Meet Neo Kai Yuan, a former engineer at Facebook and the CEO and founder of Rocket Academy, a selective online coding bootcamp based in Singapore that trains software engineers and guarantees jobs.
Neo began coding at 20 years old as an undergrad enrolled in Stanford’s intro to computer science (CS) class at a friend’s suggestion.
"I loved coding because it felt like solving puzzles on my computer, software engineering was the most in-demand job at career fairs, and the world was making new discoveries in CS seemingly daily. I love coding for the same reasons today."
For Neo, every technical problem can be solved with logic and Google. Through his experience in coding, he has applied some of the lessons in almost all aspects of his life, from troubleshooting household appliances to maintaining his bicycle.
"Sometimes it takes longer than expected to find an answer, but if we decide the problem is worth solving, there will always be an answer."
Infecting others with the love for coding.
In our chat via email, Neo was frank and revealed that he created Rocket Academy because he wanted to be an entrepreneur.
"I started Rocket Academy because I wanted to build a business, there was a mismatch in supply and demand of software engineers, and I had the right background to execute. Software engineering gave me a safety net to pursue my business ambitions."
What makes Rocket Academy different from thousands of its competitors are three reasons, according to Neo.
"Rocket is more effective than other schools because we are selective, comprehensive, and efficient," he said.
The platform carefully selects people with demonstrated coding aptitude and communication skills for Rocket Academy's Bootcamp course. This in return, fosters a strong alumni network.
The Bootcamp course is also live and instructor-led.
"(It) teaches both app-building and algorithms, and is six months full-time or 12 months part-time, twice the length of most coding bootcamps."
Neo also believes Rocket Academy's Bootcamp is efficient in that their course allows someone with no prior experience to become a software engineer faster than any university course Neo is aware of.
Scaling the business.
Neo was primarily able to quickly scale his business from three students to 500 in less than two years since starting out in 2020.
"Rocket’s free, 6-week part-time Coding Basics course introduced hundreds of students to Rocket, and we’ve been fortunate to convert many of them to our paid Bootcamp course."
100 percent job guarantee.. really?
Neo prides himself by claiming that Rocket Academy is capable of guaranteeing industry jobs for its students.
Many who enrolled in the courses were eventually employed by companies such as GovTech, Ninja Van, Xfers, 99.co, and Glints.
Much of it is made possible due to the platform's selectivity, Neo explained.
"Our Bootcamp admissions process screens for coding aptitude and communication skills, the most important attributes for software engineering."
Neo believes that coding is important because the world is becoming increasingly software-driven, and all software is built with code.
"In 10 to 20 years, coding will be a foundational skill like English and math, applied to every industry, and new job seekers unable to code will struggle to be competitive."
But what if there are too many coders out there? Would they struggle to obtain jobs similar to what Malaysian doctors are currently facing?
According to Neo, software engineering applies to every industry.
"The U.S. Labor Department estimated a global shortage of 40 million software engineers in 2020 and 85 million by 2030. Most other jobs will become redundant before software engineering," Neo confidently said.
If you're curious or serious about becoming a software engineer, you can check out Rocket Academy.
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