Guide to the Best Coding Bootcamps with Job Guarantees

For those looking for a future-proof technical education that helps you land a full-time job in the tech industry, a coding bootcamp that offers a job guarantee might be for you. This article lists some of the best coding bootcamp job guarantee options and is designed to help you find the right training to help you get started with your career in tech.

What Is a Coding Bootcamp?

A coding bootcamp is a short-term alternative education to a college degree. It provides training in industry-relevant skills and real-world projects to help you build a career in tech. This educational pathway helps you become ready for several entry-level careers in the tech industry, such as software developer, UX/UI designer, data analyst, or network administrator. 

Depending on your learning preference, you can attend in-person or online coding bootcamps. Along with immersive programs and extensive skills, bootcamp curricula typically include job placement services for every bootcamp student to help you impress your potential employers and land a lucrative tech role. 

Some of the offered career services include career coaching, resume critique, interview prep, employer networking opportunities, and portfolio development assistance. With this help, you will be able to secure a job quickly after graduation. Online schools and cheap bootcamps also offer career services remotely.

What Is a Job Guarantee? 

A job guarantee is a financial agreement between an educational institution and its students that offers a full or partial tuition refund if the graduate cannot get a job within a specified time period. Institutions offer this tuition reimbursement guarantee to instill confidence amongst prospective students regarding their career success and protect them from unemployment. 

How Do Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantees Work?

Coding bootcamp job guarantees work by agreeing to full or partial tuition refund for bootcamp grads that fail to secure employment with a certain salary threshold within a few months of graduation. The terms and conditions differ, but typically, coding bootcamps offer a full refund to students who cannot land a job within six months. 

Some coding bootcamps also offer income share agreement (ISA) loans and deferred tuition programs as part of their job placement services. The ISA loans allow students to get an education for free or for a minimal amount and pay the loan back once they earn an average starting salary that meets the bootcamp threshold. 

Flatiron School, Fullstack Academy, App Academy, and Thinkful offer ISA loan financing plans. Deferred tuition programs also allow bootcamp grads to pay back some of their tuition payment after securing a full-time job. App Academy, Lambda School, Thinkful, Nashville Software School, and Springboard are some of the bootcamps that offer deferred tuition programs. 

Benefits of a Job Guarantee

• Affordable education. Job guarantee agreements offered by coding bootcamps provide students with a risk-free education against unemployment. This agreement generates confidence amongst prospective students in the bootcamp program and its career services.
• In-depth career services. By providing a job guarantee, coding bootcamps promise their students a job after graduation. To achieve that, bootcamp providers offer extensive career placement services including career advice, job search assistance, resume critique, employer networking opportunities, and interview prep. 
• Thorough bootcamp curriculum. Bootcamps with job guarantees offer an in-depth and in-demand curriculum that guarantees students jobs after graduation. 
• High job placement rate. Coding bootcamps that offer job guarantees have a high job placement rate and have a less chance of unemployment. Top bootcamps report job placement rates between 70 to 90 percent. Bootcamp students have gone on to hold job titles as front end developers, UX/UI designers, data scientists, and software engineers. 

Online Coding Bootcamps that Offer Job Guarantees

Many top online coding bootcamps offer job guarantees. These online bootcamps are ideal for those who learn best from their home and want an unemployment-proof coding bootcamp education. When browsing bootcamps, try to find options that match your tech career aspirations and have good school rankings.

Bootcamp	Subject	Cost
CareerFoundry	UX Design, UI Design, Web Development, Data Analytics	$690 to $6,900
Designlab	UX/UI Design	$399 to $6,249
QuickStart Texas A&M University Bootcamp	Cyber Security, Web Development, Data Science and Analytics, Cloud Computing	$6,900
Springboard	Data Science, Data Science Plus, Data Engineering, UX Design, UI/UX Design, Machine Learning Engineering, Cyber Security, Software Engineering, Data Analytics	$349 to $11,900
Thinkful	Software Engineering, Data Science, Data Analytics, UX/UI Design, Digital Marketing, Technical Project Management	$4,900 to $16,000

CareerFoundry

CareerFoundry offers introductory and advanced courses in UX design, web development, UI design, data analytics, and front end development. The bootcamp curriculum includes portfolio development, career services, and in-demand tech skills. The school reports that 96 percent of its eligible graduates get a job within 180 days of graduation. 

Some of CareerFoundry’s graduates work at top companies including Amazon, Google, PayPal, Facebook, and Netflix. According to PayScale, the average salary at Netflix is $107,000 per year, which means you’ll be comfortable once you graduate from CareerFoundry’s immersive bootcamps.

CareerFoundry Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• Graduates will get a full tuition refund if they fail to secure an in-field job within six months of graduation.
• CareerFoundry’s satisfaction guarantee requires students to be 18 years or older, complete the job preparation course within a month of graduation, and have a valid work permit for the location. 
• Students must create profiles on the approved job boards and publish portfolios on the approved websites. 
• Students must apply to a minimum of five in-field jobs in the approved metropolitan areas and complete an exit interview with CareerFoundry career specialists in the job search period. 
• Job guarantee tuition refund does not reimburse interest on loans. 

Designlab

Designlab is an online bootcamp that offers UX and UI design courses. You can enroll in the school’s short-term beginners courses or UX academy advanced courses to start your career or become a UI/UX designer in a short time frame after graduation. You can also access funding for tuition and networking options in this field of study.

The school’s graduates work at sought-after companies including Accenture, PayPal, IBM, Adidas, Facebook, and Microsoft. According to Designlab outcomes, 710 UX Academy graduates have landed UX/UI design jobs since 2015. For those looking for an affordable design education, looking into this school’s short-term courses is worth it.  

Designlab Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• Designlab’s tuition reimbursement policy applies to graduates who fail to secure a qualifying job within six months of graduating from the school’s UX Academy program. 
• Qualifying offers apply to paid jobs with 20 or more hours per week lasting for four weeks or more, and students have to report all paid or unpaid job offers to the school. 
• Students must send the tuition reimbursement request to the school within nine months of working with career services.
• Students must be at least 21 years old, be eligible to work in the approved cities, and live within 90 minutes of the approved cities.
• Students must complete all UX Academy assignments, must not fall behind for more than 40 hours of the course schedule, and complete phases one and two of the formal review process. 
• After graduation, students must submit their final portfolio within four weeks of program completion and pass portfolio reviews within eight weeks of portfolio submission. 
• Students must reply to career services within two business days and attend all weekly sessions to maintain an active career services status.

QuickStart Texas A&M University Bootcamp

Quickstart Texas A&M University Bootcamp offers online tech bootcamps and certifications. It offers certifications in ITIL 4 foundations, PMP, and Agile Scrum Master. The bootcamp’s programs include cyber security, web development, data science, and cloud computing. 

Graduates from programs at Texas A&M University have secured jobs at many Fortune 500 companies, including Visa, IBM, Google, Amazon, and HP. PayScale reports that the average salary for software developers in Texas, specifically Austin, is $77,012, which means studying at this institution can help you earn a decent salary.

QuickStart Texas A&M University Bootcamp Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• Quickstart’s job guarantee offers a tuition refund if a bootcamp graduate fails to secure a job within one year of graduation. 
• Students must be 21 years or older, be permanent residents or citizens of the United States, pass employer background checks, and complete the bootcamp program within seven months.
• Students must be a resident or live within a one-hour commute distance of the approved cities.
• Students must have a bachelor’s degree to qualify for a job guarantee. 
• Qualifying positions apply to 32 hours or more of in-field full-time jobs and a permanent or long and medium-term position of three to six months. 
• Students must apply to a minimum of seven in-field jobs per week post-graduation and attend four networking events each month.
• Students must stay in touch with the bootcamp’s career services team and reply to their emails within one business day. 

Springboard

Springboard is an online bootcamp that offers career track programs in data analytics, data science, machine learning engineering, data engineering, cyber security, software engineering, and UX/UI design. The school has provided tech training to over 5,000 students and reports an average salary increase of $26,000 for its UX design and data science bootcamp students. 

The school’s tech curriculum and career services can help you become a data scientist, UX designer, or software engineer. Springboard bootcamp grads work at Uber, Google, SalesForce, Facebook, and IBM. The school is best suited for college graduates looking to enhance their skillset, as it offers advanced career track programs.

Springboard Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• The Springboard job guarantee agreement applies to the bootcamp’s career track programs.
• Students need to be 18 years or older and have a bachelor’s degree related to the career track before being accepted into the program. 
• Students must pass Springboard’s English test, go through background checks, and be eligible to work in the United States or Canada.
• Qualifying full-time job conditions apply to 30 or more hours of work per week or a working relationship of three months. 
• Qualifying offers for students paying via Ascent’s deferred tuition apply to jobs that offer $4,167 per month or $50,000 per year.
• The job guarantee period will typically last for six months after graduation but can extend to twelve months with mutual agreement.
• The Springboard job guarantee applies to a select few metropolitan areas including Austin, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco Bay Area, and Kansas City.
• Students must complete the program within six months and pass the career development projects. 
• Students must apply for four qualifying positions in the accepted metropolitan area every week, conduct two informational interviews every month, and be in touch with Springboard’s career coach post-graduation. 

Thinkful

Thinkful is an online bootcamp that offers courses in data analytics, software engineering, data science, UX/UI design, digital marketing, and technical project management. The school offers several financing plans to its students including monthly installments, upfront payments, and deferred tuition plans.

Thinkful also offers ample career services including unlimited interview practices, resume critique, career coaching, and job search assistance. Graduates work at companies such as Twitter, NetFortis, and AutoGravity.

Thinkful Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• Thinkful provides a full tuition refund to graduates who fail to get a qualifying position within 180 days of graduation.
• Qualifying positions apply to in-field jobs that offer 30 hours per week with a professional engagement of three months or more. 
• Qualifying thresholds apply to salaries of $3,333.33 or more per month.
• Thinkful’s tuition refund program applies to all bootcamps offered by Thinkful.
• Post-graduation terms require students to apply to 10 in-field jobs in the approved cities every week, attend five networking events, and meet with Thinkful career coaches every week.

In-Person Coding Bootcamps that Offer Job Guarantees

For those interested in attending in-person coding bootcamps that offer job guarantees, read below to find the best bootcamp options. Although there aren’t as many in-person bootcamp options, these two are still worth looking into if you want a hands-on experience.

Bootcamp	Subject	Cost
Codeup	Systems Engineering, Cyber Cloud, Web Development, Data Science	$27,500 to $29,500
Kenzie Academy	Software Engineering, UX Design	$10,900 to $20,000

Codeup

Codeup offers in-person and online programs in systems engineering, cyber cloud, web development, and data science. The school has employer partnerships with Oracle, Accenture, WP Engine, CGI, and SearchSpring. It reports that over 2,000 graduates have landed lucrative tech positions.

Codeup has in-person locations in Auston, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. If you want to get a coding job in Texas, this is one of the best programs to apply for. Otherwise, you can study online and work anywhere in the world, including San Francisco and New York.

Codeup Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• Students receive a full tuition refund if they cannot get an in-field job within six months of graduation. 
• Students must be a citizen of the United States and 18 years or older. 
• Students must complete the program with less than three unexcused absences and earn a grade of 70 percent or higher. 
• Students must apply to five jobs per week, attend five GitHub commits every week, and meet with Codeup’s placement team once every week.

Kenzie Academy

Kenzie Academy offers software engineering and UX design programs that will help you penetrate the software development, product design, and full stack development careers. Kenzie Academy graduates work at top companies including Shopify, Accenture, JP Morgan, and SalesForce.

Kenzie Academy is one of the best bootcamps in the country, and for good reason. It has positive reviews across the board. This bootcamp has online programs and in-person programs in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to PayScale, the average salary for software engineers in Indianapolis is $73,637.

Kenzie Academy Job Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• The Kenzie Tuition Refund Guarantee is currently only available for the 2021 September software engineering cohort.
• Students who fail to secure a qualifying position role within 180 days of graduation will receive a full tuition refund. 
• Students must pass all background checks, be US citizens, and opt for a monthly installment or loan financing plan. Income share agreement loans are not eligible for the Kenzie Job Guarantee.
• Qualifying positions apply to jobs that offer 30 or more hours per week and an annual salary of $40,000.
• The school’s career services terms require students to apply for seven in-field jobs in the approved cities per week, attend five networking events per month, and reply to career coaches within one business day. 

Is a Coding Bootcamp With a Job Guarantee Worth It?

Yes, a coding bootcamp with a job guarantee is worth it for everyone looking for a future-proof and risk-free tech education. A job guarantee allows you to embark on your bootcamp education with confidence and the support of tried and tested career placement services. It allows you to pursue a stress-free career in tech and land a lucrative tech position.

Coding Bootcamp Job Guarantee FAQ