Want To Learn Code? Trade Academy Code Fellows Launching In Chicago

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Seattle-based academy dedicated to teaching computer coding is expanding to Chicago.

Code Fellows will offer an eight-week advanced JavaScript class, starting in mid-May.

The school, which was started in 2013, will be holding an informational meeting on March 19, at its Midwest office at 1871 in the Merchandise Mart.

"Within the greater Chicago area, there are over 1,000 open positions for JavaScript developers alone, and those are only the ones that hiring managers have bothered to post," Nick Moran wrote in a company blog post. Moran, of venture firm Moran Capital Partners, is assisting Code Fellows with the Chicago launch.

Tuition for the May class is $10,000 and is designed for students who already have fundamental knowledge of computer science and experience in web development. Financial assistance is available.

The course includes extensive lecture and lab work during the eight week instructional period.

Code Fellows' introductory web development course costs $500, but is not yet available in Chicago.

Code Fellows launched in Seattle in 2013 and the company added a Portland location last year.

Graduates are guaranteed a job offer within nine months of completing the course or students are refunded their tuition.

Code Fellows says 88 percent of students in 2013-2014 who entered into one of the intensive eight-week programs, like the one being offered in Chicago, successfully graduated. The average starting salary was $75,600 a year.