I found a company online that I thought was offering a job, but during the interview, I learned it’s actually a training program in Java. After looking at their website, I saw that you have to pay to join this program. It feels similar to a bootcamp, but there are some concerns. You have to pay $5,400 in monthly payments after you get a job making $50,000 a year or more, which is like Lambda School but cheaper. The company started in 2018 and is a nonprofit, but I couldn’t find much information about them other than a few Reddit posts from a year ago.
On their website, there’s a section saying you won’t have to make any payments if certain conditions are met. One of those conditions is “Four years have passed since technical graduation, even if you’ve paid nothing,” which seems a bit suspicious to me. I only realized all this after going through the interview process and waiting for a background check. Should I continue with this? If anyone has experience with this company or can share more information, I’d appreciate it.
This program isn’t a scam, but it’s designed for a specific group of people, like inner-city youth who don’t know how to start a career in IT. It provides them with the basics and helps them transition from service jobs to professional office jobs. If someone already knows how to get the education they want and has good study habits, they probably don’t need this program.
Also, the payments shouldn’t be $5,400 each month; it should be monthly payments that add up to a total of $5,400. I hope you made a mistake and that’s not how they actually present it. The “student” should only start paying back their education once they reach a certain salary level.
It’s completely legitimate and not a scam like Revature. They do ask you to pay back the cost once you get a job, but the payments are much lower than other bootcamps that don’t charge upfront. It is a bootcamp, but it also offers extra training for your career. The people involved are really committed, and the program is supported by trusted organizations. They focus a lot on personal and professional growth and provide more help after graduation than other programs.
I’m not getting paid to say this; I’ve just seen many people get great results from it.
Hello, I want to share my experience. Last year, I was here thinking about whether to join Merit or not, and in the end, I decided to join. Now, I feel like I need to warn others so they don’t make the same mistake I did. If you’re looking for job opportunities, it’s better to try on your own instead of spending a year on the course. After a year, you’ll just be searching for a job again.
They teach you what you choose, but that’s it. They won’t help you get a job. I thought their partners would interview students after the course, but that didn’t happen. They mentioned partnerships, but it didn’t help students at all. You can learn the course material from other sources too. After the course, you keep getting emails from Merit about job openings, but you can get those emails just by setting your preferences on Dice or LinkedIn. I also recommend not signing the agreement.
I’m looking at this program and I’m interested in applying, but I have some questions. What are the job opportunities like for Java and Google IT? I’m interested in both programs, but I don’t understand some of the terms, like “deployment.” Is it harder to find a job in one compared to the other? What does a typical workday look like?
I also hope to live outside of America someday, so I want to start a career that allows me to work remotely. Is it true that most IT jobs are remote? Lastly, what do typical work schedules look like? Will these jobs require working nights and weekends like retail and service jobs?
Will Merit discuss these things with you before starting any program?
Unfortunately, they don’t discuss any of that with you. If you’re accepted, you just get an email. They do have an alumni panel where you can ask about daily life in the field, but I wasn’t impressed with it. Two Java graduates only had contract jobs, and two women from data analytics were still in class, so they couldn’t really contribute much other than offering encouragement. The other two women had some IT experience and found regular jobs.
The coaching and required Zoom classes focus more on professional development, like how to write an email, set up your LinkedIn, network, write a resume, and practice interviews.
I’m a current student here and I graduate in 5 weeks. This program is definitely real. I haven’t paid for anything yet; I only have to pay if I get a job making over $50,000 a year.
In addition to learning Java and technical skills, I’m also learning a lot about professional and interview skills. I’m very proactive in my learning and often talk to my coaches. They are really passionate about their jobs and share a lot of their experiences. They partner with companies like JPMC and HCL, and they have alumni meetups to share job hunting tips. They also have mock interview sessions with their partners, and some alumni have actually been hired by JPMC.
However, be ready to work hard in this program because it can be tough. But I promise it will be worth it. It’s only 5 months long, so make sure you’re fully committed. My job search is going well so far; I already have 3 interviews. I’ll share more updates after I graduate. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
Hey! I hope this is still active. I’m really excited to start the Java development program. I just need to take the test, but I’m a bit worried about it since I haven’t been in school for three years. How hard is the test, and what topics does it cover? Maybe I can study a bit before I take it.
I graduated from Merit America, but I never found a job.
They promised to get us interviews with their “Corporate Partners” when the program started, but when the time came, those partners were nowhere to be found.
I know some people have had success with the program, but I’m stuck paying for something I never used. I got a construction job through a friend and feel really foolish for pursuing Merit America.