Do you want to learn the fundamentals of computer science and experience whether a new career could be right for you? Are you looking to become a full-stack developer, frontend engineer, or data scientist in 8-10 months on the weekend? Then join us and step into the dynamic world of computer science. This is a beginner's class for people who have no prior experience.
Class Time:
33 hours of learning!
A little about me: I've got a Master in Computational Science & Engineering from Harvard, three years of experience in analytics and data science at Etsy and Dealix Corp., three years of experience as a software engineer at AlphaSense, and two more years of development experience on various start-up venture (including the entire PassionClass site!). I know the skills you need to have to get started on a career as a frontend or full-stack developer.
To become a web developer, you have essentially to key places to start: frontend or full-stack. That's assuming the building of the website, literally what you see in front of you in the browser (e.g. Firefox), is of interest to you, and its certainly never going to hurt if you switch to full-backend. This course is the right starting place for both. We'll be looking at React, the single most popular frontend framework on the internet today, and working on building out the full set of skills you need to be a successful web developer.
We’ll be starting with the basics of modern computer science: if-statements and for-loops. We'll play with HTML and do basic predictive modelling. It'll be fun, I promise.
Eventually, we'll move onto frontend development: the DOM, JavaScript fundamentals, and the core concepts of React, from the fundamentals of component-based architecture to the power of state management. This course, as well as its follow-ups (Frontend Development I - III or Data Science I - III), are designed to prepare you for an intro-level job as a web developer. The full suite of three courses should take 8 months and should prepare you for an intro-level programming role. However, it will require a significant investment of effort from you if you hope to get there in this timeframe.
We’ll have a repeating weekly pattern: a group session for two hours on Saturdays, where we’ll take a look at the concepts in a standard class setting. Then, we’ll have breakout sessions. During breakout sessions, we will not be together: instead, you’ll be pair-programming the weekly assignment with a partner. When you sign up for the course, you commit to being available at these times- this is when you’ll be completing the work you need to get done for the next session! Finally, you’ll have two weekly algorithm assignments (each about 1 hour) to complete on your own, due Friday evening.
This course is designed for complete beginners, and we'll go at your pace! Please sign up.
Join us and learn (through hard work!) frontend development or data science, equipping yourself with the tools to build the next generation of web applications and take your career to new heights in the ever-evolving tech industry.