Southern Careers Institute — Local services in Austin

Beware. You are going to be sold things are that just not real. The Southern Careers institute engages in willful and deliberate fraud and deception. The first people you meet are commission paid sales representatives that will bend the truth however they need to get you enrolled. This includes promising "certifications " that they do not provide and not exactly being clear about what they will actually provide. They are understaffed on instructors and there is a high turnover in there admin departments. They do not actually help you find a job afterward, they just show you the ads you can find yourself by going online. I started in the welding classes in December 2018. I had a newborn baby at home, and thought that adding welding to my business would be great. Instead I was lied to and put into debt but their deceptive practices. I was scammed right after my daughter was born. My salesperson, Nikki, told me I would receive certifications in all 3 styles of welding. (Stick, MIG, and TIG) It wasn't until a few months later that I learned YOU DO NOT GET ANY CERTIFICATIONS. You are taught to weld but you have to go get certified on your own time and pay for that on your own as well. The welding department had twice as many students as the shop could handle. That means you had to share a welding booth. There are no actual classes or lecturing, so when someone is in the booth, you just have to do busy work like sweep or clean or just sit around. 50% of your time there is being spent doing absolutely nothing. Before I got there, they had gone through 5 different instructors in as many months. The staff can be pretty unprofessional as well. The Director of Education once told a story about how much she hates her husbands ex-wife. The person, Wendy, that is in financial aid, intentionally, and self admittedly does not answer her phone or return calls. I was lied to in order to get me to sign up. I took out loans to pay for the school and the school did not follow through on the promises they made. I am a father, husband, and business owner. I went to them because I was sold on them "having the same program as a community college, just condensed into 7 months." This is patently false. The positive reviews you are reading have been the product of an incentive or reward. Most of the people I have spoken with that did graduate from the school said attending the school had no bearing on them finding a job. Some of them actually failed the welding tests that the jobs required, meaning that the training was not adequate. I spoke with a few welding and fabrication shops and they told me that going to this school means nothing to them when hiring someone. They said the only reason they will hire someone from a school like this is because they know they can pay them a very low wage. Beware, do not send your self or your children...

I will not be referring anyone to this college. This school has put me through a lot of stress and depression. I made it all the way to the end of the program, which is the externship portion of it and one day I get a call from collections saying I owe a 750 withdraw fee. A little back story, I live in a rural area so it was extremely hard trying to find placement for externship, on top of that they wanted me to travel out further but I had a vehicle that was not in the best condition. I explained to them that I wasn't going to be able to make it further out. They asked me to help call around and help find placement. No luck. Then on November 5th I believe I get a call saying I WITHDREW FROM THE PROGRAM. Remind you I had no idea, I have never told anyone to just take me out of the program. When I received my tax return for 2024 I paid the school of any balance I had so why would I waste money that I didn't have to just drop out. So I waited around got a new vehicle with my 2025 return which was towards the very end of February I believe and contacted someone to tell them I am ready to come back and finish. I took me almost a month and a half to get someone on the phone without gibing me the run around. Finally Kasey got me set up but them explained to me I would have to pay 1855 out of pocket because I withdrew myself from the program. I cried as explaining to her I did not do that, I don't know who did it but I was the last to be informed of that, I also told her I didn't have 225 a month to dish out for this. The whole reason I joined the program was to start working a career and work from home at that. She had me send a email explaining my story and they dropped my price down to just pay the 750. Clearly the school is at fault here otherwise they wouldn't have dropped the price. I don't even have the 119 to pay for the 750 but I want to finish. This school was good and helpful at the beginning but I have been treated like crap towards the end of this. I don't believe I need to pay anything seeing as they are supposed to help find placement for externship. I have messages from mentor and directors to prove it. I am supposed to start a remote externship today, I already made my 119 payment to Kasey and of course nobody has contacted me, the supervisor I am supposed to be working with, the mentor, nobody. It started at 9 and I am just sitting around waiting. So back to square one I am. I will not be paying anymore money until I start the externship program. Everyone is telling me to sue, but with what money? They were supposed to help me but I feel taken advantage of to...

would never recommend this institution to anyone, and my reasoning has nothing to do with the customer service representatives themselves. The reps I dealt with were polite and professional. However, the institution as a whole fails to provide complete and transparent information, which ultimately misleads potential students.

I was initially excited to pursue a career in coding and billing through this program. During my application process, I worked with a rep named Alvin, who connected me with the financial department to estimate my FAFSA eligibility. I then spoke with Jackie from the finance team, and that’s when red flags began to appear.

At the start of the call, Jackie informed me that she needed two references. When I asked why, her tone became dismissive. She explained that the references would be used if the school couldn’t get in touch with me. This reasoning made no sense—what could possibly require contacting my personal friends or family? When I pressed her for specific examples of when references had been used in the past, she admitted, on a recorded line, that she had never actually needed to do so. This raised serious concerns about why such information was required at all.

The bigger issue came when we discussed the cost of the program. I was shocked to learn that this 12-month certificate program costs $18,000. Jackie explained that FAFSA would cover approximately $9,000, but I would still need to take out an additional $9,000 loan. On top of that, I would be required to pay an additional $700 within the next month or pay $40 monthly for a year while still enrolled.

After reviewing these numbers, I realized how predatory and financially irresponsible this program truly is. Taking on a $9,000 loan for a certificate—not a degree—with no guarantee of job placement or competitive earning potential is absurd. This is not a financially sound investment for anyone, especially considering the lack of transparency during the application process.

The cost of this program is grossly inflated, and for what it offers, $18,000 is completely unjustifiable. I would strongly advise anyone considering this institution to think twice. There are far more affordable and legitimate options out there that offer degrees with greater career opportunities and financial viability.

This experience left me feeling misled and deeply concerned about the financial burden this program could impose on students. I urge this institution to reevaluate its pricing structure and provide complete transparency to potential students before asking them to commit to such an enormous...