4 ms·

I get where you're coming from but I think you can shorten it to closer to 6 months provided A) The person is already fairly good at generally using a computer,

by Jemmeh 9y ago

I get where you're coming from but I think you can shorten it to closer to 6 months provided A) The person is already fairly good at generally using a computer, which is more common these days and B) They are working mad hours. A lot of the boot camps are basically morning to night and that cuts down on time a lot. The ones that are only a month long...well it's a nice introduction to coding I suppose, but I can't see it as much more than that. There's definitely a "too short" but it depends on a lot of factors as for where that line will be.

sotojuan 9y ago
I could see six months work - it'd just have to be intensive and under very good teachers (hard to find!).
- Jemmeh 9y ago
  One of the great things about online coursework is that it requires less staff and everyone can work at a different pace. From what I've read/heard 42 Code School has very little staff and mostly relies on computer courses and peer learning. https://www.42.us.org/ https://www.42.us.org/
  - jefflombardjr 9y ago
    At that point, how is that a boot camp and not a paid tutorial? Why would anyone pay for online course work when there is so much available for free from places like MIT and Stanford? I paid for a boot camp to have access to an instructor with industry experience. Not to learn language syntax and build projects.
    - Jemmeh 9y ago
      Well 42 is a bit different than most bootcamps. 42 Code School is free, it's funded by a French billionaire Xavier Niel who made his fortune from telecommunications and technology. There is a branch in Paris and a branch in Silicon Valley. I'd say it's bootcamp-ish in that it's only programming-relevant coursework you work loads of hours, and you don't get a degree, but it's supposed to be 3-5 years total. Last I saw you have to be 30 or younger to go there. I think the main advantage there is the peer to peer learning and long hours. There's group projects. Yes, your coursework is all on the computer, but you are there morning to night surrounded by people doing the same thing, so you help each other out. That also ends up being a great network later on, which is one of the best things people normally get from college. They also have some special industry guests. Even Paul Graham was praising it. https://twitter.com/paulg/status/847844863727087616?lang=en https://twitter.com/paulg/status/847844863727087616?lang=en
      - jefflombardjr 9y ago
        Very cool!
      - brooklyn_ashey 9y ago
        very very cool. Too bad you have to be under 30. Are there grants for living expenses? I'd love to tell some younger students about this.
        Jemmeh 9y ago
        They have 300 free dorms, so it's limited but as long as you pick a start date a few months out you have a good chance to get in. You can see when you sign up what dates dorms are available for. Also you can only live in the dorms for I think like the first year or so. You start with a 4 week "piscine" to test if you can hack it, and if you do well you can join for the actual school year. Some free dorms are also available to the pisciners. It is seriously morning to night so you'll have to save up before you attend because it's pretty much impossible to work during the piscine. They say you don't need programming experience to join, but I really recommend someone goes through the HTML, CSS, and Javascript courses on Codecademy before they even consider going at a minimum. You have to pay for travel to get there and food, though they do have a fairly cheap cafeteria on site. Also if you need a visa they can't help you with that, they are not an accredited school. Check out the FAQ for more questions https://www.42.us.org/admissions/faq/ https://www.42.us.org/admissions/faq/
  - urahara 9y ago
    Any data on the outcome? Would be great to know how effective their model is.
    - Jemmeh 9y ago
      I have friends who go there and from how they've described the coursework it seems like it would be very effective. There's a huge focus on students helping each other out and also having to find the information for themselves in documentation/Google. I'm pretty sure they're learning C if I remember correctly. I know they've had a branch in Paris for a while and opened the Silicon Valley branch recently. There's definitely people getting hired from there into big companies. But this is all hearsay. They have info on their website so I guess it just depends on what you're looking for. 42 is free to attend though so if you're talking how they fare as a business, it's funded by a billionaire.

by Jemmeh 9y ago

sotojuan 9y ago

I could see six months work - it'd just have to be intensive and under very good teachers (hard to find!).

Jemmeh 9y ago
One of the great things about online coursework is that it requires less staff and everyone can work at a different pace. From what I've read/heard 42 Code School has very little staff and mostly relies on computer courses and peer learning. https://www.42.us.org/ https://www.42.us.org/
- jefflombardjr 9y ago
  At that point, how is that a boot camp and not a paid tutorial? Why would anyone pay for online course work when there is so much available for free from places like MIT and Stanford? I paid for a boot camp to have access to an instructor with industry experience. Not to learn language syntax and build projects.
  - Jemmeh 9y ago
    Well 42 is a bit different than most bootcamps. 42 Code School is free, it's funded by a French billionaire Xavier Niel who made his fortune from telecommunications and technology. There is a branch in Paris and a branch in Silicon Valley. I'd say it's bootcamp-ish in that it's only programming-relevant coursework you work loads of hours, and you don't get a degree, but it's supposed to be 3-5 years total. Last I saw you have to be 30 or younger to go there. I think the main advantage there is the peer to peer learning and long hours. There's group projects. Yes, your coursework is all on the computer, but you are there morning to night surrounded by people doing the same thing, so you help each other out. That also ends up being a great network later on, which is one of the best things people normally get from college. They also have some special industry guests. Even Paul Graham was praising it. https://twitter.com/paulg/status/847844863727087616?lang=en https://twitter.com/paulg/status/847844863727087616?lang=en
    - jefflombardjr 9y ago
      Very cool!
    - brooklyn_ashey 9y ago
      very very cool. Too bad you have to be under 30. Are there grants for living expenses? I'd love to tell some younger students about this.
      - Jemmeh 9y ago
        They have 300 free dorms, so it's limited but as long as you pick a start date a few months out you have a good chance to get in. You can see when you sign up what dates dorms are available for. Also you can only live in the dorms for I think like the first year or so. You start with a 4 week "piscine" to test if you can hack it, and if you do well you can join for the actual school year. Some free dorms are also available to the pisciners. It is seriously morning to night so you'll have to save up before you attend because it's pretty much impossible to work during the piscine. They say you don't need programming experience to join, but I really recommend someone goes through the HTML, CSS, and Javascript courses on Codecademy before they even consider going at a minimum. You have to pay for travel to get there and food, though they do have a fairly cheap cafeteria on site. Also if you need a visa they can't help you with that, they are not an accredited school. Check out the FAQ for more questions https://www.42.us.org/admissions/faq/ https://www.42.us.org/admissions/faq/
- urahara 9y ago
  Any data on the outcome? Would be great to know how effective their model is.
  - Jemmeh 9y ago
    I have friends who go there and from how they've described the coursework it seems like it would be very effective. There's a huge focus on students helping each other out and also having to find the information for themselves in documentation/Google. I'm pretty sure they're learning C if I remember correctly. I know they've had a branch in Paris for a while and opened the Silicon Valley branch recently. There's definitely people getting hired from there into big companies. But this is all hearsay. They have info on their website so I guess it just depends on what you're looking for. 42 is free to attend though so if you're talking how they fare as a business, it's funded by a billionaire.