Where to Find IT Classes

Noble Desktop and other professional training centers

Noble Desktop offers a variety of classes, both live online and in-person in New York City. With the use of their ‘classes near me’ tool, you can compare different training centers and programs, assessing everything from class topics to teaching style and curriculum to class dates and times. These courses are mostly centered on professional development, so they help students master the skills and principles of IT needed to begin or advance their career. They also feature beginner-friendly classes suitable for hobbyists or casual learners. Classes with training centers can be shorter than pursuing a degree, but this can also mean they lack an immersive level of knowledge. These offerings focus on practical skills that you can instantly put to use, so they’re ideal for those looking to make career changes quickly. 

Colleges and Universities

If you’re willing to invest even more time and money, an undergraduate or graduate degree in programming or web development may be a good fit. These can range in length from two to four years and consist of hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of coursework. This length means that you will learn much more than in other shorter training programs. These programs require you to apply and get accepted, and have prerequisites involving SAT and ACT scores, foreign language requirements, and a minimum acceptable GPA. College costs substantially more expensive than other training options, too, between $27,000 and $100,000 per year. Of course, scholarships and financial aid are available, and community colleges can help make a degree more affordable. 

Coursera, Udemy, and other on-demand platforms

Self-paced courses from websites like Coursera and Udemy can be a great way to learn as well. These classes are a great way to learn the ins and outs of IT from whatever angle you find to be the most interesting, so if you want to learn about specific IT tools or techniques, there are plenty of experts with their own tutorials and blogs that can help.

If your schedule is complicated or you prefer to learn at your own pace, on-demand classes offer the most flexibility and freedom. All lessons are prerecorded and there’s no due dates or class times to worry about. You can skip any lessons you’ve already mastered or spend more time on more difficult subjects. With this comes the disadvantages of no live collaboration with other students or instant feedback from an expert instructor. While you’ll have more time to master challenging subjects, you won’t have someone to help walk you through those challenges or provide additional insight. 

It’s also important to note that with more freedom comes less accountability. On-demand classes can work for independent learners who can keep themselves on task and motivated, but may not be the best fit for those who find motivation through accountability. Without scheduled class times and due dates, you may fall behind or take longer to complete your training. And without the right level of motivation, you can easily lose interest in completing the training altogether. 

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships were first developed in the late middle ages and are still used today. It isn’t hard to see why they’ve remained popular for so long as they allow you to work hand-in-hand with a practicing industry professional to gain on-the-job skills. Apprenticeships rarely cost you anything financially, but they require a more significant time commitment. Think of an apprenticeship like a job; whether you pursue it part time or full time, it will require your sole attention and a set schedule. They also come with other challenges, like being harder to find, and may involve competing with other candidates to earn your spot. And, while you’ll be doing the work of a IT professional, you typically won’t be paid for that work. Finally, you won’t find many apprenticeships available for complete beginners, as most will expect you to have already mastered the basic concepts. 

YouTube and other free resources

YouTube boasts a wide range of tutorials and informative videos on all kinds of IT subjects: from short five-minute episodes on the fundamentals to more in-depth breakdowns of advanced topics. Arguably one of the most popular websites for video content, YouTube is a great way to explore your initial interest or get answers to specific questions in IT. 

Other websites like Google and LinkedIn offer short free tutorials and trainings designed to help you grasp the history and basic principles of IT. You can also find free intro courses on subscription-based training sites that are designed to entice you to enroll in one of their training programs. The drawback of these courses is that they will lack the in-depth knowledge and real-time interaction with an expert instructor that more immersive programs offer. With that in mind, it’s best to use these resources as a brief introduction to make sure you’re interested in the subject (or as supplemental learning) as opposed to the sole source of your education. 

Learn IT with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop’s Data Science Certificate prepares you for entry-level data science and Python engineering roles. You’ll learn how to manipulate databases and perform data analysis, read and write complex database queries, prepare and clean data for analysis, and use Python to automate everyday tasks such as aggregating, updating, and formatting data. This course also covers how to clean and balance your data with Pandas, apply machine learning algorithms with the scikit-learn library to solve real-world problems, and analyze the results to detect areas for improvement. Finally, you’ll build and present dynamic dashboards and other data visualizations and deploy your projects online with GitHub to demonstrate your analytical abilities to employers.

Their Software Engineering Certificate is another option for aspiring IT students. Divided into front end development, React Development, and Django (Python) Development, you will learn HTML to mark up web pages and CSS for styling; the fundamentals of JavaScript and Git; and how to use Flexbox and Grid to layout, align, reorder, and adapt web page content to different size screens. You’ll then move on to the fundamental JavaScript programming concepts, including variables, data types, loops, and DOM. Plus, you’ll cover topics like React, a powerful JavaScript library for web development, and master Node.js, MongoDB, and Express.js to round out your JavaScript development skills.

By creating a portfolio of projects, preparing for common interview questions, and polishing your resume and LinkedIn profile, this course will have you ready to pursue a new job in software engineering in as little as 20 weeks (on a full-time schedule). One-on-one mentoring and a free one-year retake are included in the cost of this course. Payment plans and tuition assistance are available, and this training requires no previous experience, making it great for beginners.

Or, you could try your hand at Noble’s Python Developer Bootcamp. This three-week online course teaches Python for software development with Django, Django REST, and other developer tools like Git and SQL. You’ll start by learning the basics of Python, including its lexical syntax, then move to more advanced topics like dictionaries, custom functions, and sorting algorithms. In week two, you'll learn object-oriented programming, how to work with APIs, and get an introduction to web databases using SQL. By creating projects that can be added to your portfolio, you’ll master URL dispatchers, querying models, and automating tasks with Django, as well as how to work with images, authentication, and use API endpoints with Django REST. 

It’s recommended that you are comfortable coding HTML and basic CSS. You should possess equivalent knowledge of Noble Desktop’s Web Development with HTML & CSS class, and mastery of another programming language is helpful, but not required. Payment plans and financing are available, in addition to extra perks like one-on-one mentoring, a free one-year retake, and a verified digital certificate are included with your purchase.