2024 Year in Review: Formation Fellow Placements

Our mission at Formation is to build a more diverse and skilled engineering workforce by drawing talent from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. While 2023 presented significant challenges for tech job seekers, 2024 has brought a promising shift in the market. We’re seeing an uptick in hiring activity, particularly for software engineers, as companies refocus on growth and innovation through AI after a period of conservatism.

Over the past year, we’ve continuously evolved our Fellowship to meet the changing needs of the tech landscape. Formation’s placement data for 2024 reflects these updates and demonstrates substantial improvements in Fellows' outcomes, with more participants securing roles at top-tier companies and navigating complex hiring processes with confidence.

Our goal is to present this data in a way that’s accessible and actionable, helping prospective Fellows make informed decisions about their career paths. If you’re considering joining our Fellowship, we hope our transparent and straightforward data provides the clarity you need. Our team is always available to discuss whether the program aligns with your goals.

With that, we’re excited to share key data and trends from our Fellowship in 2024.*

Fellowship data insights

Formation’s mission is to create the diverse engineering workforce we want to see in the world. That means training engineers with existing full-time software engineering experience from all walks of life and educational backgrounds. We’re proud to support all kinds of engineers in landing their dream roles. 

Here’s some insight into some of the remarkable talent who secured standout roles this year. 

• $110,031 was the average increase in first-year total compensation for our Fellows. On average, Fellows were placed at jobs that paid significantly higher than their previous role—often resulting in a six-figure increase.
• 76% of this year’s placements were at top-tier tech companies. We define top-tier companies as ones that are innovative, engineering-driven organizations. This year, over 57% of our placements have been at tier-one tech companies, including FAANG companies and best-in-class high-growth tech organizations. This percentage is up significantly from last year’s 48%, when growth slowed due to FAANG hiring freezes. You can check out where our Fellows placed below. We have a wide variety of Fellows with a range of experience, and this transparent list shows the full range of company placements. 
• $237,135 was the average first-year total compensation for our Fellows. This figure is an increase from last year and previous years and showcases the high earning potential and career growth our Fellows experience.
• 54% of our placed Fellows didn’t have a CS degree. We remain the go-to place for people without CS degrees to level up their careers and learn how to turn hard skills into technical interviewing expertise. 
• 52% of placed Fellows had 3+ years of full-time software engineering work experience (YOE). Our Fellowship provides rigorous opportunities for current software engineers to uplevel their skills and gain the tools they need to land roles at top-tier tech companies.

Fellows’ average first-year compensation after placement

One benefit of having a completely remote Fellowship is working with a diverse group of Fellows who live all over the country. Their compensation can vary depending on where a Fellow lives or accepts a role. 

Below, we've averaged out all placed Fellows' first-year compensation packages based on their years of full-time software engineering experience. For this data, years of experience only includes full-time software engineering work experience, not internships, contract work, or other experience that might be considered in a job hunt. Aggregating compensation in averages and medians doesn’t tell the entire story but helps preserve the anonymity of each Fellow. 

The first-year total compensation ranged from $80K to $766K. This is a significant improvement over last year—the average TOC for senior roles has nearly doubled in 2024.

Tech industry trends

Taking key insights from our own Fellowship and combining them with the latest news in tech, here’s what we think are the important trends that emerged in 2024.

• The holiday slow-down didn’t hit as hard this year. In prior years, hiring activity typically began to taper off in early November, but as we approach the end of the year, we’re still seeing robust activity. Candidates are actively landing interviews and progressing through loops. This is a strong signal that the job market is gaining momentum and points to a healthier hiring environment as we move into 2025.
• AI continues to expand, and the demand for software engineers will continue to rise. Companies building cutting-edge AI tools also need talented engineers to develop the surrounding infrastructure — think apps, user experiences, and tools that bring AI to life for end users.
• The job market is still tough, but 2025 indicates growth. Over the past year, layoffs have halved while job openings have gradually increased. Big tech companies like Meta and Amazon are leading the way in hiring, and this momentum is expected to continue. 
• Early-career roles are still more significantly impacted, but comp is higher. There are still a limited number of entry-level roles available. However, for the roles that are available, the average TOC for Fellows with less than one year of experience increased to $148K, up from $113K at the end of 2023.
• The average 1st-year total compensation for Fellows with 3+ YOE increased to about $305K. This is up significantly from last year, when the average TOC for the same group was about $189,000. This number is even up from 2022, when the average TOC for this group was $274K.

Get holistic interview prep with Formation

Despite the challenging economy, we've been able to help our Fellows land life-changing roles. Formation’s Mentors come from some of the best tech companies in the world, and the personalized career coaching and supportive community make for a great support system.

 If you’re having trouble navigating your job search on your own, apply here and get unconditional support from a team of engineering mentors, technical recruiters, career coaches, and more.

*These numbers are accurate as of our last update on December 17, 2024, and are based on Fellows who submitted placement data in 2024 up to December 17, 2024. See the full details on how our numbers are calculated and other important disclosures about outcomes here: https://formation.dev/terms/#outcomes