Free software engineering training for veterans
Vets Who Code is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains veterans, service members and military spouses to be software engineers. Seventeen weeks, remote-first, and it costs you nothing.
- Length
- 17 weeks
- Commitment
- 20–30 hrs/week
- Format
- Remote-first · platform + sessions
- Cost
- $0
- Eligibility
- U.S. veterans, service members & spouses
- Outcome
- Software engineer
What free means here
Free means $0. There is no tuition, no income share agreement, no deferred payment plan and no hidden fee. You do not sign over a percentage of your first paycheck and you do not take on a loan.
The program is paid for by donors and partners. Vets Who Code is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 86-2122804, and what we teach is published in full so anyone can check it.
What you get in 17 weeks
- A structured curriculum. The Hashflag Stack runs in four phases: Foundations, Software Engineering, AI Engineering and Production Mastery. Every skill on it is validated against labor-market demand. Read the curriculum.
- A mentor who is a working software engineer. Your mentor operates like an engineering manager: 1-on-1s, code review, hard questions and help with career decisions.
- A body of work. Blogs, pull requests, shipped features and verified work. It is the evidence a hiring manager can read before they ever speak to you.
- Sessions with people on the calendar. Remote-first is not self-serve. The platform carries the material that does not change so the human hours go to pairing and building.
Who is eligible
U.S. veterans, active-duty service members and military spouses. The program is fully remote, so you can train from anywhere in the country. No prior experience with software is required; we select on aptitude, drive and follow-through.
Free training is not a bootcamp
Bootcamps sell seats. Vets Who Code is a nonprofit software engineering accelerator, and the difference shows up in how it runs:
- Cost. $0, funded by donors, instead of tuition or an income share.
- Cohort size. 10 to 15 troops, selected, instead of as many seats as will sell.
- Mentorship. An engineering manager model, instead of a teaching assistant.
- Outcome. A software engineer with a verified body of work, instead of a certificate.
Our incentive is your outcome, not a tuition check.
How to apply
Frequently asked questions
Is Vets Who Code really free?
Yes. The program costs nothing for every veteran, service member or military spouse who is accepted. There is no tuition, no income share agreement and no hidden fee. Donors and partners fund it.
Is there an income share agreement or placement fee?
No. You keep all of your first paycheck. Vets Who Code takes no percentage of your salary, charges no placement fee and does not ask you to take a loan.
Is the training remote?
Yes, 100% remote. We use Slack, GitHub and video calls, and sessions are scheduled. You collaborate with your cohort across time zones the same way distributed engineering teams do.
How long is the program?
17 weeks at 20–30 hours a week. The curriculum is the Hashflag Stack, taught in four phases: Foundations, Software Engineering, AI Engineering and Production Mastery.
Who is eligible?
U.S. veterans, active-duty service members and military spouses. No prior experience with software is required.
Is this a coding bootcamp?
No. Vets Who Code is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit software engineering accelerator. Bootcamps sell seats; we select small cohorts of 10 to 15, train with an engineering manager mentorship model, validate every skill against labor-market data and charge nothing.
2027 Cohort · Applications Open