In episode 63 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Ruben Harris, Founder and CEO of Career Karma, on using Software Development Bootcamps to re-skill America and make high paying tech jobs accessible to all individuals and communities.
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In my opinion Career Karma is one of the most impactful startups in America right now. Ruben and his team have built a community of passionate individuals using software development bootcamps to change their lives through high paying tech jobs.
If Career Career Karma continues to scale they will have created a workforce development engine that has the opportunity to bring millions of Americas out of poverty into the middle and upper class.
This will have amazing economic growth and sustainability for communities that have been traditionally left behind.
Another epic initiative by Ruben and his team is their current Reskill America campaign in partnership with the Kapor Center. Covid – 19 has left over 42 million Americans without jobs over the last few weeks — disproportionately impacting low – income communities, women, and people of color.
About Career Karma
Career Karma is a platform that helps people to find the career that is right for them. The website offers a variety of Software Development Bootcamps resources, including articles, quizzes, and a Career Finder tool.
Career Karma also provides users with access to a community of career experts, who can offer advice and support. The website’s goal is to help people to make informed decisions about their careers, and to ultimately find the career that is best for them.
Career Karma is a valuable resource for anyone who is looking to make a change in their career. With its wealth of information and support, Career Karma can help anyone find the career that they are meant to have.
Tens of thousands of people come to Career Karma everyday seeking to reskill and find new jobs but don’t have laptops to take advantage of learning opportunities online.
The company is partnering with Diversity & Inclusion leaders and organizations to leverage the platform towards raising over $500,000 and giving away thousands of laptops to these communities impacted by Covid-19.
The mission is to enable those who plan on using these laptops to reskill and re-enter the workforce with a strong foundation that will last them a lifetime. With a collective effort, we can help millions of Americans acquire new skills and prepare for the Great Rehiring.
Over the past couple of years, Ruben has worked with academics, organizers, politicians, and union leaders at Hustle, Honor and AltSchool focused on improving their personalized outreach, healthcare and education.
Ruben began his technology career working in Partnerships and Sales after writing a viral blog post called Breaking Into Startups about how moved to San Francisco without a job and landed a position 3 weeks later.
After receiving thousands of e-mails asking how to break into tech, Ruben Co-Founded the Breaking Into Startups Podcast to demystify the process, resulting in a social media reach of ~3 million people, 200,000+ downloads, 10,000+ website visits per month, over 100+ reviews on iTunes, a Facebook Community of 10,000+ people, and invitations to be a Contributor for TechCrunch and Black Enterprise.
Prior to working in tech, Ruben worked as an Investment Banker focused on Food, Consumer, and Retail companies in Chicago and Atlanta.
As a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, he recruited others to focus on issues related to food security, climate change, and agriculture.
Career Karma is a member of Y Combinator’s 2019 class and since then has been helping people that want to become software engineers by matching them with the right coding bootcamp and supporting them throughout their careers.
Hundreds of millions of people will need to change jobs in the coming years. Career Karma gives them a placement quiz and gets them accepted at coding bootcamps and other training programs. With income-sharing agreements growing in popularity, plenty of job skill providers will be willing to pay to enroll the highest potential students.
Mentioned in this episode:
State of the Bootcamp Market Report 2020
Income Share Agreements (ISAs) – State of the Market 2019
Interview Transcript
00:10
Host: Today, we’re gonna chat with Ruben Harris, the founder and CEO of Career Karma. He’s one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever talked to. His path, his journey, and what he’s doing now touch on everything I want to see happen in the world from education to technology.
He’s building an incredible network for the future of education and workforce development by training individuals for high-paying jobs from the ground up.
Career Karma essentially helps individuals learn skills in web development, design, data analytics, mobile app development, and more within six to 12 months, leading to high-paying tech jobs ranging from $70,000 to $100,000 a year.
Unlike many other programs, Career Karma works with companies that need people with specific skill sets, guaranteeing a job for those who complete their programs. This is particularly important now with many people being laid off or looking to make a career change.
One of the barriers to reskilling is money, but Career Karma works with programs where money is no longer a barrier, thanks to income share agreements (ISAs). This innovative approach allows individuals to train for high-level industries without upfront costs.
Ruben’s story is incredible, and Career Karma’s platform is phenomenal. It has already changed many lives, and I highly recommend listening to this episode.
I will link below to the Reskill America campaign that Ruben and Career Karma are doing. There are many individuals in America without laptops, making it difficult for them to change their lives through education and skill development.
Reskill America is an effort to get companies and organizations to donate their excess laptops to Career Karma students. I believe internet access and technology should be a right for every citizen who wants to better themselves.
I’ll link to everything Ruben is up to and Career Karma below. As always, if you have any questions or requests, contact me at grant@causeartist.com. Hope you guys are having a great week. Stay safe and stay healthy. Thanks, bye.
How I like to start is about the journey, but let’s talk about what Career Karma is first. It’s an immense, necessary platform, and to me, it’s the future of education and work.
05:23
Ruben Harris: Yeah, so like you said, I’m the CEO of Career Karma. We match people to job training programs so they can get high-paying jobs in tech within a year. We have a mobile app on iPhone and Android, and a web app.
What makes our software unique is not only do we match you with one of 450 job training programs across the country, but we also provide support through virtual peer mentorship, which we call the squad, during the program, the job search, and for the rest of your life. The average salary for people who go through our platform is about $70,000 to $100,000.
06:02
Host: Is there an age stipulation? Is it right after high school, or can it be within high school even?
06:02
Ruben: Some programs will take you at 18, usually it’s 21. But the average age for people coming to Career Karma is about 25 to 41. We have about 500,000 people a month coming to us.
06:28
Host: When we talk about skills training, historically, it hasn’t been very good. Can you talk about the actual skills training you offer?
07:13
Ruben: Yeah, there’s definitely schools run by the government and private schools that can sometimes be predatory. But then you have these vocational schools called boot camps. Boot camps teach you exactly what companies need in a short amount of time.
It’s not just theory; it’s exactly what companies need to get you hired. They offer flexibility, so you can do them part-time, full-time, self-paced, online, or in-person. Every program we work with has a job guarantee. If you enroll in one of our programs and complete it, you’re guaranteed a job. The tuition comes out of your new salary through an income share agreement.
09:39
Host: When we first talked, ISAs were just starting to come out. Can you dive deeper into ISAs and how they make education more accessible?
10:43
Ruben: Yeah, ISAs are spreading not just to boot camps but also to colleges. There are four triggers to an ISA: a guaranteed salary, a maximum payment amount, a duration of time, and a percentage of your salary.
People often get stuck on the percentage, but the most important factors are the salary guarantee and the maximum cap. For example, if I told you I’ll get you a job making $50,000, and you agree to pay back 10% of your salary until you reach a cap of $30,000, you’re only paying when you’re working. If you lose your job, you’re not paying anything, and there’s no interest.
13:08
Host: Do ISAs come from banks, or are they supported by venture funds?
13:16
Ruben: There are banks involved, and some schools hold the risk themselves. Schools may sell the ISA to a third party like an investor or a bank. Essentially, schools get paid when you get a job, which aligns their incentives with yours.
14:06
Host: Let’s define what skills we’re talking about. What do boot camps cover, and how are students matched to programs?
14:44
Ruben: We focus on software engineering, design, data science, data analysis, and cybersecurity. These roles have been the focus of boot camps since 2012 and have strong alumni networks. Sales boot camps are also emerging, and I’d like to see more of them. We have a few we work with like Flockjay, SV Academy, and Prehired.
16:23
Host: What makes someone successful in getting a job after learning these skills?
18:50
Ruben: It’s not just about the skills; it’s about who you are as a person. Employers want to see what you bring to the table beyond technical skills. We help people understand their unique value and how to present it.
Reinventing yourself doesn’t mean forgetting your past experiences. It means leveraging them in your new career.
20:53
Host: I have a real-world example of a friend who transitioned from a chemistry degree to a coding boot camp. He drove for Uber while he trained and now has a job he loves.
22:53
Ruben: That’s an amazing story. Sometimes people just need a push and encouragement. Our community at Career Karma provides that support and motivation. Believing in someone can make a huge difference, especially for those who have been marginalized.
24:08
Host: Let’s talk about Reskill America. How did that project come about, and what is it?
25:00
Ruben: The George Floyd situation was frustrating. People aren’t just protesting police brutality; they’re also protesting economic inequality. We launched Reskill America to help people from underestimated backgrounds get access to laptops and training.
Less than 60% of Black and Brown people have a laptop. Through Reskill America, we’re getting companies to donate their excess laptops and funding to provide these essential tools to those in need.
29:44
Host: There’s a lot of money being donated to minority-owned venture firms, but we still have millions of people without laptops. Why can’t we allocate that money to initiatives like this?
30:30
Ruben: The grant-making process is too slow. It’s harder to raise money from nonprofits than from venture capital, which is ridiculous. Nonprofits and governments need to move faster. One solution could be adopting a scout model, where grantees can give grants to other nonprofits, speeding up the process.
33:59
Host: We talk about systems change, but the nonprofit side of grant-making is something we can change quickly. We have the power to make a difference without relying on policymakers.
34:58
Ruben: Absolutely. Imagine if we could provide laptops and scholarships to those in need. We could create a $50 million fund from people giving back once they’re employed. This could be done without talking to venture capital or nonprofits.
36:51
Host: It’s about understanding the power we have as individuals. Once people have the skills, they have the power to choose where and for whom they work.
38:00
Ruben: Exactly. And we need to involve the community. Churches, for example, can provide infrastructure for workforce development. They’ve historically played a significant role in education and leadership.
40:15
Host: What about the digital divide and access to the internet?
41:55
Ruben: Internet access should be a right. The church can play a significant role in providing this. Organizations like Google’s Project Loon and Elon Musk’s Starlink are also working on providing global internet access.
43:07
Host: Is Reskill America time-based, or will it continue indefinitely?
43:21
Ruben: There’s no end date. We want to keep it going as long as there’s a need. We’re focusing on getting as many laptops to people as quickly as possible.
43:59
Host: Let’s talk about your journey. How did you start on this path?
43:59
Ruben: My parents taught me to develop skills no one could take away from me, like language and music. I’ve been playing the cello since I was four. This concept of lifelong learning has always been a part of me.
I also went to religious schools, which emphasized community and leadership. Growing up in Atlanta, I never felt disadvantaged because of my race. My mindset has always been that most barriers are psychological, not technical.
48:42
Host: Thanks for taking the time, Ruben. I wish we had more time, but maybe we can do a part two. I love what you’re doing, and I can’t wait to talk more.
49:13
Ruben: Thank you, my brother. This was amazing. Have a good one.
