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As someone who has overcome incarceration, spent years behind bars reading every book I could get me hands on, realizing that despite all of my short-comings I

As someone who has overcome incarceration, spent years behind bars reading every book I could get me hands on, realizing that despite all of my short-comings I could find a way to be a software developer. . . this comment reads as quite offensive; smacks of typical HN snobbery. I never finished my degree, neither did my roommate for that matter (hell, he worked in a pizza shop and a brewery for years). Yet, we both are gainfully employed (full-time remote work, full-stack react, GatsbyJS, ReactNative etc.), we both work on a startup that is profitable, we both have found a way to persevere despite the naysayers. To any coal miners reading this, do what makes you happy. If that is writing code and becoming a software engineer, the only person holding you back is yourself. I read a comment on here this morning that rang true, "I can do anything, I just can't do everything".

b_tterc_p 8y ago
I don’t think this is snobbery. Software is hard. Most coal miners don’t want to write code and lack a lot of fundamentals to do so effectively. Sure anyone can pursue it if they want, but announcing programs to transform coal miners into coders is not a reasonable solution to disappearing coal mining jobs.
jjeaff 8y ago
I did not mean to sound snobby. In fact, the opposite, I was stating that despite all those things, I still find programming very difficult. And I applaud you for learning it and am impressed. You likely have a much higher aptitude than me to be able to learn a difficult skill without an extensive background. But surely you don't disagree that ex-cons or coal miners are an odd choice to target with government programs to teach them to code? You seem like an extreme exception. Or do you feel like many of those you came in contact with in incarceration would also be well suited to do what you are doing? And in case I didn't make it clear in my first post, there is nothing wrong or lesser about trade jobs like plumbing, electrical, welding, etc. They are challenging and honorable professions that may end up outlasting software development when the automation/a.i. monster comes knocking.
- melonbar 8y ago
  That is fair enough but I do believe that focusing on software has been a boon. It has been a deciding factor in my sobriety among many other things. That said, yes, you are right in the sense that many of the people I came into contact with would scoff at the idea of spending time reading books and studying. I was ridiculed a lot. I guess in the end the comments struck a chord but there are surely others out there who could benefit from these programs. If even a handful of people can find salvation in coding then I am all for it.

b_tterc_p 8y ago

I don’t think this is snobbery. Software is hard. Most coal miners don’t want to write code and lack a lot of fundamentals to do so effectively. Sure anyone can pursue it if they want, but announcing programs to transform coal miners into coders is not a reasonable solution to disappearing coal mining jobs.

jjeaff 8y ago

I did not mean to sound snobby. In fact, the opposite, I was stating that despite all those things, I still find programming very difficult. And I applaud you for learning it and am impressed. You likely have a much higher aptitude than me to be able to learn a difficult skill without an extensive background. But surely you don't disagree that ex-cons or coal miners are an odd choice to target with government programs to teach them to code? You seem like an extreme exception. Or do you feel like many of those you came in contact with in incarceration would also be well suited to do what you are doing? And in case I didn't make it clear in my first post, there is nothing wrong or lesser about trade jobs like plumbing, electrical, welding, etc. They are challenging and honorable professions that may end up outlasting software development when the automation/a.i. monster comes knocking.

melonbar 8y ago
That is fair enough but I do believe that focusing on software has been a boon. It has been a deciding factor in my sobriety among many other things. That said, yes, you are right in the sense that many of the people I came into contact with would scoff at the idea of spending time reading books and studying. I was ridiculed a lot. I guess in the end the comments struck a chord but there are surely others out there who could benefit from these programs. If even a handful of people can find salvation in coding then I am all for it.