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Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

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Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#141

Post by WA »

patio11 wrote: post #6

This is a far, far better deal than the one that I got for university (CS at a major US research institution, class of 2004), which involved a sticker price of about $140k, a work study assignment unjamming printers to justify ~$2k of wages per semester to cover (barely) the meal plan, and ~$X0k of non-dischargeable debt which started ticking the day I graduated, despite the fact that I was earning salaryman wages (~…

The university system in the US is shocking. I studied CS in Germany. Paid no tuition (except for 150€ per semester for some fees and a free bus ticket for 6 months), received 550€ every month for 5 years from the state via a program that’s called BAföG, only had to pay back half of it and was like 9000€ total, because I paid everything back at once.

For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great alternative. For Europeans, it’s way too expensive at $30k max.

Maybe consider studying in Europe. Good universities, no mandatory meal plans or dorms, no tuition, comparatively low cost of living, great education. Language could be a barrier, but there are international universities afaik.

Edit: This isn’t to downplay Lambda School. I think it’s great to have alternatives to US universities. It’s just to give some perspective what education looks like in other countries and that the US university system is kind of insane.

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#142

Post by allwynpfr »

austenallred wrote: post #136
spdebbarma wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any news on expanding yet beyond the EU and US? I'm in India and I would absolutely love this program.

We need a few more key hires in order to scale internationally, and hiring is what I work on all day every day. When we do it will be everywhere and fast. We're single digit months away.

I think there would be huge demand for such a thing in india, especially in the coming years as the internet continues to reach the remotest (ones who would need this the most) corners of the country. Kudos to you!

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#143

Post by mikekchar »

austenallred wrote: post #125
mikekchar wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because I like telling this story: My university taught me every sorting algorithm known to man (or at least it felt like it at the time). After graduating, I traveled for a bit in the UK and got a job at a travel tour company doing odd jobs. One day the finance department asked me to sort a room full of records. Normally it took them 2 weeks to do the work. "Right! If there is one thing I know how to do, it's s…

That is a great story. How many times have you told it? :)

At least 3 times on HN :-)

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#144

Post by austenallred »

WA wrote: post #141
patio11 wrote: post #6

This is a far, far better deal than the one that I got for university (CS at a major US research institution, class of 2004), which involved a sticker price of about $140k, a work study assignment unjamming printers to justify ~$2k of wages per semester to cover (barely) the meal plan, and ~$X0k of non-dischargeable debt which started ticking the day I graduated, despite the fact that I was earning salaryman wages (~…

The university system in the US is shocking. I studied CS in Germany. Paid no tuition (except for 150€ per semester for some fees and a free bus ticket for 6 months), received 550€ every month for 5 years from the state via a program that’s called BAföG, only had to pay back half of it and was like 9000€ total, because I paid everything back at once. For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great altern…

> For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great alternative. For Europeans, it’s way too expensive at $30k max.

You should tell that to our rapidly growing number of German and European students :)

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#145

Post by austenallred »

mft_ wrote: post #140
austenallred wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We look mostly at how well they do on our pre course work, how hard they work and how quickly they can climb steep programming learning curves. We’re seeing over 1,000 applications/week. Top of funnel is not our issue.

Can I ask (as a 39yr-old who's looked at your school as a route to facilitate a career change) whether you filter by age?

Only by 18+.

We helped a 45-year-old get hired recently!

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#146

Post by notthisagain666 »

austenallred wrote: post #133
sharcerer wrote: post #131

Austen, I was wondering if you would consider some online version of Lambda for regions where Lambda isn't there. I don't mean the academic part, but the hiring part. Sort of an evaluation of a student's skills to see if they are on par with those educated by Lambda Faculty. On the basis of those evaluations/tests/ projects , you can use your network to get those people jobs/ internships. For eg: I am from India. Cur…

Lambda School is entirely online; we don't have the infrastructure just just yet to go into India, but hopefully in coming months we'll open up.

Looking forward to it!

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#148

Post by steve19 »

throwawaymath wrote: post #76
austenallred wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That company has hired 20+ Lambda School grads, two hired as senior.

I believe you. But there is also significant title inflation at that specific company. There is no reasonable definition for "senior software engineer" which has qualifications that can be met from scratch in nine months. What are their "junior" engineers like? Do they have a title between junior and senior? Like I said, this isn't a comment on the Lambda School. It's a comment on the idea that this occurrence isn't…

It is most likely that company simple has a HR policy regarding pay and positions. If you Senior if you earn > $X.

The "Senior" hires may have significant outside industry experience, even if they only have 9 months of programming experience.

The title is a paygrade in this case, not a level of experience.

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#149

Post by westpfelia »

austenallred wrote: post #7

Hey, co-founder of Lambda School here. We launched our online CS academy with no upfront tuition almost two years ago. Now with thousands of students enrolled and hundreds already employed and paying back we wanted to take the next step and open up access to folks who couldn’t afford to pay to survive while attending. Of course, that introduces significant risk on our part, as students still only pay us back if they…

Are you thinking of expanding into programs outside of web development?

As a cyber security engineer I think that this is something that would really help get more people into the industry. And there just isnt enough universities that have programs. My Alma Mater is going to be starting one soon but... Looking at the class list I cant help but feel like the 4 years are wasted and a more concentrated program would yield better results.

Re: Lambda School (YC S17) now pays eligible students $2k/month

#150

Post by WA »

austenallred wrote: post #144
WA wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The university system in the US is shocking. I studied CS in Germany. Paid no tuition (except for 150€ per semester for some fees and a free bus ticket for 6 months), received 550€ every month for 5 years from the state via a program that’s called BAföG, only had to pay back half of it and was like 9000€ total, because I paid everything back at once. For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great altern…

> For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great alternative. For Europeans, it’s way too expensive at $30k max. You should tell that to our rapidly growing number of German and European students :)

How long does this "pay 17% of your salary" apply? What if my first job pays less and then I switch jobs, or I get a raise that goes over the $50K but only after a couple years?

Maybe an explanation is: CS students usually don't get entry-level jobs that pay more than 50K EUR, often probably less. So maybe they hope that they never have to pay back. Or they don't care and are happy to have a good education after all.

I'm happy for you and the growth and maybe I missed something :)

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