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This is amazing! I'm curious, one of your student stories mentions a student who was immediately hired into a senior engineering role upon graduating. While I'

This is amazing! I'm curious, one of your student stories mentions a student who was immediately hired into a senior engineering role upon graduating. While I've heard great things about Lambda School and its students, that gives me pause. When companies hire new grads directly into senior roles, do you think that they're set up to succeed in those roles? I'm genuinely curious.

austenallred 8y ago
It’s rare that that happens. That particular student is now leading a team of 40, so he was well suited, but we tell most students to be at “try to go senior quickly” level (with regard to ability not necessarily title).
- jamestimmins 8y ago
  Impressive. As someone a bit later in their career (4 years in), I'm a bit jealous of this opportunity. I'd be very curious in some kind of midlevel->senior program like this. Something like Bradfield but more widely available geographically. The content is more difficult at that level, but the salaries are substantially higher as well.
  - austenallred 8y ago
    Coming soon.
anonymousJim12 8y ago
This isn't that surprising for someone that has a lot of experience in something like project management or academia and/or is very good at negotiating. For instance the place I work just hired as a senior engineer a former math professor with a math PhD that hasn't written a line of production code in their life. If this person decided to go through a 9 month bootcamp before applying the outcome would have been the same.
- austenallred 8y ago
  He was a recent college dropout and bodybuilder, but yeah it’s not an absolutely absurd result.
  - throwawaymath 8y ago
    I have to be honest, it sounds absolutely absurd. What kind of definition must a company be using for "senior" if they're willing to hire someone into that title with no prior professional experience? It's almost certainly title inflation. Note this is not a comment about the quality of Lambda School. I've heard good things about it. But it's almost tautological that someone shouldn't be eligible for a "senior software engineer" title after they've graduated Lambda School, just as they shouldn't be eligible for it after they've graduated university. Such training is necessary but insufficient for being able to meet the level of responsibility you're given at that title.
    - austenallred 8y ago
      That company has hired 20+ Lambda School grads, two hired as senior.
      - throwawaymath 8y ago
        I believe you. But there is also significant title inflation at that specific company. There is no reasonable definition for "senior software engineer" which has qualifications that can be met from scratch in nine months. What are their "junior" engineers like? Do they have a title between junior and senior? Like I said, this isn't a comment on the Lambda School. It's a comment on the idea that this occurrence isn't absurd, regardless of whether or not it's rare.
        austenallred 8y ago
        Ya I don’t disagree that there’s title inflation, but yes they do in this instance differentiate.

austenallred 8y ago

It’s rare that that happens. That particular student is now leading a team of 40, so he was well suited, but we tell most students to be at “try to go senior quickly” level (with regard to ability not necessarily title).

jamestimmins 8y ago
Impressive. As someone a bit later in their career (4 years in), I'm a bit jealous of this opportunity. I'd be very curious in some kind of midlevel->senior program like this. Something like Bradfield but more widely available geographically. The content is more difficult at that level, but the salaries are substantially higher as well.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Coming soon.

anonymousJim12 8y ago

This isn't that surprising for someone that has a lot of experience in something like project management or academia and/or is very good at negotiating. For instance the place I work just hired as a senior engineer a former math professor with a math PhD that hasn't written a line of production code in their life. If this person decided to go through a 9 month bootcamp before applying the outcome would have been the same.

austenallred 8y ago
He was a recent college dropout and bodybuilder, but yeah it’s not an absolutely absurd result.
- throwawaymath 8y ago
  I have to be honest, it sounds absolutely absurd. What kind of definition must a company be using for "senior" if they're willing to hire someone into that title with no prior professional experience? It's almost certainly title inflation. Note this is not a comment about the quality of Lambda School. I've heard good things about it. But it's almost tautological that someone shouldn't be eligible for a "senior software engineer" title after they've graduated Lambda School, just as they shouldn't be eligible for it after they've graduated university. Such training is necessary but insufficient for being able to meet the level of responsibility you're given at that title.
  - austenallred 8y ago
    That company has hired 20+ Lambda School grads, two hired as senior.
    - throwawaymath 8y ago
      I believe you. But there is also significant title inflation at that specific company. There is no reasonable definition for "senior software engineer" which has qualifications that can be met from scratch in nine months. What are their "junior" engineers like? Do they have a title between junior and senior? Like I said, this isn't a comment on the Lambda School. It's a comment on the idea that this occurrence isn't absurd, regardless of whether or not it's rare.
      - austenallred 8y ago
        Ya I don’t disagree that there’s title inflation, but yes they do in this instance differentiate.