Elliott remembered how he learnt and loved a fledgling programming language in the 90s. That language has grown from a simple scripting utility by huge amounts in recent years. It is JavaScript and today it powers the vast majority of software running on websites. It is the back-end to Facebook, Twitter, PayPal and uncountable numbers of other major services.
JavaScript has become so important to the internet and has been adopted by so many companies that there are no longer any "spare" developers of the language. As Elliott points out on his webpage, many companies are now constantly looking for developers and hiring any who present themselves. A typical salary for a successful JavaScript developer in the US is $93,000 but it is possible to earn substantially more.
Elliott realized his way out of poverty could be his old coding skills and was soon proved correct. Now he has realized the magnitude of the problem with which software companies are faced with when recruiting new developer and wants to give more people in his former situation, living without a home or hope, the chance to gain the salary he is now paid by simply teaching them JavaScript.
He has written a book, freely available online, and a series of online courses that are seeking crowd-funding, very successfully, right now on Kickstarter. These will also be available for free and Elliott wants to enroll hundreds of formerly homeless students each year.
As of July 18th, the campaign on Kickstarter has been hugely successful, with funding at over 165%. A week still remains in order to pledge support for the project. This is just one example of how people can do something small to help others in a big way.
By teaching people with no job how to code proficiently, Elliott is helping the homeless find a way forward and businesses find their much-needed new developers. You can back the project,
Fight Poverty With Code, on Kickstarter today and help support a growing movement aiding the world in several ways.
