A radically different model for higher education

In today's world expertise in data science and web development is highly rewarded.  You can learn those skills by going to private licensing programs, community colleges and universities.  In each case the learner dedicates tuition and time up front in the hope of a rewarding career.

Lambda School offers a different approach, offering 30-week courses tuition free in exchange for 17 percent of your income for two years after program completion.  Graduates have to make more than $50k before having to pay back anything and total payments are capped at $30k.

Lambda is expanding into nursing and cybersecurity in the not too distant future.  One can envision Lambda and its inevitable imitators becoming widespread in disciplines where job market prospects are strong.  I do not see Lambda getting into elementary education or philosophy, but it could be a genuine threat to universities with programs that cost more and last much longer.

This NYT quote shows how Lambda's incentives vary from the typical education provider:

The school is incentivized to only enroll motivated students who won't drop out; it is incentivized to successfully teach them the skills they will need on the job; it is incentivized to find them a job; and it is incentivized to make sure that are a success once they're on the job because the school relies on employers to keep hiring its graduates.