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First off, and I'm not going to just pick on DB since most of these high-price training operations do the same thing, but this makes it seem like they went down

by zedshaw 14y ago

First off, and I'm not going to just pick on DB since most of these high-price training operations do the same thing, but this makes it seem like they went down to market street and picked 20 homeless guys then got them jobs at 80k/year in 10 weeks. No, they had 400 applicants, chose the 20 (5%) that could most likely succeed, and then 17 of those got jobs. This is great, but they should stop making it seem like they're training total newbies with no ability in 10 weeks. They're training people who could probably succeed despite any of the training methods. For example, there's a commenter in this thread who has a mechanical engineering degree. Chances are anyone with a mechanical engineering degree with the money could pass nearly any kind of course.

lachyg 14y ago
I'm not sure where the 400 number is coming from. It's actually closer to 200 ("Of the approximately 200 applications that Dev Bootcamp received for its first session, 20 were chosen to participate in the program"). This cohort was also 8 weeks. But yes, you're right. These are highly dedicated people. Many came straight out of college, one (myself) came straight out of high school. But I wouldn't go and assume that all 20 of us were mechanical engineering grads. All just highly motivated people.
- SilasX 14y ago
  1, however, did hold a mechanical engineering degree (me). But I still haven't gotten job offers yet. (For those in the program who think I told them otherwise: that was not a job offer, but an invitation to a two week assessment with a tiny stipend in a place far from San Francisco, but was still probably counted in the "got jobs" figures.)
  - lobati 14y ago
    We're actually not counting you towards the total. Here's hoping your assessment goes well, though.
jason1098 14y ago
As a graduate of the first DevBootcamp class, I can say that some of the comments posted are a bit too assumptive. First, I had zero programing experience entering class on day one of the session. I graduated knowing how to build web applications. Second, what's wrong with picking students that are most likely to succeed. There's an argument to be made that being part of a group dynamic of motivated, successful people fosters and promotes better learning - I learned more in my AP English, Math, Chemistry and History classes in high school because the other students were also motivated and had the capacity to learn. Third, why wouldn't you want to select candidates that are interested in getting a job and starting a career in web engineering; it doesn't make sense to select people that want to eventually be hotel managers. Group motivation was critical in the learning process. We as a class took the adventure together; it only makes sense that we all shared the same destination. I never went to college; it wasn't the path I wanted to take. So to say that the fact that a student had a mechanical engineering degree ensured their passing of the course is like saying that because I grew up on the beach in southern California, I can be a professional surfer. The fact of the matter here is that DevBootcamp worked. It worked well. As it was Shereef's first session, there was a lot of things that I'm sure he is changing for the next rounds. I'm confident that after the Summer session, the numbers coming from the graduates will be even more impressive.
jfarmer 14y ago
I invite anyone who is skeptical and in the SF Bay Area to reach out to us and say "hi." I'm jesse@devbootcamp.com. You can read my HN profile -- hopefully it's credible enough that you don't think I'm in the business of blowing smoke.

by zedshaw 14y ago

lachyg 14y ago

I'm not sure where the 400 number is coming from. It's actually closer to 200 ("Of the approximately 200 applications that Dev Bootcamp received for its first session, 20 were chosen to participate in the program"). This cohort was also 8 weeks. But yes, you're right. These are highly dedicated people. Many came straight out of college, one (myself) came straight out of high school. But I wouldn't go and assume that all 20 of us were mechanical engineering grads. All just highly motivated people.

SilasX 14y ago
1, however, did hold a mechanical engineering degree (me). But I still haven't gotten job offers yet. (For those in the program who think I told them otherwise: that was not a job offer, but an invitation to a two week assessment with a tiny stipend in a place far from San Francisco, but was still probably counted in the "got jobs" figures.)
- lobati 14y ago
  We're actually not counting you towards the total. Here's hoping your assessment goes well, though.

jason1098 14y ago

As a graduate of the first DevBootcamp class, I can say that some of the comments posted are a bit too assumptive. First, I had zero programing experience entering class on day one of the session. I graduated knowing how to build web applications. Second, what's wrong with picking students that are most likely to succeed. There's an argument to be made that being part of a group dynamic of motivated, successful people fosters and promotes better learning - I learned more in my AP English, Math, Chemistry and History classes in high school because the other students were also motivated and had the capacity to learn. Third, why wouldn't you want to select candidates that are interested in getting a job and starting a career in web engineering; it doesn't make sense to select people that want to eventually be hotel managers. Group motivation was critical in the learning process. We as a class took the adventure together; it only makes sense that we all shared the same destination. I never went to college; it wasn't the path I wanted to take. So to say that the fact that a student had a mechanical engineering degree ensured their passing of the course is like saying that because I grew up on the beach in southern California, I can be a professional surfer. The fact of the matter here is that DevBootcamp worked. It worked well. As it was Shereef's first session, there was a lot of things that I'm sure he is changing for the next rounds. I'm confident that after the Summer session, the numbers coming from the graduates will be even more impressive.

jfarmer 14y ago

I invite anyone who is skeptical and in the SF Bay Area to reach out to us and say "hi." I'm jesse@devbootcamp.com. You can read my HN profile -- hopefully it's credible enough that you don't think I'm in the business of blowing smoke.