We believe anyone can be a developer, and have designed a program that not only supports students as they get their first job in tech, but equips them with knowledge that will be used well beyond that first, entry-level position in the industry. 

The goal of our coding bootcamps is to ensure every graduate is career ready. We combine technical training with career services to prepare students for both the career search, which starts during the bootcamp, and the job they’ll earn after graduation. Our curriculum is constantly evolving to match the ever-changing needs of the tech industry, and we’ve made significant additions to our non-technical training and career readiness programming to best prepare graduates for careers after bootcamp.

New and Improved Career Services: Our Approach 

Grand Circus’ career services lead to incredible outcomes because we built the curriculum with a design-thinking approach that focuses on andragogy (adult education), and specifically to build students’ skills to meet hiring manager expectations. 

We started by deeply understanding incoming student needs — fears, anxieties and future dreams while diving into a career-change accelerator that is a coding bootcamp. Next, we surveyed a diverse set of employers to understand which character traits and interpersonal skills can show immediate contributions to a team. These surveys included insights from hiring managers, HR professionals and savvy technical recruiters to cover a range of recruitment methods and ensure we’re teaching skills that matter the most during their hiring processes. 

Once we collected the data, we brought together our career services team with learning leaders to create meaningful workshops that teach students effective job-seeking techniques, what it’s like to work on a team, and how to build successful career habits that students will use before and after graduation. 

With these new sessions, there is an increased focus on interviewing practices, in-person communication skills and individualized self-assessment. This ensures students can understand actions that won’t result in their desired career outcomes and allow them to course correct with solutions.

The major goal of improving our career-readiness training was to create self-aware job seekers who, at any given moment, could assess whether their own actions were leading them towards or away from their established career goals. 

By focusing on creating job-ready individuals, we transitioned to more impactful sessions that equip students with job-seeking knowledge they’ll use to earn their first career in tech and will continue to serve them as they transition to future jobs. These new lessons increase the amount of planned discussions and draw on leading industry research.

Career-Readiness Curriculum: Some of Our New Offerings 

Imposter Syndrome & Feedback Workshop

Many students come into a coding bootcamp with the feeling of “I don’t belong” or “I’m not good enough to work in tech.” Changing careers is challenging and so much of it is having the right mindset for the transition. In this session, we highlight ways to identify imposter syndrome and how to reduce chronic self-doubt. 

Students also learn the most effective ways to give and receive professional feedback and practice these new skills one on one. This helps students gain a new confidence as they grow their careers and work alongside diverse teams. 

Career Inspiration and Exploration

Students learn how to plan, search and execute the career-search process with custom Grand Circus resources that provide motivation and the necessary accountability in the job search. Students gain a tactical understanding of how to build positive habits, score future goals and navigate the best job boards online.

Employable You

Standing out to employers often starts with a resume or LinkedIn profile, and we help students elevate both. This session teaches students how to craft a professional online presence with LinkedIn, using its magical potential — from appropriate profile photos, summary, experience, skills and endorsements, to finding groups and companies. Our hiring tips to help students perform a social media audit and polish their technical resumes. 

Interview Prep and Mock Interviews

Interviewing for a tech position typically includes both behavioral and technical elements. We expose students to both styles, giving them several opportunities to prepare and practice for the experience. 

Our interview prep sessions teach students to become an interview “STAR” by learning about the interview process, the dos and don’ts of communication, nonverbal cues and the STAR method (Situation or Task, Action you took, Results you achieved). Our team covers best-practice strategies for technical and behavioral interviews, and works alongside students to develop a story-telling approach and create rapport with interviewers.

Additional Career Services Resources: 

As students work through the career search, our team continues to be a resource throughout each step by answering questions, making employer introductions and providing individualized feedback. Some of the other ways we support students include:

Career One-on-One Sessions

These weekly, private coaching sessions are designed to clarify career goals and deliver on career-assistance needs. Students can ask questions privately and dive deeper into their own personal career ambitions. During the first session, we co-create a plan that is curated for their career success during and after bootcamp. After the first session, each 1:1 session also contains a theme or prompt to keep the job search progressing for each individual. 

Resume & LinkedIn Work

Following our Employable You session, students begin building their technical resumes. They get access to a complete Grand Circus resource guide with best practices on how to craft their profile into one that will stand out to hiring managers. With more structured opportunities for resume review, students get personalized feedback and gain a clearer understanding of what employers are looking for. 

Company Info Sessions

Each bootcamp, we feature a variety of employers to talk about their hiring process, work environment and answer any questions. After the presentation, students get the opportunity to network with employers and explore if their openings are a right fit for their career goals. 

Earning a career in tech takes a lot of dedication, hard work and investment from our students. Before joining a coding bootcamp, however, it’s important that students understand the necessary commitment and prepare themselves for the hard work ahead. The investment in learning should provide a new appreciation for the level of difficult work that you complete, and a greater understanding in how to teach yourself new technical skills, whilst having a toolkit to tackle your job search.

We believe that anyone can be a developer, and our career services team is always identifying new ways to support that. We’re excited for these new sessions to support incoming students as they explore exciting tech opportunities. 

It’s here! The 2018 Outcomes Report. 

We’re excited to present to you the Grand Circus 2018 Outcomes Report. 

At Grand Circus we know that joining a coding bootcamp is a big time and financial commitment. Transparency is important to us and future students. To help ensure incoming students understand the opportunities available with the support of our coding bootcamps, we spend an incredible amount of time gathering the data, fact checking, reviewing and editing to ensure that what we present to the public is accurate. We’re thrilled to share more data this year, including outcomes from our first 26-week After-Hours Bootcamp that graduated in December 2018 as well as education background information for our graduates. 

Other data highlights include:

• From 2017 to 2018, the number of students trained increased by 35%
• Despite the significant increase in trained students, we maintained a strong graduation rate of 89.2%. 
• In addition, more students landed technical roles and hiring happened faster! The total graduate employment jumped to 89.1% (from 87.2% in 2017)
• 45% of grads landed jobs within 30 days of graduation, compared to 31% in 2017.

Read the Full Outcomes Report

2018 year was another strong year of growth for Grand Circus. We trained more locally hired entry-level software developers than any other program in the state. These graduates join a community of 1,500+ alumni and 300+ employers — the largest tech community of its kind in Michigan. Since the 2017 Outcomes Report, Grand Circus has delivered significant impact across Michigan. Among the highlights, we:

• Improved student outcomes while significantly increasing the number of students trained 
• Implemented substantial upgrades to our curriculum
• Extended our already deep network of employer partners
• Increased access to a tech career for more Michiganders and deepened our support of underrepresented groups
• Continued to strengthen our partnership with Facebook

Take a look inside of the Outcomes Report to dig deeper into the details behind these highlights. 

Over the last six years, Grand Circus has worked closely with the tech community to train and graduate more than 1,500 students. Our community, offerings and collaborations with the tech industry have grown exponentially in this time, and so has our commitment to ensuring these opportunities are obtainable for anyone interested in them. 

As of our last outcomes report, nearly 90% of students have successfully earned careers in tech. We’re now working with more than 300 employers, supporting their growth by training Michigan’s newest tech talent. We are successful because our students are successful, and because we work together to create a meaningful community. 

This year, our journey continues as we work toward improvements for our 2020 workshops and bootcamps — encouraging even more individuals to invest in yourself. If you want to become a developer, you can do this, and we’re here to help. We’re excited to share some of the projects we’re working on to better serve the GC family. 

Always Evolving. Always Growing. Working to Improve Your Career Outcomes.

The tech industry moves fast, and that means our team, curriculum updates and offerings need to evolve quickly as well. We’re currently working on several updates to better prepare students for our bootcamps and life after graduation. 

Some of the improvements we’re working on: 

Pre-Bootcamp Workshops

In 2018, we rebuilt our evening and weekend workshops to ensure we were providing a path that properly supported students interested in joining a coding bootcamp. For many in our community, the idea of earning a career in tech seems like an impossible feat. We know that anyone can be a developer, but some start the journey with zero coding knowledge and little clarity on how to begin. 

Throughout the last year, we’ve worked closely with our workshop instructors (Hey GC alum!), students and bootcamp staff to understand where we can make improvements and provide an even better path into a coding bootcamp. 

Our learning materials, slides, projects and classroom structures are getting an overhaul for our Fundamentals of Web Development, Intro to Front-End Development and Intro to Back-End Development workshops. Now, students will have the opportunity to more thoroughly engage in hands-on exercises, gain a better understanding of the differences between each programming language and have access to new resources that will help them in their path to earning a career in tech. These workshop updates will allow more students to get exposure to opportunities throughout the industry and increase the accessibility of our bootcamps.

Unit 1

Once a student has been accepted into a bootcamp and pays their deposit, they receive Unit 1. Unit 1 is an opportunity for them to start learning programming before in-class instruction begins, build small projects with the support of tutorials, and get a better feel for the pace and type of training they’ll get exposed to throughout the bootcamp. This work is done at home and takes about two weeks. 

Revamping this curriculum will improve students’ readiness for the bootcamp by providing more coding practice and increased interactivity. Because students come from a range of backgrounds, we strive to ensure everyone starts day one with similar programming skill sets so we can quickly train them in new materials. Everything included in our Unit 1 will be reworked and these improvements will support our goal of getting students fully immersed in the GC learning experience — even before in-person classes start. 

Bootcamp Classroom 

Everyone learns differently, and we strive to create a classroom experience that reflects those needs. We’re constantly evolving our learning materials, resources and classroom support. 

One big project our team is working on is video content to cover various bootcamp lessons, rather than solely relying on instructor-led sessions. These videos allow students to rewatch content as necessary and engage with lectures at their own pace.  Additionally, reducing the instructors’ lecture time gives them more flexibility and availability to provide one-on-one coaching and support as students work through hands-on projects. This content can also be used after graduation should individuals need a refresher. 

Career Services 

The growth of our graduates shouldn’t stop once they earn their first entry-level tech position. Our Career Services team works to equip students with the knowledge to not only earn their first position, but to evolve and grow their careers — through new positions and raises — with the support of valuable resources and knowledge. 

New sessions and support resources have been crafted to train students in becoming self-aware job seekers. After spending time to better understand the students’ mindset, then surveying employers, we’ve rebuilt our Career Services to cover the topics that teach the soft skills that matter the most to local employers and have the biggest impact on the career search. We’ll now have more group activities, increased planned discussions and new lessons that will help students build valuable job-seeking habits. 

We’re always making improvements, and you can, too! 

Anyone Can be a Developer

Our goal is to ensure a career in tech is accessible to everyone. We recognize that there are many paths to learn programming — independent study through online and printed resources, a Computer Science Degree or by joining a coding bootcamp. We also recognize that a wide range of individuals are interested in this career path, many of whom don’t have any technical background. Throughout our six years, we’ve seen firsthand the transformations possible with the support of a coding bootcamp. There is no one “right path” in learning to code. It’s all about determining what’s right for you. 

Coding bootcamps are a big time and financial investment. When compared to the alternatives, however, they are often the most efficient and effective path into the industry. And for our graduates, they’ve been a gateway to endless career opportunities. 

Worried that you don’t have what it takes to earn a career in tech? Many of our students experience Imposter Syndrome, the feeling of self-doubt, and most begin with very little technical experience. Our constant evolution of resources and trainings is creating more opportunity for those seeking a sustainable career in one of the nation’s fastest growing industries. We’re excited to expose even more to these opportunities and support them as they invest in their futures. 

We kicked off our first partnership with the City of Grand Rapids almost exactly a year ago. That partnership was designed to grow Grand Rapids’ tech talent by increasing our outreach to arm folks with basic coding skills and knowledge of technology careers. Since May 2018, the Rising TIDE project has trained nearly 500 people in basic coding skills. This program has made it possible for many to continue with advanced training and start a new career in technology. 

Timing is Everything

Over the last year the City of Grand Rapids established its first Office of Innovation. This team is tasked with testing new technologies and ways to deliver services to the community, updating and improving their open-sourced data portal, and working with external stakeholders to improve local and regional issues. 

This got us thinking. A new office committed to service delivery and partnerships, our community’s interest in coding skills and careers as evidenced by the success of Rising TIDE, and the positive reception we have with employers made us think we could do more together to prepare local talent for new careers in tech. The first exploration meeting with City officials was alive with energy and possibility – and the Grand Circus Front-End After-Hours Bootcamp in partnership with the City of Grand Rapids was born. 

A Bootcamp for All

This bootcamp teaches Front-End programming with an After-Hours schedule. It was important to us and the city that working adults could access this training. It meets in the evenings from 6:30 – 10pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from October 2019 – March 2020. Students will also receive career services to successfully prepare for and execute their job search. 

We talked a lot about barriers to training in our initial meetings. Luckily, the Rising TIDE Grants are available to residents with financial need. They offset the cost of bootcamp tuition and provide stipends for things like loaner laptops, transportation needs and childcare assistance. 

Grand Circus provides a number of pre-bootcamp workshops to help folks prepare for the bootcamp application process — and are required to be eligible for grant funding. The first, Intro to Coding Workshops, are designed for people curious about code but have little to no experience. Our more advanced workshops build upon the basics to help students learn more advanced concepts and experience coding web pages from scratch. 

Students in the Front-End After-Hours Bootcamp in partnership with the City will enjoy three other unique program aspects. 

Special Bootcamp Features

#1 Use Open-Sourced Data to Build Projects

Employers tell us that they want to see student projects that center around real-world business cases as much as possible. Students in this Front-End After-Hours Bootcamp will build a final project using data collected by the City to solve a real world problem while showing off their coding skills.  

#2 Interact with SmartZone Businesses

It’s important for all of our bootcamp students to interact with diverse employers. Through employer panels, bootcamp students will interact with companies in the City’s SmartZone, a specially designated zone that contains high-tech high-growth businesses. Students will benefit by hearing directly from experienced industry professionals and forming relationships during the bootcamp experience. 

#3 Learn from City Employees

Most people don’t think of city government when they think of technology and innovation. However, the City has robust customer service responsibilities, many of which utilize a combination of software and hardware. Employees from the City’s information technology and innovation departments will give students unique insight on relevant topics like coding for the customer experience, quality data, data collection, governance structure and more. 

Learn More

If you’re interested in learning more about how to start a career in tech, join us on Wednesday, August 14th for our event ”How to Earn a Career in Tech without a Degree.” Then, join us for a special Info Session with the City of Grand Rapids to hear about the types of data they collect and see a student project demo. Register for the August 22nd Info Session here.

Throughout Grand Circus’ six years, we’ve had students from a range of backgrounds join coding bootcamps. One profession that consistently does well in our programs is teachers. These individuals come to us with a growth mindset, adaptability, excitement and passion for tech, and readiness to help others in their cohort.

Spencer is a great example of such success. He’s such an avid learner, he’s even taken two coding bootcamps to continue advancing his skills – even after he found employment in tech! Spencer is now a Software Engineer at Ford Motor Company and continues to remain involved in the Grand Circus community. He’s taught several of our free and weekend workshops – helping others begin their journeys into tech. 

From High School Math Teacher to Software Engineer, Meet Spencer

Before Grand Circus

What did you do before coming to Grand Circus?

I was a high school math teacher.  

What brought you to Grand Circus?

A desire to learn coding to transition into a developer career.

What attracted you to tech, specifically being a developer?

I enjoy how empowered I feel when working as a developer. It is an extremely satisfying experience to dream up and design something, and then bring it into existence. Each day I feel like I get to solve meaningful and interesting problems that demand creativity and energy.

Bootcamp Experience

What was your bootcamp experience like?

My bootcamp was a really rewarding experience. Under the tutelage of David and Adam, I built the confidence and foundational skills I needed in order to transition into a developer role. I enjoyed the mix of quizzes, projects, and group exercises that I encountered. I think Adam and David did a great job scaffolding the content and hitting on the key concepts that I have encountered day after day in my new role.

What advice would you give new bootcamp students?

I would say work your hardest and stay curious. Success isn’t about learning everything, but rather building habits and skills that you will employ to conquer challenges as they come.

How do you feel you combatted Imposter Syndrome? Did you have doubts before/during bootcamp?

I try to focus on just being better everyday. As time has gone on it has been easier to let go of this fear of not knowing everything and to instead grow more confident in my ability to tackle new problems as they come. My doubts largely centered around the worry that I needed to have some sort of Computer Science credentials or knowledge in order to be successful.

What was the most unexpected part of bootcamp?

I think the most unexpected part was the myriad of people coming from so many different backgrounds.  I think this makes the program unique and speaks volumes to how literally anyone could be successful through a bootcamp if becoming a developer is something that inspires them.

Did you have challenges in bootcamp you weren’t anticipating?

I took a lot of time in considering a bootcamp and the path I wanted to take, so a lot of the challenges I experienced were ones I anticipated. However, you don’t know what you don’t know, and sometimes it took longer than I wanted to pick up a new idea or concept.

What resources are the most helpful / were the most helpful in your coding journey?

I think the projects were the most helpful teaching resource employed. Nothing can replace just getting into a project and gaining experience. Working with others was also extremely helpful because it exposed me to other ways of thinking and solving problems.

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself to do either before or during bootcamp?

I would actually tell myself to consider back-end development more openly. Over the last few years I have found myself excited more by and drifting ever further towards working on and building APIs, servers, and programs that fall into this realm.

Career Transition

How has your transition been into your career? How did GC help you?

My transition has been excellent. During my first year on the job I had the opportunity to improve and refine my JavaScript skills in a big way. I was also exposed to a variety of topics in and around development. This exposure has helped me focus my energies during my second year and I am happy with how I am progressing as a developer. GC played a huge role in getting me a pivotal interview and preparing me to be successful on day one of the job.

Everyone knows that “Workplace Culture” is all the rage these days.  Culture is a buzzword used to apply to businesses and their values, attitudes and more –– describing the overall experience an employee would be expecting when coming into the work environment.

However, “culture” is a little bit different when it comes to a bootcamp program like Grand Circus.  This culture that has been established and shaped over the years at Grand Circus, and has kept more than just employees in mind.  Students are part of this culture as well, adding to the dynamic ecosystem of Grand Circus that makes this experience unique. Having a strong, supportive culture that allows the students to understand that they are part of something unique helps them through the demanding aspects of the bootcamp program. (more…)