Why IT course graduates don't get hired?

How to become a sought-after programmer in 6 months with an income of 100K, or even 500K? The answer is simple: you can't. Such promises are merely a marketing trick. However, the demand for IT courses is growing, and hundreds of useless graduates enter the market every month. Let's discuss why they often don't even get an interview, what's wrong with online courses, and in what cases they can still be useful.

Let's start by saying that there's nothing inherently wrong with the online course model itself. The issue lies in the goals and expectations: it's great if you take a course to gain some theoretical knowledge and avoid searching for information on your own. But if you buy it to become an IT professional, alas, it won't work out.

An employee must bring a certain value to the company; otherwise, there's no point in keeping them. This requires real experience in commercial development. You can draw parallels with universities: if you studied law for five years, you haven't yet become a sought-after lawyer. After eight years in medical academy and two in residency, you can't immediately perform neurosurgical operations. Similarly, no one will entrust a real project to someone who has only completed 3-6-12 months of IT courses.

Any education provides knowledge that needs to be learned and applied to simple tasks. To find such tasks, you can take an entry-level position at a small agency, work freelance, or, if you're lucky, get an internship at a large company. But you cannot expect to claim a junior role with a salary of 100K, find a job while still studying, or quickly advance to a mid-level position within a year.

What IT courses promise

• 1 · Junior · Start working
• 2 · Middle · 12 months exp.
• 3 · Senior · 24 months exp.

How it actually works

• 1 · Course · 3–12 mo.
• 2 · Job search · 6–18 mo.
• 3 · Intern · 6–12 mo.
• 4 · Junior · 1–2 yr.
• 5 · Middle · 3–5 yr.

None of this means that IT courses are completely useless; they should just be seen not as an entry into the profession, but as the first of many steps towards that goal. And it's not even a mandatory step: development can be studied independently. The question is which learning format is more convenient for you: figuring things out yourself or receiving ready-made materials and homework assignments.

Coding Under The Palms

Over the past year, the number of IT specialists in the market has grown significantly. This doesn't mean that the shortage of personnel in the market is over: companies are still fighting over mid- and senior-level specialists. However, the number of online course graduates is increasing, and employers are not willing to hire them. Often, companies don't even invite such candidates for interviews: after a certain number of unsuccessful technical interviews, HR managers no longer want to waste time on applicants who are more likely to fail. The reputation of online courses among employers is getting worse, yet their popularity is paradoxically growing.

This is primarily due to the aura of elitism surrounding the IT profession. Fabulous money, remote work under palm trees, dollar salaries, and other privileges – it's this beautiful picture that attracts most clients to these courses. Especially since events of recent years, starting with the pandemic, are making people consider obtaining a sought-after digital profession that will give them confidence in the future. For example, from January to June last year, 100,000 Russians changed their resume's professional field to IT.

All of this makes people easy targets for IT course advertisements. Moreover, the price for most of them is reasonable, so entry into a prestigious profession seems highly accessible. Demand grows, followed by an increasing number of offers, which in turn generate new demand, and so it goes on in a cycle.

But lured by the pretty picture, people often forget the very essence of the profession. They are not interested in development itself: they don't want to code at night, hunt for bugs, rack their brains over tasks, or watch hours of manuals — they are only attracted by the external glamor. Few realize that IT is not a profession for everyone, just like any other. It is serious intellectual work that requires tremendous effort, time, and continuous learning to keep up with the market. It's good if someone realizes this during the learning process. But many only encounter the harsh reality when they enter the market and start their job search.

Dubious Guarantees

Of course, not everyone can take schools at their word that a rapid career ascent awaits them after completing a course. Therefore, companies use "proof-based" messages:

• We guarantee employment or your money back.
• Read our graduates' success stories.
• 85% of our graduates found jobs.

Let's break this down in order. First, no one can guarantee employment, and money back is usually stipulated in the contract with a huge number of conditions, "buts," and asterisks.

Second, success stories are typically few, and for every one, there are dozens or hundreds of failures.

Finally, data on the number of graduates who found jobs do not show the full picture: where they got employed, in what capacity, how much they earn, and how many remained after the probationary period, not to mention the trustworthiness of these figures. But with absolute certainty, one can say that it is definitely not a serious job, because no one will hire a candidate without real experience, not even as a junior.

Claims vs. Reality

• ✓We guarantee employment · ✗No one can guarantee employment. Refunds are subject to conditions.
• ✓Graduate success stories · ✗Isolated successes against tens and hundreds of failures.
• ✓85% of graduates found jobs · ✗No data on where, in what role, at what pay, or who stayed past probation.

Perhaps it's about internship programs. And if so, that's great: internships are an investment in your future. But you should approach them without false expectations. Such programs are few, difficult to get into, the salary is very modest (sometimes nonexistent), and the chance of turning an intern into a full-time employee is very small. Nevertheless, regardless of the outcome, an internship at a large company is a good addition to your experience.

Happy Ending

I'll end on a brighter note. There are indeed many good courses on the market (though there are probably more bad ones). There are great instructors, quality content, and a strong community. Such courses help you gain the necessary knowledge and skills, get hands-on experience with academic projects, and meet interesting people. The main thing is to remember that even the best course will never be a true entry into the profession.