If you find a company where you're interested in applying for work, here are some steps you can follow to see if any of your instructors know someone at the company, or know someone who knows someone, etc.
(instructions are accurate as of late August 2020, but subject to change if LinkedIn changes their UI)
- Connect with your instructor via LinkedIn. (eg, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736)
- Once connected, click on your instructor's profile.
- In their profile you should see how many connections they have (or just "500+ connections"). Click on that as a link. (it won't be a clickable link until you're directly connected with your instructor)
- Click on the "Current companies" dropdown at the top, and type in the name of the company and click Apply.
The results you see will tell you the following:
- 1st-degree connections are people YOU know that your intructor also knows at the company
- 2nd-degree connections are people your instructor knows who currently work at the company
If no results are found, your instructor does not know anyone currently at the company, but you could ask if they know someone who knows someone there.
These 2nd-degree connections are the more powerful connections, as having someone advocate for you to someone else can be a stronger networking action.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-second-third-degree-connections-help-you-get-guy-berger-ph-d-/
ps: don't forget to endorse one another on LinkedIn for your programming skills ... also endorse your instructors for their relevant skills in those technologies or other skills like teaching/job coaching/etc. :)