“Why Go to College if You Can Get Hired at Top Tech Companies in Just 6 Months?”
“We felt fulfilled knowing we had a positive impact on the customer’s life.”
This is a familiar phrase often found in interviews with successful product planners. Whether it’s bringing joy through great content or solving customer problems to save them time, the purpose of a product or service is to change the customer’s life for the better. (Though, let’s be honest, not every company achieves that—or even tries.)
There are generally two ways to create impact. You can offer small changes to a large audience or deliver profound change to a select few. ZeroBase School, an educational program that helps students get hired, falls into the latter category. When it comes to making a dramatic impact on people’s lives, ZeroBase is unmatched.
*ZeroBase School is the online job boot camp service run by Snowball CIC (a Day1Company internal startup)스
“If You Can Get a Job at a Top Tech Company in 6 Months, Why Even Go to College?”
Before the first course even ended, 70% of the students were hired. By the end, all of them had jobs.
ZeroBase’s intense bootcamp model, which is focused on securing employment, was first put to the test with a program called “Guaranteed Entry to Top Tech Firms: Naver, Kakao, Coupang, Baemin”. The program is designed to help participants land a job as a developer at some of South Korea’s biggest tech companies—Naver, Kakao, Line, Coupang, and Baemin—within six months.
Many people said it was impossible. Some even questioned, “If you can get hired at these companies in just six months, why go to college at all?” The skepticism was understandable, and even the team at Snowball CIC (the business division behind ZeroBase) wasn’t 100% sure of success when they first launched the program.
But the project moved forward. Rather than selecting students based on skill, they focused on motivation. The curriculum was designed to be as rigorous as possible, demanding over 10 hours of study per day. It was akin to a full-time exam prep school. Completing the program was an achievement in itself. Half of the students couldn’t keep up and dropped out, but the other half persevered and graduated.
And the results?
Seven out of the ten students who completed the first cohort were hired by those coveted companies. (And all ten secured jobs in the end.)
Snowball CIC CEO Jihoon Kim says:
“One of our first students didn’t even have a traditional college degree; they got their diploma through a credit-bank system. And they still landed a developer role. That case was especially meaningful for us—it showed what we were capable of. We want to meet and help more people like that, and we’ve made it one of our key performance goals.”
Erasing Backgrounds, Highlighting Talent
ZeroBase School isn’t interested in enrolling already-gifted students and giving them a boost. Instead, they focus on those with minimal skills but a burning desire to succeed. And that’s why their success stories often sound like movie scripts.
It’s Not a Miracle—Here’s Why Tough Love Matters
When you read the success stories, it might seem like a miracle, but the truth is, it’s simply the result of hard work paying off. If you expect a major outcome from minimal effort, ZeroBase’s programs won’t be for you. Despite having top-tier instructors and mentors, the key to success here is endurance—enduring the pressure and meeting the program’s high standards.
If a student falls behind on assignments or mock interview schedules, program managers, mentors, and even professional developers step in to motivate and push them forward. It’s a structured process of relentless support and nudging, but even with all these tools in place, if a student’s determination falters, they simply won’t make it through.
“If You Don’t Get a Job, You Don’t Pay”
ZeroBase operates on a deferred payment system, meaning that students who drop out or fail to get a job don’t pay any tuition. While this policy is incredibly favorable to students, ZeroBase isn’t focused on financial gain—they’re focused on getting their students across the finish line with a job offer in hand.
In late 2022, they took this a step further with an event called “Get a Job or Get Your Money Back.” If students didn’t secure a job by 2023, they would get a full refund. This kind of confidence is rare in the education industry, and it highlights the fundamental difference between selling courses and selling results. ZeroBase is doing the latter.
“This policy shows our commitment to the quality of our program,” says Jihoon Kim. “We can’t guarantee everyone will get a job—there are always many factors at play—but we’re confident that anyone who finishes this intense curriculum will be fully capable of landing a role.”
Why Having a Mission Matters
All four CIC (Company-In-Company) leaders at Day1Company, including Jihoon Kim of Snowball CIC, started their careers as content planners at FastCampus. Their shared mission, now the driving force behind Day1Company, is to deliver life-changing education. And that mission resonates deeply with Kim.
The value of vocational education is ultimately proven by results—by whether it helps someone find a job or transition to a better one. That’s why Kim has centered his focus on employment outcomes, believing that it’s the best way to fulfill the company’s mission.에 집중하는 것이 회사의 미션을 가장 제대로 수행하는 일이라 생각했다. 이러한 믿음은 스노우볼, 제로 베이스 스쿨의 뿌리가 되었다.
“I wanted to see for myself if this content was truly effective. If it was, I wanted to prove it. And the most extreme way to do that was by taking someone with zero experience and training them to the point where they could land a job. There’s no clearer way to demonstrate the impact of our work. It’s been my personal mission, as well as a core goal of the company.”
Changing Lives, One Job at a Time
Snowball, which started as a division within FastCampus and grew into its own company, is laser-focused on creating employment outcomes. Despite having accumulated a wealth of know-how and curriculum, the challenges remain. The job market is constantly changing, requiring the team to continually innovate and find new ways to make an impact.
But what hasn’t changed—and won’t—is Snowball’s DNA. The entire team is committed to the mission, and they’ve never lost the passion that launched their service in the first place. While Snowball will continue to evolve, the core principles that define it will remain steadfast.
“Our students aren’t just customers who buy our products,” Kim explains. “They’re people who trust us with a significant part of their lives. When they succeed, we all celebrate as a team. It’s a much deeper connection than the typical seller-buyer relationship.”
✍️ Key Takeaways:
- Consider how your work impacts customers’ lives. This can help guide decision-making and set priorities.
- Taking bold risks is always valuable. The challenges you face along the way will bring growth, and if you succeed, the impact will be unprecedented.
- Promotions and events can also reflect your company’s values and direction.
- Truly understanding your company’s mission is key to doing great work. Think about how you can fulfill that mission in a more fundamental way..
