What if you can get a top-quality education in tech without having to pay your tuition fee until you land a job? It may sound too good to be true, but that is exactly what CodeBoxx offers.
Climbing the ladder to professional success is usually dependent on your educational accomplishments. However, one hurdle that many people face is the financial burden of obtaining a higher education degree causing them to drop out.
Without a degree, they get to earn only around $21,000 per year—a far cry from the US annual average salary of $47,520. Many people are hoping that, with the advent of alternative and non-traditional learning paths, they will be able to take a step closer to their ideal careers without paying a fortune.
CodeBoxx, a coding bootcamp committed to providing accessible tech education, is among these alternative routes. First established in Canada in 2018, the bootcamp has expanded to the United States. Built on three-time CTO Nicolas Genest’s vision of an even playing field in tech, CodeBoxx champions a diverse tech talent pipeline with high school and college dropouts, BIPOC members, and career-switchers.
We go up close and personal with two CodeBoxx alumni to learn how CodeBoxx provides additional opportunities to upskillers and career changers in need of essential tech skills training.
CodeBoxx champions a Learn Now, Pay Later model that allows students to complete their software developer training and only pay their tuition when they land a job after the bootcamp.
Check out what CodeBoxx has to offer.CodeBoxx’s Learn Now, Pay Later Model
You can get access to immersive training at CodeBoxx and learn from industry experts for $14,000, a sum that is more affordable than getting a college degree. The average annual tuition fee of an American college student is $35,720.
If you can’t pay in one lump sum, you can avail yourself of CodeBoxx’s deferred payment option. In this plan, you are required to pay a $2,000 deposit before the program starts. Upon finishing the Genesis phase, which takes two weeks, you are free to decide whether to continue the program. If you realize that coding is not for you or CodeBoxx doesn’t fit your learning style, you get your deposit back. Think of it as like a money-back guarantee.
On top of the deferred payment plan, CodeBoxx also aids its students by loaning laptops, which can either be a Microsoft Surface or a Macbook Pro laptop.
Many CodeBoxx graduates either work for external companies and employer partners of CodeBoxx or at CodeBoxx Solutions, the business consultancy unit of CodeBoxx. Upon securing a job, the bootcamp charges you 20 percent of your annual gross salary, which you can pay interest-free within six months.
CodeBoxx has helped hundreds of aspiring tech professionals attain a fulfilling career and lead a better life. Among them are Mathieu Dion and Abdul Akibu.
Alumni Reviews: How CodeBoxx Can Be an Affordable Tech Career Launching Pad
At a young age, Mathieu and Abdul worked odd jobs to make ends meet. Mathieu worked part-time at a factory, while Abdul’s long list of jobs included a 10-year stint at McDonald’s, online selling, and becoming an Uber driver. They represent many North American blue collars left to choose between getting by and getting the training they need to upskill.
But, Mathieu and Abdul have another thing in common: the drive to have a better future.
Abdul Akibu
While jumping from one gig to another, Abdul wanted to keep learning. He was highly interested in web design and would study it in his free time. “I would always go to work, come home, and then self-study,” Abdul says, “[Whether it was on] YouTube, Udemy, Coursera, edX, or whatever—I was on it.”
But studying in a silo is not for everyone. Because online courses and free learning resources depend on a person’s drive to keep going, sticking to a learning routine can be difficult. “…You’re on a high at the beginning where you’re consuming content, and then it starts to dip. You start skipping days and weeks until you eventually stop,” Abdul shares.
He had gained a lot of knowledge from his studies, but he needed a structured environment to challenge and hone his abilities. Then, he came across CodeBoxx.
“CodeBoxx focuses on teaching you how to work in the industry. You’re given a set of requirements on Monday, and by Friday, you need to fulfill those. As the weeks go by, the requirements get tougher, building on what you learned from the previous weeks,” Abdul shares.
It is this realistic approach to learning that appealed to Abdul. From interacting with the clients to figuring out solutions, CodeBoxx trains you to be job-ready from Day 1. Moreover, although the $2,000 deposit was a significant investment for Abdul, the deferred payment plan made it easier for him to decide to enroll.
“When I found out that CodeBoxx has a deferred payment plan, it was a no-brainer,” he explains, “I knew that I didn’t have to pay anything upfront, and they will still teach me and make sure that I get a job. If I didn’t get a job, then I wouldn’t have to pay, and I could still keep the knowledge.”
During his time at the bootcamp, Abdul was among the top students in his cohort. And he made sure to use his knowledge to help his cohort-mates, an effort that did not go unnoticed by the CodeBoxx team. After finishing the program, he was invited to coach at the newly opened Tampa Bay campus of CodeBoxx.
“I asked, ‘Will I still be developing while coaching?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, of course, you will develop and work with our clients,’” Abdul shares, “I could do what I wanted to do, which was coding, and I could also coach. It was like having the best of both worlds.”
Mathieu Dion
As for Mathieu, his interest in tech stems from his gaming experience in his younger years. “I’ve been a gamer since I was young. I was also interested in building my computers,” Mathieu shares. “And I have friends [that] I’ve been developing some 2D games with when we were young. So [I] wasn’t really into programming, but it was a start. From that point, I knew I wanted to do something related to computers or IT.”
Mathieu first heard of CodeBoxx from the radio. While it piqued his interest, he was busy with his job at the factory at the time. He shares, “I worked in the factory for about two years and the pay was good, but I knew that that’s not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Add to that, Mathieu couldn’t afford to go back to college and finish a degree. Fate taunted Mathieu once again when he came across a Facebook post about CodeBoxx. He eventually took this as a sign to dive right in and start a career in tech. What cemented his decision was also the availability of a deferred payment plan.
Mathieu further explains, “…The fact that CodeBoxx was like, ‘Okay, you give us a deposit just to confirm that you really want to do this and when we get you a job, then you can pay for your tuition.’ It was a win-win situation.”
His experience at CodeBoxx made his decision worth it. He shares, “In a short period, you need to assimilate the knowledge you gain and build something with it, which was nice to do but [can be] really taxing, mentally. However, all the topics that we were introduced to were interesting, like APIs. Just the fact that we got to talk about blockchain, Ethereum, and smart contracts, it was cool to see that they wanted you to stay one step ahead [by learning new] technologies.”
Abdul and Mathieu found their overall experience with the repayment schedule straightforward and convenient. The monthly payment plan was affordable, leaving them with more than enough money to get by. In fact, they started spreading the word about CodeBoxx to their coworkers.
Mathieu shares that he even invited an Uber driver to the program, “I started talking about CodeBoxx with the driver, and he was an immigrant. So he was new here, and he didn’t know what job to get or which sectors to get into. So I said, ‘You should give it a try.”
Kickstart Your Tech Career at CodeBoxx
Through the bootcamp’s accessible and affordable program, CodeBoxx has propelled countless individuals to the tech industry. It has created more immense possibilities for people like Abdul and Mathieu, who did not have tech backgrounds and led a completely different life.
In the words of Mathieu: “I’m 300 percent happier. Honestly, if I could talk to someone at CodeBoxx—maybe with Nicolas—[I would say to him that] CodeBoxx really changed my life. I used to work an evening shift, and I hated it. I couldn’t see my family. I couldn’t do anything. And now, I work from home on a day shift with pretty decent pay.”
“CodeBoxx stands behind us, and they want us to succeed.”
Don’t let your financial hurdles limit you from breaking into tech. Check out what CodeBoxx has to offer and see their upcoming cohort schedules.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
