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So last year, Furlong, 30, enrolled in a three-month coding boot camp that uses HackerRank, a web platform that trains and grades people on writing computer cod

So last year, Furlong, 30, enrolled in a three-month coding boot camp that uses HackerRank, a web platform that trains and grades people on writing computer code. After earning a top ranking for Java developers globally, Furlong was hired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in December for its two-year technology training program. So many questions here. If you're doing a bootcamp and scoring among the "top java developers globally" then you're either exceptionally talented, your bootcamp is the most amazing thing in the world, or your sample set of "top java developers" is absolutely terrible.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago
There are lots of exceptionally talented people who aren't software developers and want to be. Three standard deviations above the mean takes you from roughly 100 million working Americans to a hundred thousand. Two standard deviations of being unlucky in having the life-history that gets you to programmer-hood drops you down from 100k to 1000. It's not that surprising, honestly.
- matt_wulfeck 10y ago
  It's very surprising actually. Apparently he knows how to ship code yet hasn't even had a real programming job yet. How is it even possible to be among the best in the world without having had your abilities tested in the world? I'm not doubting that this gentlemen could possibly be extremely talented. What I think is clear is the criteria for "best globally" skews towards theoretical knowledge without concern for real-world abilities. Kind of like saying "this guy nailed the whiteboard interview better than everyone else, therefore he must be among the top developers globally".
  - wmil 10y ago
    Well "earning a top ranking for Java developers globally" means from the global pool of HackerRank scores. People who already have tech careers aren't going to see the point in doing a ton of tests on HackerRank. It's not surprising that one of the top scorers was someone who lived in a town where he couldn't get a job using compsci skills. He was looking for a way to prove his skills since he didn't have credentials or work experience.
AcerbicZero 10y ago
Well, HackerRank is a relatively popular website, he spent a 3 month boot camp working in it, and the ranking system looks to be relatively decent at first glance, so I think its reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. Edit: HackerRank looks like it measures aptitude more than anything.
rampage101 10y ago
Yea this article seems like an obvious promotion for Hacker Rank and boot camps in general. Nobody is becoming a "top ranked" Java developer in 3 months. I say this as somebody who spent many years developing in Java, and I was not even close to being the best on my team.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  Agreed - I'm an old hand at C and C++, but it'd take me ... 3 mo. to half a year or so to really get a good grip on serious Java. Don't get me wrong - I've used it ( but not extensively ) and it's not scary or anything, but there would eb a few things what would take some woodshedding. Even then, there's many, many more than one way to use Java.
kafkaesq 10y ago
Or he just earned a "very good" (top 25%) score from HR (by itself, pretty impressive for a 3-month boot camp and zilch experience). But the Bloomberg reporter thought it would sound better if he wrote "top ranking for Java developers globally".
praptak 10y ago
You missed the most obvious one: the test that determines "top" is crap.
aaronchall 10y ago
The sample set was those in HackerRank. This guy isn't immediately a senior developer, but he's probably got a bit of talent - the story says he tinkered with motherboards in his spare time, so he's getting some domain knowledge before the bootcamp too. You can't get from zero to hero in 3 months, but a talented person can go pretty far.
- revelation 10y ago
  What does that even mean. What are you going to tinker with a motherboard? That sounds like somebody who plugged a graphics card into his computer and elevated that to some CV highlight.
  - fencepost 10y ago
    Reflowing bad solder on laptop or game system GPUs? Reballing might be a bit much to look for. Depending on his age it might also have been replacing blown caps some years back when that was a big problem.
user5994461 10y ago
Tip: https://thehftguy.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/cracking-the-hackerrank-test-google-to-the-rescue/ https://thehftguy.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/cracking-the-hack... HackerRank are simple exercices which can be done in a few minutes to one hour [online IDE, short single-file code]. It's trivial for anyone who can program, [except the screening tests in limited time with hard (or custom) exercises]. The bootcamp people with good ranking are likely people who started programming a long time ago, but never professionally. It's a given that they must be able to solve simple exercises.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago

There are lots of exceptionally talented people who aren't software developers and want to be. Three standard deviations above the mean takes you from roughly 100 million working Americans to a hundred thousand. Two standard deviations of being unlucky in having the life-history that gets you to programmer-hood drops you down from 100k to 1000. It's not that surprising, honestly.

matt_wulfeck 10y ago
It's very surprising actually. Apparently he knows how to ship code yet hasn't even had a real programming job yet. How is it even possible to be among the best in the world without having had your abilities tested in the world? I'm not doubting that this gentlemen could possibly be extremely talented. What I think is clear is the criteria for "best globally" skews towards theoretical knowledge without concern for real-world abilities. Kind of like saying "this guy nailed the whiteboard interview better than everyone else, therefore he must be among the top developers globally".
- wmil 10y ago
  Well "earning a top ranking for Java developers globally" means from the global pool of HackerRank scores. People who already have tech careers aren't going to see the point in doing a ton of tests on HackerRank. It's not surprising that one of the top scorers was someone who lived in a town where he couldn't get a job using compsci skills. He was looking for a way to prove his skills since he didn't have credentials or work experience.

AcerbicZero 10y ago

Well, HackerRank is a relatively popular website, he spent a 3 month boot camp working in it, and the ranking system looks to be relatively decent at first glance, so I think its reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. Edit: HackerRank looks like it measures aptitude more than anything.

rampage101 10y ago

Yea this article seems like an obvious promotion for Hacker Rank and boot camps in general. Nobody is becoming a "top ranked" Java developer in 3 months. I say this as somebody who spent many years developing in Java, and I was not even close to being the best on my team.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago
Agreed - I'm an old hand at C and C++, but it'd take me ... 3 mo. to half a year or so to really get a good grip on serious Java. Don't get me wrong - I've used it ( but not extensively ) and it's not scary or anything, but there would eb a few things what would take some woodshedding. Even then, there's many, many more than one way to use Java.

kafkaesq 10y ago

Or he just earned a "very good" (top 25%) score from HR (by itself, pretty impressive for a 3-month boot camp and zilch experience). But the Bloomberg reporter thought it would sound better if he wrote "top ranking for Java developers globally".

praptak 10y ago

You missed the most obvious one: the test that determines "top" is crap.

aaronchall 10y ago

The sample set was those in HackerRank. This guy isn't immediately a senior developer, but he's probably got a bit of talent - the story says he tinkered with motherboards in his spare time, so he's getting some domain knowledge before the bootcamp too. You can't get from zero to hero in 3 months, but a talented person can go pretty far.

revelation 10y ago
What does that even mean. What are you going to tinker with a motherboard? That sounds like somebody who plugged a graphics card into his computer and elevated that to some CV highlight.
- fencepost 10y ago
  Reflowing bad solder on laptop or game system GPUs? Reballing might be a bit much to look for. Depending on his age it might also have been replacing blown caps some years back when that was a big problem.

user5994461 10y ago

Tip: https://thehftguy.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/cracking-the-hackerrank-test-google-to-the-rescue/ https://thehftguy.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/cracking-the-hack... HackerRank are simple exercices which can be done in a few minutes to one hour [online IDE, short single-file code]. It's trivial for anyone who can program, [except the screening tests in limited time with hard (or custom) exercises]. The bootcamp people with good ranking are likely people who started programming a long time ago, but never professionally. It's a given that they must be able to solve simple exercises.