Annie T
1/5
For a program wanting to help underserved individuals, I found them condescending. Extremely arrogant and haughty in attitude, will preach about wanting to balance the socio-economic divide, and will then absolutely demand that you take accountability in the very circumstances they are saying is above your control. If you’re willing to swallow your pride and tolerate staff talking down to you and demanding praise for their help, then perhaps it’s worth your time.
During the interview, they asked me questions about how making more money would change my life and I told them about how when my car was stolen, I couldn't afford to buy a new one so I lost my job because I wasn't able to take the bus to work while attending school the same time. My interviewer then told me that I needed to learn how to take accountability for my car getting stolen.
As part of the program to teach you "real life skills", they will also withhold stipends if you are late to work. So don't depend on them. Ironically for a program that boasts about helping the underserved, you can't be struggling TOO much because even if something like your car got stolen, Yearup won't care.
The real world was already difficult enough YearUP.
YearUp then bragged about changing lives and how their program will basically guarantee success but when applicants contacted the program about still struggling, YearUp blamed the participants, for a program that claimed they knew what was wrong and how to land a job, didn't lift a finger to help.
Maybe YearUp is the one that needs a reality check.
You have to be extremely desperate to attend YearUp. If they did help, good for you but if the program didn't change your life, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
YearUp is a program designed and led by people who don't understand what it is like to struggle. From life experience of all the assistance, I have been blessed with to get me by, YearUp, hands down, had the most neurotic individuals, who disgusted me that they chose to work in this field to stroke their egos.
My experience was so awful that I can't help but grimace each time I see an advertisement from Year Up.
Save yourself the time and learn IT (for free) on your own online. Saving a few hundred on taking an exam isn't worth the amount of time they waste using you to boost their image.
Year Up is not a program that I am hopeful about improving with each candidate round. When one of their partners saw my experience, they were appalled and directly communicated how disappointing their behavior was. Year Up response was to get upset that I talked to a third party about my experience which only continued the controlling image.
It has been several years and as someone who worked in the tech industy, I will occasionally meet someone who is familiar with YearUp and they will update me that the same neurotic staff members I dealt with, are still employed, still neurotic.
Do better YearUp.
