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Want to learn to code? Check out these 12 (mostly) local bootcamps and resources

Here's how to jump on the webdev train even if you're a programming newbie, including with several free, online and one-off courses.

Coding. (Photo by Flickr user WOCinTech Chat, used under a Creative Commons license)

This editorial article is a part of Technical.ly's Tech Stacks Month of our editorial calendar.

Update: Springhouse has been added to the list. The number in the headline has been updated accordingly. (7/18/19, 1:24 p.m.)

So you want to be a developer, need a low-cost facelift for your site or are just interested in a new side hustle. Maybe you’re hoping to tone your tech muscles and move up in your career. Easier said than done, especially if you don’t have the ability to go back to school.

To help you along, we created a list of bootcamps, meetups and online resources to get you in the know about code, plus a few for the kids (hello, parent bonding opportunity!). All are local or have some local tie.

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For the long haul:

Penn LPS Coding Bootcamp

  • The deets: A frontend and backend development course for future full-stack developers
  • When: 20 hours per week for 24 weeks or full-time for 12 (plus, check out the program’s demo day event next Thursday)
  • $$: $13,995

Thinkful

  • The deets: A virtual classroom, one-on-one mentorship and a pairing with classmates to help you through
  • When: Full-time for 50 to 60 hours per week for six months or 25 hours per week for seven
  • $$: $16,000 upfront, with multiple payment options and financing (plus, Technical.ly readers get $600 off)

(New York Code + Design Academy, with its Philly outpost, shut down in November after being one of few local bootcamps to outlive the previous year’s tsunami of sorts among national coding schools, in which both Iron Yard and Dev Bootcamp announced they’d be shutting down within 30 days of each other. At the end of 2017, Boston-based Launch Academy quietly let its Philly staff go and closed its Center City outpost.)

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The quickies:

Springhouse

  • The deets: Instructor-led, beginner-to-advanced training for professionals looking to advance and job-seekers looking to improve tech skills in Exton
  • When: Year-round, open-enrollment short courses (face-to-face or remote access)
  • $$: Anywhere from $300 to $3,000, depending on the course

Agile Boot Camp

  • The deets: A three-day seminar all about Agile software development organized by Mangates 
  • When: July 29 to 31
  • $$: $3,599 (or $2,999 if you register before July 19)

Philly Tech Sistas

  • The deets: An org that’s trying to help women of color build careers in tech with intro, beginner and intermediate coding workshops
  • When: Monthly
  • $$: $25

Philadelphia Women in Data

  • The deets: An org is aimed at increasing diversity across the field of data science — including this weekend’s Lead by Learning conference
  • When: July 13 and every few months
  • $$: $15

Learn to Code

  • The deets: If you’re out of time for the full Thinkful course, it sponsors a weekly meetup for Philadelphians to get the basics of different languages, such as JavaScript and Python
  • When: Weeknights
  • $$: Free

R Ladies Philadelphia

  • The deets: A meetup group for women interested in learning R coding language that occasionally hosts workshops, such as June’s on data visualization
  • When: Monthly
  • $$: Free

Philadelphia WordPress Meetup Group

  • The deets: A group for local WordPress lovers to learn tips for plugins, themes and design
  • When: Monthly
  • $$: Free

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On your own time:

FreeCodeCamp

  • The deets: An online certification course in HTML, Java, CSS, data visualization and more
  • When: 300 hours on your own time (and if you need some study buddies, check out this local meetup group for students)
  • $$: Free

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For the kids:

Coded by Kids

  • The deets: A local tech organization for students K-12 that offers tech programs and competitions through schools and community centers
  • When: After school and weekends
  • $$: Free

TechGirlz

  • The deets: A Philly nonprofit that offers workshops, summer camps and design events for girls
  • When: After school, weekly camps plus weekend workshops
  • $$: Free (mostly)

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Know of other local Philly-based resources? Let us know at philly@technical.ly and we’ll update this list.

Companies: Thinkful / Coded by Kids / TechGirlz
Series: Tech Stacks Month 2019
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