Consider that the era between roughly 1975-2000 was a time where many of the most revered and celebrated software developers of today started their careers by teaching themselves to code. Wealthy companies hired these enthusiastic young programmers on nothing more than the word of a colleague. In the earliest days of the profession, everyone was self-taught and learned the details on-the-job.  These people made very, VERY good money and today they're set for life. Learning to code lead straight to a high paying, stable career.

So ...then what was Learn to Code movement about?
This informal movement started about the late 2000s, right as smartphones took over the world and before Kanye West became Yeezus. This movement wasn't just a reflection of the voracious industry appetite for software developers at the time.

More importantly, it signified that people were no longer teaching themselves computer programming -- or at least not nearly enough of them. I think the popularity of the web changed how people used computers entirely, centering the experience on the browser and thus narrowing how we interact with the machine in a major way. Long story long, the industry required a whole movement to encourage more people to teach themselves programming -- so they could hire them.

Consider the implications here, because it tells us some important things:

The Learn to Code movement was well-intentioned, and it encouraged people to explore their unique interests in digital technology. For generations such as millenials, the web was highly accessible, inviting users to learn web programming over traditional programming (for lack of a better term). Back then, I could expect my non-technical friends to have some knowledge of Javascript simply because they operated an active MySpace page!

Many a hobbyist/hacker became web developers by simply chasing their interests in their corner of the web. There were 2 big promises made in this era:

It worked. Post-2008 crash, many people were desperately seeking a well-paying career with maximum flexibility. And computer usage continued to increase dramatically ...for many of us, but not all of us.

Those Left Behind
Now as accessible as all this programming knowledge was, keep in mind that you still needed a decent computer to pursue any of this. Low income households were more likely to have an Xbox than a PC. It doesn't matter how many free tools, tutorials, and resources there are on the web if you don't have broadband at home. And that often also meant you weren't adjacent to any people who had a computer or used them regularly, meaning fewer opportunities to even learn about them.

So while the Learn to Code movement was in full swing, there were still entire swathes of the country who did not have access to this career boom. By the time poorer communities caught up, the movement had largely petered out, and web development roles were becoming saturated while traditional computer programming was still having trouble filling entry level roles.

Suddenly self-taught programmers were sus' to the very same organizations who put out the call to learn to code. And here we are.

Learn to Code is less a cautionary tale than a reminder that software development has always been lead by self-taught programmers. The best of us augmented our educations with the technical skills, which bolstered that success and lead to a stable career. Running a tech training program for Apprentices provides much needed structure and mentoring to accelerate skill acquisition and add depth of knowledge.

The Point
Paying thousands of dollars for someone to educate you about computer science has never been a prerequisite to becoming a skilled software developer. Waiting 2-4 years before someone will consider you for an entry level role is a terrible proposition. The Guild believes that apprentice training is an approach best aligned with building a stable career path for aspiring software developers.