With the recent surge in the IT industry, companies are looking for tech-related employees even more. Non-Tech Employees are looking for a shift to Tech professions, but colleges require candidates to take up 4 Year courses in Computer Science. To bridge the gap between the IT Industry and Non-Tech grads’ demands, Coding Bootcamps came into existence. Let’s jump into the Lambda School Review.
After carefully analyzing the current situation, we have picked Lambda School for today’s review. Founded by Austen Allred in April 2017, Lambda School is one of the few code schools that lets you educate yourself with coding without spending a dime. Let us see what the school has to offer.
Lambda School: Is it Worth My Time?
In Short, Both Yes and No. You heard that right. Not only are we unbiased, but we also want to let you know about the pros and cons of Lambda School. Here is what we feel:
With the filtration process being one of the crucial factors, getting through Lambda School’s Initial Test is not easy, says an alumnus from Lambda School. They have an initial prep phase before taking up the tough eligibility test. Through this stringent way, Lambda might filter the best candidates, but it cuts down people’s chance of changing their careers from other backgrounds.
Lambda School conducts 8 AM to 5 PM classes for their students. It certainly has its pros when it comes to full-timers taking up the 9-hour classes. But applicants who have a full-time job might find it difficult to attend classes for 9 hours. They do have an 18-month part-time course conducted for 2-3 hours daily for fixed hours. Candidates who are still ready to spend much time on the system can go for it.
A highly-skilled faculty is crucial for the success of any educational institution. Lambda School’s website claims to have expert faculty. But that is far from reality. Lambda School hires its alumni as “Project Managers,” and they take care of students’ queries. There is no evidence for Lambda’s alumni’s tutoring quality, but “Are they experts?” is the question in place.
Lambda School Cost & Income Share Agreement
The cost of Lambda School’s Course is $30,000. Students can either pay the entire fee upfront or opt for an ISA. An Income Share Agreement depends on the income a student receives after he/she gets placed in a company under a qualified job. As per Lambda’s ISA plan, a student has to earn a minimum of $50,000 per year to be eligible to start paying back. The student will pay anywhere between $0 to $30,000 in 24 months as per the agreement. Once the student reaches the payment cap of $30,000 or completes 24 months of repayment, the ISA terminates automatically.
Lambda School ISA
If a student is looking to take up the boot camp at Lambda School, they provide Data Science and Web Development courses with a $0 Upfront fee based on ISA. You don’t pay them back until you land a job that pays you higher than $50K per annum. After that, you pay them 17% of your monthly salary for 24 months, with $30,000 being the maximum payment limit.
Lambda School Locations
Lambda School mentions that it has its branch in Silicon Valley, California. However, all of their classes take place entirely online. They do have local meetups and gatherings, but students have the liberty to take their courses from anywhere. Lambda School takes cohort sessions with a minimum of 40-60 students attending each cohort. Though these cohorts may lack individual attention for students, they might produce classroom experience for many.
Lambda School Reviews
There are a bunch of positive reviews on various platforms such as Course Report, Switchup, and so on.
Course Report has an average of 4.64 out of 5 stars (82 reviews). Many reviewers mutually agree upon the course is challenging in the initial stages and that they have picked up their pace after a few months into the study.
On SwitchUp’s website, Lambda School has got an average of 4.44 out of 5 stars with a total of 168 reviews. Though the school is highly rated, there are many mixed reviews with many complaining about the school.
Many studies claim that Lambda has trapped them with false advertising and has to self-assess themselves as they do not assist with assessments. Some even say that previous students forcefully fill the tutors’ roles and never provide enough help to build existing students’ skills.
In Reddit, a public platform, Lambda faces massive backlashes from graduated and dropped out students. Read Lambda School’s Reddit reviews here.
Lambda School’s Success Rate: Graduation and Job Placement Rates
Job placements are one of the most significant and enticing features of a programming school. It helps you to get a good-paying job and head starts in your career. It provides the student with a sense of achievement and a morale boost. Let’s find out what Lambda School has in store.
The full-stack web development program of Lambda School saw a 69% graduation rate in H1 2019, while the data science program saw a 79% graduation rate. While comparing the graduation rates of full-time and part-time, 73% of full-time students graduated while only 52% of the part-timers graduated.
Though the part-time graduation rates are lesser than its counterpart, there are multiple reasons for it being lesser. For instance, part-time students have more commitments, such as children, working full-time compared to full-time students.
Lambda School Graduation Rates
The full-stack web development program of Lambda School saw a 69% graduation rate in H1 2019, while the data science program saw a 79% graduation rate. While comparing the graduation rates of full-time and part-time, 73% of full-time students graduated while only 52% of the part-timers graduated.
Though the part-time graduation rates are lesser than its counterpart, there are multiple reasons for it being lesser. For instance, part-time students have more commitments, such as children, working full-time compared to full-time students.
Lambda School Job Placement Rates
Among those who graduated from Lambda School’s full-stack web development course in the second half of 2019, 73% could find a software engineer job. The data science program saw an even higher job placement rate at 79%.
Full-time students were able to get a job 74% of the time, and part-time students 72%, which suggests that whether a student studies full-time or part-time, it will have almost no impact on his/her ability to get hired after graduating!
Lambda School’s website claims that it has placed 284 candidates in the year 2019. Out of the 313 graduates, 29 candidates were unreachable for the verification of employment status. So, that makes the total number of placed candidates 284 out of 448 enrolled students.
Check out the Best Coding Bootcamp in 2021.
Lambda School Curriculum
After conducting profound research, we have gathered appropriate information on the curriculum of Lambda School. The coding school has two different courses, namely, Web Development and Data Science.
Under Web Development, students will be taught JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Node, React, Python, Redux, and SQL. The curriculum is arranged in portions to be imparted by tutors every four weeks to students.
In the first week, students attend an orientation. Common topics discussed would be Remote Working, Class Structure & Expectations, Required Technology, and Support. From week 1-4, students are taught Web Foundations with issues such as HTML, CSS, Git, JavaScript, and UI Principles.
In weeks 5-8, Students will be tutored on Web Application Development with the following programming languages such as React, Redux, React Router, and HTTP/Ajax. In weeks 9-12, tutors teach Advanced Web Development, Advanced React, State Management, and Web Applications. In the last four weeks, students learn Back End Development.
Similarly, Under Data Science Course, students will be taught Python, SQL, Data Visualization, Machine Learning, Linear Algebra, Databases, Statistics & Modeling, and Natural Language Processing. The curriculum is arranged in portions to be imparted by tutors every four weeks to students. The Data Science Program is 24 weeks long.
In the first week, students are given an orientation. Common topics discussed would be Remote Working, Class Structure & Expectations, Required Technology, and Support. From week 1-4, students are taught Statistics Fundamentals. In weeks 5-8, Students will receive lessons on Predictive Modeling, Linear Models, Model Comparison, and Applied Modeling.
In weeks 9-12, Data Engineering, Software Engineering, SQL and Databases, Productization, and Cloud are being taught to students. On weeks 17 to 20, students work on Computer Science, Intro to Python and OOP, Algorithms, Data Structures, Graphs, Hash Tables, and Coding Interview Tips. In the last four weeks, tutors assist students with Job Search Support.
Lambda School Student Application Process
Lambda School’s application starts with registering for an account, filling out their application form online, completing their entrance test, and signing documents related to enrollment. Students will also have to choose between two courses: Software Engineering with a focus on web development or Data Science.
At the end of the application, the candidate will have to select a start date and finalize their application submission.
But when it comes to admitting students, Lambda School has a few guidelines that the student should follow to complete the program successfully.
Here is a small snip of their requirements on their website.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Lambda School
Pros of Lambda School
Some of the benefits of joining Lambda School include access to a proven, structured curriculum so that students can learn everything in one place, and a live learning environment where they can interact and learn with their classmates via Slack channel, give and receive code reviews as they learn new material, and ask questions to their professors. These are some of the benefits that one wouldn’t enjoy in a pre-recorded software engineering course or by learning on their own.
- Experienced, knowledgeable instructors
- Proven, organized curriculum
- Live interaction with instructors
- Hands-on learning experience
- Real-world projects
- Full-time and Part-time options
- Job Placement assistance
Cons of Lambda School
Not all education provider or bootcamp is perfect. Lambda School is one of the schools that can make developments to improve its offerings.
- Large class sizes
- Long time commitment
- Expensive – $30,000
Final Note
As we always say, We do not endorse or support any coding school. Our reviews are unbiased and honest opinions about that organization based upon the information gathered from industry-related resources.
Lambda School has pioneered its way through the coding bootcamp scenario with its ISA Plans. They are facing both positive and negative reviews from the public and press. Though Lambda provides good quality tutoring, we highly recommend applicants to do thorough research before enrolling in Lambda School’s bootcamp.