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About Techtonica

Location: San Francisco

Techtonica is a nonprofit that provides free tech training, living and childcare stipends, laptops, and job placement and job search support to women and non-binary adults with low incomes in the U.S.

Techtonica's full-time software engineering program... Read More

Entry to the Techtonica program is competitive — applicants should be interested, resilient, independent, inclusive, collaborative, respectful, curious, and logical. They should also ask thoughtful questions, follow instructions, give and receive feedback professionally, and have a growth mindset. Applicants must be a woman or non-binary adult, digitally literate, and earn less than the amount specified in their location and situation on the MIT Living Wage Calculator in annual household income. Please contact Techtonica for program information and how to apply.

Courses

Apprenticeship

Cost: Free
Locations: San Francisco
In-person Only
Course Description:

During the Techtonica Apprenticeship, students will learn full stack JavaScript, project management, UI/UX design, and data analysis. Accepted applicants will receive six months of free, full-time tech training with living stipends and laptops.

Subjects:
CSS, HTML, JavaScript, UX Design

Techtonica Reviews

Average Ratings (All Programs)

Techtonica logo

4.72/5 (18 reviews)

Anonymous
Software Engineer Apprentice | Graduated: 2021

12/22/2021

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"One of the best leaps of faith and decision I made that paid off at the end!"

I chose Techtonica because it met my needs and goals. It is a boot camp that puts women and nonbinary people at the forefront and supports diversity in the tech place and the fact that this boot camp is free and offers almost a guarantee for an internship... Read More

Malika Kassen-Lao
Backend Software Engineering Intern | Graduated: 2021

12/13/2021

Course
Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"From knowing only how to write loops and functions to creating full-stack applications!"

I started coding just half a year before joining Techtonica. My coding experience was limited to writing loops, creating functions, and solving some algorithms. I had never created any applications and didn't know what front-end, back-end, API and databases... Read More

Anonymous
Software Development Intern | Graduated: 2021

8/27/2021

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"So glad I found out about this program when I did."

I spent years trying to save up money to get into a program. When I first heard of Techtonica, it was the first time I saw a program that seemed to genuinely care about representation and equitable efforts to get underrepresented groups into Tech. It... Read More

Anonymous
Apprentice | Graduated: 2021

7/2/2021

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"Constantly Growing"

There was a major overhaul and lots of improvements this spring. If I had to say one thing about the program, its that you can see your feedback make a difference. Even though we're in the virtual form, Techtonica feels like a very people/team culture.... Read More

Brienna Saje Klassen
Software Engineering Apprentice | Graduated: 2021

6/30/2021

Course
Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"Forever grateful for this experience."

When I applied, I honestly wasn't expecting much of this program and had little trust that it wasn't more than a scam, but I needed a change in structure. College moves at way too slow of a pace when you're a low-income, single mother living paycheck... Read More

Anonymous
Graduated: 2021

6/30/2021

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"Inclusive & supportive learning environment"

I am so happy I found Techtonica at the time I did during the pandemic. It was so important that I had a learning community that was supportive and that was willing to help each other as Techtonica is open for anyone who identifies and as a woman or non-binary.... Read More

Anonymous
Software Engineer | Graduated: 2019

1/12/2021

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"You can be a part of the bridge, #bridgeTheTechGap"

Here is the formula: 
Put in the work + Maintain your growth mindset + Give it 6 months 
=== 
You will be gain the confidence and skills to be a software engineer. 

Before Techtonica, I was independently learning to program, applying to jobs with no... Read More

Anonymous
Graduated: 2019

1/2/2020

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Apprenticeship

Overall

Curriculum

Job Support

"This is a scam: companies pay a Non-profit a finder's fee for unprepared coding bootcamp grads"

Subpar curriculum. CEO has very little experience as an industry Software Developer and should not be in charge of the bootcamp.

The program is poorly run. The CEO kicks students out of the program for made-up reasons like cheating and not progressing... Read More

The bootcamp has no onsite instructor and the open source curriculum is lacking and subpar when compared to FreeCodeCamp, App Academy and HackReactor's curriculum. The students attend a 6-month bootcamp where they follow free online tutorials and whatever they can find online to teach themselves software development.

Advice to companies:
Hire women/non-cisgender graduates from coding bootcamps with a higher barrier of entry like App Academy or HackReactor.
What your company can do: Sponsor scholarships for low-income women and non-cisgender people to attend better bootcamps and give them paid internships.

Advice to students:
Don't go to this bootcamp. You will become very frustrated with the CEO and you'll be very unhappy.

Official Response from Techtonica

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience during your time at Techtonica. As with most young non-profits (three cohorts through 2019), we are always working hard to make continuous improvements.

As for the technical leader, it’s unfortunate our technical... Read More

Based on feedback from participants, we have made significant and documented improvements to the program and curriculum (which is open-source, always improving, and expectant of autonomy, just like tech). We have provided additional support to applicants, implemented higher acceptance and preparation standards, created an extensive participant handbook with clear program and professionalism guidelines, clearly outlined the responsibilities of different roles, improved the roadmap, and shared this information with participants for transparency. We are also working on a more consistent assessment and scoring process that will be implemented soon.

We rely on sponsor companies to be able to provide participants with many services that don’t exist in for-profit programs with scholarships: stipends, equipment, connections to a strong network in the industry, the opportunity to focus on learning full-time, and six months of placement.

Lastly, we wish you all the best in the next steps of your career. Please know that we will always welcome an opportunity to have a dialogue.

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