Raz Karmi

Lambda School - A full Computer Science education - free until you get a job

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Taha ahmed khan
Nice concept, how do you guys make sure that student pays you the fee if he gets a job, how do you people get to know that the student got a job or not, how does that work
Austen Allred
@tahaqadri We have you file something with the IRS that basically copies us on your taxes. We use that to verify everything else.
Andy C
@tahaqadri @austenallred So I'm assuming this is open to US students only, no Canadians?
Austen Allred
@tahaqadri @andy9775 Will be open to Canadians in a couple months
Akash
Any plans on going worldwide? @austenallred
Matt Johnston
@austenallred do you know which session will be the first to accept Canadians for the income based repayment program?
Austen Allred
Hey everyone, thanks for checking out Lambda School! We just announced yesterday that we are in the current batch of Y Combinator. Happy to answer any questions.
Dan Ruswick ☕️
This seems substantially more expensive than other bootcamps I've seen. It is longer, which could indicate more depth/a better curriculum, but plenty of short bootcamps still have great outcomes so it's unclear is a longer program is going to improve your employability. A lot of bootcamps cost half as much, take half as long and still have very good hiring outcomes. As far as the pricing structure, seems like a neat idea if you aren't expecting to make much, but it's a total ripoff if you intend to make anything above maybe 80k-90k. In fact it would almost certainly be cheaper to pay for it up front on credit cards and just eat the interest...
Austen Allred
@danruswick we think a lot of bootcamps really stunt your growth long term by missing principles that will make you have more success later in your career. In fact one of the largest cohorts applying for Lambda School are bootcamp grads. Not to mention the fact that if you drop 15k on a bootcamp and it doesn't work out you're pretty screwed. The total amount you could owe is capped at $30k, so at the maximum we're like 150% the cost of Hack Reactor, with instructors from Ivy leagues, and a deeper curriculum, and an employment guarantee.
Kelly Kuhn-Wallace
@danruswick Made inquiries. None of the instruction is pre-recorded video--it's 100% live. That's significant v. most bootcamps.
Ghost Kitty
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Austen Allred
@jakewesorick It's capped at $30,000, so that's the max you could ever pay. You can pay $20,000 up-front, or it usually comes to between those two numbers. The nice thing is with the guarantee it's not a huge deal; you pay us off in two years, but you only pay us what you can afford based on your new (ideally huge) salary). Instructors from Stanford, Berkeley, etc. are expensive, but now anyone can afford that risk-free.
Katrina Bell
@jakewesorick @austenallred $30,000 is pricey for an online course no? As a Canadian this fee seems huge.
Austen Allred
@jakewesorick @katrina_bell It's online, but it's live instruction in small classes from expensive instructors. So the "online" doesn't really move the needle much. Also $30,000 is the absolute maximum you could pay.
Dre Durr💡
I love the concept very dope 🚬
Pete
Its a great idea - but in the era of digital nomads, what's to stop someone leaving US afterwards?
Austen Allred
@petecodes Nothing. You'll still have to pay us when you file taxes, or we can report it to credit bureaus. We're assuming most young people don't want to screw up their credit score as their first big step in life ;)
cacarr
@petecodes @austenallred So you only accept young people?
Austen Allred
@petecodes @cacarr No, but most of our students are young
Randall Bennett
Any plans to do part-time programs for people who might just want a refresher?
Austen Allred
@randallb Yeah, we're working on that. Honestly we're swamped with demand for the full-time course right now, and we need to figure out the details, but absolutely
Joshua Dance
Looks awesome. And I love that students pay if it actually works for them. When it is easy to pay because they have a new job.
Austen Allred
@joshdance Yeah, we actually think that a structure that aligns the incentives of the students with that of the school is really important. We see that manifesting itself in a lot of really subtle ways that you wouldn't have guessed.
cacarr
@joshdance Scroll down here and check out the current class: https://lambdaschool.com/compute... Second employee at a start-up that sold for tens of millions, an editor at Pixar, a former Google intern with an M.S. in computer science (oh , and a former pro poker player -- you know, just regular people ... pfft). I can see this being exciting to potential investors, but I think some folks are getting the wrong impression as to what this project is about. It will be of help to a tiny number of cherry-picked people would no doubt do just fine without it. It ain't some sort of disruptive new training paradigm that's going to be doing a bunch of societal good.
Austen Allred
@joshdance @cacarr Those are 4 of the 50 current students. A lot of them don't have options like those students do.
Charity Amis
What if a student gives up early?
Austen Allred
@charity_amis They have a drop-out period in which they wouldn't owe us anything. After that period (one month) they will owe a pro-rated income share, depending on how long they attend, if they get a software engineering job.
Jason Ephraim
Congratulations guys - happy to see some more hybrid/innovative educational programs coming out. Looking at the CS page and it's "current students" it seems like a mix of experience levels. How do you manage classes with someone like Latoyya Smith together with Drew Mueller?
Austen Allred
@growwithjason We have pre-course work that anyone coming in is required to complete, but even someone with a CS degree is usually challenged by the second week or so. We move quickly and it's intense.
Arvind KrishnaMurthy
@austenallred I a guy who predominantly hires Techies and would love to switch over to the Tech side and am based out of India . Am I eligible???
Stefan Stokic
Super excited for Lambda school to be on Product Hunt, think many people will gets lots of value out of it 🙏
Austen Allred
@stefanstok Thanks Stefan! See you at office hours today haha
Daniel Williams
This is freaking awesome and inspiring. Great idea. I hope this helps many.
cacarr
@xcadaverx "I hope it helps many." They seem to be proud of the fact that it's not for "many." From their site: "Lambda University acceptance rates are smaller than even the most competitive ivy league schools."
Austen Allred
@xcadaverx @cacarr We're working on scaling, but that's how it stands right now
Rama Veeraragoo
Like it! A few questions. How many hours per week would a student typically spend on studying during the 6 months? What level of proficiency does a student reach after the 6-month program? Part-time program coming soon?
Austen Allred
@esqrama Still on the fence about part-time, especially the free-up-front version, because it would be at least a year long, and that's a lot of risk for us to take. You'll be a fully capable software engineer after 6 months with a solid understanding of CS fundamentals. And you're required to be in class 9 am to 6 pm Pacific, though most spends nights and weekends as well.
Mike Way
Has a lot of promise. Mixed with YC, should prove long-lasting project. Much success!!
max mackey
really excited about Lambda, Austen! I'd def be interested in a part-time program as well. Maybe there is a way for part-time students to pay monthly so you're not taking on so much risk?
Austen Allred
@maxmackey Yeah, I think that's what it would have to be. Out of curiosity, how much would you pay?
max mackey
I would pay the $20k upfront option broken into monthly payments or the $10k broken into monthly + 17%. For me it's less about the cost and more about being able to do the course part-time while staying employed full-time. Do you think someone could get hired with this part-time approach?
Austen Allred
@maxmackey absolutelu, though our full curriculum would take over a year part time
Bradley Davis
AS usual from Austen, this is amazing. Congrats guys!
Austen Allred
@bradcarldavis You're too kind :)
Allan Tito
Great educational concept - A very strategic approach to teaching coding. Much success @LambdaSchool!
Yousif Astarabadi
Super excited about you guys! Love the concept and much needed
Scott Lorimor
Excited to see where this goes. Ben and Ryan are fantastic instructors!
Sneha Jain

For people who are trying to switch their work to different stream, part time learning will be helpful

Pros:

Takes fees only after getting job

Cons:

Part time education as well for those who are looking for job change