Dear Zip Code Friend,
This report details our achievement, the result of hours of hard work by our talented instructors and staff – and the talent and tenacity of our students.
Between May 2021 and April 2022, Zip Code’s graduates doubled their pre-Zip Code salaries, on average; graduation rates remained historically high at 93%; and, nearly 100 percent found jobs. More recently, however, tech hiring (between May 2022 to April 2023) has slowed significantly due to external market forces. That data will be audited by November 2023 and then reported in the 2024 Impact Report.
We are especially grateful to our philanthropic and alumni donors. Also, thanks to Gov. John Carney and the state for supporting our Delaware students with generous scholarships and stipends.
Finally, thanks to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for its support of Zip Code Prep, a part-time course preparing adults for tech training.
This amazing success stems from the dedication of our adult students, combined with the power of our network of partners and supporters. Friends, we could not do it without you.
Thank you.
Desa Burton
Executive Director
Ben du Pont
Co-Founder and
President
Graduates
Graduates
Outcomes: 2021-2022
SUCCESSES
For years, Zip Code Wilmington has maintained a strong record of success – one that continued into this year. Zip Code posted an overall graduation rate of 93 percent. Nine in 10 software development students graduated from the program, as did 100 percent of the data engineering students.
GRADUATE SNAPSHOT
Outcomes: 2021-2022
Gender
Gender
Average Age
Average Age
JOBS
For students, success is measured not merely by completing the program, but by how easily they find full-time work in their field. Zip Code Wilmington has repeatedly posted strong employment rates. This class had 36 job-seeking students. Three graduates sent by their employers returned there after finishing.
Outcomes: 2021-2022
ZIP CODE WILMINGTON GRADUATES
ARE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE.
Adjunct Math Professor
Book Editor
Casino Dealer
Customer Support
Delivery Driver
Dietary Aide
Homemaker
Hospital Admin
Investment Accountant
Line Cook
Litigation Support
Nanny
Parking Assistant
Personal Trainer
Postal Clerk
QA Specialist
Sales Representative
Sports Coach
Substitute Teacher
Tech Analyst
Trash Collector
Truck Driver
Unemployed
US Army
Waiter
And So Many Others
SALARIES
$48,438 average annual salary increase by Zip Code Wilmington graduates
If the proof is in the paycheck, then Zip Code’s graduates have plenty of proof to spare. On average, Zip Code graduates during the reporting period earned a 154 percent salary increase after completing the program.
Before Zip Code, students were paid an average $31,353 annually, well below Delaware’s average income of $38,917.
After completing Zip Code’s rigorous 12-week program, the average graduate’s income shot up to $79,791 – well above the state’s median household income of $72,724. Zip Code helped graduates more than double their salaries on average.
Software development graduates reported average incomes of $78,700, while data engineering graduates averaged $82,944.
GRADUATE STORIES
Meet Octavia 
From the classroom to C-Suite
Octavia Gomes taught special education in Maryland for 11 years, fulfilling a passion to help children become their best selves. But long hours and few opportunities for career growth forced her to rethink her goals.
“I had two family members who did Zip Code Wilmington’s 12-week boot camp, and I took the leap of faith,” Octavia says. With no tech experience, the New Jersey native quit her job, packed and moved to Wilmington.
A week after graduation in September 2022, Octavia received an offer from Citigroup. Now, she’s an assistant vice president of data/information management, senior analyst at Citigroup.
Meet Tyrell
From warehouse worker to technical instructor
Tyrell Hoxter saw no future in his job at an Amazon warehouse and struggled to find a way out. A friend heard a radio ad about Zip Code Wilmington and told him about it. Tyrell jumped at the opportunity to learn a skill that would change his life.
That was eight years ago. Now, Tyrell is a technical instructor at Zip Code Wilmington, helping others looking for a new path. He knows first-hand that the program is difficult but worth the effort.
“The program is robust and complicated, but you come out of it very prepared not just to thrive in the industry but to find success and launch into a great career.”
Meet Josh
From physics teacher to software engineer
Though Josh Gates loved teaching high school physics for 15 years in Wilmington, the North Carolina native realized he was missing time with his family. That changed when a Zip Code Wilmington instructor visited the coding club that he sponsored.
Josh saved for two years and left his teaching job at the end of the 2019 school year. By October 2019, he was again a student.
A week after graduation in January 2020, Josh was offered a job with Marlette Funding. Josh leads a team that works on internal and customer-facing software. It’s a career he never would have envisioned, he says, adding that he has more time for his family.
Meet Whitney
New career in new location
Whitney Martinez loved her island home of Puerto Rico and was finishing a degree in computer science when Hurricane Maria hit. Her father had lost his job and the family struggled to meet their daily needs.
A cousin who worked for JPMorgan Chase & Co. told Whitney about Zip Code Wilmington in 2018 and encouraged her to apply. Whitney moved to Delaware and completed the program in February 2019.
Whitney’s first job was as a coder with Bank of America before she moved to JPMorgan as an automated tester. The new career made it possible to send money to her family in Puerto Rico until her father found a job.