Skillcrush

You’ve been working hard to learn new skills, and now it’s time for those skills to work for you. Whether you’re looking to supplement your current income, gain the kind of flexibility that only comes from being your own boss, or scale your existing freelance business, this is the program for you.

In the 3-month Freelance Business Building Blueprint, you’ll learn everything you need to know to start working on freelance projects, including how to price and market your services, find clients, land a paid project, scope and budget your project, write and present a winning proposal, and maintain a steady stream of clients. When you’re done with this class and this blueprint, you’ll be ready to get paid for your work!

As your own boss, you decide your hours, what you work on, and how much you make. But when you’ve only ever worked for someone else, getting started can feel overwhelming. Lucky for you, there is a method to the madness: clear, well-established best practices that will guarantee your freelancing success. You just need to learn from people who’ve done it before!

Are you ready to tap into one of the fastest growing (and highest paying) careers in tech? Learn how to become a Front End Developer and code exceptional, interactive websites that work perfectly across all platforms and devices. Because nearly every business needs a dynamic website to reach its customers, the demand for front end developers is off the charts. With an explosive job market, killer salary, and tons of growth opportunities, front end development is one of the hottest jobs in tech!

The Front End Developer Blueprint is 3 months of practical instruction that includes everything you need to get started the right way:

HTML & CSS (FTP, Domains, Hosting)
Don’t know the first thing about technology? Then this class is for you. HTML and CSS are the building blocks of the web. Learn how to structure, design and launch your own website in class. Don’t worry about getting stuck – We’re here to answer any questions you have along the way!

Git Safari (Command Line, Git, GitHub)
Learn the basics of the most popular version control system that all the pros use. This class will teach you how to use the command line, Git and GitHub. You’ll learn how to install Git, create repositories and store those repositories in GitHub so you can share your code. And you’ll learn how to do it all via the command line!

Responsive Web Development (Media Queries, Responsive, Typography, Flexbox)
Ready to turn those responsive designs into code? In this class, you’ll learn everything you need to know to turn static, old-fashioned sites into dynamic, responsive ones. You’ll transform mockups into beautiful, fully-functional responsive sites using HTML and CSS, and even get your hands dirty with Sass and the responsive framework Bootstrap. If you already know HTML + CSS and have learned the basics of designing for the mobile web, this class will turn you into a responsive development machine.

JavaScript & jQuery
The web is an interactive medium! Learn how to design engaging user experiences and then translate those dreams into motion using JavaScript and jQuery. JavaScript is fast becoming THE language of the mobile web, and jQuery is the #8 fastest growing job keyword!

Our most robust, personalized online training program gives you access to our entire library of classes, plus career counselors to help you every step of the way. At Skillcrush, you will learn the skills you need to break into a high-paying, flexible career in technology. What would it mean to you to make an extra $5–10,000 this year? And the year after? Here’s everything you'll need to transform your career in our 9-month Break Into Tech Blueprint.

Phase 1: Gain the Foundational Tech Skills Every Forward-Thinking Professional Needs to Know (HTML & CSS, Git & GitHub, Website)
Kick things off with a solid foundation in common coding languages, and industry best practices. In this phase you’ll:
-Code & launch websites using HTML and CSS, the two coding languages that power every single website in the world.
-Start using Git, the version control software used by every major tech company, to track your projects, giving you one of the most important skills a professional technologist must know.
-Code and launch your very own personal portfolio—from scratch.

Phase 2: Level Up Your Skills to Make Money Like the Boss You Were Born to Be (Visual Design, Branding, Web Development, Javascript, Wordpress, Ruby)
It’s always good to be well rounded, but the real money is made by those who specialize. In this phase, you’ll work with your dedicated Career Counselor to pick your desired specialization and customize your learning track to meet your goals. In the process, you’ll:
-Discover the tech job or job path that will keep you motivated and excited to learn more for years to come
-Master the core technical skills of your chosen path, and put them into practice building a portfolio of projects
-Rapidly improve your technical skills in your chosen area of expertise, so that you can compete with anyone, even someone with years of experience
-Land your very first paying client! There’s nothing more motivating than seeing a return on your investment of time and money, which is why you’re going to get out there right away.

Depending on your chosen learning path, you’ll also learn:
-The branding, identity, and visual design skills to kick ass as a Visual Designer
-The JavaScript & Responsive Web Development skills every Front End Designer is required to know
-The WordPress skills that will allow you to make thousands of dollars as a WordPress Developer

Phase 3: Turn Your New Skills Into Cold Hard Cash (Intro to Freelancing, Building a Freelance Business, Career Resources)
You’ve been working hard to learn new skills, and now it’s time for those skills to work for you. Whether you’re looking to supplement your current income, gain the kind of flexibility that only comes from being your own boss, or land a new full-time tech job, we’ve got you covered. In this phase, you’ll once again work hand-in-hand with your Career Counselor to decide what success looks like for you, whether that’s freelancing, remote work, or landing a traditional 9-to-5, and plan your curriculum accordingly. You’ll also:
-Get your entire freelancing house in order, so that you know you’re always putting your most professional foot forward. That means preparing everything you’ll need, including a business & marketing plan, project proposals, invoicing templates, client contracts, an accounting system, and much more.
-Practice the “snowball technique” for pricing your work, so that you can build up to a $50...$60...$70,000 salary faster than you ever thought possible.
-Set up repeatable systems that allow you to get a steady stream of clients & make more money.
-Rapidly grow your pipeline of potential clients to make sure you always have more work to do.

Plus, you’ll learn:
-How to position yourself on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, such that recruiters come find you.
-How to create a resume and cover letter that will make you irresistible to hiring managers, and how to approach interviews from a learning mentality to maximize the return on your time spent job hunting.
-The best tech-specific interview techniques, so you’ll always be prepared for any job-interview whiteboard or code-pairing exercise.

Do you ever feel like you missed your chance to have a creative career? Learn how to become a Visual Designer to design and build standout digital brands. You CAN have a rewarding (and high-paying) career in design, even if you didn’t go to art school. You just need to learn the skills and industry tools that can help you focus your creative energy.

The Visual Designer Blueprint is 3 months of practical instruction that includes everything you need to get started the right way:

Visual Design Fundamentals and Tools - UX/UI, Sitemaps, Wireframes, Color Theory, Typography, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, UXPin
Learn the fundamental concepts of visual design in the digital age including user experience and user interface design, color theory, and typography. Once you learn the conceptual foundations of visual design, you’ll put it into practice using the world’s most popular design tools–Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign–to create professional-quality design projects you’ll be proud to show potential employers and clients.

Branding & Identity Design - Branding Standards, Target Audience, Style Guide, Logos, Icons, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
Now that you have all the fundamental concepts and tools of Visual Design under your belt, it’s time to deepen your knowledge by creating your first, full-fledged brand identity. In this class you’ll learn how to build a brand from the ground up, just as you would working as a Visual Designer. You’ll walk through every step of a professional design workflow and, in the end, you’ll have a cohesive brand, including logos, icons, and a style guide to show for your efforts.

Visual Design Professional - Intermediate UX/UI, Layout Trends, User Testing, Team Structures, Sales Pages, UXPin, Photoshop
A Visual Designer’s job is to bring a brand’s identity to life through its many customer touch points. Now that you know how to build a brand, it’s time to take that brand from concept to digital reality! In this class, you’ll learn how to layout and design a professional sales page that accurately communicates a company’s brand to its target audience.

Are you ready to learn one of the most marketable skills, or to land a side gig that pays more than your monthly salary? Learn how to become a Freelance Wordpress Developer and code robust websites using the most popular content management system. WordPress developers have the most versatile skillset in the world. Approximately 60 million websites run on WordPress, but you’d never know it! That’s because WordPress developers know how to take the same set of raw materials and build beautiful, functional, and totally unique websites.

The WordPress Developer Blueprint is a 3-month long Blueprint that includes everything you could possibly need to get started the right way:

Introduction to WordPress - Wordpress, PHP, Custom Theming
Learn the basic foundation of the most in-demand content management system on the Web! This class will walk through the full admin back-end of the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) and introduce PHP, the programming language that powers all WordPress sites.

Git Safari - Command Line, Git, GitHub
Learn the basics of the most popular version control system that all the pros use. This class will teach you how to use the command line, Git and GitHub. You’ll learn how to install Git, create repositories and store those repositories in GitHub so you can share your code. And you’ll learn how to do it all via the command line!

WordPress Professional Best Practices - Command Line, Git & Github, Customizing Plugins, Mobile Optimization, Professional Deployment & Workflow
During this class you will learn how to develop WordPress like the professional WordPress developer you now are. This will include setting up a professional deployment process using Git & Github, learning how to build upon an existing WordPress site, and designing & developing a whole host of common client requests such as interactive contact forms, custom post types, and custom 404 pages.

Introduction to Freelancing - Set Pricing & Services, Find Clients, Networking Scoping & Budgeting, Proposals, Project Agreements
In this class, you’ll learn everything you need to know to start working on freelance projects, including how to price and market your services, find clients, land a paid project, scope and budget your project, write and present a winning proposal, and maintain a steady stream of clients. When you’re done with this class and this blueprint, you’ll be ready to get paid for your work!