Lambda School is an American startup that offers a groundbreaking seven-month online coding course. What sets Lambda School apart is that participants do not pay anything upfront. They only start paying a share of their salary (17% for two years) once they secure a job in the field. If a candidate in the United States does not earn a salary of at least $50,000 per year, they do not have to pay anything.
This unique payment model significantly reduces the barrier to entry and shares the risk with the student. It’s no wonder that Lambda School receives over 100,000 applications annually. The innovative school has prestigious investors such as Google Ventures and Y Combinator backing it, and it has already graduated around two thousand students.
According to available statistics, 86% of Lambda School graduates find jobs with corresponding salaries within six months. Earlier this year, Lambda started offering classes in European time zones (as it is an online course), and one of the successful graduates from the first cohort is Slovak student Ivana Hučková. We had the opportunity to speak with her to learn more about her experience with Lambda School.
Ivana Hučková, a graduate of Lambda School, shared her journey into programming. After studying management at a university in Bratislava, she worked as a technical recruiter at a company with ties to programming. Her interest in web development grew as she took courses on platforms like Udemy. Eventually, she decided to pursue a career as a developer.
When considering her options for learning programming, Ivana explored various bootcamps in Europe. She found that many offered significant discounts for women, but she was specifically looking for a course in JavaScript, which led her to Lambda School.
One of the key factors that attracted Ivana to Lambda School was the program’s curriculum developed by industry professionals in San Francisco, the hub of technology. The school’s transparency and the public documentation of students‘ progress, such as their work on GitHub, also played a significant role in her decision.
The financing model of Lambda School was another crucial aspect for Ivana. The idea of paying a substantial upfront fee for a course was daunting, but Lambda’s income-sharing agreement made it more accessible. Graduates only pay back a percentage of their salary if they secure a job with a minimum salary threshold, making it a more feasible option for many aspiring developers.
Joining Lambda School was not a complicated process for Ivana. She applied, underwent a selection process, and started the program in January 2019. The school’s personalized approach, with daily code challenges, live lessons, and coding time, kept her engaged and focused on mastering the curriculum.
While the seven-month intensive program was demanding, Ivana found support from her classmates and instructors. The diverse group of students, including individuals from various backgrounds and professions, created a dynamic learning environment.
After completing the program, Ivana embarked on the job search process. Lambda School does not guarantee job placement but provides support through career coaches and resume workshops. Ivana leveraged her network and eventually landed a position at a Swedish startup called Grafana, where she currently works as a developer.
Looking back on her Lambda School experience, Ivana emphasized the importance of pacing oneself and understanding that learning to code is a marathon, not a sprint. She also highlighted the value of prior preparation in CSS and JavaScript, which gave her a head start in the program.
In conclusion, Lambda School’s innovative approach to coding education, coupled with its income-sharing model, has opened up new opportunities for individuals like Ivana to pursue a career in tech. As the landscape of education evolves, Lambda School’s success in bridging the gap between learning and employment may pave the way for similar models to disrupt traditional higher education systems.