This school won't charge women programmers for tuition until after they land jobs
Now a New York school that teaches amateur coders the skills to land high-paying professional jobs is trying an interesting solution.
Fullstack Academy won't charge tuition at all for its brand new all-women school until after the woman lands a job.
This isn't a wholly original idea. Other bootcamps offer a deferred tuition option for their students, such as App Academy.
Still the focus on women is noteworthy. The new school is called Grace Hopper Academy and was launched at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Coding tech conference going on this week in Houston, Texas.
Fullstack is one of a growing cadre of learn-to-code bootcamp schools that promise to turn you into a pro developer within a few weeks.
Fullstack claims 97% of its graduates land jobs, and of course, help with finding a job is one of the major reasons that people do these sorts of bootcamps. Fullstack, like others, say they help you with that.
There are some things to consider before applying. For instance, the deferred tuition could wind up costing the student more than paying up front.
Grace Hopper Academy is not charging a flat fee. Instead it's taking 22.5% of the woman's first year's salary, paid out over the first 12 months after she starts working.
The woman that lands a $100,000 job will be paying the school $22,500. The woman that lands a $75,000 a year job will be paying $16,875.
Normally this school charges $15,680 for its 21-week full-time program, and discounts tuition by $1,000 for women and veterans.
In addition, Hopper Academy is teaching JavaScript, a popular language that is in high demand. But if it's not the language the woman wants to learn, this program isn't for her.
And, the school is also not accepting beginners. It requires students to have some background in coding.
Regardless of the drawbacks, we applaud this creative approach to encouraging more women to become professional developers. Anything that makes it easier for more people to get into the hot tech industry is a step in the right direction.