2016-2017: 23 graduates, 10 lives transformed
A year ago we had one workforce program: our pilot 12-week course at SCCC, begun in October 2016, graduated January 2017.
- From that Fall 2016 cohort of nine, by mid-2017 three had springboarded from limo service, barback, and unemployed status to dream jobs: front end developer, data analyst, digitally empowered business owner.
- The two who found full time positions, both in their early 20’s, are now earning salaries over $50,000.
- A fourth student, a full-time environmental engineer, is building up his web dev credentials and making side income as a member of the Can Code Cube. (That’s the LLC where our students and graduates make some money and build portfolio by doing dev projects for paying clients.)
From our Spring 2017 classes, six of the fourteen students have moved from jobs at warehouses, pizza joints, and unemployment to full-time positions: app developer, sales engineer, database programmer, and freelance developer jobs. Again, growing their income by a factor of double or more – reaching the $60,000 level.
Again, the Can Code Cube has picked up talent in transition from one career to another, providing freelance income and developer experience to those who aren’t ready to leap so quickly from the known to the unknown. Other students remain in their jobs or undergraduate programs, benefiting from expanded skills and network.
The momentum continues: three of our 19 Fall 2017 students (who have not yet graduated) are interviewing for or have been hired already for full time or part time developer roles.

Fall 2017 Front-End student Taylor Gillis leading a student team to build a dynamic website for Jazzy Sun Birthdays which takes birthday parties to kids living in shelters. Talk about a portfolio project that gets the interview. He’s here with Jazzy Sun founder Fazana Saleem-Ismail, at our SCCC Albany classroom.