How Long Do Software Engineering Courses Take?

You can find software engineering classes in a variety of lengths. Free introductory seminars last an hour or two, while a college degree takes years. Bootcamps last a few days and certification courses last several months. Before signing up for a class, consider your schedule and other commitments and how much time you have to attend classes and work on assignments. A beginner can typically master software engineering fundamentals in six months or less.

Lengths of Classes

Software engineering classes come in various lengths. Some of this depends on whether it is an overview course, a deep dive into a specific topic, or a program designed to give you the skills you need to change careers. A rule of thumb is the more in depth the material covered, the longer the class will last. Choose a class that will provide you with the amount of information you need.

Free Seminars

If you are simply curious about what software engineering is and looking for an overview of the subject, you can find free seminars on platforms like YouTube. These are brief videos thatl introduce the main topics without going into too much detail. Free seminars are useful if you haven't made up your mind about whether or not you want to take a class and just want to get an idea of what software engineering is all about. Noble Desktop offers many free videos on its website, like Intro to React or Intro to Node.js. Once you get a taste, you may find you want more.

College Courses

If you want to start a career as a Software Engineer or Full Stack Web Developer, you can get a college degree. Colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in computer science and information technology. 

College courses usually last three to four months. In addition to classes in your major, you will have to fulfill other requirements, so it can take four to five years of full-time instruction to complete a college degree. This option is also very expensive, with the average tuition at a state school currently running about $10,000 a year and private schools much more. With added fees, a bachelor's degree will cost between $50,000 and $200,000.

Bootcamp Classes

While some job advertisements list a college degree as a requirement, others do not. Many companies are more interested in your demonstrated abilities than in education, so a bootcamp course is another way to get started learning software engineering. Bootcamp courses only last a few sessions and focus on a single topic, like HTML and CSS, JavaScript frameworks and libraries, or Python programming. They usually cost several hundred to around a thousand dollars each. If you want to learn a specific skill, a bootcamp will do that. This is a good option for entrepreneurs who want to build their own digital products, but if you want to start a career in software engineering, a certification course is a better choice for you.

Certification Courses

Certification courses are broadly focused and designed for students to start as beginners and finish with enough experience and knowledge to find a job as a Software Engineer or Full Stack Web Developer. They are often made up of multiple bootcamp classes and take place over several months to a year. Some programs offer career coaching, with 1-1 mentoring and classes on putting together a portfolio and preparing for interviews. Certification courses start at a few thousand dollars and go up to $10,000 or more. While this is a considerable cost, it is less than a college degree.

Should I Enroll Part-time or Full-time?

Another consideration is whether you want to sign up for part-time or full-time instruction. Some courses offer a part-time option that allows you to take classes in the evenings or on weekends. This works well if you are working full-time. Of course, part-time classes take longer to complete but give you extra time to practice your skills between meetings. With a full-time schedule, you will be done with training and ready for the job market sooner.

Learn Software Engineering Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Software Engineering Certificate can give you the skills you need to start a new career in the software development industry. This program is divided into four sections: front end development, React Development, and Django (Python) Development. In this program, you will learn the most pivotal skills needed to secure a career in software and web development. The assignments in the course are designed to help you create a portfolio of projects, and the course also includes interview preparation, practice responding to common interview questions, how to polish your resume and LinkedIn profile, and tips for applying to jobs. 

Noble's Full Stack Web Development Certificate covers developing every aspect of a digital application or webpage. You’ll learn how to program the visual appearance of a web application (the front end) and the infrastructure that allows it to function (the back end) to create complete webpages. In this course, you’ll learn how to use programming languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript to program memorable, interactive webpages. You’ll also use the MERN tech stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js) to add databases, APIs, AWS and other server environments, and interactivity for those web applications. The Full-Stack Web Development Certificate provides students with a robust programming education that can help them break into the in-demand world of web development, software engineering, and computer science.

This is a project-oriented course that teaches students how to code a website from scratch. By the end of the course, you’ll have developed a portfolio of working web applications that you can take with you onto the job market. This course also includes portfolio and job search help. You can also attend Noble's SQL and WordPress Bootcamps for free as part of this certificate course.

If you prefer, you can take these Noble classes included in the certificates one at a time. Web Development with HTML & CSS covers building websites with HTML & CSS; creating multi-page websites with text, images, and graphics; styling with CSS; and uploading files using FTP. 

Advanced HTML & CSS includes important CSS concepts like positioning, advanced selectors, and relative type sizing. You will also learn to work with multiple background images, transparent color using RGBA, CSS gradients, and shadows. The course also covers creating animated effects with CSS transitions and transforms.

Flexbox, Grid, and Bootstrap covers laying out and aligning website content with CSS Flexbox. Learn CSS Grid to layout websites and Bootstrap to build layouts quickly.

JavaScript for Front End teaches you to make dynamic and engaging websites with JavaScript and GreenSock. Learn the basics of JavaScript and how to use free pre-made JavaScripts to add functionality. Create animated slideshows and build animated image enlargers.

Noble's Python Programming Bootcamp covers built-in data types and their behavior and Control Flow Statements, the programming essentials used across many languages. You’ll also learn how to professionally structure your programs and solve real-world challenges by creating objects in Object-Oriented Programming. In addition to covering these core programming concepts, we’ll also discuss the most common coding interview questions and demonstrate the best programming practices used by professionals. Throughout this course, you’ll practice these new skills by working on programming exercises with instructor guidance. By the end of this course, you’ll have a portfolio of projects and code samples on GitHub to show to employers.