For a coder, what job is good preparation to work at a code school?

May 11, 2017 2:47 PM

I'm a mid-level web developer between jobs. Some day, I want to be a teacher a code school/boot camp. There's a specific one that I'm most interested in, and I know people there, but right now it's just out of my league. They generally look for solid programming experience (got that), plus at least 100-200 hours experience teaching coding or related material, in any context, even volunteering.

I already have some experience doing volunteer programming tutoring. I see 2 options:

1. Find a tech job that involves a lot of teaching/training, or something related that they'll see as a close substitute.
2. Find a totally unrelated coding job and keep volunteering on the side until I get the necessary experience.

Can you folks think of something that fits the bill for #1? Or should I just go with #2? I'm willing to move or work remote.

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (11 answers total)

Volunteer at a coder dojo near you?
posted by DarlingBri at 2:58 PM on May 11, 2017

Adjunct at a university or community college?
posted by Autumnheart at 3:00 PM on May 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Stack Overflow?
posted by kindall at 3:09 PM on May 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

Meetups?
posted by instamatic at 3:20 PM on May 11, 2017

Consider writing a book.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 3:22 PM on May 11, 2017

Lots of high schools are looking for CS teachers through TEALS. Or you could volunteer at a summer program, e.g. CTY.

For #1, jobs like "developer advocate" could fit the bill. Some tech companies like Stripe also run tech classes to teach coding to interested staff who aren't developers.
posted by glass origami robot at 4:19 PM on May 11, 2017

Most companies I've been at are super encouraging of developers wanting to share their knowledge, for example via brown bags. Larger places have their own internal training programmes you can be part of. So I think you should aim for the best software engineer job you can find and look to teach as part of that.
posted by JonB at 5:55 PM on May 11, 2017

Apply anyways and see if they accept you.
posted by asphericalcow at 6:37 PM on May 11, 2017 [5 favorites]

internal training. it's great for the team and keeps you on your toes. i did oop, design patterns, core javascript, etc. so fun.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:06 PM on May 11, 2017

Design a course, say... 30 lectures, 20 minor exercises, and 10 assignments. Video yourself giving these lectures. Refine the course and re-record lectures as needed. That is to say, don't wait for students, go ahead and teach a course. That'll give you a portfolio to give employers, and it'll give you huge confidence in interviews. Maybe do 2 or 3 topics with diverse technologies.
posted by at at 10:32 PM on May 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

Software Carpentry volunteer.
posted by deludingmyself at 8:10 AM on May 12, 2017