We teach our students full-stack development over the course of 14 weeks in our downtown Chicago classroom. After completion of the program, students will be eligible for potential placement, based on interviews and skillset, with our paid internships and full-time employment as a web developer. Students must be prepared to spend 12-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week for these 14 weeks, as they will be immersed in a curriculum that covers everything they need to know to be a full-stack developer, from programming languages to industry best practices. They will get hands-on experience working with today’s web development tools.

The full price for the program is $16,000. A few things to keep in mind regarding this cost: one, when considering a career change, this is a fairly reasonable cost for a program offering such a robust, foundational skill set; two, our section on the VA has a great deal more information, but there are several VA-related methods that can be used for paying the tuition to Code Platoon. Third, those opting not to use the GI Bill® (or other VA benefits) may be eligible for a scholarship that pays for most (if not all) of the tuition.

Most sophisticated web applications can be thought of as being composed of two parts: the front-end and the back-end. The front-end of the stack revolves around what the end-user sees, which is the web page. HTML, CSS, and Javascript are some of the important technologies which are used to build and manipulate web pages. React.js is a very powerful library for working on the front-end. The back-end of the stack is where data gets stored, manipulated, and analyzed. Our tools-of-the-trade for backend development is Python and SQL.

Also of note: students will need to bring an Apple laptop, preferably with 8GB of RAM, and able to run the most recent Mac OS, with them to class.

Programming fundamentals: Javascript and Python

Databases: PostgreSQL and Object Relational Mapping (ORM).

Industry Best Practices: Git & Github and Pair Programming, Test Driven Development

Beyond Tech: Classes covering Team Building, Mental Toughness, Diversity & Inclusion, Personality Assessment, Personal Finance, Negotiation, Job Search, etc. help go beyond just tech-based learning and into personal development so that students can become well-rounded.

Absolutely and Code Platoon provides considerable resources to help students prepare for our program. Our Intro to Coding page offers several tutorials for prospective students, and a self-paced program is always an option for those who want to become more deeply familiar prior to entering the Full-time program.

Yes! Graduates of our program receive a Code Platoon Certificate, In addition, all students will prepare to take the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification, and In-person students will also prepare for the SAFe Agile Practitioner Certification. These professional certifications are built into our program, with specific days committed to training and testing.  Additionally, we are an official AWS Training Facility.

The In-person program provides students with the option to interview and be placed in three to six month paid internships with our corporate sponsors. Code Platoon’s focus on real-world application means students will not only be mentored by professional software developers in the classroom but often continue their conversations at their own workspaces. Although the internships provided are in Chicago only, Remote students have their own Career Services Lead who works with them personally to find jobs after graduation.

As of 2020, software developers of just about any kind are one of the most highly in-demand job categories in our current economy. And, over the next several years, this field is expected to grow much faster than average. The skills a software developer possesses will be sought after for the foreseeable future. Our graduates, on average, report a median salary of $65,000 within six months of completing our course and a median salary of $88,000 within two years of completion. Our graduates will find work in roles such as web developers, software developers, software engineers, and site reliability engineers.

In terms of curriculum, hours, cost, and what is required, there is no difference. We teach the same thing at the same time, and remote students have the opportunity to learn right alongside the in-person cohort. In fact, they will even be part of the same group projects, as our Remote students are considered just as much a part of the family as everyone else.

However, Remote students are not eligible for our internship program, nor do they participate in SAFe Agile training.

As with anything in life, there are always trade-offs. While the Remote program certainly allows students to stay in their place of residence—no matter how much we wish it were not so, there are always reasons why someone cannot pack up and move to a new city for 14 weeks—the downside is that this option does not include the internship opportunities associated with the In-Person Program. Although we do encourage people to take the In-Person option, as it provides the best possible learning opportunities, we fully understand that this is simply not possible and we developed this as an option.

Only VET TEC can apply; not the GI Bill®. It is important to note that this is the case for all coding Bootcamps — none are eligible for Remote GI Bill® funding, as the GI Bill® is administered by state VA agencies, whereas VET TEC is done by the National VA authority.

Absolutely 100% self-paced, yes.

Completely free to Veterans, Active Duty, and military spouses.

Because it is free and at the student’s pace, there is no access to instructors, job-placement help, and there no certificate provided showing that students finished the course. But it is a great way to learn and develop some skills for those who cannot fit the other programs into their schedule.

The self-paced program utilizes our actual curriculum.  It does not directly transfer, but many students have done some of our self-paced work and, as a result, done much better once they are enrolled in the full-time program, as they are now much more familiar with the curriculum. Given the pace of our program, this is no small thing.

Yes! There are a number of different options students have used to have their tuition paid for through the VA—the GI Bill®, VET TEC, and Voc Rehab have all been used by our students.

VET TEC is a relatively new pilot program through the VA that is specifically designed to help Veterans go to tech schools to learn valuable skills like web development, cybersecurity, and software development and find meaningful, good-paying employment afterward. It works differently than the GI Bill in a few different ways.

1. Using the GI Bill subtracts from the veteran’s remaining benefits and VET TEC does not. Veterans must have at least one day of GI Bill eligibility remaining on Day 1 of their class to qualify for VET TEC.
2. VET TEC only provides training in concentrated technology boot camps and trade schools. It does not apply to accredited institutions. The GI Bill can be used for traditional college degrees as well.
3. Eligibility for the two programs differ. For example, active duty service members, Transfer of Entitlement [TOE] spouses, and some others are not eligible for VET TEC.
4. The VET TEC program has limited funding, up to $15 million per federal fiscal year (October 1-September 30).
5. A Veteran must be a full-time student in order to be eligible for and continue in a program approved to receive reimbursement through VET TEC.
6. A student Veteran must graduate and secure meaningful employment (as defined by the VA) in order to initiate full tuition and fee reimbursement to the training provider.

That is correct. If a student applied for VET TEC and used it to complete Code Platoon’s program, found a job, and still want to take college classes with their GI Bill down the road, their VET TEC experience has not taken any time or money away from that. It is still there for the veteran to use. So going to Code Platoon before attending college is a great way to maximize resources!

Yes, it works much the same. If the student attends our full-time program in Chicago, they would receive BAH for the Chicago area (currently around $2,000/month) for the duration of our program. If they attend the Live-Remote class, their BAH would be paid at the rate of the national average (currently about $800/month).

Unfortunately, no. At this time VET TEC pays the program and BAH, but nothing extra for a computer. However, we are told that Veterans receive a 15% discount with Apple on Macs (which is what students need to use for our program).

We are fully anticipating VET TEC being available for our Evening and Weekends Program that starts in April. We will, however, keep everyone up to date on any changes in relation to VET TEC.

Start by going here and applying. Because Code Platoon can help with the process, it is best to start the Code Platoon application as soon as possible.

Yes, absolutely! If a veteran is eligible, VET TEC pays at the 100% rate for both tuition and housing even if they wouldn’t receive 100% with other GI Bill programs.

Yes, absolutely. If a veteran is eligible for VET TEC and able to get into a program with an approved provider, then they are allowed to use a VET TEC training institution to help advance their career. The VA does not exclude participants who are already in their target industry.

Prospective students can go to our FAQ Page for VET TEC for a better rundown, but the biggest difference between those other programs and ours is that Code Platoon is the only one focused on military Veterans. That is our specialty, so our staff is made up of people who have a deep understanding of the Veteran community and work tirelessly to ensure that is our priority. Additionally, we are a nonprofit school (most are for-profit) and we have an unparalleled internship program — something almost no one else has.

Absolutely, yes. But it must be noted that it only works for our In-person program.

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (typically called Voc Rehab) is a program through the VA designed to “help with job training, employment accommodations, resume development, and job-seeking skills coaching.” Like VET TEC, this is not an automatic benefit for every Veteran; it must be applied to, which includes a one-on-one meeting with a VRC (Voc Rehab Counselor) to determine the best course of action for the Veteran. Voc Rehab is typically used when a Veteran has a disability and subsequent employment handicap which prevents them from working in certain areas. So the plan for finding work that the Veteran can do, possible training for that work, and placement is quite extensive and developed by the Veteran and the VRC.

And yes, it can be used for Code Platoon. The caveat is that the Veteran must take the steps to apply to and be accepted to a Voc Rehab plan—that is not something Code Platoon can walk them through.

This is a multi-part answer. Yes, military spouses can attend Code Platoon, and if Veteran spouses have done a Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) of the Veteran’s GI Bill® they can use that (again, only the In-person programs will accept GI Bill®). However, VET-TEC does not work with a TOE and is reserved for the Veteran only. Additionally, Code Platoon does have scholarships for those who cannot secure VA funding, which also is available for spouses.

A Veteran’s benefits will depend on a few different factors, so we encourage them to contact the VA for more information and to learn about their EES (Education Enrollment Status), which is a necessary part of the application process for Code Platoon and should be submitted to us as soon as possible. Code Platoon is not authorized to look at a Veteran’s file with the VA to determine their exact level of benefit eligibility nor how much time is left for their benefits, so the Veteran must ultimately contact the VA themselves in order to determine what it is exactly they qualify for and how much.

It usually takes two to three weeks to be approved by the VA, but it can take up to 30 days (processing times run longer during Spring and Fall). A veteran’s EES (Education Enrollment Status) is available online and should either be sent to rod@codeplatoon.org (or Greg@codeplatoon.org) or mailed to our office at Code Platoon, 125 South Clark Street, 17th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603.

This part is important: prospective students should apply for our program and for their benefits at the same time. Each process can take a few weeks, so get them going. Don’t wait for one to be complete before starting the other. We require all documents to use the GI Bill® or VET TEC six weeks prior to the class start date.

Code Platoon has several scholarship options available which typically reduce the cost of the course by 80% (sometimes more). If a student does not have enough GI Bill® left and doesn’t qualify for VET TEC, we highly encourage them to apply for whichever scholarships could fit. In addition, there are other sources for scholarships that are worth looking into.

The best resources are listed here on our application page. They are:

• Code Platoon Intro to Coding
• Free Code Camp
• Udacity

Those who spend a lot of time on self-learning will do better than those who do not, and that is probably the biggest factor for success.

A lot of self-learning. The more you can push yourself to learn on your own, the better you will do in our program. Harvard’s CS50 class is a great example (and free if you are simply auditing the class).

The average age of a Code Platoon student is 34. We have students in their 20’s participate in the program as well as students in their 60’s. Age should not be a consideration if you are wanting a new career in tech. 

Absolutely! Our curriculum is listed here on our website. The different tabs on the left will open up other pages under those headings.

The best way to explain this is to think about it from the user’s perspective. When going to a site like, say, Amazon, what is seen on the page is the “front end” development of software. The things a user clicks on, pictures, and menus are created by front end developers and put together using languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The parts not seen—the databases, the infrastructure holding the website together, and “under the hood” type stuff is “back end” development, which uses languages such as PHP, Ruby, and Python. A full-stack developer is someone who works with both front- and back-end development and is competent in all languages necessary for both.

All students learn the same material. Where they end up working — i.e. the job they choose or the specific type of field — will dictate the type of area in which they will specialize (e.g. front end vs back end).