The following interview summary is provided by TechnologyAdvice.com, a website that helps companies compare the top business software solutions in each industry. Be sure to also check out their technology conference calendar.

Giovanni DiFeterici, Campus Director of The Iron Yard Columbia, spoke with TechnologyAdvice’s Clark Buckner about the career-altering work his company has been quietly conducting both at his campus and the ten other nationwide campuses of The Iron Yard.

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DiFeterici neatly summarized what The Iron Yard is: “an intensive three-month training program to teach people production-ready skills in the web design industry.” As one of its newest campuses, The Iron Yard Columbia will launch its first web design course on January 5, 2015.

According to DiFeterici, there are three substantial facts that set The Iron Yard apart from similar coding schools or online training:

• highly experienced teachers
• a focus on teamwork and production skills (i.e. real-world issues)
• adept career placement

This is the back patio area for @ConvergeFL. The venue is is awesome, @genecrawford. #convergefl pic.twitter.com/heOmJTUBAQ

— Clark Buckner (@ClarkBuckner) November 6, 2014

The Iron Yard Offers Experienced Teachers

DiFeterici referenced Greg Lunn (@greglunn) as one of their teachers who’s “not just academic, but he’s actually been building things in the web industry for a dozen years.” In other words, TIY’s teachers know the technicalities of web design, but they also know what it’s like to see their hard work bottlenecked because of a team member’s laziness. They can provide a level of one-on-one, personal insight that other schools or online programs may not be able to offer.

The Iron Yard Focuses on Both the Technical and the Practical

DiFeterici stressed that “the emphasis of the course is not on purely academic knowledge,” it’s “focused on production skills.” He boiled it down to the basics, saying, “We’re focused on teaching people how to do jobs.” Because of the way the intense and intensive courses are structured, students must learn teamwork along with the core set of skills required of every developer. They also get the opportunity to learn what a production environment is truly like.

All of this preparation, which can take between 60 and 80 hours of work per week over a course’s three-month span, allows a graduated student to walk into almost any “normal web shop and be able to bring something to the table.”

The Iron Yard Prides Itself on Job Placement

DiFeterici said that their record of job placement for TIY graduates is “essentially 100 percent.” He goes on to outline why the time and money investment in a coding school like TIY is worth the cost:

Every student who has come through has been placed in a job. Their average salary is about $60,000. When I see that, I think that the $10,000–$12,000 investment on the Frontend, and about six months of your time, strikes me as being very minimal for what you get on the other end.

For would-be students who see that number and feel such an expense is still out of their reach, DiFeterici was quick to add that TIY offers financial aid through Climb Credit (with loans that are typically $10,000), as well as scholarship programs “to promote diversity within the industry, for women or underprivileged/underserved communities, and for veterans or soldiers.” They also work with companies who may be interested in sponsoring a student, a.k.a. a potential hire.

Thanks for the generous hospitality, @unmatchedstyle! Awesome week with you guys! @genecrawford @Signalnoise @giodif pic.twitter.com/yKuYvswXRX

— Clark Buckner (@ClarkBuckner) November 9, 2014

For interested parties, the only requirement to apply to The Iron Yard is to have an interest in web design and to complete their non-binding application at TheIronYard.com/academy. DiFeterici can be reached at 803-873-9299 or columbia[at]theironyard[dot]com and welcomes any questions about the program.

Listen to the full TechnologyAdvice interview above to learn more about The Iron Yard Academy’s new location in Columbia and how the Unmatched Style crew is involved.