As one of the highest paying and fastest-growing US industries, the tech sector represents a pathway to helping more women secure financial independence and security for themselves and their families. As a woman, a mother, and a tech executive, I know both from my personal and professional journeys that we need to do a better job of both supporting mothers in their careers and their family lives and making it easier for them to enter the industry. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that Bloom Institute of Technology (formerly known as Lambda School) has partnered with The Mom Project with the goal of helping more mothers and caregivers re-enter the workforce, re-skill, or break into tech.

Currently, although more than 60 percent of college graduates with bachelor’s degrees are women, according to The Mom Project an astounding 43 percent of women in professional roles end up leaving their careers to care for their families. The numbers are clear – finding a way to help more women and families be able to work and learn flexibly is essential, which is why this partnership is so personal for me.

A powerful alliance for re-skilling women in tech

BloomTech’s Web Development and Data Science programs are designed to remove barriers to access that have helped prevent more people, especially women, from being able to enter the tech sector. Our live, online curriculum means parents can attend class from anywhere, whether that’s at home with their children or after hours at the office. 

Parents also benefit from the option of using BloomTech's popular income share agreement, or ISA. When you pay for your BloomTech education with an ISA, you’ll start by paying for a fraction of your tuition up front. Once you graduate, we’ll help you land a well-paying job—and then you’ll pay for the rest of your tuition with a percentage of your income for a limited time. 

In other words, an ISA funds your tuition so you can pay back BloomTech later.

Here are some of the basics about ISAs at BloomTech.

1. Know what you owe. No monthly interest. Unlike with a typical loan, the maximum amount you owe will never increase with an ISA doesn’t accrue monthly interest. In other words, what you owe never increases. Your total payment amount is capped at $40,000*, andmaximumso you won’t pay more than that amount . you may end up paying less. No monthly interest.

2. It scales with you. Your goal is to get a great job; that’s our goal for you, too. Once you start earning at least an annualized $50,000** a year, you’ll pay us back with a percentage of your income each month. If your earned income falls below the minimum total amount, your payments will be deferred until your income reaches the minimum again.

3. No lingering obligations. Your contract is finished once you complete the ISA payment schedule or reach the payment cap, whichever comes first. And if you aren’t making the minimum average monthly income, and have had deferred payments for a total of 48 months, then your ISA expires and you don’t owe anything else—even if you’ve paid nothing up to that point.

At BloomTech, we are committed to providing more people with a direct and lower-risk path to a rewarding tech job. That’s why we offer flexible options to pay your tuition—and launch your new career.

BloomTech also offers a 1:1 mentoring program and personalized career coaching to give parents the peace of mind to know that they’re not alone on this journey and that they have a community to support them.
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But we also knew that in order to reach our goal of helping 500 women re-enter or stay in the workforce, we needed to partner with organizations that could connect our alumni to the most mom-friendly companies in the world, making The Mom Project a natural fit.

As a mother and a tech executive, I’m passionate about helping more women enter and succeed in the tech industry. Together, BloomTech and The Mom Project have an opportunity to help hundreds of women find and succeed at their next professional opportunity.

Creating pathways for #ChampionMoms to succeed 

Through this partnership, our students have access to a robust network of family-friendly hiring partners to help them find a job where they can reach their full potential both at work and at home – a goal that I’m proud to champion. 

When I was growing up in India, I dreamed of working with computers and through a patchwork of scholarships was able to get my CS degree and go on to work for some of the leading tech companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, Facebook, Coinbase and then, when I learned about BloomTech's mission to make education accessible and free, joined them as the CTO. 

Helping more women see themselves as part of the tech industry and then having the pathway, tools, and support to make that happen, is what drives me in my career.  If you’re a parent who’s looking to change careers, re-skill, or get back into the workforce, I’d like to personally invite you to apply to BloomTech. I am also personally available to chat about career transitions and breaking into tech, you can reach me at namrata@BloomTech.com.

Together with The Mom Project, we’re committed to helping #ChampionMoms reach their full potential and find their next professional opportunity. I hope you join us. 

Sincerely,

Namrata Ganatra
CTO, BloomTech

About The Mom Project

The Mom Project is a digital talent marketplace and community that connects moms with rewarding work opportunities at family-friendly companies. With a community of over 250,000 talented professionals and more than 2,000 companies, The Mom Project is committed to building a better workplace for mothers and the companies they support by harnessing the often overlooked intellectual workplace power of moms. The Chicago-based company has raised $11M in funding to date, including a Series A of $8M led by Grotech Ventures, Initialized Capital and Aspect Ventures, along with previous backers Atlanta Seed Company, Engage Ventures, OCA Ventures, BBG Ventures, IrishAngels and Wintrust Financial. Serena Williams joined The Mom Project as a Strategic Advisor in early 2020 to further mobilize the mission. Learn more at https://themomproject.com.

About BloomTech

BloomTech is a live, skills-based online school that removes barriers typically in the way of pursuing higher education and a better career. BloomTech’s Income Share Agreement model de-risks education by aligning the incentives of the school and the students. Throughout BloomTech’s immersive programs, students work closely with from-industry instructors and a network of peers via live, interactive online courses. Current courses include Full-Stack Web, Backend Development, and Data Science. BloomTech is backed by top investors. Learn more at www.BloomTech.com.