Are FDM and Nology worth it?

jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 18:03
Last edited 05/11/2021 - 18:15

Has anyone done a training program through FDM (https://www.fdmgroup.com/en-au/au-careers/graduates/technica…) or Nology (https://au.nology.io/12-week-remote-software-developer-cours…)? They train you for 12 weeks then place you in a company, where you work for a minimum 18 months (FDM is min 2 years). It seems like a good deal, although you have to stay with the employer for the entire time or otherwise you have to repay the cost of training.

I am a recent computer science graduate struggling to find work and am very tempted by this program. I'm worried if it may be too good to be true? Anyone here done the program before?

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Comments

  • MrHyde on 05/11/2021 - 18:05

    Will you actually learn anything in the 12 week course?

    Will you be paid market rates for the 18 month stint or are the employers taking advantage of cheap labour?

    • jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 18:15

      I can learn some new things during the course, it's mostly web dev.

      I don't know about FDM, but Nology says they pay their graduates 50-60k which seems to be at market rate (I was previously working as a cloud engineer and earning 40k so its an improvement for me).

  • 2MuchTimeOnOzBargain on 05/11/2021 - 19:22

    I was offered a position with FDM as a software developer a couple years ago. The two year contract will put you on a salary of around 50-60k in the first year and maybe 65k in the second year. The companies they work with are located in Melbourne/Sydney so you might also have to relocate depending on which company you get put in.

    I didn't accept the offer because I didn't want to be stuck with a company that I may or may not like for two years. Also, from my experience, pay growth as a software dev was quite a bit more than what FDM offered.

  • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 19:23

    CS grads with cloud experience are in high demand.
    If something is preventing you getting hired with these skills currently, it's probably a better idea to address that than do a boot camp.
    Otherwise the issue will still be there in 18 months.

    • jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 19:26

      Really? That hasn't been my experience at all and I have AWS cloud certs. Is cold calling or emailing companies a good strategy?

      • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 19:28

        Almost certainly no.
        Best to talk to the people you went to uni with and ask who is hiring. Do you have a good LinkedIn profile?
        Does it have the keywords that would tempt a recruiter?

        • jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 19:32

          My career counsellor at uni told me to send my cv to any IT managers I could find on linkedin, but it feels a bit intrusive. Also I found you can message people without first being connected.

          She also said maybe I should apply for an a job as a receptionist just to get my foot in the door, then try and move into an engineering role. It seems a bit risky, but she said she knows of people who have done it.

          • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 19:40

            @jking11: I don't think that is the best advice, it risks you being pigeonholed as somebody who is non-technical.
            I work for a software company, I'm happy to offer you some feedback if you want to private message me your LinkedIn.

  • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 19:26
    +1

    To put it another way, the companies using this service are hoping to get cheap employees and find some gems along the way.
    If they could hire qualified people on these wages, they wouldn't participate in the program.

    • jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 19:28

      Isn't 50-60k what graduate engineers usually earn? It's 10k+ improvement for me.

      • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 19:30
        +2

        What advantage would there be for the hiring companies to cover the course costs and hire you for 2 years if they could get somebody already well qualified for that money?
        These programs exist because the jobs are in such high demand they are having difficulties filling the vacancies.

        • jking11 on 05/11/2021 - 20:53

          Yeah I thought that would be the case. What's considered well qualified in this industry?

          • mskeggs on 05/11/2021 - 21:03

            @jking11: A relevant degree and industry certs is very well credentialed. After that, it is about hands on stuff like projects you have worked on or things you have been involved in.

            Most people I know doing temp contracts tend to do more certificates, and most people in full time permanent work have few actual qualifications.

            EDIT: I should be clear, it is fine to have few credentials if you have high technical skills. And lots of certs isn't really a substitute for capability. I know plenty of gun programmers, even CTOs who haven't done any qualifications since uni, or who dropped out.

  • Ponka on 06/11/2021 - 00:20
    +1

    As someone who joined FDM a few years ago, I would personally say it's not worth it. You do get paid for the duration of the training and the time you wait to be placed in a company (this wasn't the case for training in the UK and USA, for example). But you're certainly getting (profanity) over, and in the position I joined I learnt that people in my team in the same role were making at least more than double than what I was (I was making just over 50k during training and the first year of work in the position, and a small pay-rise in the second). And I'd say it's the same for Nology as well.

    Also, you realistically can't choose the job you want. I hated my job for the two years I worked, and didn't really align with what I wanted to do, along with almost all of the training I did ending up being worthless with the actual job I ended up doing. Only go for it if you're desperate (me), and are okay with taking that risk of working in a place you don't want to. But after the two years, you can get a really good offer in terms of money.

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