Today, uncertainty frightens the American population as many find themselves either newly unemployed or at high risk of losing employment due to COVID-19.

Although before the global pandemic, the feelings of uncertainty and insecurity were known all too well by Air Force veteran Gary Coffey and wife Karin Matsuyama when Coffey left the service in 2017. Despite having managed million-dollar projects and having worked as a Linux system administrator while in the Air Force, the only job Coffey could find once leaving was as a mattress salesman.

“It was definitely a big difference going from this job with hard problems to solve,” said Coffey. “To this job that was pretty much sitting in a store all day, trying to talk people into buying mattresses.”

Back then, Coffey was just one of the many underemployed veterans across the United States. In a study by Linkedin, 2017 data showed that veterans were 38% more likely to be underemployed compared to non-veterans. Additionally, current U.S. Department of Labor data shows a 3.5% veteran unemployment rate. And when it comes to military spouses, the unemployment and underemployment rates skyrocket to 30% and 56% respectively according to Blue Star Families.

Noticing this gap and that both Coffey and Matsuyama both wanted to move on to something bigger, Matsuyama researched for ways in which the couple could take steps to find the careers they felt they desired and deserved. Eventually, she came across Code Platoon.

Code Platoon is a nonprofit, 14-week coding boot camp initially created to chip away at high veteran unemployment statistics. Today, the program provides veterans and military spouses with the opportunity to affordably obtain job-ready skills and join one of the most lucrative and growing industries to date. With 82% of graduates gaining employment within 180 days of program completion, students emerge equipped with top-notch training and the network necessary for a transition from military to civilian life as, in most cases, full-stack software developers.

Founder and CEO Rodrigo Levy began Code Platoon with this goal.

“I had an experience with the coding boot camp model and I saw how effective it was in giving in-demand skills to deeply motivated learners in a very compressed time frame,” said Levy. “There was no one out there offering this type of training in a nonprofit scenario, offering strong scholarships with a tie to the veteran community.”

Coffey and Matsuyama are now both alumni of Code Platoon. They are also full-time software developers, almost debt-free and new owners of a three-flat apartment building they plan to rent out as they grow their real estate portfolio. The couple currently works from home due to COVID-19 and will continue to do so for its duration.

The post FROM MILITARY LIFE TO SOFTWARE PRO: A CHICAGO CODING BOOT CAMP’S IMPACT originally appeared on April 10, 2020, on the Medill Reports, Code Platoon thanks Anika Exum and the Editors at Medill Reports for their permission to repost this blog.

We get a lot of questions here at Code Platoon about what we do, how people sign up, and what our program is like. But there are a few questions that stand out as being the most common, so we figured addressing those might clear up a few points of confusion.

So here are our Top 3 most commonly asked questions, answered as simply as possible.

“I have no coding experience. Will this prevent me from attending Code Platoon?”

The short answer is no, absolutely not! But let’s offer a little bit more than that as a response.

As many instructors of our program have noted, the number one skill needed to succeed in our program is, interestingly enough, the same skill that was highly valuable in the military: a strong desire and willingness to learn a new skill!

We would rather have an inexperienced person with little skill, but a strong willingness to work hard and learn, than someone who knows everything and is lazy. Coincidentally, so would most of the employers we work with. If you have the work ethic and desire to teach yourself something new, you can do this.

“I’m a recently-separated veteran—how do I pay for Code Platoon?”

That’s one of our most common questions, and there are a few answers, each of which will be provided with further links for more information.

Option one: Our first recommendation is to look into VET-TEC, a pilot program from the VA designed to help veterans learn specialized training in technical schools like ours. Think of it as a GI Bill for coding bootcamps, but better. We are a VET-TEC affiliated program, and it works great for what we do (and it doesn’t take away from your GI Bill).

Option two: If you are attending in person, the GI Bill is still a great way to go.

Option three: Perhaps the trickiest to figure out, but one that is still worth considering, is Voc Rehab (Vocational Rehabilitation through the VA). Schedule an appointment with a Voc Rehab counselor and see if you qualify. We have at least one alumni who successfully used this program.

Option four: If for some reason you do not qualify for any of the above options, we have several scholarships available which very often will cover most, or all, of the tuition – one of which you are sure to qualify for.

“What kind of jobs are available after I complete Code Platoon?”

We train students to be full-stack software developers, which is a decidedly in-demand area of the job market right now. Visit our Outcomes page for more information, but the down-and-dirty facts right now are that the median salary of our graduates within 6 months is about $65,000 per year, and it rises to around $85,000 within two years.

The future looks good for software development, and we prepare you to start a career that takes full advantage of that.

Do you have a question that wasn’t among the top three? Then send it in and we’ll address it with you personally and maybe turn that into a blog post in the near future!

Greg Drobny is a former Airborne Infantryman, PSYOP Team Chief, political consultant, professional mil blogger, and is Code Platoon’s Student Outreach Coordinator. He holds a BA in history, a Masters of Science in organizational psychology, and is currently pursuing an MA in history. He is married with four children who keep him more than slightly busy and is passionate about helping veterans find their paths in life and develop the skills needed to pursue their goals.

Code Platoon is a Department of Defense approved Skillbridge program, in accordance with DODI 1322.29 and NAVADMIN 222/15.

Code Platoon provides transitioning service members with an opportunity to develop in-demand job skills while still serving. Specifically, service members who participate via SkillBridge can use their last 6 months of active duty to participate in Code Platoon’s Full-time Coding Bootcamp.

In addition to the accelerated, high intensity, 14-week Coding Bootcamp with small classes focused on hands-on experience, Code Platoon offers a variety of career enhancement opportunities. These include career planning and job search strategies and skills-building, with resume writing and interview techniques. Code Platoon also provides interaction with tech industry leaders and a competitive internship program with our hiring partners.

The Skillbridge program is open to military service members who are within six months of separation or retirement. Participants take part in the Code Platoon Full-time remote program or may attend In Person with command approval. This means you’ll be able to take the program from wherever you live now or attend a live setting at our Chicago classroom.

Code Platoon provides a special full scholarship for the remote program for students who attend through SkillBridge. Partial Scholarships or the GI Bill can be used for the In-person program.

Eligibility:

The Code Platoon Skillbridge program is open to military service members who are within six months of separation or retirement. It is also open to recently transitioned veterans.

ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS MUST:

• Secure command approval to participate.
• • PDF download for your commander: Introductory Letter from Code Platoon
  • PDF download for your commander: Command Authorization Form
• Complete the Code Platoon Step One application. During the application process, list yourself as active duty and select that you are interested in the SkillBridge scholarship.
• Complete  Part Two of the Code Platoon application.
• For those interested in attending in-person, work with the VA for GI Bill approval and command approval.
• If you have any questions or need additional information, please email info@codplatoon.org.

Disclaimer: The Department of Defense and service branches do not endorse any company, sponsor or their products or services.

Jim Hennessey is Code Platoon’s Director of Marketing. Jim brings a strong background in no-profit marketing and start-up enterprises to the mission of Code Platoon. Jim is a graduate of Clemson University and currently lives in Chicago. Follow Jim on LinkedIn.

One thing that distinguishes Code Platoon’s Bootcamp program from others is the opportunity our in-person students have to be part of a highly-competitive internship program. All of our in-person graduates will compete for coveted internships with some of our major Chicago-area corporate partners. Roughly two-thirds of graduates will be placed in a paid internship.

During the month of March, our Kilo Platoon students had the opportunity to meet and network with technology leaders from two of our internship partners – Ensnare and JP Morgan Chase & Co. to learn about internship opportunities.

Ensnare is an emerging security technology company. The company is a patent-pending, next-generation IoT security solution designed to deliver community safety by capturing the digital fingerprint of assailants and providing essential forensic data leading to the detection, capture, prosecution, and conviction of violent crime perpetrators.

Rich Espy (pictured), co-founder of Ensnare, and several of the company’s developers met with Kilo Platoon at their Near West Side offices. They shared their unique approach to agile development and provided a pre-launch glimpse of the technology they will be deploying. Ensnare will provide one member of Kilo Platoon an internship opportunity at the conclusion of the 14-week class.

In addition to his work at Ensnare, Rich is also a member of the Code Platoon Board and served as an intelligence officer for the United States Marine Corps.

The Platoon also had an afternoon of networking and presentations from the technology team at JP Morgan Chase. The company provides merchant services worldwide and has more than 50,000 technology employees at 18 worksites around the world. Internships for Code Platoon students at JP Morgan Chase can lead to full-time roles as part of the company’s Military Pathways Program for Veterans.

Iggy Kahn (pictured) a Managing Director in the Chase Merchant Services group led the company’s presentation to Kilo Platoon. He was joined by several technology leaders and developers, including previous Code Platoon graduates currently working at Chase. Iggy is a Veteran U.S. naval flight officer who flew 76 combat missions and earned three air medals. He also serves on the Board of Code Platoon.

For more information on the Code Platoon internship program, visit https://www.codeplatoon.org/the-program/internships/

Brenna Koss is Code Platoon’s Development and Operations Coordinator. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Greensboro in Political Science and French. In her free time, Brenna loves to travel and spend time with friends and family. Follow Brenna on LinkedIn.