How do I get a job as a programming teacher in a coding school?

July 17, 2015 4:14 AM

Apart from contacting schools directly, are there effective ways of getting oneself "shopped" by recruiters or recruiting websites for this sort of position?

I have years of teaching experience and curriculum management in another field, and after programming professionally for a while I've come to realize I'd be happy actually teaching programming in a bootcamp or coding school. But this doesn't seem to be a clearly defined category on job-hunting sites.

Most of the people I know who have done this kind of work have either volunteered, while holding down a regular engineering position, or have done on-line teaching, which I find I don't care for — I'm interested in the physical classroom, in the presence of the people who are actually learning.

posted by aestival to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Bootcamp graduate here - basically all of the instructors at the place I went had either worked with the founders/main instructors or were graduates of the bootcamp. Also turnover is very high; people rarely stay more than a few 10-week cycles.

I also have a background in education and I would not get involved with bootcamp instruction for any amount of money (even though I had a very positive experience as a bootcamp student!). But you could probably try it out for a few cohorts and see if you feel differently.
posted by mskyle at 6:16 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh, and to answer your actual question: I think contacting the bootcamps near you directly is probably the way to go. They're very likely to be hiring, and if they're not now they will be in a few months.
posted by mskyle at 6:19 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Bootcamp grad. What mskyle said. They are always recruiting. My bootcamp in NYC (General Assembly) is so short on instructors, they're just sticking recent grads into instructor positions (terrible, terrible idea). An experienced programmer who wants to teach a bootcamp is a magical unicorn around here, so I imagine it's the same elsewhere. Call around and ask!
posted by Yoko Ono's Advice Column at 6:58 AM on July 17, 2015

Response by poster: Applying worked.

Even though I have no experience in the languages of instruction, my teaching experience, along with my experience in other languages, seems to have made a big difference.
posted by aestival at 8:46 PM on October 31, 2015