In this review, we will explore if the Careerist’s courses are worth the price, and how they compare to other similar programs in the market. *This post is not sponsored.
- What is Careerist?
- Getting started with Careerist 🔍
- Careerist’s Bootcamp Programs 💡
- Requisites To Enroll
- Are Courses Accredited?
- Careerist Course Costs and Refund Policy 💰
- Who Teaches the Courses? 👩🏻🏫
- How Does Careerist Compare to Other Similar Bootcamp Platforms? 💬
- So, is Careerist Worth it? 💬
- FAQs❓
- Real Testimonials 📣
What is Careerist?
Careerist, formerly known as Jobeasy, is an online tech boot camp designed to help individuals with little to no background in tech. It’s backed by the Y-combinator, an American technology startup accelerator, that is also responsible for launching Airbnb, Doordash, and Reddit amongst others.
Careerist takes interested individuals and tries to help them find a career in the tech industry. They offer boot camp courses taught by experienced mentors and help out with internships and full-time opportunities for those who have successfully graduated from their courses.
With flexible schedules, highly qualified mentors, and built-in job support, Careerist advertises themselves as a great choice for those who want to pursue a career in tech.
Getting started with Careerist 🔍
Getting started with Careerist is as simple as choosing from the 6 boot camp courses available and submitting an application with your name, email address, and phone number.
A career advisor will get in touch with you upon receiving your information. They’ll be discussing with you your career goals and experience to help you select the right program for you. You can even ask them for a free class to determine if a chosen course is right for you.
After completing the admission process, you can now proceed and start to work on completing your selected online course.
Careerist’s Bootcamp Programs 💡
Careerist has 6 tech courses, Manual QA, QA Automation, Sales Engineering, Systems Engineering, UX Design, and Tech Support. We discuss each course, jobs associated with the course, course inclusions, and costs.
1. Manual QA Course
What is it?
QA stands for Quality Assurance. QA testers or engineers do manual testing of software pre-and post-release. It includes playing the role of the end user to test out the software for bugs and defects to ensure the best user experience.
The course will cover web and mobile testing as well as bug report compilation and solutions.
Cost:
- Upfront Payment: $ 3500 (includes access to JAS)
- QA Bundle: $ 5750 (Includes QA Automation, Python, JAS and SQL trainings)
Timeline:
The course takes about 15 weeks of training: 7 weeks of training, 3 1/2 weeks of internship, and 4-6 weeks of mentorship. Learn at your own pace but Careerist recommends allotting 10 hours for 5 days per week.
Course Inclusions:
- Quality Assurance and Software Testing Foundations
- Web and mobile application testing
- How to write a bug report
- Advanced Testing Skills
- Preparing for the Job Market, Q&A
2. QA Automation Course
What is it?
Automation QA Engineers design automated testing procedures for software or applications. They will create scripts for testing software wherein the goal is to automate testing to highlight problem areas and bugs before software installation.
This bootcamp is for students who have already completed the Manual QA course to help them advance their careers. Students will learn UI testing with Selenium and Behave as well as how to use Python.
Cost:
- Upfront Payment: $ 3500
- QA Bundle: $ 5750
Timeline:
The course is about 15 weeks of training.
Course Inclusions:
- QA Automation Foundations
- Software QA
- Behave and Algorithms Fundamentals
- Practice Writing Test Cases
- Advanced Testing Skills
- Preparing for the Job Market, Q&A
3. Sales Engineering
What is it?
Sales Engineers handle the preparation of tech sales through technical presentations of products or services to prospective clients. They work with customers to assess their system requirements.
Students will learn soft skills such as networking and public speaking as well as pitching products to clients. The Sales Engineering course will also teach advanced tech skills like AWS cloud computing and IT security.
Cost
- Upfront payment: $3500
Timeline
The course is a total of 9 weeks of training with 6 weeks of studying and 3 weeks of internship simulator.
Curriculum Inclusions
The course is categorized according to Learning and Internship Simulator.
Learning
- Sales Pitch
- Prospecting, negotiation, and closing deals
- Advanced Skills – Information Systems, Networking
- Advanced Skills – Cloud Overview, AWS Fundamentals
- Execution – Demo workshop Q&A, Hands-On Practice
Internship Simulator
- Introduction to Internship Simulator, Hubspot, Sales Pitch
- Roleplay – Sales Rep and Prospect RolePlay
- Sales Knowledge – Handling Objections, pricing, and angry prospects
- Demonstration – Sales pitch demos
4. Systems Engineering
What is it?
System Engineers are responsible for maintaining computer systems for companies and businesses hence there is a very large demand for this profession. They assess systems and determine problems to provide solutions by designing and maintaining systems.
In the course, students will learn in-demand skills such as Linux administration and information security management. The course includes live webinars, 1:1 Technical Mentorship, Career Coaching, and more.
Cost
- Upfront payment of: $3500
Timeline
The course takes up about 6 Months with an average of 6-8 hours per week.
Curriculum Inclusions
- Intro to Linux system administration and Linux basics
- GCP Introduction, Cloudshell, SSH
- Files, Users, and Security – File System Hierarchy Standard
- User and Software Management – Package Management System, Introduction to Ansible
- Proceseses – Standard I/O, Process List
- Service Management
- Storage and Networking
- Shell Programming
- Monitoring
- NOC – Prometheus, Grafana, Alert Manager
- Preparing for the job market
5. UX Design
What is it?
UX stands for User Experience. UX Designers are responsible for turning applications into something enjoyable for people who will use the application. It involves researching the user experience, conducting usability testing, and collaborating with designers and software development teams to create user-friendly applications.
In the course, you’ll learn about user research methods, prototyping in Figma, presentation, and how to get hired.
Cost
- One-time Payment: $3250
Timeline
The course takes about 14 Weeks in total.
Curriculum Inclusions
- Foundations – Create Figma, Miro, and Maze Accounts, Learn UX/UI Foundations
- Research – Learn UX research techniques, Practice conducting user interview questions
- Prioritizing – Determine which features to include in a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Define & Ideate – Learn about Design Thinking Framework
- UI – Learn typography, colors, composition
- Prototype, Test, Prototype – Explain the purpose of ideation
6. Tech Support
What is it?
Technical Support Specialist or an IT Specialist helps or assists customers with issues that are computer or software related. Their duties include talking to clients through phone calls, messaging platforms, or social media accounts of the company to help diagnose and resolve technical problems.
Careerist’s Tech Support Bootcamp includes training, mentorship, and one-on-one training to train both soft and hard skills in preparation for landing their first job. Students will learn to troubleshoot and diagnose hardware issues.
Cost
- Upfront payment: $1950
Timeline
The course takes about 7 weeks with an average of up to 6 hours per week
Curriculum Inclusions
- Welcome to our Technical Support Training – Meet Instructors, Learn about the Support/Service Desk environment
- Overview of Tech Support Processes and Tools
- Overview of Core Hardware Components
- Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows 10, Linux, and OS
- Overview of Windows Server
- Shares and Permissions
- Managing Office 365 Applications
- Core Networking Concepts
- The Cloud and Cloud Models
- Troubleshooting exercises
Careerist Features 🔐
Careerist not only gives their students a tech background, but they are there every step of the way to help them get a job after graduating. We’d discuss this feature and more to help you decide before committing to their courses.
1. JAS
JAS or Job Application Service is a platform that helps Careerist graduates with their job search to land a new career in the tech industry. Acquiring the necessary skills and qualifications is just the first step to getting hired by recruiters. You will need to make your resume or Linkedin as attractive and convincing as possible and apply to as many job openings as you can.
Careerist’s Job Application Service does interview preparations and makes your resume stand out from the rest. Let’s break down the process of JAS:
1:1 Interview Practice
Here is where JAS will help you with your interview preps giving the necessary encouragement and equipping you with skills on how to answer interview questions with confidence.
Resume Optimization
A resume or your Linkedin Profile is the introduction to your career. It’s the first thing recruiters will see and check to see if you’re qualified for the job post. Recruiters are trained to scan resumes in a few seconds to see if the candidate is worth shortlisting or not. JAS will help you update your LinkedIn to reflect what recruiters want to see.
Automated Job Applications
Searching for jobs is a tedious job in itself. You spend hours combing through job openings only to wait for a long time for the company to respond, or worse, it’s crickets.
Careerist.com isn’t an ed-tech platform for nothing. It will do the job for you and automate job searches by gathering your basic information and answers to recruiter questions. They will then match your qualifications to available jobs. Careerist works with Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Zip Recruiter.
Personalized Job Search
JAS will receive a daily list of job searches and you’ll be able to comment on the jobs Careerist will present to you. It will also provide tips on how to find the right job for you by asking you about your preferred locations, your desired salary, and similar positions to help you land a job quickly.
You can find out more about Careerist’s JAS feature here.
2. Partnered with ClimbCredit
Careerist is partnered with ClimbCredit for those who want to pay their tuition in smaller installments without impacting their budget. The application is subject to approval. Once the application is sent and approved, the applicant will sign a promissory note and begin her studies without paying anything upfront.
The rate of approval and interest rate depends on several factors:
- Specifying a borrower who can vouch for you will increase your chances of getting approved. The borrower must have good credit history and is in good financial standing.
- A good credit history will also help with your approval. Check your credit history at annualcreditreport.com (free to check once a year) or get in touch with your credit card/banking company.
- Your current income. A tip here is to list down all your sources of income including income from freelance jobs if you have one.
- You don’t need to have high sources of income or a borrower who can vouch for you but ticking the list on these requirements equals higher approval ratings.
3. Flexible Course Schedules
Pursuing an education for working adults can be difficult. Not everyone can commit additional hours to studies. With Careerist, you can do your self-paced courses part-time for as little as 6-10 hours a week while working a full-time job.
4. Built-in Internships
When you graduate, you’re automatically equipped with the skills you learned in the course but unsure of how to apply them in the real world. This is where an internship comes in handy.
You’ll get support from your mentors, add your experience to your CV, gain new experience before applying to bigger companies, and boost your confidence in applying for a full-time job.
The internship lasts for about 3.5 weeks. Currently, Careerist is partnered with the following companies for internship programs:
Cure Skin – A skincare and cosmetics industry that uses AI to analyze their patients’ skin type.
Saldo Apps – Helps businesses find digital solutions. Students will learn about invoice making, receipt scanning, and finance.
Money Pigeon – Generates debit cards for foreign countries to help send money abroad.
Lingocard – Helps improve English or other language skills.
Neck – An app that helps keep track of budgets and cash flow.
The internship program is not guaranteed for everyone and is only for Manual QA, Automation QA, or Tech Sales graduates if they meet all the internship requirements. Manual QA students should have 80% training progress, passed home tasks, and completion of the final quiz.
For Automation QA students, they should have completed their assignments and for Tech Sales, they should have completed the assigned tasks.
Are There Any Prerequisites for Enrollment?
The good news is there are none!
You don’t need to have a tech background, knowledge of coding, or a degree in software engineering to start learning at Careerist.
Once you are decided on learning a program, you’ll be asked to submit your basic information, and a career advisor will get in touch with you and match you with the right program.
It is worth mentioning that Careerist’s courses welcome US and Non-US residents. Just keep in mind that expected salaries will differ in the US and other countries.
Are Courses Accredited?
Careerist’s courses are not accredited but they do offer certificates of completion.
Careerist Course Costs and Refund Policy 💰
When you look at the price for each of the courses at careerist.com, you’ll notice it says “Upfront Payment.” This already covers your entire tuition and you won’t be required to make any additional payments throughout your course.
- Manual QA – $3500
- QA Automation – $3500
- There’s a bundle plan where you’ll cover both QA courses for $5750
- Sales Engineering – $3500
- Systems Engineering – $3500
- UX Design – $2950
- Tech Support – $1950
All courses have access to JAS and mentorship support. Additionally, there is also a money-back guarantee if you don’t land a job in the tech industry after a year of beginning the course.
Moreover, refunds are available if the student provides a cancellation letter within the time frame of the first 3 sessions of the program. If a student goes through health issues, emergencies, and other unforeseen circumstances during the first 30 days of the program, they are entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the course. Students will need to support their claims with a written letter and other documents necessary for processing of refund which will be subject to Careerist’s approval.
Refunds are processed within 30 days upon request.
You can check their full refund policy here
Who Teaches the Courses? 👩🏻🏫
Meet Careerist’s teachers, all verified and holders of top positions in tech with plenty of experience. Let’s take a look at some of the teachers per course and their qualifications:
Manual QA
Patrick Siebenthal – Patrick is a QA engineer with over 6 years of experience working for many Silicon Valley companies including Facebook and Intel.
QA Automation
Lana Levinsohn – Lana has 8 years of work experience in QA. She has experience in dealing with front and back-end automation.
Sales Engineer
Charles Sammons – Currently, Charles is the only instructor for the Sales Engineering bootcamp. He is a senior field solution architect with extensive knowledge and experience in sales engineering.
Systems Engineering
Andrey Shalobalo – He is a Site Reliability Engineer with over 10+ years of experience at Box, NY Times, and EPAM.
UX Design
Ksenia Ha – Ksenia is a self-taught Graphic Designer who eventually ventured into UI Design at a tech company in Ukraine. She has since moved to the US and works as a Product Designer for Meta.
Tech Support
Mariusz Kuriata – Senior manager with a background in web development and network security.
How Does Careerist Compare to Other Similar Bootcamp Platforms? 💬
Udemy and Coursera, both online learning platforms also offer bootcamp courses in the tech field. However, both platforms offer a variety of other courses in different categories such as Art, Architecture, and more. Careerist differs in that it focuses solely on IT courses and has a more intense format.
Flatiron School is somehow similar to Careerist offering both part-time and full-time courses. They have high-quality courses available in 3 payment terms including installments. However, Flatiron school’s tuition for its courses is a lot more expensive than Careerist’s.
Coursera offers full degrees but also has certification courses with its partner tech companies like its Google IT Support Professional Certificate and IBM’s Introduction to Cybersecurity Essentials. On the other hand, Udemy has short certification courses that focus on a specific category like its CompTIA courses.
If your aim is to add short course certifications to improve your qualifications, then go for the short courses on Udemy and Coursera. For full training specializing in high-demand jobs, Careerist is your best bet. You can also take bootcamp courses in Careerist and supplement that with short courses from Udemy and Coursera.
So, is Careerist Worth it? 💬
For those seeking a career change or looking to advance in the tech industry, the benefits of a bootcamp can be significant, including higher salaries and greater job opportunities.
Careerist falls below the average range for bootcamp tuition and offers a comprehensive curriculum and career services. So yes, it is quite worth the price.
It’s important to thoroughly research and compare different bootcamps before making a decision, but for those willing to invest in their education and future career, a bootcamp like Careerist can be a valuable investment.
While some may argue that self-study can be just as effective, bootcamps offer a more structured learning environment with experienced instructors and a network of peers to learn from. Although in truth bootcamps have been popularised, they are effectively filling a gap in the market and providing an accessible way to break into tech when there are very few true alternatives that don’t consist of going back to college.
So, joining a program in Careerist would definetively benefit people who are interested in pursuing a career in tech but don’t have a formal education in a tech-related field.
FAQs❓
Is Careerist legit?
Careerist is legit and not a scam. It has several reviews on trusted review sites and holds a rating of 4.6 stars.
Does Careerist have a payment plan?
Careerist is partnered with ClimbCredit for installment plans. You may also email advisors@careerist.com to ask for a tailored payment plan.
What is the cost of Careerist?
Careerist’s bootcamp courses cost $3500 for Manual QA, QA Automation, Sales Engineering, and Systems Engineering. There’s a bundle plan available for the QA courses at $5750. UX Design costs $2950 and the Tech Support Course costs $1950. All have a money-back guarantee if you can’t land a job in the tech field 12 months from the time you started your course. Refunds are also available subject to the Careerist’s approval.
Does Careerist offer a job guarantee?
Rather than a job guarantee, Careerist’s courses have a money-back guarantee where they will refund 100% of your payment for the Applicable Training Program (ATP) if you are not offered a job within the guarantee period of receiving a certificate of completion. The guarantee is applicable if there is a link to it in the agreement signed by the student and Careerist so check the terms and conditions carefully.
You can read the full terms and conditions here.
Are Careerist the internships paid?
No, The internship isn’t paid one.
What are the pros and cons of Careerist?
Pros: JAS or Job Application ServiceBuilt-in Internships for qualified students in select coursesJob guarantee with a money-back guarantee and flexible schedules.
Cons: Limited payment options – Despite being partnered with ClimbCredit, Careerist still has limited options for payment
Is Careerist worth the price?
With its built-in internship, money-back guarantee and JAS feature, as well as its in-depth courses, Careerist’s courses are worth paying for. And if you don’t end up liking the courses, there’s always a refund available.
Is Careerist Accredited?
Careerist’s courses are not accredited.
Real Testimonials 📣
“Sales Engineer Course at Careerist teaches the fundamental skills that set its graduates to start their IT career and then as they are sales professionals up for success. These programs cover selling techniques, client relationships, teamwork exercises, technical product knowledge, and CRM systems.”
Mimir Iversen, March 2023, Switchup.org
Careerist provides excellent training in Manual QA and has one of the most affordable prices for online courses. Those courses are being updated frequently to suit evolving IT industry. When I moved to the States, my main goal was to find an interesting job in IT area. The Manual QA Course from Careerist helped me adjust my knowledge to local requirements, receive new skills and – one of the most important things – get internship, after which I was able to receive valuable references from a local employer.
Aino Hard, March 23, 2023, Switchup.org
You might be able to learn on your own – but honestly you would waste more time – and time is money. There’s no way I think you would land a job this fast on your own and because they really know the industry you get your money worth.”.
Alex Y, December 22, 2022, Trust Pilot
Most negative reviews pertaining to the lack of support from tutors after class and instructors having a non-native English accent making it hard for them to understand the class.
Looking for more bootcamp reviews? Check out take on Merit America here