The need for software engineers in the industry has become a paramount requirement as the world progresses in the field of technology. Though the average salary of a software engineer is around $92,824 per year, according to recent statistics, yet still many students struggle to achieve the brass ring in the technical domain. This has been mainly due to the fact that either the current curriculum of STEM fields in Pakistan’s education systems is massively outdated or the fact that teachers are less invested in their students. As a result, students often resort to Coursera, Udemy, and CodeAcademy courses.
DevNation, a company started by three entrepreneurs based in the US and UAE with years of technical experience, is looking to disrupt the education ecosystem by providing students hands-on training in software engineering while prepping these students for their respective careers in a few months time. with zero upfront cost
According to Raheel Ahmad, one of the co-founders of DevNation:
“DevNation is on the mission to harness the technical talent of Pakistan and make Pakistan the software engineering powerhouse in the region. Our work doesn’t stop here. We then want to also place our talented engineers in top startups across South East Asia, Middle East, and the US. Enabling a more global environment for our developers.”
In a nutshell, DevNation is looking to skill up prominent students of Pakistan to further enable them to compete in the already competitive market of engineers globally rather to just get a mediocre job. The company further states that their programs will feature key training sessions from companies such as the likes of Google, Facebook, etc.
Another one of the company’s founders, Hamd Bilal Tahir further added:
“I envision a Pakistan where a young mind is not just competing with talent in Pakistan but is globally competing with tech minds in the Silicon Valley in California, the tech hubs in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai!”
DevNation is currently upskilling students in front-end development and looks to further train students in different domains later on. Students will get to learn the latest technological skills for free from the comfort of their homes. Once the training is done, DevNation will then help their students land their dream jobs while providing further career-based mentorship. As soon as the student lands his or her job, the student will be able to pay later on.
The fun fact of DevNation’s initiative is that their program is open for all and welcomes students irrespective of any technical background. Muddassar Sharif, a veteran in the STEM industry and co-founder of DevNation, in regards to the program inclusivity further added:
“DevNation aims to provide a level playing field to all Pakistanis, irrespective of their backgrounds. This is why, unlike current educational institutes, DevNation does not charge students upfront. Students pay a fraction of their income for a certain time, only after they get hired.”
DevNation is currently accepting applications for two programs: Frontend and Backend web development. The program is six months long where the core focus is on extensive coding and building projects from day one. By the end of the program, each graduate will have their own unique portfolio with 15 to 20 different projects to showcase their skillset. Applications for the upcoming cohort are open till March 2021. You can find the application link here.
Though other startups in Pakistan such as Jadu Jobs have already taken similar initiatives before, what matters is how big of an impact does DevNation aims to make in comparison to its competitors.
With that said, what are your thoughts about DevNation?
