7 ms·

What we’ve learned from Hacker School

75 points by davidbalbert 15y ago

zackzackzack 15y ago
If you have any inklings whatsoever about wanting to apply to Hacker School, just reach out[0]. Dave and company are way cool and actually respond to requests in a timely manner. There was a 4 day, 5 at max, turn around time between when I emailed them and when I was on skype with Dave. [0]http://www.hackruiter.com/registrations/new http://www.hackruiter.com/registrations/new
- davidbalbert 15y ago
  Thanks for the kind words Zack! A quick correction: Hacker School application page is actually http://www.hackerschool.com/apply http://www.hackerschool.com/apply. If you just want to talk or are looking for a job, Zack's link is the way to go.
- realitygrill 15y ago
  I'll second this. Both Dave and Nick were really easy to talk to, and it's clear they're looking for kindred 'hacker' spirits. Also, the isolation is spot on. It can be pretty depressing to be trying to, say, do SICP on internet advice, while people around you ask why you don't just take a Java/C++ class. I applied in large part to meet others truly interested in programming, and though I can't make it this time around, HS is tops on my list of things to do in 2012.
kenrik 15y ago
I know the feeling of being isolated as a programmer. I have so many great and successful people that I would love to have as part of my startup however most of them don't have the skills that we need at this stage.
zyfo 15y ago
How experienced a programmer do you have to be in order to apply? I'm a CompSci student and coded some CRUD apps for my startup (Clojure and Python), but I'm not a open source contributor, nor am I active as a contributor on Github or SO.
- nicholasjbs 15y ago
  We're flexible on experience. We care more about intellectual curiosity and a love of programming. If you love programming and your primary interest is becoming a better programmer (rather than, say, starting a company), you should definitely apply :)
  - camedee 15y ago
    What if you can't dedicate the time. Is there any other way to get involved?
    - nicholasjbs 15y ago
      Unfortunately no, not right now. It's possible we'll release online resources at some point, but I honestly don't know if/when that will happen. Sorry I don't have a more helpful answer for you at the moment.
      - camedee 15y ago
        Your honest and quick response is greatly appreciated.
rquantz 15y ago
When is the summer session? That would be a great time for me as it would be less likely to conflict with other gigs.
- nicholasjbs 15y ago
  We don't have an exact start date, but it will run from mid-June to mid-August, +/- a week or two.
  - pepijndevos 15y ago
    So when do you know/can people apply? It'd be useful for me to know ASAP, because asa non-american, it takes some time to get there.
    - nicholasjbs 15y ago
      I'm going through and responding to the latest set of applications now. I expect to get back to everyone by early afternoon, and Dave and I will set up meetings with everyone who seems promising ASAP.
sunkan 15y ago
Is there something similar to this in the Bay Area?
- pepijndevos 15y ago
  … or Europe? There are some similar concepts, but without the programming part. Kaos Pilot, Knowmads, etc...
unculture 15y ago
Do you work from some sort of syllabus? Or is it more free form? Also, what sort of age-range are your students?
- nicholasjbs 15y ago
  We do not have a syllabus. Hacker School is project-based, and what people build and study is driven by what they're interested in and want to learn more about. For people who don't yet know what that is, we provide guidance and feedback. We filter on intellectual curiosity and love of programming, so people don't typically have trouble finding interesting things to work on, especially since they're surrounded by other curious people working on interesting and hard problems. I believe the youngest student was 19 and the oldest somewhere around 40. For the upcoming batch, most students are in their 20s or 30s (I don't know for sure, because we don't ask).
jconnolly 15y ago
nice work nick and dave. looking forward to participating in batch[2].

75 points by davidbalbert 15y ago

If you have any inklings whatsoever about wanting to apply to Hacker School, just reach out[0]. Dave and company are way cool and actually respond to requests in a timely manner. There was a 4 day, 5 at max, turn around time between when I emailed them and when I was on skype with Dave. [0]http://www.hackruiter.com/registrations/new http://www.hackruiter.com/registrations/new

davidbalbert 15y ago
Thanks for the kind words Zack! A quick correction: Hacker School application page is actually http://www.hackerschool.com/apply http://www.hackerschool.com/apply. If you just want to talk or are looking for a job, Zack's link is the way to go.
realitygrill 15y ago
I'll second this. Both Dave and Nick were really easy to talk to, and it's clear they're looking for kindred 'hacker' spirits. Also, the isolation is spot on. It can be pretty depressing to be trying to, say, do SICP on internet advice, while people around you ask why you don't just take a Java/C++ class. I applied in large part to meet others truly interested in programming, and though I can't make it this time around, HS is tops on my list of things to do in 2012.

kenrik 15y ago

I know the feeling of being isolated as a programmer. I have so many great and successful people that I would love to have as part of my startup however most of them don't have the skills that we need at this stage.

zyfo 15y ago

How experienced a programmer do you have to be in order to apply? I'm a CompSci student and coded some CRUD apps for my startup (Clojure and Python), but I'm not a open source contributor, nor am I active as a contributor on Github or SO.

nicholasjbs 15y ago
We're flexible on experience. We care more about intellectual curiosity and a love of programming. If you love programming and your primary interest is becoming a better programmer (rather than, say, starting a company), you should definitely apply :)
- camedee 15y ago
  What if you can't dedicate the time. Is there any other way to get involved?
  - nicholasjbs 15y ago
    Unfortunately no, not right now. It's possible we'll release online resources at some point, but I honestly don't know if/when that will happen. Sorry I don't have a more helpful answer for you at the moment.
    - camedee 15y ago
      Your honest and quick response is greatly appreciated.

rquantz 15y ago

When is the summer session? That would be a great time for me as it would be less likely to conflict with other gigs.

nicholasjbs 15y ago
We don't have an exact start date, but it will run from mid-June to mid-August, +/- a week or two.
- pepijndevos 15y ago
  So when do you know/can people apply? It'd be useful for me to know ASAP, because asa non-american, it takes some time to get there.
  - nicholasjbs 15y ago
    I'm going through and responding to the latest set of applications now. I expect to get back to everyone by early afternoon, and Dave and I will set up meetings with everyone who seems promising ASAP.

sunkan 15y ago

Is there something similar to this in the Bay Area?

pepijndevos 15y ago
… or Europe? There are some similar concepts, but without the programming part. Kaos Pilot, Knowmads, etc...

unculture 15y ago

Do you work from some sort of syllabus? Or is it more free form? Also, what sort of age-range are your students?

nicholasjbs 15y ago
We do not have a syllabus. Hacker School is project-based, and what people build and study is driven by what they're interested in and want to learn more about. For people who don't yet know what that is, we provide guidance and feedback. We filter on intellectual curiosity and love of programming, so people don't typically have trouble finding interesting things to work on, especially since they're surrounded by other curious people working on interesting and hard problems. I believe the youngest student was 19 and the oldest somewhere around 40. For the upcoming batch, most students are in their 20s or 30s (I don't know for sure, because we don't ask).

jconnolly 15y ago

nice work nick and dave. looking forward to participating in batch[2].