What Are We Looking At...???
I've been in the tech industry since 1996. I started in the US Army, earned my MCSE NT 4.0 in the corporate world in 2000, became a consultant and then grew to 9 employees and ended up creating tech education on YouTube for a channel with over 1 million subscribers.
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In 2009 I had the idea of "what if there was on demand education for students to learn how we actually make money in the tech industry". This was in a time period when I couldn't say "like YouTube" because no one really knew what YouTube was.
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After 15 years of being on YouTube my question is "What if it was like YouTube, but in the real world?"
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What if there was an education system for technology where anyone who was interested could show up and learn. That their only goals are whatever goals they have set for themselves.
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What if the classes were based on interesting topics instead of certifications and grades?
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What if the students who attended were only there to learn because they know they won't be getting a piece of paper?
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What if the purpose was to teach people how to solve problems with modern technology... ???
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Money... ???
One of our key concepts is "Free to the End User".
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As a professional YouTube Creator one of the most fascinating concepts for me is that students all around the world have been able to learn from my material, there are no walls other than internet access for them to gain access, and they have not had to pay a dime to me.
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At the same time I've made a good living off of vendors placing ads on the content.
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This has provided a beneficial educational experience that does not limit students based off of income that is not "charity".
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In the modern world of the Internet "crowdfunding" has become normalized and is a viable way to revenue and growth. The basic concept is that those people who think the content is valuable, and have the ability chip in to support the content, and those who can't can still access education.
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We are now focused on the crowdfunding model. We have already earned a significant amount from this system and it seems the best way to go forward. Sponsors and advertisers naturally demand content that meets their needs, and too many times this is at the expense of the content and the students. By building a system that is always focused on the student we feel that this will create a better overall outcome.
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Take a class. If you find that it is valuable, and you have the ability provide the amount of money you're willing to. If not... nothing will be said or noted...
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Note: We are not a 501c3. You cannot write-off the payment.
Will Students Get a Job... ???
Our focus is not on "jobs". The reason for this is that whether a student can find or land a job has to do with far too many variables that we have no control over.
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Where do they live - Are there tech jobs in the local economy?
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Are companies hiring - With macro economic forces whether companies are hiring or not many times has little to do with the students ability.
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Is the student willing to do the hard work - Writing code could be said is the easy part of finding a job. Students need to network, follow up, figure out their best paths and so on.
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We teach students to solve problems with modern technologies and have the mindsets to be able to continue finding problems and learning.
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We can offer guidance and advice. We have connections that will be strengthening in the industry. And we are working on "pipeline" concepts for helping students find their way in this field. This will all rely on students making hard decisions, doing what is required, and frankly sometimes having a bit of luck.