Springboard Bootcamp Review

The 2013-founded Springboard bootcamp has offices in San Francisco and India, but programs run completely online to give you added convenience for advancing your career quickly. The distance learning format lets you train in cybersecurity, data analytics, data science, software engineering, or UX/UI design for 6-9 months.

Mentoring and career services also come with every bootcamp. In fact, mentors and career coaches help throughout your education— and six months after graduation. Springboard bootcamps also offer money-back guarantees to qualifying students. Companies such as Reach Capital, Costanoa Ventures, Pearson, and Vulcan Capital support Springboard bootcamps and hire graduates. But not everyone excels in online coding bootcamps or finds a well-paying career after graduation, despite job guarantees.

So is Springboard worth it for you? Keep reading this Springboard bootcamp review to explore the curriculum and see if you qualify for a job guarantee.

Springboard’s bootcamp courses fit into one of five categories: data, design, coding, cybersecurity, or tech sales. You can study part time over 6-9 months — spending about 15 hours per week on course content before completing a capstone project.

Students who need more practice can take paid prep or introductory courses, which last 4-6 weeks. Self-paced prep courses begin weekly to train beginners to pass a technical skills assessment. Every student gets a career coach in the first unit to jumpstart their career.

The relatively low Springboard admission rate makes applying to this San Francisco-based coding school competitive. But Springboard accepts beginners who take prep or introductory courses if they lack the experience to pass the skills survey —an assessment that determines an applicant’s knowledge and skill level.

Getting admitted begins with a free online application and an interview with an admissions representative, which determines your eligibility for a job guarantee.

Upfront: Paying a lump sum upfront saves you money on the bootcamps. For instance, the UX career track bootcamp costs $7,900 when paid for upfront and up to $17,197 when paid with a loan.

Deferred Tuition Plan: The deferred tuition plan doesn’t require any payments until you graduate — or up to six months after. However, you need to pay a $500 refundable deposit. The deferred tuition plan, offered through Ascent, is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

The 36-month payment plan begins once you start a qualifying job, as outlined in the Springboard bootcamp guarantee. You can cancel your loan and get your deposit back if you do not receive a qualifying job offer within six months. This agreement comes with a 5% origination fee and an 11.5% interest rate that starts accruing after you graduate.

Installments: You can choose a month-to-month payment plan that lasts for 6-9 months. The length of the payment plan depends on the bootcamp. At the time of enrollment, you must pay your first installment, with charges that vary by program.

Loans: If you need a loan, you must submit an application to Climb. During the bootcamp, you’ll pay interest payments each month. Repayments for the rest of the loan begin after graduation and last over 33 or 36 months. Fixed interest rates vary, with loans starting at 6.50%. Most loans have APRs lower than 19%. However, APRs run from 0%-29.07%.

Scholarships: Since 2016, Springboard has provided more than $2.5 million in scholarships to increase diversity. You can apply for the Women in Tech and Diversity in Tech scholarships, which award $500 each. Springboard also offers a $1,000 need-based scholarship and half- and full-tuition awards. Interested applicants must apply through the school’s main application. Microsoft and Blacks in Technology also offer affiliate scholarships that you can apply for through separate applications.

It’s important to vet student outcomes that coding bootcamps report. Springboard reports that its graduates have found jobs at Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Wayfair. Since Springboard does not belong to the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR), an independent body that audits student outcomes, you need to research graduation rates and job placement data.

Much of the data collected by Springboard is student reported and unverified by an outside agency. You must also consider that the job guarantee may influence Springboard’s reported employment rates and salaries.

Qualifying students at Springboard can get a job guarantee if they meet the terms and do not get a full-time position within six months of graduation. Under the guarantee, graduates can get a full tuition refund if they do not find a salaried position.

Springboard bootcamps stand out because of the focus on mentorships. Mentors have at least three years of industry experience and hold positions at companies such as Airbnb, IBM, Uber, and Google. Throughout the bootcamp, you can talk via video chat, phone, or email to your mentor, who answers questions about the curriculum or provides feedback on portfolio projects. Springboard’s student advisors match each student with a mentor.

Springboard also offers on-demand mentorship, meaning you can call on a mentor to respond within two hours for a live meeting. Otherwise, your mentor contacts you once a week.

Springboard can help launch your new career or help you upskill, which may lead to making more money. Graduates from Springboard’s bootcamps have found high-paying careers at leading tech companies. According to Springboard’s 2021 student outcomes, graduates, on average, increased their salaries by $22,746 after completing the coding bootcamp. And 93.2% of qualified graduates received a job offer within 12 months after the bootcamp.

That said, graduation outcomes vary by student. To do your own quality check, read Springboard’s bootcamp reviews and find alumni through social media.

Springboard is an online coding bootcamp that offers programs for working professionals who want to switch careers or upskill in 6-9 months. The coding bootcamps offer online learning in data, design, coding, cybersecurity, and tech sales. Plus, Springboard offers a job guarantee to qualifying students.

Springboard also provides corporate skill development programs.

Springboard is a coding bootcamp that has trained thousands of students since it started in 2013. Salaries for graduates vary by program, with Springboard reporting that 93.1% of software engineering graduates in January 2020 got a full-time job and made an average starting salary of $75,237 per year. Meanwhile, UX design students in 2018 reported earning an average starting salary of $85,440.

Springboard also offers various tuition plans, including deferred tuition that lets you delay payment until after you find a job. In addition, the mentorship programs help you find new careers.

Yes, if you qualify. Here’s how it works: If you enroll in a career track bootcamp, you can get a job guarantee that refunds your tuition and deposit should you not get a qualifying job offer within six months after graduation.

For eligibility, you need to be proficient in English, be at least 18 years old, pass a background check, and have either a bachelor’s degree or relevant industry experience. You must also meet Springboard bootcamp milestones, such as completing all curricula and fulfilling job search quotas.

Tuition varies by bootcamp and how you pay. For instance, the data science bootcamp costs $9,900, whereas the data analytics bootcamp costs $8,500. Paying upfront can save you money. If you cannot pay a lump sum, you can pay through month-to-month installments, deferred tuition plans, and loans. But these options charge interest, so you’ll pay more in the long run.

Coursera offers free course audits and paid online courses to people worldwide through partnerships with more than 275 universities and companies.

Coursera courses can go toward a degree or certificate. In addition, Coursera offers a larger course catalog than Springboard bootcamps. That said, Springboard bootcamps offer personalized mentorships and career services not available at Coursera.

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