Shawn Student • Front-End Javascript Developer Immersive • St. Louis
Jul 09, 2021
Now that it had been more than a year with no full-time employment as a developer, I will share my experience during my time with Claim Academy. The first red flag to start with was when I was filling out the documentation for financing. At the time of my application, they advertised their "pay after you get the job" only for them to pressure you into paying the school in full by their Climb Credit loan. Looking back at it, I should have never taken the loan as I am paying $400 a month a...
Now that it had been more than a year with no full-time employment as a developer, I will share my experience during my time with Claim Academy. The first red flag to start with was when I was filling out the documentation for financing. At the time of my application, they advertised their "pay after you get the job" only for them to pressure you into paying the school in full by their Climb Credit loan. Looking back at it, I should have never taken the loan as I am paying $400 a month and living paycheck to paycheck with the promise and hopes of receiving a software engineer job. I was also promised a scholarship in which I never received or had any documentation of receiving the scholarship.
As far as studying there, We had a fantastic instructor in the JavaScript program. Although he may not be teaching at Claim anymore, he made the course equally challenging and exciting. The biggest problem I had with the course as I was part of the first Full-stack JavaScript students at Claim which made the course structure challenging as far as the amount of time needed for each subject. Our JavaScript class could have greatly benefitted from more mentors/teacher assistants. We had a mentor in the program, but he did not join us until the middle of the program. We could also benefit from more time on our final capstone project as the project was very important to our future when we present to employers. I felt like I did not get adequate time to work on the capstone project as I have gone to build higher-quality projects immediately after graduation to replace the capstone project on my resume. One thing I noticed was anyone that who wanted to unenroll from Claim was pressured into staying, so they wouldn't have to refund a certain amount of their tuition according to their refund policy. Another issue was the class schedule made it nearly impossible to keep a full-time job. Even if you were part-time, they would talk you into studying full time in the middle of the program.
When they handed us our transcript after graduation, I noticed they added subjects to our transcript that we "learned" even though we have never been taught on those subjects. Examples were Transcript, Firebase, etc. They also claimed that their program is worth college credit, however, the validity of that is currently in review.
The worst part about the program was after I graduated from the program. They claimed the employers that we presented our final project to would contact us however when I followed up with a lot of the employers that were present during the presentation, they replied that I did not have enough experience that they need. When we had our original Engagement Manager, he worked very hard to follow up with us and made sure that our resume and interview skills were up to par. After he has left, there has been a revolving door of Engagement Managers that we would have very little if any contact to. Although they claimed to "be there for you every step of the way and get you on to interviews with big companies" they have not followed up with any opportunities. You get invited to join an alumni group on the Basecamp app only for them to recommend any job rather it required 5-7 years of experience or relocate to cities outside of Saint Louis. The only jobs I was contacted for were for Java instead of JavaScript.
Back on February 10th, they have reached out to see if I can send them my offer letter that I received for a small 4-month freelance project I completed through a personal connection. I have mentioned I did not receive an official emailed offer as we have agreed to the contract in person. I also used the email to express my concerns with Claim Academy as the only time Claim has followed up in several months was to get details about my contract position. Claim has chosen not to respond to my email and has not contacted me since I express my concerns. The biggest concern I have mentioned to them as I paid a premium tuition rate in hopes of the premium learning experience, support after graduation, and potential opportunities with companies that they have "great relationships" with. I have peers with similar backgrounds that have graduated from other programs that were either free or cheaper and have received full-time employment opportunities.
My advice to anyone considering Claim Academy is to do your research for other programs as there are more affordable options that provide the same or better experience than Claim Academy and would treat their students as students instead of a number. I recommend considering schools such as LaunchCode or Savvy. If you decide to pursue your education with Claim Academy, do not use their financing. Ask them about their "pay after your first job" if they still offer it. Do not make the same mistake as I did thinking you will get your first tech job quickly.
Brian Barlay of Claim Academy
Company Engagement Manager
Jul 09, 2021
Hi Shawn,
First we are happy you landed a contract Job at AnHeuser- Busch, the largest Liqour company in the world. That indeed is good news and a great start. We are sorry it is taking you a longer time than most grads of Claim Academy to land a job. It may be due to the fact that you graduated in the middle of Covid-19, when our country was shot down and there were so many uncertainties at many organizations. Employers are now hiring and the demand for your skills is very high. Please reach out to us for us to help you. We have a proven system of connecting our Alumni to Jobs and we like you to utilize them since we do not have a record of you using them or following our processes.
Our records show the following : Before I mention these things, can you kindly reach out to us for support, interview prep time, coaching etc ? We have invited you to multiple employer spotlights event which we conduct every 2 weeks, to meet hiring managers from various companies, but have no record of your attendance. Since you graduated back in 2020, we have provided to our Alumni and current students 89 Tech Job career fairs with no record of you attending any of them. We suggested to our grads to apply to at least 10 jobs a week, we do not have a record of you engaged in this. Every month, we provide more than 60 jobs in our job boards for entry level positions, can you provide any record of you applying ? We understand you may be working at that time, but we encourage all our Alumni to apply to these great opportunties. A great number of our students are landing jobs, some even multiple offers and sending in their job offer letters. Please let us know how we can continue to assist you.
You stated " The first red flag to start with was when I was filling out the documentation for financing. At the time of my application, they advertised their "pay after you get the job" only for them to pressure you into paying the school in full by their Climb Credit loan " No one at Claim has ever forced anyone to sign a loan to pay for their education. Our records show you did not qualify for our Pay after you get the job program nor did you meet our criteria. You opted in for a school loan program just like anyone else to pay for their training.
You stated " I was also promised a scholarship in which I never received or had any documentation of receiving the scholarship " Our investigation shows that you did get a scholarship which was applied to your tuition enrollment as the non refundable fees.
You stated" As far as studying there, We had a fantastic instructor in the JavaScript program " We appreciate your acknowledgement of our exellent Javascript program and instructor. Claim Academy is one of the top 40 best coding bootcamps in the United States and top 50 in the world. We are dedicated to our students and will continue to work hard for their success.
You stated " Another issue was the class schedule made it nearly impossible to keep a full-time job. Even if you were part-time, they would talk you into studying full time in the middle of the program " In our 12 week full time program which is made up of 9 hours/day of 3 hour blocks of pair programming, mentor lead sessions and instructor and lab. We advised all our STUDENTS NOT TO TAKE ON ANY JOB DURING THIS FULL TIME PROGRAM. It is nearly impossible to keep up with the class work and working at the same time. The full time program is rigorous. If you wanted to work, we advised the student to attend our part time , 20 weeks , 3 hours/day, 3 days a week program. You were in the 12 weeks program and you chose to also keep a job. That will defininately impact your commitment and outcome. This wil affect your capstone project and may be a factor in delaying you getting a job. Especially if you are distracted and do not have enough time dedicated towards your new training and learning.
You stated" When they handed us our transcript after graduation, I noticed they added subjects to our transcript that we "learned" even though we have never been taught on those subjects. Examples were Transcript, Firebase, etc. They also claimed that their program is worth college credit, however, the validity of that is currently in review " Could it be it was taught you were not present since you were also working at the same time, when advised not to do so. In regards to college credits. Claim Academy is approved to operate by the Missouri Department of Higher education, the organization that accredits and manages courses for Universities and Colleges. The amount of equivalent college credit and approval is determined by each college based on their own internal policies and completely out of Claim Academy's hands.
We have multiple ways we help our Alumni to get a Job and we will do anything within our powers to continue to support you. Please reach out to us.