Pursuit offers an intensive, Full Stack Web Development Fellowship in New York City and online that trains adults from underserved communities to build careers in the tech industry. The Pursuit Fellowship consists of two parts: one year of training (Pursuit Core) and three years of career support (Pursuit Advance). The curriculum includes three major threads: Technical Mastery, Industry Readiness, and Leadership & Personal Development. On average, Fellows go from making $18,000 pre-program to over $85,000 post-program.
The Pursuit Fellowship has no upfront tuition. Instead, Fellows commit to paying a percentage of future earnings for a set number of payments upon landing a job earning above $50,000. Pursuit has progressive rates based on annual salary. This model enables adults from low-income and minority communities who are representative of the diversity of New York to learn to code. Pursuit cohorts are made up of at least 50% women, 50% African-American or Hispanic people, 50% immigrants, and 60% of their participants do not have 4-year degrees.
No coding experience is required but applicants should demonstrate both financial need and the potential to succeed in a technical career. Selected candidates from the applicant pool will be invited to a sample coding workshop as well as an in-person interview led by engineers, experts, and other volunteers from the community.
Pursuit Fellows have been hired at over 150+ tech companies from fast growing startups to Fortune 500s. Pursuit works with hiring partners to create job opportunities exclusively for their Fellows, including companies such as Uber, Peloton, Thumbtack, and Citi.
Three months after graduating from Pursuit, I was able to successfully triple my original income. After almost 2 years, I've successfully quadrupled my salary when compared to what I made prior to joining Pursuit! It will be a lot of work (especially on nights and weekends while working a day job), but you will learn a lot, and be prepared for your first job in tech. Totally worth it!
There are better options. Don't even consider it if you're looking to do the night and weekends program. It's a difference of 25 vs. 40 hours per week, and you're expected to keep up with curriculum that's intended for the 40 hour week. The night and weekend cohorts get 400+ less hours of instruction (about 35% less instruction) and they are still expected to pay the same amount back. This utterly doesn't make any sense, considering that the resources and attention that the day...
There are better options. Don't even consider it if you're looking to do the night and weekends program. It's a difference of 25 vs. 40 hours per week, and you're expected to keep up with curriculum that's intended for the 40 hour week. The night and weekend cohorts get 400+ less hours of instruction (about 35% less instruction) and they are still expected to pay the same amount back. This utterly doesn't make any sense, considering that the resources and attention that the daytime students get is clearly superior.
Previous reviews mention this. Without scratching the surface, the concept of Pay It Forward seems like a great idea. But when you read the fine print, it's just deferred tuition and they avoid talking about it as such. Ethically, to target people from marginalized groups who seek a financial stable life in such a way is not following to the mission statement. If things go accordingly for fellows (a $60,000+ job shortly after graduation), this ends up being an incredibly expensive program, when other programs offer more affordable options. They need to put a tuition cap, and restructure the system, because their present agreement has a maximum $36,000 a year tuition (if the student makes at least $300,000...no one is going to make that). It seems like they are milking students for what they got just to fulfill requirements of a hefty loan.
The cons vastly outweigh the pros. The nights and weekends students didn't get access to the same opportunities as daytime students. A lot of the staff and program guidelines were just outright abusive. The truly good-hearted staff members left before the cycle ended and even before they finished one year of employment there. That's how toxic this place is. The students who get jobs fast are the ones who already had programming knowledge before coming here and some were recruited internall...
The cons vastly outweigh the pros. The nights and weekends students didn't get access to the same opportunities as daytime students. A lot of the staff and program guidelines were just outright abusive. The truly good-hearted staff members left before the cycle ended and even before they finished one year of employment there. That's how toxic this place is. The students who get jobs fast are the ones who already had programming knowledge before coming here and some were recruited internally by volunteers.
They didn't provided resources that were promised. Office hours were scheduled, but were often cancelled. Apparently, one student needing help is not enough to justify them calling in a volunteer from the tech community. Staff were afraid students would flake. That's not right. You can't deny help to students seeking it. On top of that, they kept encouraging people to sign up because it's a good networking opportunity.
There's little help post grad that's actually useful. You're more likely to find a job posting with a simple Google alert than by relying on this school's partnerships.
They told a white lie about the pay-it-forward tuition. For my class, it was explained as being inspired by a past student's donation of his first chec because he was so grateful for the program. In reality, the deferred tuition is really helping the school pay back investors and other loans. WTF. Some students actually take jobs with a low salary on purpose just so they don't have to pay back the school.
The most shocking incident of abuse happened at graduation. Students who did not finish all requirements were allowed to continue until they completed the program. These students were also invited to graduation and allowed to walk the stage. They were forced to accept blank certificates. The students had no idea this would happen. Some people had families in attendance. Imagine having to explain this to your loved ones. The cermony's program already listed these students with a note saying they were on track to graduate. This humiliation was not necessary. This was all to fill seats.
I was a fellow and I had a good experience. A lot of students complained about it, expecting a school-like experience, but I chose to not see it that way. We were being provided education that I couldn't pay for before, and had access to computers and opportunitites to perspective that I couldn't afford. I kept my attitude positive and open minded since computer science is a super deep topic and it's not something that anyone truly learns in 10 months. A professional knowledge of the subje...
I was a fellow and I had a good experience. A lot of students complained about it, expecting a school-like experience, but I chose to not see it that way. We were being provided education that I couldn't pay for before, and had access to computers and opportunitites to perspective that I couldn't afford. I kept my attitude positive and open minded since computer science is a super deep topic and it's not something that anyone truly learns in 10 months. A professional knowledge of the subject is built over time, with experience. What the program provides is the environment and acess to working proffesionals and the opportunity to become a self learner through the guidance provided.
I went in expecting a ramp from which I could take off, and that's what I got. I think a lot of those complains from previous students come down to personal struggles and a decision to mantain a negative perspective. I worked hard and asked questions instead of complaining, spent my free time studying, knowing that even if I didn't get a job right away I was building a skillset to get there. I didn't expect them to get me a job because I knew that it was not only technical skill but also professional skills that are necessary to land a job so I worked on those as well.
Eventually I got there, and now I have a good paying job at a great company, thanks to them. Because I understood that in the field, an engineer is tasked with using what they know, to come up with innovative solutions, fix less-than-ideal problems, learn on their own when they need to, and do so with a positive attitude in a collaborative environment.
I would say that if you want to apply make sure that this is something you want to challenge yourself to acheieve. They won't do it all for you, but they will do their best to help you do it for youself.
C4Q (soon be "Pursuit") was one of the worst experiences of my life. If I had known what the experience would be like, I would have simply attempted to teach myself instead of enrolling in Access Code.
How much does Pursuit cost?
The average bootcamp costs $14,142, but Pursuit does not share pricing information. You can read a cost-comparison of other popular bootcamps!
What courses does Pursuit teach?
Pursuit offers courses like Full Stack Web Development Daytime, Full Stack Web Development Nights/Weekends.
Where does Pursuit have campuses?
Pursuit has an in-person campus in New York City.
Is Pursuit worth it?
Pursuit hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 41 Pursuit alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Pursuit on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Pursuit legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 41 Pursuit alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Pursuit and rate their overall experience a 3.67 out of 5.
Does Pursuit offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Pursuit offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Pursuit reviews?
You can read 41 reviews of Pursuit on Course Report! Pursuit alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Pursuit and rate their overall experience a 3.67 out of 5.
Is Pursuit accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Pursuit doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.
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