[jaay5389]

So I have been applying to QA and software developer internship positions for a couple weeks, as i am hoping to do an internship this summer. I've got a call from a training and development manager at a company called Sigmaways Inc. They are offering me training from Jan to end of Feb, then do mock interviews and resume building for 1 week. After the initial training, they assign me to clients they are partners with and I begin a job from there. This sounded all good until they mention they require a 1,500 dollar initial payment and will be returned within the first 3 paychecks after i start work. Is it common to pay for training and then be assigned a job? I thought they usually pay YOU for training? I need job experience but I don't know if this is legit or not. Thanks in advance.

[BenignDesign]

Did a quick Google search on the company and I'm not pulling up anything horribly fishy about them. They DO offer training programs... which is likely what they're offering you - a workshop of sorts that you would pay for to learn skill set X, Y or Z.

Personally, however, I'd steer clear of any place that wanted $1,500 to place me in a job... but that's just me.

[DarenR]

A coworkers wife did something like that and it was nothing but trouble for her. She had to go for training 40+ hours a week on her own bill and when that was over they told her to put all kinds of BS on her resume that she never learned or knew anything about. Needles to say she quit and now they are trying to sue her for not fulfilling her contract even though she was working for free.

[Apokio]

Sounds like they charge for training and then try to place you in a job with companies that they have a relationship with. I would just google them and see what reviews you can come up with for your area. Personally I would steer clear of them and try to find something else but who knows it could be a good deal for you depending on your situation. Arm yourself with inforamtion and make a well informed decision.

[modi123_1]

Looking up Sigmaways Inc they appear to be some sort of head hunter group. So meh.. it's up to you. Maybe ping people in your area that have dealt with them directly... but honestly unless you need some roleplaying or information that may not help your resume then I would keep the fifteen hundo and keep looking for a job. (Though I wouldn't mind five hundred of that if you are handing out wads of cash. )

[jaay5389]

I've tried searching up reviews on what they are offering, but nothing came up. Just shows that they post all over job search boards for job offers. He said that they have all 9 seats filled but will try and find a way to get 1 more in. I just got the email for the info


The training will start on January 16th 2013, It will be total of 5 weeks, 3 days per week, 3 hours per session at Sigmaways Headquarters, Fremont CA,
After the Training there will be 1 week of resume and mock interview preparation by Sigmaways recruiters and the Trainer,
After the resume and mock interview preparation you will be interviewed by the client and then you will start working at the client site.

As of right now, I am steering more toward the cautious side and more likely to just ignore this company. The only positive of this is I would be able to list "Sigmaways Inc Internship" under job history for 1,500, which would be the worst case scenario(even then, it would only be for 5 weeks). Worst case is, i paid for an UNPAID internship.

[DarenR]

did you try looking at glassdoor.com for company info

[jaay5389]

DarenR, on 14 January 2013 - 12:39 PM, said:

did you try looking at glassdoor.com for company info

Yes. Only shows salaries of various developer positions. No reviews or interview questions. I asked if job placement is guaranteed after training and he said "if you work hard during the training stage, everything on our part is ready." Deadline to reply is tomorrow morning. The schedule looks like this:

Week1

1. Software Development Process
1.1. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
1.2. Stages of Software Development Life Cycle
1.3. Agile
1.4. Waterfall

2. Software Architecture Models
2.1. Client Server Architecture.
2.2. 3-tier Architecture.
2.3. N-tier Architecture.

3. Introduction to Manual Testing
3.1. Introduction to Quality Assurance
3.2. Role of a QA Professional
3.3. Introduction to a Test Plan
3.4. How to write Test Cases
3.5. How to create Trouble Report
3.6. Testing Types:
3.6.1. Positive Testing
3.6.2. Negative Testing
3.6.3. Regression Testing
3.6.4. Load Testing
3.6.5. Stress Testing
3.7. Exercise & Assignments

[BenignDesign]

jaay5389, on 14 January 2013 - 03:52 PM, said:

I asked if job placement is guaranteed after training and he said "if you work hard during the training stage, everything on our part is ready."

To me, this sounds like an easy way to get your $1,500 and then turn around and blame you when they don't have anything available following your training. "It's not our fault there's no one available to place you with, it's YOUR fault for not working hard enough..."

[jaay5389]

The cons and sketchiness have led me to the decision to decline this offer, as I am not really in a rush to accept the first offer since summer is still a ways off and i also have next summer to intern. This semester is also my final semester before transferring and this training that they are offering would conflict with my school. I would need 100% focus or I will end up not transferring and having a year break from school since CSUs only accept applications in the fall. I will wait for an internship offer straight from an actual company, and not a middleman company. Thank you for all your guys' help in this awkward situation.

[jon.kiparsky]

Legally speaking, it's probably not a scam. In practical terms, it looks like you'd give them money and maybe get a job, but there's so many loopholes that's only a "maybe".
I think you're right to steer clear.

[Apokio]

When he pulled the old I might be able to squeeze you in routine, I would have hung up the phone. Sounds like a car salesman telling you they have someone else interested so you better act fast.

[liondancer]

I got a call from this company too. They are offering me Java app dev. I asked them if I need to pay for it but they did not give me a straight answer. They also offered me the training for the IBM sterling commerce product. How did your experience with them go?