Cyber education“Hacker schools” grow to meet growing demand for programmers

The increasing demand for computer programmers in the job market has led to the growth of “hacker schools,” an alternative to traditional education that offers students a quicker, cheaper, and effective way to learn computer programing.

There is a shortage of qualified job applicants in the computer software category, according to Tino Mantella, director of the Technology Association of Georgia. A recent survey by the group found roughly 4,000 open high tech positions in Georgia, and it often takes up to six months for employers to find the right candidates.

GovTech reports that hacker schools do not offer certificates or diplomas, instead they claim to target students who currently have degrees in other fields but who want a career change. Dr. Jenny Grace, an eighteen-year ob-gyn, told GovTech that she decided to shift careers to computer science, but was unable to dedicate two to four years to traditional education. Grace attended Tech Talent South, an Atlanta-based hacker school which offers a two month computer science course. Upon completion of the course, Grace was able to code and landed an internship with a local software developer.

Shane Pike, head of EngineerJobs.com, an online classified advertising site for engineering jobs, agrees that hacker schools are helping fuel the supply of tech savvy job applicants. “People have been seeing this shortage for a long time,” he said. “That’s the reason these alternative schools are popping up. I’ve been hiring software engineers since 1998. It’s always been hard to find good ones.”

Hacker schools have spread to other cities with high-tech markets like New York, Boston, and San Francisco. The Iron Yard, a hacker school based in South Carolina, will open in Atlanta at the end of March. More than sixty students have graduated from The Iron Yard’s Greenville, South Carolina campus. William Haynes, CEO of Sabia Technology, a South Carolina router manufacturer, recently hired a programmer from The Iron Yard. “We have a huge need for inquisitive and smart programmers who can create a structure rather than conform to one,” Haynes said. “When you hire from one of these schools, you get an enthusiastic and focused individual who has just spent their most recent months focused on learning, creating and developing in areas where they’ve never been before.”

The Iron Yard’s program takes three months and costs $9,000, while Tech Talent South’s two-month program costs $6,250 for full-time students and $4,250 for part-time students. The Iron Yard guarantees job placement in six months or students may request a refund.

Hacker School in New York requires students to have some prior programing experience because it operates a free education course, and charges an average $20,000 recruiting fee to employers who hire its graduates.

Though hacker schools are meeting a demand in the market for computer programming education, some industry experts disagree with the method. Jeff Atwood, a software developer and author of the blog Coding Horror, criticized hacker schools, saying “they imply that there’s a thin, easily permeable membrane between learning to program and getting paid to program professionally.”

Hacker schools have not been subjected to federal regulations, but Richard Simms, co-founder of Tech Talent South, said, “programs like ours are unique in that they don’t confer or claim to confer degrees of higher education or professional or occupational licenses. So, like in many aspects of tech, there may not be a neat fit with the existing regulatory framework. (We) will be prepared to adapt to any regulatory developments in our part of the country.”