The cost of a college education remains stubbornly high, running between $37,600 – $150,400 on average in the U.S. Even less expensive bootcamps carry a heavy price tag, on average over $14,000 and often even claim part of your future salary. These models place an undue burden on individuals unable to pay high fees, preventing equity in education and tech jobs alike. LaunchCode will never charge to take our courses or get a job through our apprenticeship program. Ever.
Most education institutions and businesses make a profit whether you walk away with a good education and job prospects or not. LaunchCode only earns revenue from an employer if we've trained and prepared you well enough that you land an apprenticeship or job through our program. And employers only want to keep hiring from us as long as they're so pleased with our apprentices that they convert them to permanent employees at the end. If we fail to get you through these challenging courses and into an apprenticeship, you still don't owe us anything, and we don't earn anything.
LaunchCode's unique model relies on three sources: donations from community members, public and private grants to support education and job preparedness, and the revenue we earn from employers after paying wages and benefits to our apprentices. Because we're a nonprofit organization, all the money goes to support the next cohort of classes and apprenticeship jobs, and the cycle sustains itself.
"The apprenticeship model helps pay for the cost of a student’s courses, making LaunchCode free—an important factor to increase student diversity. [...] This gives students the opportunity to work during the day, which can be especially important for students supporting themselves and their families."Read more in the independent report
“To go to LaunchCode and get a free education… it’s a great opportunity, unlike anything else around here. It’s people of all ages, too. It’s not all right out of college people. It is also older people that are wanting to make that career change. It’s just about investing in the tech world. What LaunchCode is doing is so profound… of course we want to be involved in that!”- Julie OlivarriDirector, Employee Experience and Community Engagement