Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now software engineering mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream job. Check out my article where I compare General Assembly vs Codecademy.
- Similarities and differences between General Assembly vs Codecademy
- Topics offered on General Assembly vs Codecademy
- Prices for General Assembly vs Codecademy
- Ratings and reviews of General Assembly vs Codecademy
- Alternatives to General Assembly vs Codecademy
- How do General Assembly and Codecademy compare to Pathrise?
Similarities and differences between General Assembly and Codecademy
General Assembly and Codecademy are tech educational programs with courses in programming, web development, data science, and more.
Similarities
- People can take online programs in web development, programming, and data science, including SQL.
- Both offer free and paid classes.
- Students in both programs can take individual courses that focus on individual programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and Python.
- In addition, General Assembly & Codecademy require students to complete hands-on projects so that they learn by doing.
Differences
- Codecademy follows a subscription-based model, so people pay $20-$40/month to receive access to Pro membership courses.
- In addition to offering courses in programming and software engineering, General Assembly has one-day, part-time, and immersive bootcamps in UX design, data science, digital marketing, and product management.
- Full-time General Assembly students receive 1-on-1 support from career coaches, who provide guidance on resumes, interviews, and other components of the job search.
- An online learning tool, Codecademy does not offer in-person classes or 1-on-1 career coaching.
- Those who enroll in General Assembly can take courses onsite at their campuses in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, and other cities.
Topics offered by General Assembly and Codecademy
Both General Assembly and Codecademy offer courses for current and aspiring software engineers, web developers, and data scientists that teach the following topics and more:
- SQL
- Python
- JavaScript
- Data visualization
- HTML & CSS
- React
- Data science
- Computer science
However, General Assembly also has courses that cover other topics, including:
- Product management
- Digital marketing
- UX design
- Google Ads
- Typography
- Agile & Scrum
- User research
- Visual design
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- E-commerce
Prices for General Assembly and Codecademy
General Assembly offers 1-day workshops, part-time courses, and full-time immersive bootcamps. Full tuition for General Assembly’s full-time bootcamps is $16,450. Students who pay upfront get a $450 bootcamp. Part-time courses cost $4,050 and students can choose to pay this upfront (with a $250 discount) or with loans. Discounts and scholarships are also available. Through our partnership with general assembly, you can get access to a series of exclusive program offerings, including $1500 off any of their bootcamps or short-courses. If you’re interested in launching a career in tech, schedule a call with the GA Admissions team and ask them for the free workshops, events and discounts.
General Assembly offers a wide variety of payment options. Probably their highest profile option is the “income share loan” (ISL) — this option allows full-time bootcamp students to pay once they land a job. Made possible via Edaid, students pay only $500 upfront. Then they pay nothing until they land a job paying at least $40,000.
A simpler option might be paying installments. General Assembly allows students to divide tuition into two, three, or four easy payments while in the program. Interest free loans are available as well via Climb. Students can choose to start paying immediately (over 18 or 24 months), or pay 12 months later over 36 months with $500 down payment. Students can also take out interest loans through Ascent, Climb, or Meritize. Students who pay via loans can choose to repay immediately, defer payments, or choose an interest-only option. Interest rates range from 6.5-15%, with terms from 3-5 years. While Launch Academy invites some of their hundred hiring partners to free networking events, General Assembly connects students with 19,000+ hiring partners including top tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.
Codecademy follows a subscription-based model and offers 2 options: Basic and Pro. The Basic plan is free and includes interactive lessons in a limited number of subjects. The Pro plan, which costs $19.99/month (billed annually) or $39.99/month (billed monthly), comes with everything in the basic plan, as well as unlimited mobile practice, real-world projects, step-by-step guidance, peer support, and members-only content.
Ratings and reviews of General Assembly and Codecademy
Reviews of both General Assembly and Codecademy are mainly positive.
Most General Assembly grads found roles related to what they studied in their bootcamp. You can see this on their outcomes report. Plus, they are on the SwitchUp list of best bootcamps in 2020. While some praised the bootcamp for its curriculum and career preparation services, others were disappointed with the rapid speed of the curriculum and the instruction. The general consensus is that GA works best for self-starters who are motivated and willing to put in the work.
Codecademy has been around since 2011 and has had 45 million users participate in their courses. Users benefited from the hands-on activities, with most agreeing that the content is helpful. But, some people noticed errors and other inaccuracies in the curriculum, while others were accidentally charged for services that they had canceled.
Alternatives to General Assembly and Codecademy
If you decide not to enroll in General Assembly or subscribe to Codecademy, you might consider one of the alternatives listed below instead:
- Aspiring software engineers and UX designers can check out Kenzie Academy, a full-time tech bootcamp that offers in-person and online courses. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Aspiring software engineers and web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- BrainStation, Thinkful, allWomen Academy, Eleven Fifty Academy, UC San Diego Bootcamps, Clarusway, and Flatiron School offer programs in software engineering, data science, and other fields.
- Other options for software engineering bootcamps include Rithm School, Coding Dojo, Actualize, Redwood Code Academy, and The Software Guild.
- Current and aspiring data scientists can check out Dataquest and DataCamp, both of which offer individual courses and in-depth tracks.
- Another option for data scientists, Metis has part-time introductory courses, as well as onsite and online bootcamps. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
More alternatives
- If you’re interested in taking an online product design bootcamp that is self-guided or instructor led, take a look at DesignerUp. Read about DesignerUp in our program review.
- Another option for aspiring designers is Designlab, an online bootcamp that teaches the necessary skills to land an entry-level UX designer job. See if Designlab suits your learning goals by reading our program review.
- With courses in UX/UI design, machine learning, software engineering, data science, and much more, Springboard and Udacity are good alternatives to Codecademy. Discover how Springboard and Udacity can help you advance your current tech skills in our program reviews.
- Other alternatives include online learning platforms such as Coursera, Pluralsight, Udemy, and Simplilearn.
- Finally, edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
How do General Assembly and Codecademy compare to Pathrise?
Both General Assembly and Codecademy have courses for current and aspiring data scientists, web developers, and software engineers. General Assembly also offers part-time courses and full-time bootcamps for those looking to learn more about digital marketing, UX design, and product management. At Pathrise, fellows should enter the program with some background in their field of interest so that they can fully benefit from our industry workshops and 1-on-1s. Currently, we have tracks in software engineering and data science, as well as product design, digital marketing, and product, strategy & ops.
A full service organization, Pathrise helps people land the best job possible. Our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table and provide 1-on-1 assistance on every component of the job search, including resume & portfolio building, cold emailing & reverse recruiting strategies, technical & behavioral interview prep, salary negotiation, and more. Fellows learn skills that can benefit them in future job searches as well.
While we require fellows to have technical skills, we don’t necessarily require them to have job experience. You may benefit from completing a program like Codecademy or General Assembly first, then joining Pathrise to get placed at a job. To help you get the skills you need to join our program, we offer $1500 off any General Assembly bootcamps or short-courses, as well as other exclusive offerings to get you up to speed. Schedule a call with the GA Admissions team and ask them for the free workshops, events and discounts.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. With our tips and guidance, we’ve seen our fellows interview scores double.
If you are interested in working 1-on-1 with any of our mentors to optimize your job search, become a Pathrise fellow.
Apply today.
