A Go-To List of Career Development Resources for Tech Pros
If you’re in a STEM field, you likely are intimately familiar with how rapidly technology evolves. Often, staying up-to-date on new advancements is necessary to remain competitive in your field—a task that can sometimes feel cumbersome to many professionals. But whether you’re a Web Designer, Developer, or Engineer, it’s important to take a strategic approach to your career development. With new technologies and platforms being introduced daily, even the most seasoned professionals can benefit from additional training to stay adept in their current role or to chart a course for career advancement.
So, to help make professional development an easy task, we’ve put together a list of our favorite technical resources to help you stay in the know:
The Tech Academy is a licensed career school with a robust list of online courses as well as brick-and-mortar campuses in Portland and Seattle. The curriculum covers basic foundational skills necessary to achieve competent, junior-level software developer status.
Plus, the Tech Academy’s open enrollment and self-paced courses mean that you can start and complete your training on your own time! It’s a great way to dive into a new programming language at a comfortable pace.
Epicodus is an affordable, in-person code school with campuses in Portland and Seattle. It’s one of the few programs that not only provides job search support, but offers an internship with a tech company as part of their curriculum. Epicodus is an ideal resource for those just getting started in the tech industry.
Aside from introductory courses (which are offered on a part-time, evening schedule), all learning tracks require full-time participation, culminating in a 30 hour/week internship with a local tech company. Epicodus students graduate with real-life work experience already on their resumes, a dedicated team to help land their first job, and a close community of peers and instructors supporting them along the way.
Pluralsight is a technology learning platform ideal for the working professional. They offer a free 10-day trial to access a library of over 6,000 expert-led training courses that cover a variety of topics.
Pluralsight’s monthly plans also include skills assessments, customized learning paths, and curated course plans that allow you to tailor your knowledge track to align with your career goals and fill in skill gaps.
Treehouse is another online resource that gives you access to a library of courses on topics like web design, coding, and web development. Treehouse’s mission is to make education more accessible by offering affordable subscription services to their expansive library, starting at just $25/month (as well as a free 7 day trial).
Lynda, a LinkedIn product, is an online, self-paced resource with courses and videos focusing on software development, design, business, web development, and photography. Lynda’s monthly plans give you unlimited access to over 6,000 courses, on multiple devices, allowing you to learn from anywhere.
edX is a free open-source platform founded by Harvard and MIT as an online learning destination for high-quality curriculum courses from leading experts and educators. The edX library includes a range of topics including social media marketing, computer programming, cloud computing, analytics, coding, and more.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE is a world-wide technical organization dedicated to the advancement of technology. The Portland IEEE Chapter often hosts free lectures and updates throughout the month for those interested and involved in electrical engineering.
Networking and User Groups
The Portland metro area is also home to several networking/user groups and events such as PADNUG, Project Management Institute (PMI) Portland, Data Geeks, PDX DevOps, JavaScript Admirers, Women in Tech (WIT), Women Who Code, SQUAG, and many other industry-specific groups that can be found on networking sites such as Meetup.com. These groups are often free and can provide a great opportunity to meet others in your industry! While some groups gather for social purposes, other events might host expert speakers, or even provide skills training through hands-on workshops and seminars. We completely understand that taking the time to learn new skills or foster career development can seem like an onerous task! But know that staying up to date on the latest technologies and skills can prove invaluable in industries such as tech and IT, where roles are constantly changing and the demand for high aptitude professionals is growing.
So, to help make professional development an easy task, we’ve put together a list of our favorite technical resources to help you stay in the know:
The Tech Academy is a licensed career school with a robust list of online courses as well as brick-and-mortar campuses in Portland and Seattle. The curriculum covers basic foundational skills necessary to achieve competent, junior-level software developer status.
Plus, the Tech Academy’s open enrollment and self-paced courses mean that you can start and complete your training on your own time! It’s a great way to dive into a new programming language at a comfortable pace.
Epicodus is an affordable, in-person code school with campuses in Portland and Seattle. It’s one of the few programs that not only provides job search support, but offers an internship with a tech company as part of their curriculum. Epicodus is an ideal resource for those just getting started in the tech industry.
Aside from introductory courses (which are offered on a part-time, evening schedule), all learning tracks require full-time participation, culminating in a 30 hour/week internship with a local tech company. Epicodus students graduate with real-life work experience already on their resumes, a dedicated team to help land their first job, and a close community of peers and instructors supporting them along the way.
Pluralsight is a technology learning platform ideal for the working professional. They offer a free 10-day trial to access a library of over 6,000 expert-led training courses that cover a variety of topics.
Pluralsight’s monthly plans also include skills assessments, customized learning paths, and curated course plans that allow you to tailor your knowledge track to align with your career goals and fill in skill gaps.
Treehouse is another online resource that gives you access to a library of courses on topics like web design, coding, and web development. Treehouse’s mission is to make education more accessible by offering affordable subscription services to their expansive library, starting at just $25/month (as well as a free 7 day trial).
Lynda, a LinkedIn product, is an online, self-paced resource with courses and videos focusing on software development, design, business, web development, and photography. Lynda’s monthly plans give you unlimited access to over 6,000 courses, on multiple devices, allowing you to learn from anywhere.
edX is a free open-source platform founded by Harvard and MIT as an online learning destination for high-quality curriculum courses from leading experts and educators. The edX library includes a range of topics including social media marketing, computer programming, cloud computing, analytics, coding, and more.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE is a world-wide technical organization dedicated to the advancement of technology. The Portland IEEE Chapter often hosts free lectures and updates throughout the month for those interested and involved in electrical engineering.
Networking and User Groups
The Portland metro area is also home to several networking/user groups and events such as PADNUG, Project Management Institute (PMI) Portland, Data Geeks, PDX DevOps, JavaScript Admirers, Women in Tech (WIT), Women Who Code, SQUAG, and many other industry-specific groups that can be found on networking sites such as Meetup.com. These groups are often free and can provide a great opportunity to meet others in your industry! While some groups gather for social purposes, other events might host expert speakers, or even provide skills training through hands-on workshops and seminars. We completely understand that taking the time to learn new skills or foster career development can seem like an onerous task! But know that staying up to date on the latest technologies and skills can prove invaluable in industries such as tech and IT, where roles are constantly changing and the demand for high aptitude professionals is growing.
