Fast-track Software Engineering Programs for Aspiring Developers

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Soft­ware engi­neer­ing offers high earn­ing poten­tial, with an aver­age salary of over $130,000 per year and a pro­ject­ed 26% growth in job opportunities.
• Accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, such as cod­ing boot­camps and online cours­es, allow indi­vid­u­als to quick­ly gain rel­e­vant skills and enter the work­force faster. 
• These pro­grams empha­size prac­ti­cal learn­ing, cost-effec­tive­ness, and net­work­ing opportunities.
• Accred­it­ed pro­grams ensure high edu­ca­tion­al stan­dards, bet­ter employ­a­bil­i­ty, and eli­gi­bil­i­ty for finan­cial aid, mak­ing them a valu­able choice for aspir­ing soft­ware engineers.

Soft­ware engi­neer­ing can be a lucra­tive career, to say the least. Accord­ing to the Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics (BLS), soft­ware devel­op­ers earn more than $130,000 per year. Not only that, the BLS pre­dicts a 26 per­cent increase in career oppor­tu­ni­ties in this field through the ear­ly part of the next decade.

But what hap­pens if you don’t have soft­ware devel­op­ment train­ing or expe­ri­ence? Then what?

On the one hand, you might enroll in an online boot­camp that helps you build rel­e­vant skills in short order. On the oth­er hand, you might work on a fast-track soft­ware engi­neer­ing degree to devel­op a greater set of devel­op­ment skills. In either case, accel­er­at­ed pro­grams — which allow you to com­plete your stud­ies in less time than tra­di­tion­al pro­grams — are a great way to learn a lot in a lit­tle time and advance your career more quickly.

Many oth­er options are avail­able for rapid­ly gain­ing new skills, too. This guide explores some of the best options!

Relat­ed:

• Tran­si­tion­ing to Tech: Online Com­put­er Sci­ence Master’s Degrees for Non-Tech Majors
• Employ­er Per­cep­tions of Accel­er­at­ed vs Tra­di­tion­al IT Degrees
• Best Online Engi­neer­ing Degree Bachelor’s Programs

Why Choose Fast-Track Programs?

Get­ting an edu­ca­tion in cod­ing boot­camps, accel­er­at­ed cod­ing cours­es, and oth­er soft­ware devel­op­ment fast-track options is smart for a vari­ety of reasons:

• Time effi­cien­cy — Com­plete your degree faster (some­times a lot faster) and enter the work­force more quick­ly in the soft­ware devel­op­ment niche you desire.
• Focused learn­ing - Fast-track pro­grams help you learn pro­gram­ming quick­ly with focused learn­ing activ­i­ties. Where tra­di­tion­al pro­grams include a good amount of the­o­ry, accel­er­at­ed pro­grams empha­size prac­ti­cal appli­ca­tion of knowledge.
• Cost-effec­tive­ness — Accel­er­at­ed soft­ware engi­neer­ing edu­ca­tion options tend to be less expen­sive than tra­di­tion­al meth­ods. By reduc­ing the cost of your edu­ca­tion, you can increase your return on invest­ment. There are few­er oppor­tu­ni­ty costs, too; the less time you spend get­ting an edu­ca­tion, the more time you have for social and work activities.
• Net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties — Fast-track pro­grams aren’t just a means of learn­ing rel­e­vant skills quick­ly; they’re also ide­al for tech career accel­er­a­tion. Using the con­nec­tions you make with your teach­ers and oth­er class­mates, you can lev­el up your abil­i­ty to quick­ly find employ­ment after com­plet­ing the program.

Types of Fast-Track Programs

From online soft­ware engi­neer­ing pro­grams to inten­sive pro­gram­ming work­shops to cod­ing boot­camps, your options for an accel­er­at­ed edu­ca­tion in this field are end­less. The table below sum­ma­rizes just a few pop­u­lar options:

Key Components of Effective Fast-Track Programs

No mat­ter what type of pro­gram is your pref­er­ence, it should have a few key fea­tures that help you gain the nec­es­sary com­pe­ten­cies in the least amount of time. For exam­ple, the best soft­ware devel­op­er train­ing offers:

• A focused and rel­e­vant cur­ricu­lum — Not every boot­camp, accel­er­at­ed course, and fast-track soft­ware devel­op­ment degree has the same cur­ricu­lum. How­ev­er, what is taught should be aligned with indus­try stan­dards with an eye toward the future so your skills have a longer lifespan.
• Oppor­tu­ni­ties for real-world learn­ing — The fast-track program(s) you select should pro­vide oppor­tu­ni­ties to apply what you’ve learned, be that hands-on projects, case stud­ies, real-world appli­ca­tions, or some­thing in between.
• Career sup­port ser­vices — Uni­ver­si­ty-led accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, in par­tic­u­lar, should pro­vide robust career sup­port ser­vices, like job fairs, job appli­ca­tion and inter­view assis­tance, and net­work­ing opportunities.
• Men­tor­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties — Hav­ing men­tors help guide your learn­ing is crit­i­cal for any type of train­ing or degree, but it’s even more impor­tant for quick soft­ware engi­neer­ing cours­es and oth­er modes of learn­ing soft­ware devel­op­ment in rapid fashion.

Top Fast-Track Programs for Aspiring Software Engineers

As not­ed ear­li­er, your options for an accel­er­at­ed soft­ware engi­neer­ing edu­ca­tion are vir­tu­al­ly lim­it­less. The table below high­lights just a few well-regard­ed soft­ware engi­neer­ing boot­camps, cours­es, and pro­grams you might consider.

Admission Requirements and How to Apply

Many boot­camps, sem­i­nars, and online cours­es require you to fill out an appli­ca­tion and pay the req­ui­site fee pri­or to start­ing the class. In some cas­es, you might have to com­plete a basic skills assess­ment, too.

Con­verse­ly, tak­ing a course or com­plet­ing a full degree pro­gram from a col­lege or uni­ver­si­ty is more appli­ca­tion-inten­sive. Typ­i­cal admis­sions require­ments might include the following:

• Sub­mit an appli­ca­tion for admis­sion and any rel­e­vant appli­ca­tion fees.
• Have a high school diplo­ma or the equivalent.
• Have a cer­tain high school GPA or high­er (e.g., 2.5 on a 4.0 scale).

Oth­er steps are some­times nec­es­sary, such as sub­mit­ting ACT or SAT scores, pro­vid­ing ref­er­ences, or com­plet­ing a short admis­sions essay. How­ev­er, these are atyp­i­cal of under­grad­u­ate studies.

When apply­ing to a col­lege or university’s pro­gram, you can help your appli­ca­tion stand out by focus­ing on what makes you unique. Includ­ing a cov­er let­ter, for exam­ple, allows you to quick­ly dis­cuss who you are as a per­son and stu­dent, what your career goals are, and how the course or pro­gram can help you meet those goals.

Challenges and Considerations

Before enrolling in soft­ware engi­neer­ing boot­camps, pro­grams, or cours­es, it’s impor­tant to con­sid­er the chal­lenges inher­ent in fast-track learn­ing:

• Inten­sive work­load — Accel­er­at­ed learn­ing requires you to study a lot of mate­r­i­al in a short amount of time. The pace of work is rapid and intense, and it is easy to fall behind if you aren’t com­mit­ted to the process.
• Inde­pen­dent learn­ing — Many pro­grams — even the best cod­ing boot­camps — require you to com­plete much of the pro­gram on your own. This can be a chal­lenge if you aren’t aca­d­e­m­i­cal­ly pre­pared to study at a fast pace.
• Lim­it­ed finan­cial aid — Some boot­camps, online cours­es, and sem­i­nars require you to pay the entire cost on your own. In some instances, fees are required in full up-front, too.
• Career con­sid­er­a­tions — Many accel­er­at­ed soft­ware devel­op­ment pro­grams do a good job of prepar­ing you to move into a career. This is not always the case, though. Inves­ti­gate whether the pro­grams that inter­est you offer career ser­vices before enrolling.
• Job growth isn’t guar­an­teed — Just because you gain new skills in this field doesn’t mean you’ll be reward­ed with high­er pay or a new job. Going beyond the basics and learn­ing in-demand skills that have broad applic­a­bil­i­ty will help you over­come this challenge.

Future Trends in Fast-Track Education

One thing’s for sure — mak­ing a soft­ware engi­neer­ing career change now more than ever involves fast-track learn­ing. Advance­ments in online course deliv­ery and remote learn­ing have made this pos­si­ble. Con­tin­u­ing changes in edu­ca­tion­al tech­nol­o­gy will make accel­er­at­ed online learn­ing even more popular.

Fast-track learn­ing is becom­ing more essen­tial because of the demands of the soft­ware devel­op­ment indus­try, too. A few years ago, machine learn­ing and AI were brand-new skills. Today, they’re among the most in-demand tech skills across a broad range of indus­tries. Accel­er­at­ed learn­ing can help you stay abreast of emerg­ing tech­nolo­gies and expand your employ­a­bil­i­ty now and in the future.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that soft­ware devel­op­ment and engi­neer­ing are well-pay­ing, in-demand fields. There is also no doubt that build­ing a career in tech fast is often best done through accel­er­at­ed learn­ing for­mats like those dis­cussed in this guide.

As you plan your future, take time to explore var­i­ous pro­grams. Com­pare and con­trast your options, get advice from indus­try pro­fes­sion­als, and take the time to make an informed deci­sion Doing so ensures you will get the edu­ca­tion you need to achieve your career goals.