# TIY and Intent

(**Disclaimer:** Though this missive is intended to be taken seriously,
there will be exaggerations because the motivation to write it comes
from recent developments about which I have strong feelings. I will
strive to remain thoughtful and respectful about the company and do
this only in the spirit of clarifying our values and shared goals.)

## The Impetus

### On Pricing

We will soon be publicly announcing a $1,900 price hike in our tuition.
The revelation of this caused some internal concern and prompted a number
of good questions that I would like to reflect on more deeply. My perspective
is largely focused on the technical side of what we do since I'm an instructor. 
But the concerns that were stirred by today's announcement have been with me
since my very first cohort at this company over a year ago.

The main question that came up when the tuition hike was discussed was, "Why?".
A few subquestions follow:
  * How does raising the price impact our diversity initiatives?
  * How do we communicate it to students?
  * Is the hike due to inflation and other market pressures?
  * If not, what does it pay for?

Good answers to these questions are more complicated than the Slack channel
or this essay permit. But, in short, the answer "handed down" was that we are
seeking to be a "Top Brand" in the still young industry of code bootcamps, and
a lower price relative to our competitors risks devaluing our product.

It is also the case that since our last price hike (right before I joined the
company in 2014), we have made "significant investments in regulatory
compliance/licensing, online resources to support our immersive programs, and
beefing-up our alumni services". This provides added support for the idea that
this price increase corresponds with a real increase in services provided by
TIY Academy, LLC.

Additionally, while current scholarship amounts will not increase and that
puts additional negative pressure on our diversity initiatives, there are
efforts underway to provide additional types of scholarships including full
ride scholarships to bolster our support. Our recent involvement in the White
House's Opportunity Project is part of this as are emerging partnerships with
companies that would like to both fund and hire graduates through TIY as part
of their own diversity efforts.

It was never the intent that we would explain the tuition increase to
prospective students by saying "we're just matching other Top Brands".
But there was still resistance to the idea of the price hike suggesting that
we cannot present ourselves as a luxury brand in the code school marketplace.

### The Resistance

A senior instructor mentioned the fact that, "Increasing the price helps from
a marketing perspective, but doesn't translate to job eligibility." That was
met with similar questions asking how to keep Iron Yard's brand perception
positive during a period of market oversaturation for code schools.

Such an investigation requires an awareness of what other options exist in
the code school market and what differences TIY has from those programs.

Some of the concerns voiced are as follows:

> The Iron Yard is still a 12-week course and that has at least some
> correlation with the skill of graduates produced, controlling for
> other factors like full-stack vs specialized curricula (backend/frontend).
  
The point was made elsewhere that we should shy away from the idea that
`quantity = quality` but that's funny to hear in light of the revelation
that an important reason for the tuition hike is the correlation between
our price and our perceived brand quality. It's also the case that,
given the same starting students and program of study, more time allows
for more development on the part of the instructors.

> The Iron Yard has a relatively low barrier to enrollment compared to 
> code schools that require knowledge of recursion, closures, or other
> intermediate programming knowledge before classes even begin.

The Turing School in Colorado requires previous programming experience and
knowledge of recursion before acceptance. The program itself is twice as long
as ours at 6 months though does touch on both Backend and Frontend topics.
Maker Square in Austin requires students to be able to explain Javascript
closures prior to acceptance into it's program and you have to take a pre-course
prior to entrance to their in-person immersive course, much like DevBootcamp's
9-week online precourse to the 9-week in-person course.

It's worth noting that there are also schools like the Recurse Center
(formerly HackerSchool) in New York that are engaging in a different model
entirely. One where their aim is to be a "writer's retreat for programmers"
and is neither targeted *specifically* at those with no prior experience,
nor trying to serve as a gateway into the burgeoning Junior Developer market.

> The Iron Yard does not presently adjust pricing to specific local markets
> based on both market demand and starting salary expectations for graduates.

I am unaware of code schools that *are* adjusting pricing to local markets
but I also know of few other schools trying to grow as quickly as TIY and
with such lofty aims.

## Looking Forward

### On Junior Developers

Programming itself is only a 60 year old human activity. Programming as a
common profession is arguably 2 decades younger still. It is fine to argue
that the job market for *Junior Developers* is massively underserved and
that demand is expected to continue for the next decade.

Here is my concern:

>  We have only in the last 6 months done *substantial* research into who our
>  customer base is. That is, we have been more focused for the past year and
>  a half on *growing the business* than *understanding the business*, why it
>  works, and in what ways it is sustainable. Our stated vision is to create
>  lasting change for people and communities. To responsibly pursue this vision,
>  we must balance our desire for growth with a radical awareness of the rapidly
>  evolving marketplace that we are in.

I spoke with another instructor at my campus over lunch and we agreed that
while our graduates usually get hired within a few months of graduation as
Junior Developers, we are not confident about what is acceptable to employers
vs what will knock their socks off. We must remember there is *substantial
variance* in the ability of students we accept and that carries over into
variance in the *graduates we produce*.

It is difficult to gain a sense of what companies are eager to hire Junior
Developers, and of those who are, what an acceptable definition of Junior
Developer even is. The existing advisory board model is insufficient to
maintain acceptable job placement rates for our graduates and ensure our
instruction is acceptable. Further outreach is needed to both educate
companies about the benefits of hiring and mentoring Junior Developers
and discover what is needed on our end for such a partnership to be feasible.
This partially explains the longer term job hunts of *some* of our graduates.

### On Our Customers

Crucially for me, I not only need students that are *willing* to pay
but a fervent *belief* that the education they receive has a value that
pays for itself and does so in a short period of time. I can easily
accept that we are beating out code schools that do not have entrance exams
or high requirements for students. I have full faith that we are a better
option than a 4-year CS program for many people interested in getting into
the tech field, especially those switching from an existing career.

I am less convinced that continuing to inflate prices, **regardless of what
our competitors do**, will not get us into the same despised position as
traditional education brokers and 4-year colleges. Part of the explosion
of code bootcamps in the first place was because they were *cheap and fast*.
Young people in this country are being rocked by generational issues
*centered* around education debt and job prospects. The further we can stay
from the missteps of traditional colleges, the happier I'll be.

I don't believe we've yet crossed a line, but I know that our customers
aren't rich and that is part of their motivation for seeking us out.
Indeed, it is not clear that even they know what to expect after graduation
salary and job prospect-wise. And I can offer no guarantees about either the
timeframe to finding work or what the job will be provided they find it.
They still may be able or willing to conjure up $12,000 but not $14,000 and
I have zero mental model of the cutoff where that stops being reasonable.

Finally, this is a big market, with different participants in different sectors.
I believe there are schools whose less immersive approach we clearly outstrip.
There are also those focused on producing something very different than what
we would call Junior Developers. And across the board, I am aware of no one
with our mindset towards growth. We must be mindful of the differences
between their models and ours when evaluating our choices with respect to
our corporate mission and how they impact the future well being of our students.
I am personally forced into the position of reevaluating how important our
growth is as a goal at this time.