on a new type of free education

"Free until you get a job" model is spreading among the fringes of the education world. (e.g. Lambda School, Make School) This unsustainably bold model works only because it sits in a very niche domain that is at the intersection of an insane student demand and an insane industrial demand.

• When there is so much student demand, you can be so selective that educating the incoming students to industrial standards becomes a trivial exercise. Even Harvard does this trick. In fact, any school that becomes good enough to attract such a student demand eventually turns into a selection-certification mechanism. (Harvard does not even optimize for university success. It selects students who will be successful after graduation and bolster its brand even further.)
• When there is so much industrial demand for the sort of talent you produce, then the risk of non-employment decreases substantially and you can charge the companies themselves rather than the students.