How Practicum Helps to Get You Hired in Tech

Advance your career or get your money back

So, you’re considering signing up for a coding bootcamp? That’s great news! With the onslaught of options floating around the Web, one of the biggest questions you probably have is, “Will joining this bootcamp lead to a job or promotion?” Legit questions require legit answers. At Practicum, 50% of our students get employed within two months of graduating. If you can’t find a relevant position within six months of graduation, we’ll refund the full price — guaranteed.

Can I get a job in tech without a background in IT? 

For sure. With a solid bootcamp background, a lack of extensive professional experience is no barrier to getting employed in the tech sector. In fact, with hard work and the support of our dedicated career team at Practicum by Yandex, many of our graduates have gone from zero coding experience to full-time, well-paying jobs. About half of all Practicum students are employed two months after graduation, and a whopping 71% of participants in our career acceleration program are employed six months after graduation. Practicum graduates have landed jobs at companies such as Tesla, Nielsen, Microsoft, Accenture, Lululemon, and many more.

How does Practicum's career support work?

As a Practicum student, you’ll get FREE access to personalized, comprehensive career services aimed at landing you that dream job or promotion. We know the job search and application process can be intimidating and stressful, especially when you’re breaking into a new field or coming back to the workforce after taking time off — which is why we’ve built a two-stage career support system to make it easier. You’ll get career help while going through the main coding program and after graduation. Let’s dive deeper into each stage.

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Stage 1: Career Prep Course on Interactive Platform

The first is our career preparation course, which covers all the basics of looking for a job in the IT field and more, giving you everything you need to start actively applying for jobs. It’s offered through Practicum’s interactive course platform — the same place you’ll work on your coding assignments  — and customized for the track you choose.

Our user-friendly course materials, designed with first-time IT job seekers in mind, will demystify job search platforms (which we know can be intimidating!) and walk you through compiling your resume, setting up your project portfolio, and creating an online presence, including refining your Linkedin profile and using Github. You can work through the career preparation course at your own pace, and you’ll still have access to the course materials after you graduate.

“I can’t say enough good things about the course, and the content in the Career Prep Course also really transformed my CV. I studied all the videos and information and my CV looked completely different! That really helped!”, says Data Analyst graduate Xia Cui.

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Practicum career service managers will provide personal guidance, and help you with any questions you may have through direct messages and in the bootcamp’s Slack channels. 

Artifacts:

• Self-reflection instruments for hard and soft skills 
• Master resume: structure and example
• Personalised GitHub account
• Portfolio that showcases your strengths and interests
• Polished LinkedIn profile
• Ice-breakers and cover letters
• Job search plan: template and useful resources

Stage 2: Career Acceleration Program 

The second stage of Practicum’s career support is our career acceleration program, which is designed to guide recent graduates as they actively apply for jobs. This starts closer to the end or after graduation from the main coding program. 

You’ll get access to a wide array of up-to-date materials covering all aspects of the job search and application process. Plus, you’ll get invited to regular webinars and presentations that can help you brush up on your skills.

In the initial stages, Practicum career staff will help you identify job openings suited to your skill set and career goals and give feedback on your resume and other application materials. You’ll also get the chance to go through mock interviews with live coding and get feedback, which can help you get comfortable with the format and feel more confident going into the real thing. Plus, you’ll benefit from having people push you to stay on track.

Practicum graduate and Tesla data analyst Jackie Lu noted that Practicum’s career program provides a supportive community of fellow job seekers, too. “It’s good to not feel alone, and to have a group of people you can come back to that can share the same kind of struggles and celebrations that you have,” he said.

Most importantly, you’ll benefit from the support of Practicum’s career staff — experienced, industry-savvy career specialists who are always keeping an eye out for promising job openings for our graduates,and have a track record of getting students into jobs post-bootcamp. From helping you set up your project portfolio to providing pointers as you negotiate job offers, they’re here to help you find a place to put the skills you’ve gained at Practicum to use in your career, and take personal pride in doing so.

“At the end of the day, a student landing a job is a victory not only for them but for us as well, because that is our main goal,” says Oksana Matveenko, Career Program Manager for Practicum’s Data Faculty. “I get very excited every time someone lands a new job. The less their previous background was relevant to data, the more excited I am, because it means we really can help people change their lives and their careers and show the world it’s possible without studying for four years. It’s possible after maternity leave. It’s possible for people who have never worked in the IT sphere. You can make it if you set your mind to it. That’s what I get most excited about.”

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The logistics of our career services differ slightly based on which bootcamp you’re participating in. In our Data Analyst and Data Scientist tracks, you’ll get access to career preparation course materials from the beginning and you can work through them at your own pace. For students in these tracks, the two parts of Practicum’s career offerings are consecutive: the course prepares you for the acceleration program, which you can enter once you finish. In the Software Engineering track, students get access to the career preparation course materials during the second half of the bootcamp and have the option of starting the acceleration program before graduation.

Although we encourage graduates to enter the career acceleration program directly after graduation, it’s possible to take a short break first if you need to and come back within a month of graduation. Career support is available for six months after you graduate. It’s a good idea to start acceleration within one month following your final project. After that, career acceleration is available for three months with possible extension. 

Practicum’s career services are geared toward students looking for work in the U.S. (including remote work). If you don’t have permission to work in the U.S., you’re still welcome to join one of our bootcamps and take the career preparation course, but please note that the acceleration programs are limited to US job seekers.

Artifacts:

• HR and tech mock interviews
• Group webinars and live-coding sessions
• Project articles
• Video demos
• Tips for entering professional communities via networking
• Q&A sessions with domain specialists

Learning with Real Companies

Participating in either or both of these career support programs is optional, but they’re available at no extra cost. 

Although it’s separate from our career services, a distinguishing feature of Practicum courses is our Apiary program, which gives students and recent graduates the chance to work on real projects for real companies before they’ve even graduated. These opportunities are curated by Practicum’s technical team, and offer a unique chance to build up your portfolio, get a feel for what it’s like to do real work for a company and get feedback for it, and gain experience you can list on your resume and LinkedIn. Although it’s unusual, companies who partner with us for Apiary projects occasionally hire Practicum students — but even students who don’t get hired get a chance to expand their professional network. Students have at least three chances to work on Apiary projects during their time at Practicum by Yandex. Or you can choose to take part in Apiary projects for up to six months after graduation to strengthen your portfolio. 

“I really liked the Apiary project. That was a huge motivator and helped make me feel more comfortable in my skills. It also showed where I was lacking, but that's just a new goal to work on,” says Data Scientist graduate Nicholas Snyder.

Beyond Career Acceleration

Practicum continues to support its graduates after they finish the program. During your first months at a new job, you may encounter technical or communication challenges. Fear not, we'll be here to help! We provide support for two more months once you’re hired in case you need tech help or consultations.

If you don’t find a new job or get a promotion in six months after graduating from a Practicum bootcamp, you can request your money back provided you’ve been actively looking and applying for jobs and have participated in our career acceleration program. You can find the full terms and conditions of our money-back guarantee here.

Recap

Throughout the career acceleration process, you can reach out to Practicum’s career team for help with any aspects of the application process you might be struggling with. “Our main value is to make sure our student or graduate is not scared of looking for a job, and that he or she is fully prepared both technically and in terms of soft skills,” says Larisa Molodyk, Practicum’s Project Manager for Student Employment in the Software Engineering Department. “We also provide career support after they land a job. For example, if a student found a job and is struggling, we’re always here to help by giving advice or on-demand consultations with a coach or a technical specialist.”


If you’ve decided you want to kickstart a new career, check out our bootcamp and start studying today!