What happens if I complete the curriculum and then decide to seek employment in a different field? Do I still pay?
Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
141–150 of 275 posts
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#142Do you take older people >50 years old with zero programming experience? I want to forward this to someone.
Yes!
That's cool, but isn't there an inherent ageism in the industry that would prevent someone of that vintage from getting a job? Especially without a broad resume..
I'm all for the idea of older folk getting tech jobs (I'd like to be one myself, someday), but it seems like a larger risk on your part.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#143It's too bad this is US only.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#144Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#145How do you know that your graduates are or aren't making more than 50k? How do you know that you're getting your 17%? Aside from that, you're essentially giving your students a loan and then having them repay it once they start earning money. How is this any different than a regular student loan (but with way more risk on your end)?
> How do you know that your graduates are or aren't making more than 50k? Great question. In addition to our income share agreement, each student submits a form to the IRS that will essentially copy us on their taxes. We have annual reconciliation based on those numbers to see if they match a student's self-reported numbers. > You're essentially giving your students a loan and then having them repay it once they star…
What about married people that are jointly filing taxes, will you take only the income of the person attending the school into account?
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
> How do you know that your graduates are or aren't making more than 50k? Great question. In addition to our income share agreement, each student submits a form to the IRS that will essentially copy us on their taxes. We have annual reconciliation based on those numbers to see if they match a student's self-reported numbers. > You're essentially giving your students a loan and then having them repay it once they star…
What about married people that are jointly filing taxes, will you take only the income of the person attending the school into account?
Yes, that's exactly what we do.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
If that's how you want to optimize your life, congratulations. You cheated the school that gave you a chance out of a few thousand dollars. Might be smarter to just get paid more :)
The way I read it you collect 17% once they start earning $50k+. Do you really collect nothing if their first two years are below?
If they make <$50k we wait until they're making more, for up to five years. We will keep trying to get them a high paying job the entire time.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see. Thanks for answering that. If you don't mind, I have some follow-up questions then (since I'm considering doing this as a way to get back into a programming career and possibly recommending this to a friend's friend who has been looking for a bootcamp to change careers): * What is the style for the actual lectures? * Are you using any tools aside from screencasting and chat to supplement the lectures? * Your c…
I hope you'll forgive me that it'll take a minute to get to these questions.
Yeah, of course. Launching is a big day so take your time. Thanks for leaving a message first instead of leaving me wondering.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
> ... if they don't get a job that pays $50k+ they don't pay us. Also, if you ever lose a job, your payments stop until you're back on your feet. This is how it works in the UK and Australia with normal student debt. It's deferred until you're earning enough money and then is taken directly out of your pay cheque. Collection of the debt is also held off until you're earning a certain amount (in any field.) > ... each…
We're still figuring out the details outside of the US.
You might find the value proposition a bit different where governments pay for student tuition.
Re: Launch HN: Lambda School (YC S17) – CS education that's free until you get a job
#150I feel it's misleading, it's naming feels like its coat tailing off implying something like a university comp sci degree ( with a practical bent), and this seems more of a React web/mobile app design course with a bit of C++ and some basic algorithms ( presumably so they can pass interviews that seem to be obsessed with such things )
$30k seems steep, and while 0 $ upfront is appealing, that kind of strategy can be exploitative( like 0% deposit financing ). It can be super appealing to someone who doesn't have much money, but they end up paying a lot more than they really should be.
Not saying this is bad (maybe it's good thing), but when look through it, I'm getting alarm bells.