Curriculum Overview

Our mission is to help people get great jobs.

Start with the Essentials

Get exposure to the essentials of programming and web development. Start with our popular, free course The Essential Web Developer Course - a massive course that covers full-stack web development. You'll learn by building a fictional startup called DevMatch, complete with a login/logout system, e-commerce, email notifications, and more - all deployed on your own free, pro-grade server!

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Computer Science Fundamentals

Survey the landscape of computer science and develop a feel for how computers actually work. The computer you're using right now is, at its core, an information manipulation machine - it senses information from the outside world and converts it into electrons! How does it do that? We'll explain it all.

computer engineering transistors analog to digital conversion von neumann architecture information theory binary digits circuits

HTML & CSS

Since the early days of the web, these are the two go-to languages for getting content like text, images, video, or audio on a web page (HTML) and adding colors, sizing, animations, and more (CSS).

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Advanced JavaScript and Node.js (Coming Soon)

JavaScript is often called the language of the web - it also happens to be the most popular programming language in the world. You can use it to do nearly anything from adding functionality to your websites, build iOS and Android apps, and even create artificial intelligence. Our curriculum is currently designed around JavaScript - everything from the basics to advanced applications.

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Algorithms

Data structures and algorithms are the bread and butter of computer science. Learn everything from sorting, searching, graphs, cryptography and more to take your abilities to the next level. You'll develop an appreciation for efficiency and design with this knowledge, and become an overall better developer.

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Tools and Frameworks

Our curriculum focuses on fundamentals and techniques that teach you how to think like an engineer - essentially turning you into a problem solver. Many tools and frameworks come and go just like trends in any industry. We cover the ones you may run into in a job (React, Vue, Backbone, etc.), but with one caveat: understanding the fundamentals first. Too many tutorials focus on frameworks while skipping the underlying fundamentals. We take the opposite approach - this way you'll be able to pick up any tool and framework you come across, knowing exactly what you're doing.

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Getting Hired and Beyond

Learn where to find the best web developer jobs and how to keep your skills sharp. Additionally, all students receive a downloadable handbook that is full of useful information and guides to walk you through getting hired and loving your new job.

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These are the courses I wish I had.

A decade ago, I was a product manager in a web development team at a funded startup. We quickly spent a large portion of our budget building our web technology. Spending so much limited our ability to grow in the long run and we still didn’t get the product that we envisioned in our heads. I came out of that experience realizing that I needed to learn to code: I saw it as one of the most valuable skills of the 21st century, as we all become more dependent on programmers – the people who are building the world around us.

Since then I’ve had success as a web developer building technology for Coca-Cola, Edison Nation, Toyota, Newell Rubbermaid, First Data, Bennigan’s, and Getaround. I’m a self-taught programmer and after learning how to code online, I was able to get great job offers from multiple companies.

But learning to code wasn’t easy – in fact there are tons of books, tutorials, and videos out there and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I was tired of wading through hundreds of resources and still not feeling like a confident web developer. So I ended up creating my own study plan – one that I knew would work. That’s why I created these courses – this is what I wish I had when I was learning.

Becoming job-ready should be straightforward and the world needs more developers right now. You’re getting a step-by-step guide, including things my team of great instructors and I have learned on the job, boiled down into a clear path that shows you exactly what to do to get hired or build your own startup.

Your friend,
Robeen Dey
Instructor

A fraction of the cost of a college education.

Upskill makes it simple and affordable for anyone worldwide to become a job-ready programmer by taking a straight forward approach to education and job prep.