One month into the one-year curriculum, The Open Source Academy will provide an opportunity for apprenticeship for each student in good standing. The apprenticeship training will be a paid position, and will range between five and twenty hours of work each week. This will help to offset the costs of tuition, but more importantly, it will give the student real, hands-on experience on a variety of projects in and out of the data center environment.
Guest Speakers
Throughout the academic year, Open Source Academy will host a different Guest Speaker each quarter. These guest speakers will be drawn from successful local IT businesses, and will be available for lecture and to answer questions posed by the students in an open forum.
Business Training
For those students on an Entrepreneurial track, basic business skills will be covered, such as DBA filings, LLC creation, billing and time tracking systems, and other essential methods of running a successful consulting business. These skills will be taught by instructors who have businesses of their own, and who are happy to share the secrets of their own success.
On the Job Apprenticeship affords the student valuable real-world experience in the IT field, on actual projects throughout Southern Calfifornia. Once the student has completed their studies, not only do they have the tools to do the job, but they have specific projects they can list on a resume or bio.
Companies
Open Source Academy maintains relationships with IT companies in the Southern Calfornia Region, and can place students with these companies in specific engagements as part of their apprenticeship traning.
In addition to third-party IT companies, Open Source Academy itself will provide consulting services to businesses of all kinds throughout the region. Students will create project teams and Open Source Academy will bid on projects, with the students managing every aspect of the bidding process and the job itself.
Apprenticeship
On the Job Apprenticeship affords the student valuable real-world experience in the IT field, on actual projects throughout Southern Calfifornia. Once the student has completed their studies, not only do they have the tools to do the job, but they have specific projects they can list on a resume or bio. 
