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Chicago Tech Community: Anyone Can Learn to Code, Part 1

DialogTech

Big things are happening for the technology community in Chicago, and it’s no surprise that they’re happening at 1871. The tech hub in Merchandise Mart known for hosting events and talks by tech experts to foster Chicago talent is now home to yet another geek-friendly function, and it’s headed up by Jay Wengrow, web developer, engineer, and educator. It’s called Anyone Can Learn to Code, and when Wengrow says anyone, he means it.

Anyone Can Learn to Code, which Wengrow launched last year as a mentoring service and has now morphed into a 12-week bootcamp at 1871, currently consists of eight students (men and women of a wide range of ethnicities and backgrounds) that meet five days a week with the common goal of becoming professional software engineers. Wengrow welcomes total newbies, as he calls them, and prides himself on the ability to explain complex concepts in plain English, a skill can be unfortunately rare in the tech world.

Wengrow says his vision for the program began while he was mentoring a wide range of clients with varying levels of ability via Skype and realized that his favorite part was when those clients asked questions. With both a M.S. in Software Engineering and a M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Loyola, Wengrow knew that his love of technology and his teaching ability should combine to become a solution for those who are looking for a way to acquire skills in HTML, CSS, Rails, and more.

I dropped in at 1871 last night to sit in on a class of Anyone Can Learn to Code to see for myself, and was pleasantly surprised by the relaxing atmosphere that Wengrow creates in his bootcamp. Bootcamp, of course, brings to mind blood, sweat, and tears, and while they must surely exist in a program as rigorous as this, the tears are happily given: the small class meshes well, making small talk and sharing jokes. Looking in on the classroom from the outside, one might mistake them for a group of friends getting together to surf the web, clustered together in the brightly-lit rooms of 1871. But one look at the screen would tell you otherwise: Wengrow dives into the lesson and long strings of scary-looking code pop up on the display. But no one is scared for long: in the next moment Wengrow has a friendly slideshow up, walking the class through how the Internet really works before they dive into hands-on coding; breaking down the basics of how a server operates, what is actually happening when you type in a URL, and all the little details that a true programmer needs to know to be successful in their field: the how and the why. Wengrow’s patience and ease of communication make it easy to see why tech newbies would gravitate toward the program, especially given the steps Wengrow has taken to ensure it is as accessible as possible.

In order to take advantage of the kind of training that programs like Anyone Can Learn to Code provide, candidates would usually need to quit their jobs to fit it in. Not so with Wengrow’s bootcamp. The class meets on evenings and weekends, facilitating working professionals who have seen the value of these kinds of skills and are seeking to incorporate them into their knowledge base. Wengrow is passionate about the growth of technology in the day-to-day processes of businesses of all sizes and believes that the key to continuing to foster that growth is grooming the required talent. Anyone in the technology community in any city knows the challenges faced by tech companies in bringing in top talent. It’s a struggle, and one Wengrow’s program might be part of a solution for.

How do inexperienced people get experience? Wengrow says of the challenges faced by job-seekers trying to break into the tech industry. Companies want to hire people who already have their feet wet, so there’s often a wall that’s put up. Many companies want to hire programmers with university experience, but often those candidates lack practical knowledge, whereas someone who has gone through a bootcamp has the practical, hands-on experience that those companies want. So it’s about building a better process and providing companies and job-seekers with more options when it comes to bringing on the tech talent they need.

And Wengrow is all about creating that pipeline. In addition to teaching his bootcamp students what they need to know in the 12 weeks he has them under his tutelage, he also connects them with potential employers, bringing in tech companies from the Chicago area to watch the class give their final presentations showcasing their newly acquired skills. Wengrow says companies need a new process in finding tech talent, and he’s here to do his part to provide it.

This is part one of our series with Anyone Can Learn to Code. I’ll be going back to visit the class, and I’ll keep you posted about what they’re learning. It’s an exciting time to be part of the Chicago tech community, and DialogTech plans to be there on that last day to see what talent we can scoop up from Wengrow’s flock. To learn more about Anyone Can Learn to Code, visit the website here, and stay tuned for part two.