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This kind of discussion will end up being the typical (French) disdain between people learning engineering in the public schools v/s the ones learning in these
by EZ-E 8y ago
This kind of discussion will end up being the typical (French) disdain between people learning engineering in the public schools v/s the ones learning in these "practical teaching" private schools and vice versa.
There are good engineers in both, both have different approach to teach which fit different people. Both do generally good in the private sector after they're done with it.
As usual the people graduating from public schools will say the private graduates don't have the theorical foundation, and the private graduates will say the public graduates don't have enough technical skills when they graduate. In reality the decent students will pick up the theory from the practical projects and vice-versa.
If that matters, I did Epitech, which is similar-ish to 42 and all the people that graduated with me have decent positions and are in high demand by the job market. Some of them in big name companies.
This kind of private schools are a good alternative for people who don't fit in the public education by letting them just do practical projects with some direction and let them pick up the theory from there. Some people are really good self taught hackers but would otherwise drop out in typical education, but they can shine in these schools. I've met many.
- baby 8y agoMy opinion is that you have a close division of very good students, good students, average students, mediocre student, etc. in both the public schools and the more private ones. I'd say that it seems like it's easier to make it as an average/mediocre person if you're doing epitech, 101, 42, etc. If you're very good, it seems like you'll do better with a more beefy theoretical background
- EZ-E 8y ago> I'd say that it seems like it's easier to make it as an average/mediocre person if you're doing epitech, 101, 42, etc. You could just as well learn all the theory by heart, do not know how to use it in practical situations, forget it after the exams and pass just fine in most public schools as well. If you're bad and not willing, you're gonna be bad, no education will save you
- baby 8y agoyup, but if you do that, you are not good.
- titanix2 8y agoYou forgot to mention the private schools are expensive and use a somewhat pyramidal scheme where older students teach newer ones to repaid part of their school fees. In public education all teachers hold PhD or engineer titles so they have more years to think about what they teach than the guy who is only year+2 of the teachee. Edit: I checked Epitech tuition fees, it's around 40k€ for the whole 5 years curriculum. You can make a century of studies for the same price in any public university.
- fhrow4484 8y ago> private schools are expensive > I checked Epitech tuition fees, it's around 40k€ for the whole 5 years curriculum $9100 a year is indeed expensive for French schools, but I'm sure some Americans on the other side of the ponds are chuckling right now.
- maxymoos 8y agoFor comparison purposes, tuition fees in a French public engineering school were around 700€/$800 per year when I was there about a decade ago, and I wouldn't expect this to have changed much.
- tomsmeding 8y agoNot sure about France, but in the Netherlands now it's 2000 euros. Though I believe people are trying to lower that again.
- sacado2 8y agoIn the University where I teach, fees are below €500 a year, AFAIK.
- namdnay 8y agoAnd if you're the best of the best, they pay you to attend (X, ENS)
- 8y ago
- sacado2 8y agoI firmly believe you need both theory and practice to be a good engineer (note I neither said technician or company founder/manager). Now, I tend to think most Universities / public schools tend to focus a little too much on theory and not enough on practice, and schools like 42 seem to focus way too much on pure practice.
- agumonkey 8y agoEverytime I ask someone who met students of a certain kind (private, elite, public) they always say "They're lame". :)