DFTW self-paced course of action is now open to the public!

We've been casually mentioning it here or there - but now we're officially telling everyone.

Wait, I’m new here. What is DFTW?

Design for The Web (DFTW) is a course of action where you learn how to design and build web applications. Is that something you want to learn?

DFTW has taken many forms over the years. The most common was a 6-month cohort where a team of students worked through one workshop a day, 6 days a week.

Over 5 years, this feedback loop has steadily strengthened the curriculum, with new materials added and updated along the way.

Cohorts are great. We still believe that they’re a powerful tool for teamwork with that all-in ‘bootcamp’ feel. But they have their own problems too. One of those problems is the price. DFTW started out at $10,000. It was priced well below the 30k bootcamps were charging at the time, but is still a serious commitment. This new model allows us to drastically lower the price. It also ensures people naturally select.

What do you mean self-paced?

About a year ago we started piloting a more self-paced version of the course. Instead 2-3 hour workshop, 6 days a week (where everyone moves at the same pace), the self-driven DFTW is broken into modules. You can decide if you want to do 3 workshops a week (like Will) or stick with about 1 a day (like Ernie) - or if you want to take a more full-time approach and do 2 workshops a day.

The course flexes to fit your life. You choose the pace that works for you.

Each module is self-validating: the exercises show you (and us) whether you can actually understand how it works and how to use it. You’ll get review from Derek before moving on. Just because this is self-paced doesn’t mean we’ll let you binge it and blow past the actual education. ; )

Jeremy was the first to take on the challenge. He did really great work, got an internship at CenterCentre and then a job at Prisms VR where he’s marrying his interest in education and tech. So, the system is working!

Remember, our goal is to prepare you. Your job is to do the work. Some people won’t do the work. Not everyone is ready to do the work. And that’s an important part of this new format. We’ll help you find out if this is the right path for you fast! If not, well - now you’ll know and you can focus on something else.

There’s a video about it on the DFTW landing page where Derek goes over it.

But what about “AI?” Is learning web development still “worth it.”

Derek has been paying close attention to all the Artificial Intelligence tools and trends.

In a recent (real) full-stack web application build, he and his team threw every AI tool they could at the project as a learning exercise.

There’s certainly some things to talk about… and we’re going to be talking about it all throughout the course — but short answer is: Yes. Learning how to design things (and program things) is still worth it. Specifically big picture goal-driven design (with code). The landscape will change but it’s been changing the whole time. The internet is only 30 years old. What we think of as a “modern computer” is barely older than that. Every generation of developers has faced massive change, and the ones who understood the core concepts kept moving forward.

Can I get a job?

We get asked this a lot, so we made a permanent spot to keep the answer.

perpetual.education/but-can-i-get-a-job (short answer: yes)

Talk to a real human - while you still can!

When you’re out there on the internet arguing with an avatar on reddit, are you sure they’re even a real person? What about that deep fake video? What about the AI answering the phone? What about that Robot folding laundry? PE is all about building a network of real humans.

With colleges and boot camps, you’re often passed off to a marketing team. Online courses toss you into a dead Dischord server.

PE is a small education consultancy. You’ll be talking directly with the curriculum designer: the person who’s spent the last 5 years teaching and improving this curriculum, who’s been reading all the books, keeping up with all the gossip and trends (so we know what to ignore), and who actually does the real job of designing and building real web applications.

This is as real and personal as it gets. So, if you’ve been lurking around wondering if DFTW is right for you - or you’re a past student who we haven’t seen in a while — you’re always welcome at our (free) open office hours to talk about code and design and careers.

And if you already know you’re interested in the program, book an info session and talk to us about it IN PERSON.