Flatiron School, an education innovator and WeWork company that teaches students in-demand tech skills like software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and UX/UI design, today released its 2019 Jobs Report. Independently verified by Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico, LLP, to ensure transparency and authenticity, the report details job placement data for 769 students who graduated from an online or on-campus program at any point in 2018.
Across reported programs and campus locations, 93 percent of the 660 job-seeking students—defined as anyone who completed a job search cycle—accepted an offer within the reporting period of a year from graduation. The average salary of graduates who accepted full-time positions and disclosed compensation was nearly $75,000, which puts the graduate’s household income ahead of 57 percent of U.S. households. Those that took full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance positions did so at an average hourly rate of $33 per hour, catapulting their earning potential to over four times the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour), and those who took part-time roles earned an average hourly rate of $24 per hour. Flatiron School’s career services helped place students in a wide range of companies, from behemoths like IBM and Amazon to smaller organizations like Glossier and Compass. Most graduates landed in engineering positions, with others choosing other roles such as product or project management, data analytics, QA, and technical teaching or writing roles.
“Our goal is not only to help students find meaning in their jobs, but also to show how education can empower people to build a new kind of life for themselves and their families. That is how communities move forward,” said Adam Enbar, Flatiron School’s co-founder and CEO. “Gone are the days when graduating with an uncertain future and crippling debt was the only option. The return on investment on higher education should be as calculable as anything else—which is why we were the first school to have our employment rates verified and published in 2014, and have continued to live up to those standards of reporting excellence.”
Other key highlights from the report include:
- Thirty-five percent of all graduates are women—as compared to 26 percent of all computing workers in 2018—showing that alternative education is quickly becoming a successful pathway for women to get into technology.
- Job-seeking graduates from the Washington, D.C., and London campuses saw 100 percent placement rates across full-time salaried, paid full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, as well as paid part-time roles. The average graduate salaries for students who accepted full-time salaried roles—and disclosed their compensation—are $71,582 and £35,385 respectively.
- The average starting salary for students who took full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles, and disclosed compensation, in D.C. was $38 per hour, while the average starting rate for their peers in London was £12 per hour.
- Of the job-seeking students who graduated from an online program, 93 percent accepted a job offer within the reporting period, including full-time salaried, paid full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, as well as paid part-time roles. The average starting salary for students in this group (who disclosed their compensation) was $72,259.
- The average starting salary for students who took full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles and disclosed compensation was $34 per hour. The average pay for a part-time role was $21 per hour.
- Those graduating from Access Labs, which allows students to defer upfront tuition payment, were placed in mostly engineering positions, starting with an average salary of $78,477 (for job-seeking students who accepted full-time salaried roles and disclosed their compensation). The average starting salary for students who took full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles and disclosed compensation was $32 per hour. The average pay for a part-time role was $20 per hour.
“I studied mechanical engineering and engineering management from Syracuse and Stanford, but I wasn’t able to get a job out of undergrad or grad school. This left me thinking, What am I going to do with my life?” said Patrina Bailey, a graduate of Flatiron School’s data science program. “The reality is that I was able to find a job through Flatiron School’s career program easily, but wasn’t able to at two high-ranking traditional schools. My choice to study with Flatiron was a wake-up call that told me, Yes—I can change my career whenever I want to.”
“Before I became a software engineer, I worked in restaurants and got my start as a dishwasher,” said Celestino Salim, a graduate of Flatiron School’s Access Labs program. “Flatiron School’s career services helped me find a job as a part-time software engineer. Right from the start, even working 20 hours a week, I was making more than my full-time salary as a dishwasher. Flatiron School empowered me to change my life, and it can help other people discover their own paths to success.”
Read the full 2019 Jobs Report.
About Flatiron School
Flatiron School is an education innovator teaching students in-demand tech skills like software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and UX/UI design. When it comes to landing a job, our graduates have a proven track record of success thanks to expert instructors, dedicated career coaches, and a money-back guarantee (see details). Flatiron School’s mission is to enable the pursuit of a better life through education.
Media Contact
Puneet Sandhu
Bateman Group for Flatiron School
flatironschool@bateman-group.com
Flatiron School in London. Photograph by WeWork
