To learn is an investment
I work teaching computer language and sometimes I feel disappointed to hear new students that whine they are unable to pay for education or education is expensive and such. It is bs!.
For example, one of my courses is JAVA. It is a perfect match for a new developer that wants to earn money, but 99% of my students are a seasoned developer (that they are already working) and their company paid for their study.
No money
Let’s say you don’t have work, credit, or money.
You could find a job and save money for it. The minimum wage in my country is around USD 340 (a miser salary btw). Also, you could ask for a loan for relatives, sell some stuff, and so on.
The on-site course of JAVA costs USD 1'570 (I live in Chile). The price of on-site courses across the globe is pretty much the same (with a different scale).
Saving money
How to save money?
- Working and saving money.
- Asking loans from relatives.
- Selling things that you don’t need it.
Let’s say nobody loans you money, and you must work for it. It means to work for 4 months. Let’s round to 6 months.
Course
This course of JAVA costs USD 1'570. If you think as a cost, then it is not worth it. However, if you look at as an investment, then it is insanely cheap. But, let’s put it as a cost.
Ready for the market.
In my country, the minimum wage of a java developer is around USD 912. If you are paying attention, the difference between the minimum wage (unskilled work) and a java developer is x3 times. And of course, the developer (with experience) could earn more. The average salary of a java developer (jr) is around USD 1'300. In a few countries, the difference between an unskilled worker versus a skilled worker is dim, but they are the exception.
USA:
- Minimum wage: $1'300 USD per month
- Java Developer: (jr) $5'000 USD per month.
Money flow
Let’s assume two paths. One path involves earning the minimum wage, and others involve to invest in the JAVA course.
The course lasts 3 months and let’s say the student takes 2 months to find a job.
In the 7th month, the student has paid their investment, and at the end of the year, the student has more money than working for the minimum.
So, is it worth it? Of course, but let’s show another path.
Going cheap.
What if a student doesn’t want to spend on an on-site course, but instead, he (or she) decides for Udemy. Udemy has a JAVA course as low as $15.
However, those courses have a big catch: They are self-paced learning and, in general, it could take 6 months (even for a 100-hour course). Some students take a year, but let’s calculate that it takes 6 months (plus 2 months to hunt a job).
i.e., you get what you paid for.
Udemy (and self-learning courses) has another catch; the drop rate is over 90%. So, if you took one of its courses and you are failed, then you are not alone.
IMHO, the perfect match is on-site + on-line courses.
But
Like everything in life, study programming requires the commitment of the student.
If you want to earn money with zero preparation, zero investment and zero skill, you will need a lot of luck (and everybody could take your dream job).
Note: And why JAVA?
It is the list of jobs (in my country) per language: (React is not a language but it is for comparison). Mileage could vary so it is important to look at this information. For example, some developers say React is popular but this information says otherwise.
And it is for US of A
Note: Also published on Medium
