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I 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 seem

I 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.

GuiA 9y ago
17% is huge, particularly when you consider it within the context of after tax income. $100k salary is $60k or so after taxes in California; take away $17k + rent and food, and you're getting pretty close to paycheck to paycheck living, particularly if the person has loans from a failed college attempt, medical expenses, etc. They're essentially asking for $30-$60k or so - which is more than in state tuition for a bachelor's degree in many states. The difference is that a BSc is still widely recognized and accepted and will still be in 10 years (despite what many HNers would like to think), unlike this program, which most certainly won't even exist anymore.
- austenallred 9y ago
  Repayment is capped at $30k max, so the most we could possibly take is $30,000.
  - GuiA 9y ago
    Original posting is ambiguous on whether the $30k cap is yearly, or for the whole duration. Thanks for the correction.
- bb611 9y ago
  I lived (well) in San Jose on <$65,000 pre-tax for 4 years, including picking up a degree at nights to the tune of $20K. I agree that it is some financial challenge, but it is nowhere near as dire as "paycheck to paycheck." I agree with your larger point that a bachelor's degree is a better value, especially over the long term. Unfortunately a BS is going to take longer to get, especially in CA, where the education pipeline is overflowing and underfunded (but still very good value for money).
austenallred 9y ago
I think we go a lot deeper than you seem to think - we're not a 100% proxy with a full CS degree, but we're more CS degree than just code bootcamp.
- keithnz 9y ago
  I'd agree that its more, but not much more, still closer to bootcamp than CS degree. unless there's more beyond what you posted here https://github.com/LambdaSchool/LambdaCSA-Syllabus#project12 https://github.com/LambdaSchool/LambdaCSA-Syllabus#project12 it really seems a very quick march through some basic computing concepts and some practical skills using the tech du jour with a goal of getting people to a point they can get info into and out of a data store and present it on a web page and then interview well. Nothing wrong with that and done well can launch people into careers... I really don't know what that's worth but 30k for 6months ish feels a bit off to me. But I think if you then asked your students at the end to give a summary of what computer science is, what are the problems, and the broad dimensions of the subject are they might struggle.... you also use the word engineering, again, I think asking your students to summarize the broad areas of software engineering I think they'd struggle. Or at least what's presented doesn't fill me with confidence. But ask them to summarize web development, I think they'd give a reasonable answer.

GuiA 9y ago

17% is huge, particularly when you consider it within the context of after tax income. $100k salary is $60k or so after taxes in California; take away $17k + rent and food, and you're getting pretty close to paycheck to paycheck living, particularly if the person has loans from a failed college attempt, medical expenses, etc. They're essentially asking for $30-$60k or so - which is more than in state tuition for a bachelor's degree in many states. The difference is that a BSc is still widely recognized and accepted and will still be in 10 years (despite what many HNers would like to think), unlike this program, which most certainly won't even exist anymore.

austenallred 9y ago
Repayment is capped at $30k max, so the most we could possibly take is $30,000.
- GuiA 9y ago
  Original posting is ambiguous on whether the $30k cap is yearly, or for the whole duration. Thanks for the correction.
bb611 9y ago
I lived (well) in San Jose on <$65,000 pre-tax for 4 years, including picking up a degree at nights to the tune of $20K. I agree that it is some financial challenge, but it is nowhere near as dire as "paycheck to paycheck." I agree with your larger point that a bachelor's degree is a better value, especially over the long term. Unfortunately a BS is going to take longer to get, especially in CA, where the education pipeline is overflowing and underfunded (but still very good value for money).

austenallred 9y ago

I think we go a lot deeper than you seem to think - we're not a 100% proxy with a full CS degree, but we're more CS degree than just code bootcamp.

keithnz 9y ago
I'd agree that its more, but not much more, still closer to bootcamp than CS degree. unless there's more beyond what you posted here https://github.com/LambdaSchool/LambdaCSA-Syllabus#project12 https://github.com/LambdaSchool/LambdaCSA-Syllabus#project12 it really seems a very quick march through some basic computing concepts and some practical skills using the tech du jour with a goal of getting people to a point they can get info into and out of a data store and present it on a web page and then interview well. Nothing wrong with that and done well can launch people into careers... I really don't know what that's worth but 30k for 6months ish feels a bit off to me. But I think if you then asked your students at the end to give a summary of what computer science is, what are the problems, and the broad dimensions of the subject are they might struggle.... you also use the word engineering, again, I think asking your students to summarize the broad areas of software engineering I think they'd struggle. Or at least what's presented doesn't fill me with confidence. But ask them to summarize web development, I think they'd give a reasonable answer.