Despite the recent round of layoffs, working in tech still pays well. This is why there is still an influx of tech training platforms targeted at people looking to enter the world of tech. Some are good, some are just meh.

One platform that you may have seen in ads on social media is Masterschool. The company is relatively new, founded in 2019, so ads would most likely be the only way you would hear about them. But, what made it stood out from all the other ads was that they’re making big promises by stating: “you will not pay any tuition until you are hired.” So, they hooked you, and now you are here reading this article.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about their courses, or click the button below to jump straight to our review.

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Masterschool.com’s Programs

Masterschool as of writing this article has 3 bootcamp courses:

Data Analyst:

Consists of gathering and organizing data and then using that data to provide solutions to businesses. The work of data analysts depends on the field they are in, such as health, social media, sales, etc. They gather data to improve services and ultimately create satisfied customers.

Syllabus: 

• Tech Fundamentals
• Introduction to Data
• Business Analytics
• Statistics Fundamentals with Python
• Data Storytelling
• Final Project

Cyber Analyst:

Cybersecurity analysts protect networks from cyber attacks and unauthorized access. They protect a company’s network, software, hardware and data from loss or theft. 

Syllabus: 

• Tech Fundamentals
• Cyber, IT and Windows
• Linux and Networking
• Security Foundations
• Cloud Fundamentals
• CompTIA Security + 1
• CompTIA Security + 2

Software Engineer 

Software engineers design, develop and maintain software for clients. They can work on developing web applications, software systems, operating systems, and maintaining software.

Syllabus: 

• Tech Fundamentals
• Intermediate Python
• Advanced Python
• Intro to Web
• Object Oriented Programming
• Web Applications
• Databases
• Architecture & Development

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Masterschool’s Career Accelerator Program

According to Masterschool, their goal is to help students land their dream job in the tech field. They claim to be able to achieve this with the help of the Career Accelerator Program, which students enter right after they complete a course.

The Career Accelerator, basically consists of personal mentorship to help them secure a job, like: “how to build soft skills, how to craft a good resume, how to answer and pitch themselves in interviews, and how to build their LinkedIn profile to make it more noticeable.“

They also embed networking by making students participate in workshops and connect with experts from various industries.

Some examples of the activities you’ll be doing in the Career Accelerator Program:

• Live Workshops – Masterschool’s workshops cover a variety of topics ranging from networking to learning how to negotiate your salary to eventually getting hired. 

• Squad Meetings – A squad leader moderates these meetings, and a group of other students shares advice and motivates each other. You will have 1:1 meetings with your squad leader to track your progress and receive personal advice and guidance on your career.

• Interview Preparations – You will learn how to ace your job interviews through mock interviews where your mentors will give you feedback.

• Build your Portfolio – You will learn to showcase your learnings from your class by building a portfolio. In addition to this, you’ll also learn to build your LinkedIn profile and utilize other job search tools to help you get a job

• Career Week – The Masterschool team holds its own Career Week where invited representatives from leading tech companies looking to hire the platform’s graduates.

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Tuition Fees and Upfront Payments

Before getting into the tuition fees, please note that those interested in pursuing a course on Masterclass.com should be aware that there is a $250 commitment fee (learn more about this here). This is a one-time, refundable fee that is collected upon passing the application process to ensure you a spot in the program. 

So, how much does masterschool cost?

Tuition cost $15,000 if you are based in the US and Canada. Aside from the commitment fee, the online learning platform claims that they will not take any upfront tuition fees until you get a job.

Once you get a job, MasterSchool claims you’ll pay 10% of your gross monthly income until the tuition is fully paid.

But! If you don’t finish the program, you’ll be required to pay a portion of the tuition fee as detailed below:

• 25% after 1 month

• 50% after 2 months

• 100% after 3 months or more

No upfront Tuiton, How “The Mutual Success Agreement” Works

The Mutual Success Agreement is a commitment document that is signed by every student upon acceptance.

This agreement is what allows you to enroll in the program without paying the upfront tuition fee. And in return, you agree to pay back 10% of your monthly salary for a set number of months after you graduate and successfully get a job and meet or are earning more than the pre-defined monthly or annual income threshold.

If you’d like to have complete understanding on the mutual sucess agreement and the tuiton system, I encourage you to read their terms of service here.

Requisites to Enroll into Masterschool

The application process consists of an informal questionnaire to get to know the applicants and an aptitude test to test cognitive abilities.

Does Masterschool require you to have an academic background in tech?

Masterschool’s claims that no prior knowledge is needed when you decide to enroll in on of their programs. You’d only need to have basic computer literacy skills and a high school level of Mathematics. You would also need to be fluent in English.

Masterschool also welcomes those who already have technical know-how and experience in tech jobs like web developers who are looking to further their careers. Even those looking to start in more advanced careers like machine learning engineers can take data analysis and software engineering courses as prerequisites.

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Masterschool’s Mentors

Masterschool boasts of classes led by industry leaders.

Have a look at some of the popular mentors that you may have probably come across on social media platforms:

Niklas Steenfatt

Niklas is one of Germany’s leading tech influencers with over 200K followers on his Youtube channel. He worked for Facebook as a Data and Software Engineer and has extensive knowledge in data and software development. He is currently looking for 100 talented individuals to join his Masterschool and eventually launch their own careers in the tech industry.

Caitlin Sarian

Caitlin has years of experience working as a cybersecurity expert having worked in top companies like DLA Piper and EY. You may have come across her Tiktok channel, Cybersecurity Girl, where she has over 220K followers making her one of Tiktok’s top cybersecurity and tech content creator. She is currently employed as an Associate Director of Privacy and Security at a global consulting firm.

Kelly Vaughn

For those looking to have a startup business, Kelly Vaughn is the right person to look up to. She is a software engineer, an e-commerce expert, and an entrepreneur, has her own business, the Taproom, a Shopify Plus agency. She also has 100K followers on Twitter where she shares her experiences as a developer and entrepreneur.

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Masterschool vs Other Bootcamp Programs

How does Masterschool compare to other online tech training platforms?

Udacity

Udacity is an online learning platform that offers both free and paid tech programs called Nanodegrees.

Well-known tech giants like Google, Nvidia, and Amazon have partnered with the program. The program focuses on teaching its students skills that are needed in these partner companies. It has 187 free courses. Some are requisites to paid courses while others are from legacy programs. It has 8 Schools offering 80 Nanodgrees overall.

Udacity has a monthly subscription of $399 per month. This comes out cheaper than Masterschool’s $15,000 tuition fee. It can even be a lot cheaper if students can finish the courses earlier to cut down on the monthly membership fee.

Masterschool only has 3 programs compared to Udacity’s 80 Nanodegrees. However, Masterschool’s programs are more in-depth whereas Udacity’s Nanodegrees are more of short courses that last for 4 months at the most. 

eDx

eDx is a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) Provider created by Harvard and MIT.

Popular tech courses include Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science. eDx offers affordable short certificate courses ranging from $50 to $300.

The advantage of eDx over Udacity and Masterschool is that it offers degree courses like its Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science and Business Analytics.

Coursera

Coursera is very much well-known in the world of online learning platforms, offering bite-sized programs to full degrees on a wide range of topics.

Its tech courses are offered and taught by staff from Google, IBM, and Meta. Coursera has a lot of free courses but in order to get a certificate, you’ll need to pay.

Conclusion: If you already have a background in tech and are looking for refreshers, go for the short and free courses from Udacity, eDx, or Coursera. If you are starting from scratch and looking to switch up to a career in tech, then choose Masterschool. If it’s a full degree that you’re after, then Coursera and eDx will be more fitting for you.

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Our Verdict

What We Like:

Masterschool’s biggest advantage over other tech training platforms is that it doesn’t require upfront tuition (a practice other tech bootcamps also have). Those who are just starting a career in tech can take advantage of this offer. However, it is quite expensive compared to competitors. While the upfront tuition sounds too good to be true, you will be signing a written agreement once you enroll, which ensures both you and the platform abides to these terms.

Another plus for Masterschool is its roster of School Masters or mentors. Other learning platforms also employ industry leaders as their mentors, but it is reassuring to know that experienced professionals who work or have worked in well-known companies teach the courses on this platform.

What can be improved?

Masterschool will give you a month to figure out if your heart is in their program. However, the real training doesn’t really start until after that trial month has passed.

If you decide to drop the program Later than a month, you may be charged a percentage of the tuition due.

It’s understandable for a business to not want to invest in a person who may not follow through with the program. This, however, feels vague and deceptive. Even though students are not obligated to make an upfront payment, they still need to pay a $250 commitment fee and should have a clear understanding of what they are signing up for.

Also,  any payments made, according to their terms of service are non-refundable, but they do state that if you are “significtantly usatiesfied” you may contact suctomer support for some sort of refund.

Masterschool was founded in 2019 and is relatively new. Hopefully, the platform improves its transparency in the front end of the platform and informs the applicant what they are actually signing up for.

We have written articles about similar and more affordable tech bootcamps, like Merit America and Careerist, feel free to check them out here: Tech Bootcamps ⚡️

Or, If you’d like to take an even more affordable option, you can try out Codeacademy’s career paths. They offer professional certificates in all of the professions that Masterschool does and even more. Learn more about that here.

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