Free Resources for Growing Your Tech Career in Colorado

By anyone’s definition, the technology job market looks much different today than it did at the start of 2020. It’s clear that a job search in the shadow of COVID-19 must also be different, but sometimes how to go about it isn’t so clear. At BridgeView IT, we’re connected to the Colorado technology community and understand the new employment environment. Given this new landscape, there are many great job search and career growth resources we can recommend that will help you progress professionally during this time.

Free Job Seeking Resources:

My Colorado Journey connects job seekers and students to careers, education planning and support resources through a guided process that drives action and goal completion.
Built in Colorado is the online community for Built In Colorado startups and tech companies. Find startup jobs, tech news, and events in the Colorado tech scene.
The Denver Business Journal features local business news about Denver. It also provides tools to help businesses grow, network, and hire.

Gig and Moonlighting Resources:

Toptal is an exclusive network of the top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers in the world.
Upwork expertly connects professionals and agencies to businesses seeking specialized talent.

Free Continuing Education Resources:

Codeacademy offers freecoding classes in 12 programming and markup languages, including Python, Ruby, Java, JavaScript, jQuery, React.js, AngularJS, HTML, Sass, and CSS. The courses promise to give hands-on experience and real-time feedback from peers. If you like the courses, you can choose to sign up for a Codeacadmy Pro account for $19.99 per month, which will give you more access to hands-on projects, quizzes and advisors. Otherwise, the basic courses are all offered for free — so if you’re a self-motivated worker, they might be enough to get you skilled in coding.
General Assembly is a for-profit education organization, but they also offer a free course that promises to teach students the basics of web development. The Dash program focuses on teaching you how to use HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The program is free and completely online, so you’ll be able to learn at your own pace. The course includes tutorials and hands-on projects you can complete in your browser — if you’re interested in web design, it’s an easy way to test the waters. Free Fridays mean that every week through June, you can join peers from around the world to experience the most popular workshops (ranging from $60 to $200 USD in value) — for free. From coding, to data and marketing, to UX design and career development, explore the tech skills that will keep you in demand and in the know.
EdX is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider with university-level courses developed by schools, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. These programs are offered for free to users, with courses from universities such as MIT and Harvard. Courses include short videos, interactive learning exercises, tutorial videos, online textbooks, and a forum where students can interact with one another, ask questions, and reach out to teaching assistants. At the end of your course, you’ll receive a certificate — and some courses might count as college or university credits, depending on the school.
Harvard offers online access to course materials, lectures, programs, and other educational content for free. The goal is to offer “effective, accessible avenues for people who desire to learn but who may not have an opportunity to obtain a Harvard education.” Courses are offered through a number of online learning content providers, including EdX, GetSmarter, HarvardX, Harvard Business School (HBX), Harvard Extension School,l and Harvard Medical School (HMX). There are courses on nearly every IT topic you can imagine, so you can get a Harvard education without the tuition bill.
Khan Academy was developed in 2006 as a non-profit educational organization, with the distinct goal of educating students online for free. Lessons are taught through YouTube videos, with additional exercises online for educators and students. Courses can be accessed on a mobile device and most have been translated into several languages with nearly 20,000 subtitle translations available. While it might not serve as a formal education, it’s an easy way to learn new skills as you advance your career.

Growing Your Technology Career in Colorado

The above lists represent just a few of the many resources available that can have a tangible impact on your technology job search. With so much to explore, the key is to discover which resources are most helpful to your unique professional ambitions. The world might not look the same after COVID-19, but it can still be a world where your technology career thrives.