From a $ sense, they can cost $0 to 30k.

But it’s important to take in your time, and opportunity cost into that equation.

Let’s look at the extremes:

There are so many choices – and so many of them are really great! A lot of them aren’t as great – but more important than the suspected ‘quality’ – is how it works for you.

Thousands of people sign up for free courses every day

Free youtube courses, Udemy (so cheap we’ll count it as free), FreeCodeCamp, The Odin Project  [[have more? Tell us, and we’ll add them here]]

Thousands of people also pay 20k for a 12-week boot camp every day.

There are hundreds of online courses – and especially now, during COVID-19.

Some people pay nothing upfront

When they get a job they pay back the 30k tuition over the next few years.

Those are drastically different financial commitments.

What about the time? How many people actually finish freecodecamp and get jobs? How many months or years does it take them?

If it took you a year (just for example) to learn everything you need to know “for free” – and you spent 4 hours a day studying, that would add up to at least 1,460 hours of your time. What is that worth to you? What is an hour of your time worth? $10? let’s say $10.

So, $14,600 worth of your time.

What about opportunity cost?

How much money do you make now? Let’s say 50k. So, 4k a month. Now, in theory – you’re trying to get an 80k job or something… so, that’s more like 6.6k a month… and then – you missed out on 9 months of that already (opportunity cost) … so, 2.6 difference a month * 9 = 23k. 23 + 14k (loosely) = 37k. So, it’s not really free… and – well, is it a good curriculum? Do you have the motivation to stay on task without a teacher? Lots to consider. On the other hand (we’re not suggesting you do to a 3-month boot camp…) – but in theory – you paid 15 or 20k for that. and you had to also spend a lot of time there… but probably about the same as the freecodecamp. So, 20k and then you got a job at 80k and made 9 months of salary (2.6k more) so, 23k pay bump – 20k tuition and time = Free school.
It’s crazy, right? The *free* school – (could) cost your 37k – and the ‘expensive’ school (could) be *free*. You’ll have to make your own calculations – but don’t forget to add up what you think an hour of your time is worth – and to factor in the opportunity cost.

Realistically: 20k – 100k.

You can pay with money – or your time. You can learn it well – and at a fast pace with the right momentum and timing… or you can spend years learning and pick up a bunch of bad habits and frustration. It all depends on what path you choose.

We find that spending the money upfront – gets you where you need to go a lot quicker.

If you got a small loan, and you picked the *right school* at *the right time* – then it could be virtually free. It might even make you 100k over a few years / so, way better than “free.”

Taking time into consideration, DFTW is ~150 lessons long. Each lesson requires 3 hours. That’s 450 hours (min). But you could say that at $10 an hour – that you’re paying $5,000 in your time – and ~$10,000 of tuition. The way it rolls out ensures you learn these concepts as fast as possible – so, there is very little opportunity cost. At < $15k, we believe that our program is the least expensive education path there is – and it’s also the best education path.

Whatever path you choose, do the math.