Most coding bootcamp graduates are able to land a job shortly after their program, with schools like General Assembly and Flatiron School boasting job placement rates of 99.2 and 85 percent respectively. However, if you need even more certainty regarding your job prospects after graduation, you are in luck as several coding bootcamps offer job guarantees.
A coding bootcamp job guarantee serves as an assurance to the student that they will find employment in their desired field shortly after completing their program. This assurance comes in different forms, including promises of employment and tuition refunds. Job guarantees are now common in the bootcamp industry. In this article, we separate the wheat from the chaff to bring you the best schools that feature job guarantees.
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Coding Bootcamp Job Placement Guarantee: A Definition
A coding bootcamp job guarantee represents a commitment from the bootcamp provider to partially or fully refund the student the cost of the program if they fail to get a job within a specified period of time.
However, the term is also used to describe other strategies that aim to maximize the chances of the student landing a job after their program. When people talk about a coding bootcamp job guarantee, they may be referring to any of the following four services or products:
- Tuition refund
- Promise of employment
- Deferred tuition
- Career assistance
Tuition Refund
A tuition refund is the most common type of job placement guarantee. The bootcamp gives the student a refund if they don’t get a job offer within a certain amount of time after graduation, usually six months. Some schools offer full tuition refunds, while others only offer partial ones.
To earn the refund, the student often needs to apply to a minimum number of jobs per month and meet other conditions set by the bootcamp. Also, different bootcamps may have different criteria regarding what qualifies as a job offer. Some bootcamps may only consider job offers above a certain salary level.
Promise of Employment
Some bootcamps partner with organizations or companies that will offer jobs to bootcamp graduates. These bootcamps will train students on the job-specific skills that their partner organizations are looking for.
Bootcamps with employment promises usually have a more selective admissions process. During the course, students often need to follow a list of requirements to qualify for the guaranteed job.
Deferred Tuition
A deferred tuition program gives students the option of joining the bootcamp making zero payments or paying only a small amount. Although the total amount you pay by the end may be higher than if you would have paid upfront, deferred tuition is still very attractive to those who can’t afford the program outright.
Many bootcamps offer deferred tuition in the form of income share agreements or ISAs. With an ISA, the student only starts paying for their education once they graduate and land a job. They pay back a set percentage of their income every month for a specified period of time, typically between two and five years. Importantly, income share payments are often capped, meaning students don’t pay over a certain amount.
ISAs often require students to make above a certain income threshold before they start paying back their tuition. This is usually between $40,000 and $60,000 per year. If the student can’t find a job, bootcamps often waive tuition entirely.
Career Assistance
Coding bootcamps that guarantee jobs may use other strategies to help their graduates find work. For example, they may lean heavily on their career services to ensure the student is as prepared as possible for the job hunt. A common strategy is to assign career coaches to the students.
Career coaches and other members of the bootcamp’s career services team help students find job opportunities and fill out job applications. Students also benefit from interview prep activities, including mock interviews.
Some schools provide access to their career team for months after graduation. Some even offer this service for life. Overall, having access to career services at your bootcamp will help your career grow tremendously.
Why Go for a Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantee?
Whether you are talking about a money-back guarantee, a promise of employment, a deferred tuition plan, or career assistance, a job guarantee is an excellent option for those seeking a coding education.
- Peace of mind. A coding bootcamp is a hefty monetary investment. If things don’t pan out as expected, a money-back guarantee ensures you are not hurt financially.
- Less risk. Attending a coding bootcamp that promises a job or a job offer after graduation is as close to a “risk-free” path into tech as you are going to get.
- Little or no upfront costs. With a deferred tuition plan such as an ISA, the student can attend the program of their choice without having to worry about paying back the school until they graduate and land a job.
Online Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantees
The prospect of learning to code at home, on your own time, may seem too good to be true, but it’s not. In recent years, an increasing number of coding bootcamps offer flexible, online programs, allowing students to continue working while enrolled. Many of these programs promise a job after graduation or offer some other type of job guarantee.
Springboard
Programs offered: Tech sales, UI/UX design, data science, data analytics, web development, full stack development, cyber security
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time, self-paced
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
Springboard is an online learning platform with a robust offering in data analytics, UX design, and data science. Since its inception, Springboard has taught thousands of students, who enjoy access to on-demand personal mentors.
Springboard Job Guarantee Terms
- If you do not get a job within six months of completing the bootcamp, you receive a full refund.
- You must be eligible to work in the United States and Canada.
- You must take part in Springboard’s mentor and job coaching program.
Revature
Programs offered: Web development
Formats available: Online, full-time
Type of job guarantee: Promise of employment
Revature is a tech talent development company that hires and deploys top talent to its government and corporate partners. It offers free coding courses to university graduates to help them master popular technologies.
Revature Job Guarantee Terms
- Students are guaranteed employment with a Revature client.
- Before admittance into the program, potential students are screened to evaluate their hiring potential.
Thinkful
Programs offered: UI/UX design, data science, data analytics, web development, digital marketing, engineering immersion, full stack development
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time, self-paced
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
This popular school offers coding bootcamps in a wide range of subjects that vary in length from one to seven months. In addition, graduates of the data analytics, data science, or software engineering programs can gain credits toward bachelor’s or master’s degrees at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). To learn more about the school, check out this Thinful review.
Thinkful Job Guarantee Terms
- The school will refund 100 percent of your tuition if you are not offered a qualifying position within six months of graduation.
- All students receive career support, including access to 20 hours of career services following graduation. Opting out impacts refund eligibility.
Bloom Institute of Technology
Programs offered: Data science, web development, full stack development
Formats available: Online, full-time
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund and deferred tuition
BloomTech, formerly known as Lambda School, is an online coding bootcamp that offers six-month programs in Android and iOS. This coding bootcamp offers several job guarantees to students.
BloomTech Job Guarantee Terms
- Tuition refund: If within a year of graduation, you do not find a qualifying position that pays at least $50,000, BloomTech will refund 110 percent of the tuition. To be eligible, you must have paid for your tuition upfront or with an Outcome Based Loan.
- Deferred tuition: Under BloomTech’s ISA, when you earn a minimum of $50,000 a year, you’ll start paying 14 percent of your income every month. You’ll stop paying once you reach the agreed-upon cap or hit a certain number of payments.
CareerFoundry
Programs offered: UI/UX design, data analytics, web development, digital marketing, product management, full stack development
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time, self-paced
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
CareerFoundry is an online bootcamp that offers both part-time and full-time programs. All courses are project-based to ensure students apply the knowledge they receive in their courses. They teach all the basic skills necessary to find an in-demand tech job.
CareerFoundry Job Guarantee Terms
- If you do not find a job in your chosen career within six months of graduating, your full tuition is refunded.
- To be eligible, you must complete the extra career services course the bootcamp offers.
Coding Temple
Programs offered: Data science, data analytics, web development, engineering immersion, full stack development
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time, self-paced
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
Coding Temple boasts a sky-high job placement rate due to its strong career services team. All students get individualized attention from instructors and learn through projects that can be used in a professional portfolio.
Coding Temple Job Guarantee Terms
- If you can’t find a job in tech within nine months of graduation, Coding Temple will refund your tuition.
- During these nine months, you have to participate in and document a range of job placement activities and communicate with your Coding Temple Career Coach.
Designlab
Programs offered: UI/UX design
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
Designlab has UX and UI bootcamp programs for beginners and seasoned professionals. Students get assigned a personal design mentor from a pool of design experts working at top tech companies.
Designlab Job Guarantee Terms
- Students get a full tuition refund if they don’t get a job within six months of graduation.
- To qualify, students need to meet a list of attendance and participation requirements while enrolled in the program. They also need to complete weekly job search tasks.
Launch School
Programs offered: Web development
Formats available: Online, full-time
Type of job guarantee: Deferred tuition
While most bootcamps focus on quick learning, Launch School is designed for students who want to slowly and deliberately master software development. Its curriculum is designed to build on fundamental coding skills and then move on to projects and portfolio building.
Launch School Job Guarantee Terms
- Under the Deferred Payment Plan, students pay for tuition after they land a job that pays $60,000 or more.
- If students are unable to find a job that has a base salary of $60,000 within a year of graduation, they don’t have to pay any tuition costs.
In-Person Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantees
Online training is ideal for busy individuals and those with a lot of self-discipline. However, others learn better from face-to-face interaction with instructors and students. In-person bootcamps are excellent options for developing strong coding skills and becoming a programmer, software engineer, or web developer.
If you live in a major metropolitan center, chances are that there is an in-person coding bootcamp around you that offers a job guarantee. All the schools below have on-campus courses where the student’s investment is protected by some form of a job guarantee.
Codeup
Programs offered: Web development, cloud administration, data science
Formats available: Full-time
Type of job guarantee: Tuition refund
Codeup is a full-time coding bootcamp that teaches JavaScript, Linux, PHP, and MySQL. It takes 16 weeks for students to complete the course. Afterward, they’ll be ready for professional work in multiple coding fields.
Codeup Job Guarantee Terms
- If students do not receive a qualifying job offer within six months of graduation, they receive a 100 percent refund.
- Only web development and data science students are eligible.
- Students must comply with Codeup placement standards, including pursuing all job opportunities provided by the career services team up to the completion of the interview cycle as well as submitting a minimum of five job applications per week.
Ubiqum Code Academy
Programs offered: Web development
Formats available: Full-time
Type of job guarantee: Deferred tuition
Ubiqum Code Academy has both online programs and in-person programs. The bootcamp is based out of Spain, with all its in-person locations in Europe. For this school, students have several payment plans at their disposal, including paying in 36 installments, paying 50 percent upfront and the rest in four installments, and signing up for an ISA.
Ubiqum Code Academy Job Guarantee Terms
- Under the school’s ISA, you join the course for free and only start paying once you land a coding job.
- You agree to pay back a certain percentage of your future income every month once you start earning above a certain amount.
- The amount to be paid back is capped. This means you will never pay more than what you originally agreed.
- You have to be a resident of Spain to be eligible.
Flatiron School
Programs offered: UI/UX design, data science, web development, engineering immersion, full stack development, cyber security
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time, self-paced
Type of job guarantee: Career assistance
Flatiron School is one of the best-known coding bootcamps in the country, with physical campuses in Denver and New York City. This school does not offer a typical job guarantee as exemplified by other schools on this list. Instead, it offers extremely robust career services to graduating students which have helped the school maintain a very high job placement rate.
Flatiron School Job Guarantee Terms
- Students received job search assistance after their program. They are assigned a career coach who helps them develop a job search strategy and reviews job search materials.
- Services are discontinued once the student accepts a job offer or if they fail to comply with the school’s policies and requirements.
Hack Reactor
Programs offered: Web development, engineering immersion, full stack development
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time
Type of job guarantee: Deferred tuition
Hack Reactor is a bootcamp based in San Francisco that offers full-time and part-time software engineering programs. At Hack Reactor, you will receive career services and access to Hack Reactor’s tried and true employer network. This helps graduates get placed in high-paying jobs at companies like Google and Facebook.
Hack Reactor Job Guarantee Terms
- Students enrolled in the software engineering immersive program can enter an ISA.
- The ISA requires a $100 non-refundable deposit. The rest of your tuition is deferred until you are making at least $60,000 a year.
- Pay monthly installments at 10 percent of your monthly income. The maximum number of monthly installments is 48 but you can stop sooner if you hit the cap.
- If you’re not earning at least $60,000, your ISA pauses and generates no interest.
Neoland
Programs offered: Web development, UX/UI design
Formats available: Online, full-time, part-time
Type of job guarantee: Deferred tuition
Neoland is a Spanish-language bootcamp with campuses in Madrid, Barcelona, and Miami. The school boasts over 1,200 graduates, 98 percent of whom have landed a job in the industry. Alumni now work for companies such as Google, Facebook, and Accenture.
Neoland Job Guarantee Terms
- If you enter an ISA with Neoland, you will start paying back your tuition once you land a job and start earning more than 16,000 euros a year.
- You will pay 12 percent of your salary for 48 months or until you reach 8,000 euros.
- To access this financing method you need to be a resident of Spain.
Things to Consider Before Signing Up for a Coding Bootcamp With Job Guarantee
Before you agree to attend a coding bootcamp that offers a job guarantee, make sure to gain clarity on the following issues:
- Type of job guarantee. Know exactly what type of job guarantee the school is offering. A money-back guarantee is a completely different beast from a promise of employment or an ISA.
- Full or partial refund? If you are being offered a money-back guarantee, find out exactly how much of the tuition the school would refund in case you don’t get a job after graduation.
- Job or job offer? If the school is claiming that it will give you a job after graduation, you need to clarify if it is an actual job or just a job offer. Likewise, find out what kind of jobs count. For example, you may not be interested in part-time or non-technical roles.
- Job search requirements. The school is likely to have a few conditions before refunding your money in case you fail to get a job. For example, there may be a minimum number of job applications that you have to send to qualify. Likewise, you may be obliged to report back to the bootcamp’s career services team.
- Job guarantee prerequisites. Find out if there are any preconditions you need to meet to be eligible for the school’s job guarantee, such as living in a specific area, being under a certain age, or having a degree.
Will a Coding Bootcamp With Job Guarantee Boost Your Chances of Breaking Into Tech?
Yes, enrolling in a coding bootcamp with a job guarantee will make it more likely for you to secure a good job in tech after graduation. Attending a bootcamp that features a job guarantee of the types discussed in this article is the closest you’ll get to a foolproof way into the tech industry.
Coding bootcamps with job guarantees increase your confidence when it comes to investing your time and money in a coding education. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing that your chances of landing a job are very high and that, if things don’t go as expected, you won’t suffer a financial hit. Armed with the knowledge we provided in this article, it is now time for you to get started on your research for the right bootcamp!
Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantee FAQs
The average salary of a coding bootcamp graduate is over $70,000. However, this figure can vary widely depending on the school. For example, graduates of Codesmith’s immersive full stack web development program averaged incomes of $130,000 just six months after graduation, according to CIRR reports for the second half of 2021. On the other hand, those from The Tech Academy’s software developer bootcamp brought home $57,000 a year.
Employers do like coding bootcamp graduates because they are equipped with the skills needed to excel in their jobs. According to a study by Indeed, 80 percent of US companies have hired a bootcamp graduate. The majority of HR managers surveyed said they would hire a bootcamp graduate again.
No, not all coding bootcamps offer job placement guarantees. However, prospective students can chat with advisors and representatives from potential schools to see what their bootcamp graduates’ job placement rates are. Most coding bootcamps boast placement rates of over 70 percent, even without job guarantees.
No, FAFSA does not cover coding bootcamps, not even coding bootcamps offered by universities. However, many coding bootcamps, such as Flatiron School and BloomTech (formerly known as Lambda School) do offer scholarships and coding bootcamp stipends for prospective students. Many bootcamps offer specific scholarships for women, veterans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people. There are also scholarships open for anyone to apply to.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
This is a good idea for coders who are keen to get a job and to gain more knowledge and develop their skills.