About Programmers Guild
We're your neighborhood tech workshop, developing and delivering vocational training for working software engineers!
Programmers Guild opened it’s doors for the first time in 2023, after the plague1 finally subsided. We’ve waited 4 long years to build this and we’re excited to share our knowledge and experience with our community! Our team lives and breathes in Oakland, each of us a professional programmer with a long history of community service. We walk the walk. It’s our dream to have a tech education center. You’re helping us build something new. Something necessary.
What's a Guild?
A guild is an ancient tradition spanning different cultures and civilizations. We're a modern incarnation focused on craftsmanship. Humans intuitively understand that it takes a lot of time and hardwork to master a skill -- too much time and work to repeat each generation. Our guild model is about passing those skills to the next generation through a combination of training and working simultaneously. Apprentices have minimal education in the trade. Traditionally, the apprentice would show up with what little they had and pay a fee to the master craftsman for taking them under their wing.
We evaluate your skill level, establish a training schedule and put you to work as soon as possible. Unlike traditional education, we're not exclusively a training organization. We're a team of working programmers who train working apprentices.
At a time when technological development has outstripped human development, this model offers a means to meet people where they are and accelerate the development of a generation of master craftsmen. Passing expertise down to the next cohort is a lot easier than forcing them to start from scratch, where they're forced to work at a severe disadvantage for lower wages and little opportunity for growth.
Getting started on the career path to becoming a programmer is as simple as walking through our doors.
Our Team
Our team has been working in the tech industry for a little over a decade. We are working software engineers who are also trained classroom instructors. We work hard to develop the best training practices and we deliver quality training our members.
We've been part of the development of many training programs for various organizations such as schools and businesses. We're strong advocates for creating more vocational organizations like our own, that can be a professional resource to the local community. Becoming a programmer is as simple as walking through our doors with a commitment to learning a new trade.
Our Mission
We believe we've identified a few problems that people commonly encounter when pursuing a career in tech -- here's how we approach it.
| Problem | Our Solution |
|---|---|
| Lack of public computer workshops | We remove the most obvious barriers first -- equipment and money -- by providing a place to code. |
| Expensive and risky education programs | No risk. The most affordable program in the Bay Area by far. We combine education with career development for a seamless experience. |
| No Apprenticeships | Far too few. Skill training followed by work opportunities is the primary goal. |
| No on the job training | Provide our members with the tools and continued support they need to become successful, skilled craftsmen. |
Our Promise
Our goal is simple: provide a safe, accessible, vocational training organization where anyone commited to the training can walk-in and get started. No friction. All of our apprentices work.