Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#1

Post by sudofail » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 6:14 PM UTC

I'm a self-taught web developer with about 3 years experience, and I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the tools I need for my day-to-day job. But I never attended university and would like to get a deeper understanding of computer science. I've done a few moocs, and they are definitely very useful, but I'm wondering if there are any accelerated "bootcamps" that teach either computer science fundamentals, or maybe more advanced programming topics. The bootcamps I'm aware of focus on beginners.

Does anyone know if something like that exists?

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#2

Post by kjksf » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

Lambda school. 6 month, full time, covers both basics and advanced stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#3

Post by rmason » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 6:51 PM UTC

If you're looking for a good shortcut get the Imposters Handbook:

https://bigmachine.io/products/the-imposters-handbook/

The author, Rob Connery, has got a number of online courses out. I've attended a few and he's an exceptional instructor. Least this self taught developer understands him:>). Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#4

Post by hackermailman » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 6:51 PM UTC

Interviewbit has a programming track https://www.interviewbit.com/courses/programming/ and interview problem sets you can practice with to build your algorithm skills https://www.interviewbit.com/amazon-interview-questions/

Or find a suitable advanced pile of material and pick out of it what you want to learn https://functionalcs.github.io/curriculum/

Or your next vacation, go to Raleigh, NC and pay this ex-CMU Professor to personally teach you whatever topics you want https://calculem.us/classes/ he's now a freelance compsci instructor

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#5

Post by austenallred » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 6:58 PM UTC

You should check out Lambda School’s Computer Science Academy.

7.5 months long full-time, live remote classes, free until you’re hired.

https://lambdaschool.com

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#6

Post by ibeckermayer » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 9:36 PM UTC

I attend Holberton school which begins with bash/C, build your own printf from system calls, build your own shell, etc. I come from a background in physics/hardware eng and have gotten lots of value out of it.

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#7

Post by Adam89 » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 10:11 PM UTC

You should checkout https://bradfieldcs.com/

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#8

Post by sudofail » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 10:20 PM UTC

Adam89 wrote: post #7

You should checkout https://bradfieldcs.com/

Wow, this looks like a great resource. I'm not currently in the bay area, but this looks perfect otherwise. I'm going to look into this a bit more, thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#9

Post by sudofail » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 10:22 PM UTC

kjksf wrote: post #2

Lambda school. 6 month, full time, covers both basics and advanced stuff.

I hadn't heard of Lambda school, but this looks like a great option. The fact that it's available online, and available after work hours is really appealing. Do you have experience with Lambda school?

Re: Ask HN: Bootcamp for self-taught developers?

#10

Post by sudofail » Sun, Aug 12, 2018, 10:26 PM UTC

rmason wrote: post #3

If you're looking for a good shortcut get the Imposters Handbook: https://bigmachine.io/products/the-imposters-handbook/ The author, Rob Connery, has got a number of online courses out. I've attended a few and he's an exceptional instructor. Least this self taught developer understands him:>). Good luck!

Thank you for linking this. I've gone ahead and purchased the ebook and will start working through this. If nothing else, it looks like it will cover a lot of the topics I was hoping to learn in a course setting, so should be a good prep at least.