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CareerFoundry vs Springboard: Prices, topics, and details

Hi, I’m Elle! I work as a product designer at Getaround and as an industry mentor here at Pathrise. I help our fellows land great jobs in product design through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of CareerFoundry vs Springboard.

Similarities and differences between CareerFoundry and Springboard

CareerFoundry and Springboard offer programs in UX design, web development, and other topics. 

Similarities

  • People can take their design and web dev courses online. 
  • Students who enroll in CareerFoundry immersive bootcamps and Springboard career tracks receive 1-on-1 support from industry experts. 
  • CareerFoundry & Springboard have part-time programs for people who are looking to advance their skills in a specific topic, like UI design.  
  • Students in both programs complete hands-on projects, which they can add to their portfolios.
  • Both programs are self-paced and allow students to set their own schedules. Although students are encouraged to complete milestones in a timely manner. 

Differences

  • CareerFoundry only has courses in UX design, UI design, data analytics, and web development. 
  • Springboard has offerings in UX design and data analytics, as well as data science, software engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
  • Those who graduate from Springboard and do not land a job within 6 months receive 100% of their tuition back. 
  • CareerFoundry students must pay their tuition upfront or make monthly payments, and there is no job guarantee. 
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Courses offered by CareerFoundry and Springboard

Both CareerFoundry and Springboard have courses that teach the following topics:

  • UX design
  • UI design
  • Usability testing
  • Design thinking
  • Data analytics
  • Web development 
  • HTML & CSS
  • JavaScript
  • SQL

Springboard also has courses that cover other subjects, including: 

  • Machine learning
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Software engineering 

Prices for CareerFoundry and Springboard

The CareerFoundry web dev course costs $5,225. Students have the option to pay $1,300 upfront and make 7 monthly payments of $600. For UX and UI design, the cost is $6,555 upfront. Similarly, students can make 9-10 monthly payments of $550-600 after an upfront payment of $1,400-$1,500. 

With Springboard, people can enroll in prep courses in data science and software engineering that cost $490. These take approximately 4-6 weeks to complete. People who continue onto a career track receive a $490 tuition credit towards the career track tuition, which costs $5,900-$8,500. Most students put in 15-20 hours of work per week and finish the program in 6-9 months. 

Ratings and reviews of CareerFoundry and Springboard

Online reviews of CareerFoundry and Springboard are fairly positive.

While most CareerFoundry grads said that they benefited from the UX design, UI design, and web dev bootcamps, they wished that the career coaching went into more depth. One grad praised the instructors and community. But, he noted that because CareerFoundry is based in Berlin, the bootcamp is a better option for people who are looking for jobs in Europe, rather than in the United States.

Springboard grads enjoyed having weekly 1-on-1 calls with their mentors, who provide guidance on individual capstone projects, as well as helpful tips for working in the tech industry. Others greatly benefited from connecting with their peers and asking questions on the Springboard message board. And while most people viewed the program favorably, some grads pointed out that the program’s curriculum is available for free online. These people said they still found the lessons valuable, though. 

Alternatives to CareerFoundry and Springboard

If you decide not to enroll in CareerFoundry or Springboard, you might consider one of the alternatives listed below instead: 

  • Aspiring UX designers and software engineers can check out Kenzie Academy, a full-time bootcamp that offers in-person and online courses. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review. 
  • Metis has part-time introduction courses as well as onsite & online bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
  • You can also consider Divergence Academy or Clarusway, which have part-time and full-time data science courses.
  • One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like data science, software engineering, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
  • Tech bootcamps, BrainStation, Thinkful, allWomen Academy, GW Bootcamps, and Flatiron School offer programs in UX design, data science, and other fields. 
  • As for online bootcamps with tracks in product design and web dev, Skillcrush, UX Design Institute, Big Nerd Ranch, Ironhack, and Bloc are possible alternatives. 
  • If you want to take an online product design bootcamp that is self-guided, you can also check out DesignerUp. Learn more about DesignerUp in our program review.
  • Similarly, Designlab is another online design bootcamp that teaches people the necessary skills to land an entry-level UX designer job. See if Designlab meets your needs by reading our program review. 
More alternatives
  • edX is one of the most popular online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
  • An online bootcamp, GrowthX Academy has courses for people who are interested in UX design and growth marketing, as well as sales and business development.
  • A good alternative to Springboard is Udacity. This online learning platform has courses in UX design, data science, programming, and more. Discover how Udacity can help you learn tech skills by consulting our review.
  • Similarly, Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs online. They provide free courses on many different programming languages. They also offer membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for more course options and greater support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
  • You can also use online learning tools such as Coursera, Pluralsight, and Simplilearn to brush up on the basics or advance your current tech skills. 
  • UX Pro Academy has courses for beginners as well as more experienced people.

How do CareerFoundry and Springboard compare to Pathrise?

Both CareerFoundry and Springboard have programs that teach people the necessary skills to land a job as a UX or UI designer from scratch. Both offer courses for aspiring data scientists as well, but the Springboard data science programs go into more depth and prepare people for careers in the subject. Springboard has courses for aspiring software engineers as well. 

Pathrise fellows should have some background knowledge or experience in their fields before entering the program. We currently have tracks in product design, software engineering, data science, digital marketing, and product, strategy & ops.

A full service organization, Pathrise helps people land the best job possible. Our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table and provide 1-on-1 assistance on every step of the job search, including resume & portfolio building, cold emailing & reverse recruiting strategies, behavioral interview preparation, salary negotiation, and more. 

Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. With our tips and guidance, we’ve seen our fellows interview scores double.

If you are interested in working 1-on-1 with any of our mentors to optimize your job search, become a Pathrise fellow. 

Apply today.

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Elle Chun

Elle Chun is an experienced Design professional helping Pathrise fellows to ace their technical interviews and succeed in their next design role.

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