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42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

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Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#41

Post by JohanByttner »

ValentineC wrote: post #10

From the website: > 42 allows students who have successfully completed the selection tests to continue their training at the Silicon Valley or Paris campuses (under the condition that they have the necessary immigration visa for their choice. The visa formalities need to be completed by the student, 42 cannot give a visa). In the application form itself: > If you are applying for 42 Paris you must either be a citizen…

From what the staff have told us in Paris, 42 isn't approved by the authorities, so they cannot use the official channels to offer visa sponsorships.

Some students sign up for language courses so they can attend. Sad, but not much that can be done at the moment.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#42

Post by ones_and_zeros »

howandwhy wrote: post #39

I am currently 41, went to a Coding bootcamp in Bay area and after I graduated, I struggled to find a job for 6-8 months but ultimately succeeded to land one as a developer job. But I have had to drop $12k on tuition which I think it will take couple of years to pay off. The bootcamp did very little to add value to my learning skill and portfolio of projects. I would have applied to institution like this in a heartbe…

12k should be a drop in the bucket for a Bay Area developer. You may be underpaid?

42 is the answer to life.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#43

Post by WaBlueKey »

karn09 wrote: post #2

Why the 18-30 age limit? Seems a bit... ageist?

I couldn't agree more with you. This seems like an old model of assuming that those under 30 can't work well with those over yet they are expected to enter a diverse workforce. I'm 37 and in my 4th month at a school similar to 42 in SF. I'm glad that Holberton School didn't have that age restriction or I'd still be looking for another option.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#44

Post by jasode »

gamblor956 wrote: post #33
g123g wrote: post #3

What is the reason for having the age restriction of 30? Does it not implicitly contribute to the existing ageism issue in tech industry. Why can't a professional working in another industry learn something new at the age of 35 or a mother who wants to come back to the workforce after her kids start going to school?

The age restriction is also possibly illegal in the US, as age is a protected class under federal law.

It's easy to find examples of "protected class" filing discrimination lawsuits in cases of employment, housing, and retail (e.g. "ladies night pricing" ruling in favor of males.)

However, I can't think of an example of a "protected class" winning a court judgement over how a non-profit chooses to donate its money.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#45

Post by JohanByttner »

howandwhy wrote: post #39

I am currently 41, went to a Coding bootcamp in Bay area and after I graduated, I struggled to find a job for 6-8 months but ultimately succeeded to land one as a developer job. But I have had to drop $12k on tuition which I think it will take couple of years to pay off. The bootcamp did very little to add value to my learning skill and portfolio of projects. I would have applied to institution like this in a heartbe…

42 is from Douglas Adams, the answer to the question of life and all that.

I do t know about the age limit, but it might be some (possibly faulty) reasoning about commitment. Staff have been tight-lipped. We have some people from the Pole Emploi (unemployment agency) here at the moment, and they are a bit older, so some kind of trial is underway.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#46

Post by kalden_ »

g123g wrote: post #28
kalden_ wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is all what the director seems to have said about the age limit (that is the same in the French school): "I noticed in the past that we should not encourage too much age difference because it's harder then to form groups that work." ( http://www.clubic.com/pro/emploi-informatique.clubic.com/act... ) "42 indeed focuses first on the 18-30. We think about other people with care, but we already initially have much t…

Regarding this statement - "I noticed in the past that we should not encourage too much age difference because it's harder then to form groups that work." Shouldn't a startup founder be then allowed to reject any 30+ candidate with the same reasoning if their company already has a bunch of 25 year olds? Can't you detect the blatant age bias in this statement?

I can. It may be relevant to mention there must be a couple of cultural differences on this point. I think most people in France may have never heard about the word "ageism", from the moment they're not in some social justice circles. Employment discrimination is a public sphere topic but it is much more about immigrants and women. Also, the tech labor market in SF bay area may display way different variables compared to Paris (as may the educational system).

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#47

Post by teh_klev »

stacywebb wrote: post #31

From their site: WELCOME TO 42,THE MOST DARING CODING UNIVERSITY. DISRUPTIVE EDUCATION. TUITION FREE. NON-PROFIT. OPEN TO ALL. False Advertising. "OPEN TO ALL" "42 is open to anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 30" Perhaps someone there should attend a class on demographics. I suspect in the land of 42, you don't exist if you are 30. Such special little snowflakes they are.

I'm 49, mostly agree with your sentiment, but shouty all caps and the tiresome "snowflake" thing totally ruins your point. Sigh.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#48

Post by marcobooth »

g123g wrote: post #3

What is the reason for having the age restriction of 30? Does it not implicitly contribute to the existing ageism issue in tech industry. Why can't a professional working in another industry learn something new at the age of 35 or a mother who wants to come back to the workforce after her kids start going to school?

I'm currently in the school in Paris and so thought I could help clarify. The main programme doesn't accept people above 30 but they do run a separate one which is tailored to those people - for example, it's not a given that they'll have to be here 24/7

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#49

Post by iFelix »

I'm surprised with all the negative comments focusing on the age limit. Xavier Niel committed millions to launch the school in Paris and it was an immense success which already benefits to the whole ecosystem. What is not said in the video is the type of candidates they are looking for. In France, as education is free, traditional "excellent" high school student don't apply to 42 and prefer to secure a place in the notorious engineering schools. 42 is rather focused on giving a second chance to bright people that didn't fit into the traditional system. The test to get qualified for the 4weeks session is only about fit/culture questions: no maths, no logic, no programming. No skills required, everyone has the same chance. Although the target in the US might be different as tuition fees are a real problem there. Curious to see what type of students will go there.

Re: 42 comes to Silicon Valley: free, non profit coding university

#50

Post by jnbiche »

iFelix wrote: post #49

I'm surprised with all the negative comments focusing on the age limit. Xavier Niel committed millions to launch the school in Paris and it was an immense success which already benefits to the whole ecosystem. What is not said in the video is the type of candidates they are looking for. In France, as education is free, traditional "excellent" high school student don't apply to 42 and prefer to secure a place in the n…

> Curious to see what type of students will go there.

Well, we know they'll all be between the ages 18-30.

And yes, tuition fees are a real problem here, for people of all ages. Shame he chose to limit the program to a demographic that is already welcome and advantaged in the US's technical community.

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