6 ms·

Hey Jesse, I'm also formerly homeless, and now the cofounder of https://LambdaSchool.com https://LambdaSchool.com (YC S17). We have a nonprofit fund designed s

Hey Jesse, I'm also formerly homeless, and now the cofounder of https://LambdaSchool.com https://LambdaSchool.com (YC S17). We have a nonprofit fund designed specifically to help out homeless software engineers looking for a job. I'd love to put you in a cheap airbnb or apartment, hook you up with Lambda School's career services team who will help review your resume, get your github and portfolio in shape, practice interviewing, and help you land a job. We've already seen multiple success stories (for example David https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out-resumes-in-bay-area-lands-software-engineer-job/1386955148 https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out..., who is now making almost $100k/yr). Generous donors have allowed us to continue to grow the fund after Lambda School's original $50,000 contribution. I know how hard it is to focus on getting a job when you're just trying to survive, so let's try to eliminate that distraction. Hit me up at austen@lambdaschool.com and let's help you focus and get to where you need to be. PS if anyone on HN wants to donate to the fund it's here - https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund. Generally we can help someone who knows how to write code go from homeless to hired with a couple thousand dollars all-in.

songzme 8y ago
Could I recommend someone? I made a comment below about Mani, whom I met when I was volunteering at our local library.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Just saw the comment. Can you send me more details about him, and we can figure out the best way to help him? austen@lambdaschool.com. Seems like he has housing, but I'll do anything I can to help someone who has enough hustle to be at a library all the time. Easiest might be that we provide a computer, internet, and can give him self-paced access to our course archives (normally reserved for student review).
kraftman 8y ago
What about changing your model to take a cut of the jobs people end up with? Then you'd end up being self sustainable. Recruiters take about a 20%, so with your one guy getting 100k you could help 10 more.
- austenallred 8y ago
  That's generally Lambda School's model - we train people to be software engineers for no upfront tuition in exchange for a share of future income for two years. We also have experiments running with housing and living stipends in exchange for a share of future income for three years. However, I consider recommending that to someone who is homeless and/or destitute exploitative. I can't put my finger on why, but knowing how desperate you can feel in that scenario I don't feel OK turning that into a money-making (or even transactional) scenario. We've found that the folks who are hired and now-housed tend to donate enough to keep the fund alive once they're on their feet, but I don't feel right requiring it.
  - noir_lord 8y ago
    > We've found that the folks who are hired and now-housed tend to donate enough to keep the fund alive once they're on their feet, but I don't feel right requiring it. That is awesome on both sides :).
  - matthewsharpe3 8y ago
    Have you explored a social impact bond funding model for such people?
    - austenallred 8y ago
      No, I’m sure there are 100 clever ways to fund this I haven’t considered, but I haven’t had the time to explore it.
ctab 8y ago
Hi Austen, your GoFundMe link is pointing to the wrong page. It should be https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund
- austenallred 8y ago
  Thank you!
acover 8y ago
Is this open to Canadians? A friend is considering a coding boot camp and it seems like a lot of money upfront. Also how do the success rates compare?
- austenallred 8y ago
  https://lambdaschool.com/outcomes https://lambdaschool.com/outcomes are our outcomes - not bad at all for a free-upfront school. We see about one student hired per day at this point. To be clear, we can do better. Our company-wide goal is 90% hired within 90 days. More work to do. We're still working on Canada; have him/her email me austen@lambdaschool.com
  - acover 8y ago
    Thanks. This model seems much less predatory as you have a stake in their success. The school they are considering has a 97% success rate which seems too good to be true.
    - austenallred 8y ago
      ...what school is that? Sounds like classic code bootcamp accounting where they do something funny with the denominator
      - acover 8y ago
        I don't think this is the place but they boast 96% employment of which 97% are in tech. They must be fudging something. https://lighthouselabs.ca/studentoutcomes https://lighthouselabs.ca/studentoutcomes
        rahimnathwani 8y ago
        Thankfully, that page also links to their 'transparency report', which provides some of the raw numbers. The 96% you state is 237/247. Numerator is grads who accepted employment within 120 days. Denominator is grads who were unemployed and working with the bootcamp's career programme. But only 76 of those 237 were regular full-time positions. Another 78 were apprenticeships which led to full time employment. The total number of grads was 388 (i.e. much higher than the 247 denominator). The least generous ratio you can come up with from the supplied figures is 76 (# full-time jobs) * 97% (% technical) / 388 (# grads), which gives 19%.
jessehorne 8y ago
I am so happy to read this. I will reach out momentarily.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Awesome! Fair warning, I'm heading out for the night, so if I don't get back to you immediately that's why. Will get back late tonight.
da02 8y ago
What was David's education and career before entering Lambda School? What languages or frameworks does he use now for his job? Are any of the graduates working remotely or do most SW jobs require going to a daily office?
- austenallred 8y ago
  David wasn’t a Lambda School student, he was just an engineer that ran out of cash looking for a job. Some of our grads work remotely but those roles are difficult to find and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them as a fresh new engineer.
Ahmed90 8y ago
Sorry about the thread highjacking! But do you work internationally, like all the way in the middle east? I'm one of the local dev community leaders in my country, and there is just so much space for proper training and education, also a huge supply of fresh out of CS school youngsters who have no idea what to do in a troubled country with an education system that's stuck in the 90s. So I would like to ask you a few questions if you allow me to shoot you an email? :)
- 616c 8y ago
  My email is in profile. Please email and I'll try to link you up with friends in MENA and in the US and look for opportunities where you can cooperate.
  - Ahmed90 8y ago
    Sure, check your inbox :)
- austenallred 8y ago
  We’re mostly in the US for now, need to figure out regulation and income verification + markets overseas. Soon.
  - Ahmed90 8y ago
    Oh, that's unfortunate, Thank you :)
- starwatch 8y ago
  I listened to the A16Z podcast recently on the refugee crises in Syria[1] where they talk about a generation of people that will have missed out on secondary education due to the war there. I'd be curious to know what positive actions you've seen taken (or heard of) that can help address the issue? [1]:https://a16z.com/2016/12/15/refugee-crisis-mobility-technology/ https://a16z.com/2016/12/15/refugee-crisis-mobility-technolo...
  - 8y ago
amrx431 8y ago
Hi austenallred , this is music to my ears. Have you ever thought of starting branches outside US(India in particular)? Here Udacity is trying to do the same but they are damn costly as per Indian standards.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Actively working on it
rurban 8y ago
His github portfolio is in perfect shape already. He is an expert Lua coder who created his own language interpreter.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Indeed, but that’s not obvious unless you dig through his projects. It’s easy to make that clear.
JAdamMoore 8y ago
I need this. What a great alternative to suicide! Amazing. Bravo. I wish more people were helpers.
qwerty456127 8y ago
Cool! But... I've taken a look at the curriculum and the question popped up immediately: what if a person already knows a fair portion of the subjects like basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, C/C++/C# and Java and has even developed some simple websites using pure vanilla HTML+CCS+JS+PHP in their past (and has experience in building and fixing PCs) and just has no skills in computer science and in how the things are cooked together in modern-day production coding? You say you teach from absolute zero, is it possible to skip "this is a HTML tag", "this is a variable" and "print 10 even numbers in the console in a for loop" parts?
- austenallred 8y ago
  Yes. That stuff all happens in our pre-course work, which you can test out of.
affiliategenius 8y ago
Hi Jesse, Tagging here onto Austen’s thread (for reasons you’ll see below). My startup’s public benefit corporation mission (separate from our product mission) is to hire people in positions such as yours. Gentrification (→ high rents where jobs are located) as well as an unequal economic system (wealth inequality, selective inheritances, etc.) have made your position a challenging one. About to sign an Apprenticeship Agreement with a woman to whom I’ll be providing free room & board, along with a living stipend, so that she can participate in Austen’s Lambda School full-time Web Dev track. After graduation, she’ll have a chance to participate for another half year as an apprentice, at the end of which I’ll offer her (pending qualification) a position with substantial equity as a Junior Software Engineer (50% of the company is reserved for contributors). Might you be interested in being added as a fully paid apprentice (remote) after you graduate? It would also entail a highly likely position as a Junior Software Engineer (also remote) with equity on successful completion of the apprenticeship. https://www.AffiliateGenius.com https://www.AffiliateGenius.com Martin
- jessehorne 8y ago
  Hello, They ended up helping me get a vehicle which will help me get a job here. I have a few projects which are bringing in funds in the meantime. I'd love to talk about a paid apprenticeship if you're still interested. Thanks, Jesse

songzme 8y ago

Could I recommend someone? I made a comment below about Mani, whom I met when I was volunteering at our local library.

austenallred 8y ago
Just saw the comment. Can you send me more details about him, and we can figure out the best way to help him? austen@lambdaschool.com. Seems like he has housing, but I'll do anything I can to help someone who has enough hustle to be at a library all the time. Easiest might be that we provide a computer, internet, and can give him self-paced access to our course archives (normally reserved for student review).

kraftman 8y ago

What about changing your model to take a cut of the jobs people end up with? Then you'd end up being self sustainable. Recruiters take about a 20%, so with your one guy getting 100k you could help 10 more.

austenallred 8y ago
That's generally Lambda School's model - we train people to be software engineers for no upfront tuition in exchange for a share of future income for two years. We also have experiments running with housing and living stipends in exchange for a share of future income for three years. However, I consider recommending that to someone who is homeless and/or destitute exploitative. I can't put my finger on why, but knowing how desperate you can feel in that scenario I don't feel OK turning that into a money-making (or even transactional) scenario. We've found that the folks who are hired and now-housed tend to donate enough to keep the fund alive once they're on their feet, but I don't feel right requiring it.
- noir_lord 8y ago
  > We've found that the folks who are hired and now-housed tend to donate enough to keep the fund alive once they're on their feet, but I don't feel right requiring it. That is awesome on both sides :).
- matthewsharpe3 8y ago
  Have you explored a social impact bond funding model for such people?
  - austenallred 8y ago
    No, I’m sure there are 100 clever ways to fund this I haven’t considered, but I haven’t had the time to explore it.

ctab 8y ago

Hi Austen, your GoFundMe link is pointing to the wrong page. It should be https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund

austenallred 8y ago
Thank you!

acover 8y ago

Is this open to Canadians? A friend is considering a coding boot camp and it seems like a lot of money upfront. Also how do the success rates compare?

austenallred 8y ago
https://lambdaschool.com/outcomes https://lambdaschool.com/outcomes are our outcomes - not bad at all for a free-upfront school. We see about one student hired per day at this point. To be clear, we can do better. Our company-wide goal is 90% hired within 90 days. More work to do. We're still working on Canada; have him/her email me austen@lambdaschool.com
- acover 8y ago
  Thanks. This model seems much less predatory as you have a stake in their success. The school they are considering has a 97% success rate which seems too good to be true.
  - austenallred 8y ago
    ...what school is that? Sounds like classic code bootcamp accounting where they do something funny with the denominator
    - acover 8y ago
      I don't think this is the place but they boast 96% employment of which 97% are in tech. They must be fudging something. https://lighthouselabs.ca/studentoutcomes https://lighthouselabs.ca/studentoutcomes
      - rahimnathwani 8y ago
        Thankfully, that page also links to their 'transparency report', which provides some of the raw numbers. The 96% you state is 237/247. Numerator is grads who accepted employment within 120 days. Denominator is grads who were unemployed and working with the bootcamp's career programme. But only 76 of those 237 were regular full-time positions. Another 78 were apprenticeships which led to full time employment. The total number of grads was 388 (i.e. much higher than the 247 denominator). The least generous ratio you can come up with from the supplied figures is 76 (# full-time jobs) * 97% (% technical) / 388 (# grads), which gives 19%.

jessehorne 8y ago

I am so happy to read this. I will reach out momentarily.

austenallred 8y ago
Awesome! Fair warning, I'm heading out for the night, so if I don't get back to you immediately that's why. Will get back late tonight.

da02 8y ago

What was David's education and career before entering Lambda School? What languages or frameworks does he use now for his job? Are any of the graduates working remotely or do most SW jobs require going to a daily office?

austenallred 8y ago
David wasn’t a Lambda School student, he was just an engineer that ran out of cash looking for a job. Some of our grads work remotely but those roles are difficult to find and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them as a fresh new engineer.

Ahmed90 8y ago

Sorry about the thread highjacking! But do you work internationally, like all the way in the middle east? I'm one of the local dev community leaders in my country, and there is just so much space for proper training and education, also a huge supply of fresh out of CS school youngsters who have no idea what to do in a troubled country with an education system that's stuck in the 90s. So I would like to ask you a few questions if you allow me to shoot you an email? :)

616c 8y ago
My email is in profile. Please email and I'll try to link you up with friends in MENA and in the US and look for opportunities where you can cooperate.
- Ahmed90 8y ago
  Sure, check your inbox :)
austenallred 8y ago
We’re mostly in the US for now, need to figure out regulation and income verification + markets overseas. Soon.
- Ahmed90 8y ago
  Oh, that's unfortunate, Thank you :)
starwatch 8y ago
I listened to the A16Z podcast recently on the refugee crises in Syria[1] where they talk about a generation of people that will have missed out on secondary education due to the war there. I'd be curious to know what positive actions you've seen taken (or heard of) that can help address the issue? [1]:https://a16z.com/2016/12/15/refugee-crisis-mobility-technology/ https://a16z.com/2016/12/15/refugee-crisis-mobility-technolo...
- 8y ago

amrx431 8y ago

Hi austenallred , this is music to my ears. Have you ever thought of starting branches outside US(India in particular)? Here Udacity is trying to do the same but they are damn costly as per Indian standards.

austenallred 8y ago
Actively working on it

rurban 8y ago

His github portfolio is in perfect shape already. He is an expert Lua coder who created his own language interpreter.

austenallred 8y ago
Indeed, but that’s not obvious unless you dig through his projects. It’s easy to make that clear.

JAdamMoore 8y ago

I need this. What a great alternative to suicide! Amazing. Bravo. I wish more people were helpers.

qwerty456127 8y ago

Cool! But... I've taken a look at the curriculum and the question popped up immediately: what if a person already knows a fair portion of the subjects like basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, C/C++/C# and Java and has even developed some simple websites using pure vanilla HTML+CCS+JS+PHP in their past (and has experience in building and fixing PCs) and just has no skills in computer science and in how the things are cooked together in modern-day production coding? You say you teach from absolute zero, is it possible to skip "this is a HTML tag", "this is a variable" and "print 10 even numbers in the console in a for loop" parts?

austenallred 8y ago
Yes. That stuff all happens in our pre-course work, which you can test out of.

affiliategenius 8y ago

Hi Jesse, Tagging here onto Austen’s thread (for reasons you’ll see below). My startup’s public benefit corporation mission (separate from our product mission) is to hire people in positions such as yours. Gentrification (→ high rents where jobs are located) as well as an unequal economic system (wealth inequality, selective inheritances, etc.) have made your position a challenging one. About to sign an Apprenticeship Agreement with a woman to whom I’ll be providing free room & board, along with a living stipend, so that she can participate in Austen’s Lambda School full-time Web Dev track. After graduation, she’ll have a chance to participate for another half year as an apprentice, at the end of which I’ll offer her (pending qualification) a position with substantial equity as a Junior Software Engineer (50% of the company is reserved for contributors). Might you be interested in being added as a fully paid apprentice (remote) after you graduate? It would also entail a highly likely position as a Junior Software Engineer (also remote) with equity on successful completion of the apprenticeship. https://www.AffiliateGenius.com https://www.AffiliateGenius.com Martin

jessehorne 8y ago
Hello, They ended up helping me get a vehicle which will help me get a job here. I have a few projects which are bringing in funds in the meantime. I'd love to talk about a paid apprenticeship if you're still interested. Thanks, Jesse