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Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

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Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#131
post #128
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did my masters in Computer Science (graduated cum laude) and am currently in the third year of my PhD. I applied for a few companies but I am having trouble getting through the coding tests, which are sometimes very practically oriented (Android and iOS). Maybe I am not skilled enough as a programmer, or the companies tests are not suitable for me, or the companies themselves are not suitable for me, but I believe…

Why do you think you're having trouble? Presumably you know at least 1 language well and can build shit? Are you looking for competitive jobs and are you trying very hard? In my experience a lot of people get jobs through networks so I wonder if you are quite qualified, feel competent you can do (or learn quickly) the job but simply can't get the opportunity. I feel that way. I went to a boot camp, know a few languag…

I guess the jobs I am applying for are rather competitive. I study in Japan and I am applying for jobs here which are open for those who do not speak business level Japanese, and there aren't many jobs like that.

I've build pretty significant systems. A few years ago I was working as an ASP.NET WebForms/MVC developer and recently I've been working on a web based visual programming tool using NodeJS and a graph database.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#132

Bootcamps have a lot of haters who want to nitpick the details, it makes me glad I didn't think about it too much when I signed up, I just thought, "hey I want to code, they teach coding... I'm in" first bootcamp (web dev) 5 years ago, second one (mobile dev) 3 years ago. Unlike most in my CoHort, I had no interest in a dev job, I wanted to provide contract work and perhaps join a startup for equity. > What are you d…

Out of interest, what were you doing before the code camp? Being CTO needs people and management skills which a lot of developers don't have.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's another aspect to this though. Programmers have to be smart and get things done. In my experience of interviewing and hiring these qualities can entirely orthogonal. I've hired people who program enthusiastically on side projects and study advanced topics at the weekend but are pain in the workplace; overcomplicating tasks and working slowly while others deliver faster and with better quality. At the same tim…

> There's another aspect to this though. Programmers have to be smart and get things done. In my experience of interviewing and hiring these qualities can entirely orthogonal. I've hired people who program enthusiastically on side projects and study advanced topics at the weekend but are pain in the workplace; overcomplicating tasks and working slowly while others deliver faster and with better quality. At the same t…

> someone who bounces across team members as they get stuck with something or another

Helping them see what they've missed or otherwise get over the hurdles? Sounds like a senior dev to me.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#134
post #35

Note some selection bias may exist in the answers. If you did a tech bootcamp three years ago and it went fantastically, you're probably reading HN today and will see and reply to this. The more success you had, the more likely you're a developer today! If it went terribly, you might still be working at Starbucks and don't read HN very often.

I'm not a developer and I read HN multiple times per day. I think there a lot of finance people here, trying to stay on the cutting edge.

If I might ask, what is it exactly that you do in finance that requires you to stay informed on emerging tech/software? Is it more so just out of interest?

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#135
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can, but presumably your situation is rare? GP is specifically making an argument about selection bias, where frequency matters.

I'm sure my specific case isn't that common, but I'm fairly confident that there are a non-trivial number of people out there who can code but choose not to as a career path. I'm not questioning the argument about frequency, I'm questioning the underlying assumption that "success" in a bootcamp is only measured by employment as a developer.

No bootcamp myself, but I think more people learn to code than are employed as developers, although it may not be widespread. I switch between Product Design, development, and Program Management, based on market opportunity. Development is my least favorite, and I know many PMs and designers who take a short course with no intention to strictly switch gears (becoming a higher paid technical PM is a good example).

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#136

Bootcamps have a lot of haters who want to nitpick the details, it makes me glad I didn't think about it too much when I signed up, I just thought, "hey I want to code, they teach coding... I'm in" first bootcamp (web dev) 5 years ago, second one (mobile dev) 3 years ago. Unlike most in my CoHort, I had no interest in a dev job, I wanted to provide contract work and perhaps join a startup for equity. > What are you d…

Out of interest, what were you doing before the code camp? Being CTO needs people and management skills which a lot of developers don't have.

I guess being CTO at a startup can be like being lead dev at a bigger corp.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#137
post #85
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a marketer and I read HN daily. I don't think this is as insular a community as it once was.

You are missing the point. If you are now working in Starbucks, you aren't likely to read HN _because you are fed up with this stuff_. Not because you can't.

If they're only interested in tech to make money that's probably what set this hypothetical Starbucks employee up for failure.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#138
post #35

Note some selection bias may exist in the answers. If you did a tech bootcamp three years ago and it went fantastically, you're probably reading HN today and will see and reply to this. The more success you had, the more likely you're a developer today! If it went terribly, you might still be working at Starbucks and don't read HN very often.

I am a physician and read HN regularly. Lambda the Ultimate is better but requires effort to read, while this is fairly mindless entertainment.

made my day, thanks.

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#139
post #35

Note some selection bias may exist in the answers. If you did a tech bootcamp three years ago and it went fantastically, you're probably reading HN today and will see and reply to this. The more success you had, the more likely you're a developer today! If it went terribly, you might still be working at Starbucks and don't read HN very often.

I'm not a developer and I read HN multiple times per day. I think there a lot of finance people here, trying to stay on the cutting edge.

I do IT operations... sysadmin type stuff. I'm read HN all the time as well. The developers sometimes forget they're not alone here. ;)

Re: Ask HN: People who completed a bootcamp 3+ years ago: what are you doing now?

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a developer and I read HN multiple times per day. I think there a lot of finance people here, trying to stay on the cutting edge.

If I might ask, what is it exactly that you do in finance that requires you to stay informed on emerging tech/software? Is it more so just out of interest?

Y Combinator is in the finance industry itself.
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