboration and teamwork. These aspects of the program help participants become well-rounded tech professionals whom employers are looking for.

Alexei Fey, CEO of Comunet, a South Australian company specializing in digital transformation and tech strategy, highlights the call for more staff skilled in information technology.  

“As a business at the forefront of technological changes we are thrilled at the growth in the sector. However, there is a shortage of people with relevant tech skills,” he said. “My frustration in finding good talent is not uncommon amongst the local business community. When good talent becomes available, competition is fierce amongst employers to secure talent.”

Raise/promotion

Not every boot camp participant desires a new job. Some simply want to upskill so they can move up with their current employer. Trilogy Education partners with prominent universities across Australia, including Monash University, to offer programs that help business professionals get a leg up in their companies. 

Respect

Whether you want to change jobs completely or show your current boss that you’re ready for more responsibility, you will command more respect with your newfound digital skills. Following the boot camp, you will be able to contribute more to your company. You will be a greater asset to your employer. 

Employers such as Deloitte and PWC have built out robust technology operations and are looking at the graduates of many educational avenues, including boot camps, to staff their digital teams. Boot camp graduates in the U.S. have found rewarding careers at Apple, Google, IBM, and Oracle, among many others. 

Boot camps are a proven model of digital skills training that can lead to tremendous benefits for the determined adult learner. Australia is poised to lead with boot camp programs that pair its best universities with hard-working students and experienced tech practitioners. As long as you are willing to invest your time and energy in the program, your return on investment can be transformative. 

Riley Batchelor is Trilogy’s vice president and general manager for the Asia-Pacific region.

The post Return on Investment: Why Australians Should Enrol in a Tech Boot Camp appeared first on Monash University Boot Camps.