Have any ISA bootcamps become sustainable, or even better, led to VC-grade returns so far? It seems like a model that hasn't proven its ability to scale, but I'd be happy to see some counter-examples.
BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
11–20 of 333 posts
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#12Perhaps irrelevant to the thread at hand, but as I see other commenters mentioning programming fellowships I'll ask here: I recently saw a mention of a programming fellowship program on HN that I thought sounded really interesting. It was for experienced programmers, I believe mostly virtual, and was free-or-cheap. The idea behind it was to give programmers excited about programming a space to explore new ideas. I've…
Recurse Center?
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#13Has anyone had success hiring bootcamp grads? I’ve interviewed dozens and their resume will say something like “Fellow at [bootcamp]” or “Instructor at [bootcamp]”, and it turns out they made a simple programming 101 app and taught a 1hr intro to JavaScript class. None have ever passed an initial screening by me for mid level dev jobs, but I’m curious if anyone else has hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had…
I was a bootcamp grad in 2013. Myself and my classmates are now mostly filling Staff+ roles, many working in FAANG level companies. So, yes, many people have hired bootcampers and had a good experience.
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#14Perhaps irrelevant to the thread at hand, but as I see other commenters mentioning programming fellowships I'll ask here: I recently saw a mention of a programming fellowship program on HN that I thought sounded really interesting. It was for experienced programmers, I believe mostly virtual, and was free-or-cheap. The idea behind it was to give programmers excited about programming a space to explore new ideas. I've…
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#15The CEO was cheering on when Musk laid off half the company. Not surprised.
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#16Has anyone had success hiring bootcamp grads? I’ve interviewed dozens and their resume will say something like “Fellow at [bootcamp]” or “Instructor at [bootcamp]”, and it turns out they made a simple programming 101 app and taught a 1hr intro to JavaScript class. None have ever passed an initial screening by me for mid level dev jobs, but I’m curious if anyone else has hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had…
Hit or miss really. Like anyone hiring is difficult but I wouldn't shy away from hiring someone with a bootcamp experience
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#17Has anyone had success hiring bootcamp grads? I’ve interviewed dozens and their resume will say something like “Fellow at [bootcamp]” or “Instructor at [bootcamp]”, and it turns out they made a simple programming 101 app and taught a 1hr intro to JavaScript class. None have ever passed an initial screening by me for mid level dev jobs, but I’m curious if anyone else has hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had…
The companies who have hired them successfully (that I know of) tend to understand two critical things:
- You have to have an environment where they can learn - You have to have staff who can actually mentor them up
If you don't have either of those (which many startups don't, just due to not simply having the time/bandwidth) then hiring them can be detrimental.
So to answer your question: I know a few, but these companies that can do it are few and far between, and that's the dirty secret here unfortunately. The schools themselves seem to select for "can we place this person here and get our money" rather than necessarily where they can grow.
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#18Has anyone had success hiring bootcamp grads? I’ve interviewed dozens and their resume will say something like “Fellow at [bootcamp]” or “Instructor at [bootcamp]”, and it turns out they made a simple programming 101 app and taught a 1hr intro to JavaScript class. None have ever passed an initial screening by me for mid level dev jobs, but I’m curious if anyone else has hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had…
I was a bootcamp grad in 2013. Myself and my classmates are now mostly filling Staff+ roles, many working in FAANG level companies. So, yes, many people have hired bootcampers and had a good experience.
I have heard that early classes from bootcamps tend to have great people, while the later classes are both more "dillute" in terms of raw talent and more starved of instruction time (as the bootcamp pinches pennies to make a profit).
I have worked with bootcamp grads who are amazing engineers and ones who are terrible, same with ivy league CS grads.
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#19> employees will get normal pay and medical benefits until January 31, 2023 and are “expected to work” through that period. So severance but they have to keep working too? Seems rough. Hard to imagine anyone in that situation would focus on working for their soon-to-be former employer.
In europe it's normal to keep working after employer-side contract terminations.
In Denmark, depending on how long you've been with the company your employers contract termination notice period can be anywhere between 1 month (after 5 months with the company) to 6 months (after more than 8 years and 6 months with the company).
Also, most commonly, if the employee is the one terminating the contract, the notice period is 1 month (although it can be negotiated higher for key employees).
It is understood that your motivation will plummet when you're terminated, but you're still expected to maintain your responsibilites, and eventually, hand over your obligations. But you're also allowed to go to interviews during and if you get a new job your own 1 month termination warning will count.
I've experienced that some employers will offer garden leave to the affected employees, as in they don't have to work or show up daily, but they will hand over responsibilites immediately and be available if there's any questions.
Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff
#20Has anyone had success hiring bootcamp grads? I’ve interviewed dozens and their resume will say something like “Fellow at [bootcamp]” or “Instructor at [bootcamp]”, and it turns out they made a simple programming 101 app and taught a 1hr intro to JavaScript class. None have ever passed an initial screening by me for mid level dev jobs, but I’m curious if anyone else has hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had…
I hire them and give them a task somewhere between support engineer that executes well documented code snippets in run books and junior engineer that does very basic CRUD web app development. Making internal dashboards for the customer success team, etc.
Give them about 32 hours of work a week and 8 hours of tutorials on other things. Build them up from there.
I still lose about 35% of them. A combo of firing for lack of ability and the devs getting upset and leaving when promotions and raises come slow. Because the ugly truth is a lot of the bootcampers hit a plateau. I have had a couple push through to my bar for senior, but most cap out in my mid range.
During the shortage the ability to hire and get solid mids out of 65% of them was a net positive. Right now though it is less important given the talent coming into the market.