Pursuit Fellowship
Your career is our job.
The Pursuit Fellowship is a four-year program designed specifically to help adults from underserved backgrounds launch careers in technology.
At the same time, Pursuit is so much more than just learning to code or even becoming an engineer. Pursuit is about realizing your potential and empowering yourself to bring transformation to yourself, your family, and your community.
Madelyn (Taverez) Reyes
Pursuit 2.0 Fellow
Sr Software Engineer at Pinterest
Average annual starting salaries of Pursuit Fellows jump up by almost 5x—from $18,000 to over $90,000.
Based on this average, you can earn an estimated $2M more in your lifetime than you would have otherwise. Plus, we help you secure your first job through our Pursuit Commit employer partnerships and provide three years of additional on-the-job training and support.
Designed For You
Our mission is transformation. Average annual starting salaries of Pursuit Fellows jump up by almost 5x—from $18,000 to $90,000. And that's just the starting salary. We estimate that each Fellow earns an average of $2M over their lifetimes.
You spend 12 to 24 months of learning and growing with us, and we'll help you land a high-paying role afterward—and continue supporting you post-hire.
We work with employer partners to create job opportunities specifically for Pursuit Fellows. That means that we'll be holding a job for you.
There are no costs to start the program. If you don't get a job, you don't pay anything. If you lose your job, your payments pause. Pursuit will provide a laptop you can use for the length of the training. Our HQ is open for your use every day.
If you give it your all to this journey, we’ll give our all for you. That goes not only for the Core program, but for the long arc of your career. As a member of the Pursuit Fellowship and community, we will continue to support you throughout your career in the tech industry and beyond.
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their dreams regardless of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or geography.
Our Fellows:
100% From low-income backgrounds
50% Women
70% Black or Hispanic
40% Immigrants
55% Do not have a bachelor's degree
50%+ Receive public assistance
Fellowship At-a-glance
We're focused on helping you build a career and become a leader. That's why coding is just one of many skills you'll earn at Pursuit.
Pursuit is built on three interlinked threads: Leadership & Personal Development, Industry Readiness, and Technical Mastery.
You’ll continue to face new challenges—both professional and personal—in your new role as a software engineer. Tackling them will require leadership. At Pursuit, we’ll help you develop yourself and prepare you to become not just a valued team member but an effective leader.
We understand that you may be new to tech or to a professional environment. But we also know that you’re eager to dive in and go deep. We’ll help equip you with the skills, knowledge, and abilities that are required to thrive in the tech industry, whether it’s teamwork, communication, or business concepts.
Start with a foundation of basic concepts and build your way up to complex applications. Pursuit currently offers a full-stack web development suite (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, Express, SQL, React, and Redux). You’ll also learn and apply computer science concepts, including data structures and algorithms.
What you can expect
At Pursuit, our goal is not a diploma or a graduation, but it is to build a career. That's why Pursuit is rigorous and demanding by design. At the same time, it's also designed to be collaborative and supportive. The Fellowship is not a solo journey--you have our One Big Team pushing for you at every step.
We won't sugarcoat it: The Fellowship is not easy. But nothing worthwhile is. We offer two schedule options—one for days and one for nights/weekends. Whichever you choose, you can expect to spend about 40 hours/week in class and 20 hours/week studying outside of class.
This journey will be challenging. You will have moments where you may want to give up. Maybe you will feel like you weren’t meant for this. Those are the moments where we want you to feel, experience, and know that you have a team and a community that believes 100% in you.
Envision Your Journey
We kick off the Fellowship with team-building and onboarding. This is an important opportunity to get to know your other Fellows and the staff as we launch into our journey together.
Put your learning to the test and build an app from scratch in a short period of time.
Build a final project with your teammates over the span of multiple weeks. Showcase your capstone project before an audience of industry experts, mentors, volunteers, and colleagues. This milestone is not just about presenting your project, it’s also about presenting yourself.
You got a job. Let’s celebrate together at the Pursuit Gong Ceremony, a tradition to mark when a Fellow accepts a job offer and is about to kick off their new career.
We support our Fellows while you're on the job through three-years of continued technical and professional skills support. We also work directly with your managers to ensure a successful transition into tech. You’ll be working with us closely to help you get to mid- and senior-level.
When you commit to pursuing your potential, Pursuit commits to you. We're here to provide the guidance, support, and tools you need.
Equipment
You'll get a laptop, monitor, and other critical equipment free of charge to use and keep.Industry volunteers and mentors
You'll work with industry leaders who will share their knowledge, expertise, and experiences to help you build confidence and address challenges.Learning Space
Take advantage of our Queens HQ space! It's open 24/7 for you to meet with your team, take interviews, and more.Wraparound Support
We work with organizations to provide additional wraparound support.
Through our Pursuit Bond funding model, we're able to provide Fellows with zero loans and upfront costs. Instead, Fellows agree to pay a percentage of their earnings for a set number of payments after they secure a high-paying job. We're invested in your success.
To be eligible for the Fellowship, you must meet all of the following criteria:
My annual salary/income is less than $45k
I am 18+ years of age
I am proficient in English (speaking, reading, and writing)
I am eligible to work in the US
I live in the NYC Metro
I am committed to participating for the full length of the Fellowship
FAQ
The training portion of the Fellowship is 12 months, followed by 3 years of career mentorship and support.
One of the major benefits to the tech industry is that you do not need certifications to get hired. Instead of working towards getting a certificate, you’ll be working towards getting a job. The goal of the Pursuit Fellowship is to help you gain a job and build your career. That’s why the Pursuit Fellowship is skills-based and project-focused. By the time you’re ready to start applying to jobs, you’ll have a personal website and a project portfolio that highlight your technical skills.
Classes will vary by cohort but range from 30–40 Fellows. We aim to create a thriving classroom culture and learning environment, with support from instructors, instructional associates, volunteers, and mentors.