Codecademy is donating 100,000 Pro memberships, which normally cost $20 a month, to furloughed or unemployed workers — here's how to apply for one
- Codecademy is giving away five Pro memberships (typically $20 per month) to unemployed or furloughed workers for every membership that's purchased until they hit 100,000 donated memberships.
- While there is a free option, Pro memberships give students access to 1,800 hours of lessons and unlimited mobile practice — plus perks like real-world projects, step-by-step guidance, and peer support.
- If you've been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you can apply for a donated Pro membership here.
Codecademy, an e-learning coding site that serves about 45 million people, is offering free Pro memberships to furloughed or unemployed workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
For every Pro subscription that someone buys ($20 per month typically), the company will match it by donating five, three-month-long Pro memberships to impacted workers until it reaches its goal of giving away 100,000 memberships. You can give Pro a try with a free one week trial before deciding to commit and purchase.
If your work or business has been adversely affected by COVID-19, you can apply for one of those free Pro memberships here.
The difference in memberships
Codecademy's basic free membership gives students access to 180 hours of lessons and limited mobile practice, but its Pro subscription comes with 1,800 hours and unlimited mobile practice — as well as perks like real-world projects, step-by-step guidance, and peer support. You can also try the Pro version for free for a week before committing.
What you can learn on Codecademy, and how you'll learn it
"Codecademy is all focused on learning by doing," CEO and co-founder Zach Sims told Business Insider. Its content, which is all built in-house by a small team, obsesses over engagement. Learners earn badges and get real-time feedback as they interact with classes.
You can browse its catalog of thousands of hours of instruction by subject, like programming and data science, or by language, like HTML & CSS and Python.
Codeacademy also has structured curriculum roadmaps. Some are Career Paths that teach the core skills of overarching subjects like Computer Science, Data Science, and Web Development, while others are Skill Paths focused on more specialized, shorter-term goals. You can take a quiz here if you're not sure where to start.
When asked about how the company has had to evolve recently, CEO and Co-Founder Zach Sims told Business Insider that "in many cases, there might not be an upfront business opportunity, like giving away free licenses. But I think it's kind of the right thing to do."
Other e-learning sites with free programs to support the workforce
Codeacademy isn't the only online learning site offering assistance to affected workers right now. Other platforms supporting workers include Coursera and Educative. Coursera launched a Coronavirus Workforce Recovery Initiative that gives unemployed workers access to free online education through the government and made 100 of its courses completely free to enroll in — including computer science classes and public health courses — through May 31. The site also launched a course developed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that trains students to become contact tracers to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The course is free thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Educative is also offering free scholarships for its Become a Frontend Developer (typically $115) learning track to people whose lives or livelihoods have been interrupted due to the novel coronavirus.