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[popsofctown]

I have an offer from a software development company that wants to put me through a training program for like eight weeks, then try to place me with a project from a client and then I'll make a competitive entry level salary for a two year contract.  If I do a good job with the training I'm supposed to for sure get offered something good.
I'm not paid for training, but they are giving me free room and board and a couple hundred bucks a week to eat and stuff.  I have to travel across country to go do it but there's a stipend for that too.

I got kinda wigged out when I heard about referral bonuses, but this all sounds kinda legit, I'm not really being asked for money so it seems hard for this to be a raw deal.  I'm worried it's like the minor leagues of baseball or something where there's a large number of unused trainees, I only have verbal assurances it's not.

Does this sound legit or worrisome?

[SwitchedFromStarcraft]

Can't comment on the opportunity itself, but as for the logistics, I suggest the following (not necessarily in the order I write them):

1) Ask the software development company (SDC) if they have done this before, and if so ask to speak to one or more of the people that were once in the place you are now.
2) Do your due diligence on the reputation of the SDC.
3) If they are willing to share the name of the client, do your due diligence on them as well (not out of fear that the SDC could screw you, but to make sure the client is somebody you ultimately would like to work for).
4) If the SDC will not share the client name, ask more questions about their relationship with the client.  Have they been working together long, how many folks have they placed with this client, etc.
5) Find out if the SDC is willing to put all of what you described in writing (I know they can't guarantee a job, but they should be willing to put in writing the stipend, the room and board, and anything else they will cover).
6) You mentioned a referral bonus.  I'm unclear on what that is, or why you would wig out, but if this is a fee they want to charge you, this would be worrisome.  It doesn't mean it is not legit, but you should not be paying a referral fee.  The client should pay this. This would be a deal breaker if it were my decision, as there are plenty of recruiter types that collect their fee from the people that hire you. PM me for more details (I am not a recruiter). 

If it comes down to a close decision as to yes or no, the tiebreaker may be: How much more valuable am I in the general marketplace for my field if I have taken the 8 weeks of training (which have theoretically cost me nothing but my time*) and I don't get the job with the client?

*I acknowledge there may be an opportunity cost to spending the 8 weeks in training rather than spending that 8 weeks for other potential opportunities.

Hope this helps.

[popsofctown]

This company has trained a lot of people that way, it's most of what they do.  They definitely have a track record for placing a lot of people into a project with various clients, mostly the government, but also various private ones.

The referral bonus was like, if I told them to call Jimmy and get him in for 8 weeks training too, I would get 500 bucks or what have you.

They aren't asking for any money from me, that would be a pretty big red flag.

The opportunity cost of looking during those 8 weeks isn't really that great, which is why I'm leaning towards doing it.
It kinda sounds too good to be true, so I'm a tad paranoid.  My little brother worked for vector marketing, y'know, flexible hours, free training, you can make 100k a year, all that rot.  The catch was that he had to supply his own leads, and it wasn't a very obvious catch.

The technologies they plan to train me on are very general, so they do make me more  valuable in the general marketplace even if I don't get a job with the (a, more accurately) client.

[Kuildeous]

How comfortable are you with your cash reserves? That'd be my only concern, in case things don't work out somehow.

But if it's a reputable company, then this seems like a pretty good opportunity. Hey, free training. Not only that, but they technically are paying to train you since room and board are included. As long as you have the internet, you can keep yourself entertained without needing a whole lot of spending money.

I don't know what your home life is like—if you have kids or other family to tend to—but this seems like a pretty cool deal for really flexible people. I would have tried it 20 years ago if I wasn't already in school at the time. I wouldn't consider it today, but I'm in a pretty comfortable job, have a wife whom I'd miss for 2 months, and have pet rats to take care of. 

This offer isn't raising any flags for you, so that's good. Sounds like you've done your due diligence to ensure that this isn't some scam.

[Drab Emordnilap]

I don't know -- I'd still be concerned. I feel like if this company was such a positive experience, they wouldn't need to bribe (excuse me, provide financial incentives) to convince people to get their friends interested.

I wonder if those "training courses" are really a way of getting unpaid software development work to sell off to the lowest bidder? /foilhat

[Kuildeous]

I'm sure that they are getting a lot more out of it than they're paying their recruits. It is a business after all. In actuality, this may be little more than a sweat shop. But if you're not already employed, then this could be an interesting way to learn more. Hopefully that learning doesn't involve "don't sign up with shady recruiters."

I like the idea of interviewing previous clients and recruits, though.

[pedroluchini]

I don't know -- I'd still be concerned. I feel like if this company was such a positive experience, they wouldn't need to bribe (excuse me, provide financial incentives) to convince people to get their friends interested.

It's not at all unusual for companies (even those that have a great workplace and don't need to "bribe" new recruits) to offer referral bonuses. I don't work in HR so I can't provide any insight into the process, but you can read about it on the interwebs if you're curious.

[Davio]

I was once referred to by a friend, causing him to be able to buy some new computer equipment for his home.
The bonus was about the same, 500 dollars thereabouts.

If you're young enough and flexible enough with your money and future, the only thing you're really risking is 8 weeks of your life.
Be sure to read all the fine print though so you aren't forced to pay them back if you can't be placed or something like that.

[GeoLib]

Referral bonuses are not at all uncommon in software engineering, I believe. I know a number of people recently out of college working at various tech companies and they get referral bonuses if they find new hires. In this industry there are way more jobs than there are qualified people, so if you find a company a qualified person, that is valuable enough for them to give you an incentive.

[blueblimp]

Referral bonuses are not at all uncommon in software engineering, I believe. I know a number of people recently out of college working at various tech companies and they get referral bonuses if they find new hires. In this industry there are way more jobs than there are qualified people, so if you find a company a qualified person, that is valuable enough for them to give you an incentive.

My experience: This is true, referral bonuses are typical. Unpaid training is not typical. But I don't know enough to say whether the unpaid training is a bad sign.

[popsofctown]

I found one blog post saying some bad things about the program which was enough to give me cold feet about it.  Thanks for the feedback.