My wife got hoodwinked by SetFocus who claimed that their $20,000 13 week course was the equivalent of 2 years of training. At the time they claimed their job placement rate was 90%. After spending 13 weeks taking online classes 8 hours a day, and studying at night an additional 3 hours a night, my wife passed all the exams and was hired by a local company shortly after she completely her coursework. They fired her after 8 weeks saying that she wasn't fast enough, wasn't what they were looking for - prior to this my wife was considered one of the top programmers in St. Louis. (This was in 2008 when companies were either outsourcing to India, or downsizing). When we complained to SetFocus, they had their lawyers send us a 10 page threat so we backed off and ate the loss. We're not wealthy people - it was a significant financial loss. My wife was so demoralized she never returned to the IT field after that, and took a few low level administrative positions until she was old enough for social security. read more

This place should change their name to Setup because I feel like I just got punked. After posting my resume on one of the online job boards, I got contacted out of the blue by a "recruiter" for a "technical interview" for a job and was sent a "skills assessment" test. They never said exactly what jobs were available nor do I think they even read my resume. The skills assessment test had nothing to do with technical skills. Do you need to know programming C#, Java, php, windows, linux, project management? NO! It was a bs test with GMAT type analytical questions. Thank goodness I was able to find other postings online for this place which warned me what this place was all about. Shame on you for preying on poor unemployed folks looking for a job. I wouldn't given this place a bad review, and I might have considered going here if they tell you up front they're a training school. Instead, they tell you you're interviewing for a job and making you jump through hoops, and then they tell you later your skills need to be updated and their training can get you there. This is entirely shady and how can I trust someplace if all they're doing is a BAIT AND SWITCH scam. Hopefully this review will help someone else looking for a job in case they want more info on this place. read more

If I could give this place negative stars I would. They pretend to have jobs, but just end up wasting your time and trying to get you to sign up for expensive classes and other b.s. services like "resume branding." All this in a field where you can be an iguana and get a job if you have experience. Much worse than your average lousy recruiter who just wastes your time-- these folks try to get you to pay for classes and other useless crap. OOOH, they even have financing options !!! Meta nonsense !!! Then, even if you call them on their bull, they send you endless email for years. I really hate people/organizations who try to take advantage of people looking for work. Kick people when they are down and vulnerable.... but hey, you offer financing, so it is affordable. read more

After I couldn't find a .NET job since my .NET skills were totally lacking, I did the full SetFocus 13 week course. I had a bunch of interviews from companies recruiting directly from SetFocus. A lot of companies are familiar with SetFocus and it was a good resume builder because of it. I was able to land a job with Avanade, one of the companies that came on site to recruit and who was also my first choice for companies to work for to begin with. Yes, they do heavily market from people who are actively looking for jobs. But if you don't have the right skill set and are willing to do the training program it will pay off in the long run. I'd do it again if my skills were not at a level to land the kind of jobs I wanted. As for the person saying they only take on foreigners,etc. Everyone in my class were Americans. read more

I was one of those unfortunate people who actually believed what SetFocus was selling: Updated training in current technology; specifically SQL Server as a Developer or DBA. The classes and instructors all seemed top-notch, and the curriculum was challenging and fast-paced - not your typical "diploma mill". The issue I had with them was that their "Placement Services" never got me a single interview with ANY of their so-called "Hiring Partners" - a list of Fortune 500 companies where they claimed they placed graduates. Yes, I took out a loan through their financier, which started out as a "negative interest" loan, meaning that for the first few months after graduating I wasn't even paying the accrued interest - another way for them to make money. When the payments went up to the "normal" level, and I still didn't have an interview (much less a job), I quit paying them. They left me alone until two years ago when I finally started a regular full-time job that paid only $12 and hour (nowhere near what I expected to make in my renewed "career"); they wanted to sue me for full payment. Since they not only didn't help me get a job with my new skills, but caused me to exhaust my savings to support myself, and subsequently lose my home and my car, and was nearly out on the street. I wish I could sue them for damages to my person, credit, and mental health, not to mention punitive damages (fraud), but instead I could only file for bankruptcy. I'm STILL trying to recover from that debacle! If I could, I would rate their placement services a -10. The training I would rate at least 4 stars, but without a job, what use is it? read more

Notice that all three reviews previously posted are by people who did NOT actually attend SetFocus. I have attended SetFocus for both the .NET (in 2007) and SharePoint 2010 (in 2011) Masters Programs and successfully completed both courses, The instruction is very thorough and professional and if you persist to course completion it gives you a very solid foundation in the skills required to get a position in the related area corresponding to the training received. In my case I completed the .NET training in October 2007 and was hired in January 2008 on a C#/ASP.NET contract that lasted 2 years. Similarly I completed the SharePoint 2010 program in the fall of 2011 and was hired as a SharePoint developer by a company in November. I performed successfully on both contract assignments. With regard to placement assistance SetFocus does provide some assistance in that area, but makes no promises that candidates will be guaranteed employment upon completion of any of their programs. However I believe that at least on the East Coast they provide pretty good placement assistance. Their contacts on the West Coast (where I am) are not as extensive - this is probably also true for the South and Midwest. Nevertheless with their training (plus my other IT background of 15+ years) I did not have too much trouble getting hired after completion of their programs. They are a legitimate training institute and their instructors are well-qualified and very helpful to students. read more

as of 11/12/2012 SetFocus has closed it's doors, and left many students in the dark. Without any notice, and no means to contact them, many are wondering if they will ever be able to receive a refund for courses that were never delivered. Steer clear of SetFocus read more