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My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

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Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#601

Post by red_trumpet »

ano88888 wrote: post #598
TheLastMile wrote: post #384

In the US, more than 60% of people released from prison return, and our program alumni continue to prove that the way to stop the cycle is through career opportunities. Many TLM grads have returned home after decades in prison and gotten good jobs in tech. The key is making useful resources like coding classes available to those inside seeking opportunity. By the way - TLM is hiring a Dev Ops & IT Manager, if you wan…

It is great that programming is helping people with criminal record. On the other hand, if you are a programmer , unless you are one of top ones in the world, anyone can compete with you. Someone can switch jobs and take a few months of code bootcamp and become your competitor. Your years of experience only make you less valuable. Anyone can spend a few months learning to code and replace you. The demand for programm…

> Your years of experience only make you less valuable.

Can you elaborate on that?

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#602

Post by Tepix »

rendall wrote: post #589
nhumrich wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically, it does.

Statistically, it does? You have a citation, then. Would you share it, please?

Found this: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/once-a-criminal-always-a-crimin...

1% of 988 murderers were arrested for a new crime (yet not another murder). Is that higher than average? It sounds like it is.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#603

Post by Tepix »

ano88888 wrote: post #598
TheLastMile wrote: post #384

In the US, more than 60% of people released from prison return, and our program alumni continue to prove that the way to stop the cycle is through career opportunities. Many TLM grads have returned home after decades in prison and gotten good jobs in tech. The key is making useful resources like coding classes available to those inside seeking opportunity. By the way - TLM is hiring a Dev Ops & IT Manager, if you wan…

It is great that programming is helping people with criminal record. On the other hand, if you are a programmer , unless you are one of top ones in the world, anyone can compete with you. Someone can switch jobs and take a few months of code bootcamp and become your competitor. Your years of experience only make you less valuable. Anyone can spend a few months learning to code and replace you. The demand for programm…

Demand has been higher than supply for 4 decades or more. I don't see it changing in the next decade either.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#604

Post by Cthulhu_ »

yreg wrote: post #479
BlueGh0st wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How? I read so many felon success stories but I'm a non-violent felon and I can't even get an entry-level interview in IT. I'm multiskilled with a huge focus on security but despite the demand, I've had so much trouble. In fact, in one very sad case, I showed up to my first day of work as a sys admin and was walked out after 2 hours because the HR department neglected to go over my application and see the felony chec…

In what situations do US employers/clients ask about criminal history? Can't you freelance or start as a contractor?

Honestly they should not be allowed to; you got convicted, you did the time. In the US's stupid penal system, you have paid your debt to society; in others, you (should) have rehabilitated. That's it, you do the time, clean slate, move on.

The stigma with former felons is why there's a lot of repeat offense, why people stay stuck on the social ladder, and of course why the US' attempt at democracy is laughable.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#606

Post by berdario »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #579
nhumrich wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically, it does.

> Statistically, it does. If that mattered, all of antidiscrimination law would be struck down.

IANAL (and law differs around the globe) but...

discrimination is prohibited towards protected categories. i.e. gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation... on top of it, most of those aren't things that you choose yourself.

With the possible exception of religion (you're born into a certain culture, so "by default" you might feel affiliated to a certain religion, so asking people to renounce that would definitely be oppressive), and veteran status (which is not a protected category around the world, I think... though it is in the US)

If you self-select into a segment of the population that no one is born into[1], yet it's lawfully discriminated against (i.e. felons ITT) I'm afraid that you don't have a good case to protect yourself from such discrimination.

[1] Unfortunately, systemic racism and the plea/prosecutors/bail system make it so that people in certain segments of the population are more likely than others to end up involved in crimes.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#607

Post by dang »

alexashka wrote: post #233

> The way that ex-felons are treated in society is despicable, no wonder there's a 55% recidivism rate if you get blocked at every attempt to becoming a productive member of society. What makes you think they want to be a 'productive member of society'? It's not that hard to be a member of free society instead of prison society - don't break the law, repeatedly. There'll always be unlucky exceptions and if your goal…

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24652458.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#608

Post by csdffsdfsdfsdfs »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #287
rorykoehler wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theft, fraud and violence are applicable for all jobs surely.

Surely not, if by "applicable" you mean to suggest that employers would never want to hire such a person for any job. Should a person convicted of theft, who's served their time, paid the fine, made the victims whole, and learned not to steal, be discarded from consideration as a useful member of society? In case it's not clear, I think they should have the same rights as any other human being. No one seriously advoc…

"Same rights" - no sorry, somebody who stole before will be regarded with higher suspicion than other people, and that's OK.

How do you know they "learned not to steal"? Can you look inside of their heads?

There are jobs with less opportunities to steal, for example. Trust has to be regained, simply "having been in prison" is not really worth much in that respect. You would stay in prison, regardless of your mindset, because you are forced to be there.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#609

Post by csdffsdfsdfsdfs »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #491
deathgrips wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and learned not to steal That's the issue at hand. Serving a prison sentence doesn't mean that you have learned not to steal. It's difficult for the company to verify that you have "learned your lesson".

What will satisfy you then? Should people who come out from prison for stealing sit around jobless since nobody trusts them? That's bound to get them back into prison.

No they should find jobs where they have less opportunity to cause harm.

Re: My friend starts her job today, after learning to program in prison

#610

Post by chasontherobot »

abiogenesis wrote: post #580
EE84M3i wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>for reasons I probably don't need to explain. I'm clueless. What would lead to serving life?

I think they mean that smaller things such as carrying a hunter knife may add up to approximately two life sentences.

maybe, but why would that apply to only males?
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