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BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

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Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#61

Post by digianarchist »

sandofsky wrote: post #54
setgree wrote: post #40

Not sure what to make of this, but Austen, who is normally a prolific tweeter, hasn't tweeted about this yet [0]. I have gotten used to CEOs tweeting apologetic stuff when this happens. Perhaps this is norm should be bucked? I don't know. I just note that Austen is going against the grain. EDIT: missed this: "In a now-deleted tweet posted earlier today, Allred quoted a prior statement of gratitude for employees pushi…

The "attacked by all sides" comment is quite bizarre. Every pain the company experienced was self-inflicted. They lied about how many students get jobs, which damaged their reputation and is a source of active lawsuits. They dodged California regulators and then lied to students about it. This invalidated every ISA in California before 2020. They launched an unpaid intern program, which created a backlash in the tech…

Vincent Woo’s reporting is a must read if you’re considering any interaction with this company.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#62

Post by lr4444lr »

awb wrote: post #6

Has 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…

Nope, that was also my experience. They either fell apart when asked to do a programming problem that required coming up with a data structure on their own (not one right answer, but not given to them) or on simple programming challenges when asked to adjust for a rule change.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#63

Post by jurassic »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #18
jurassic wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I do think there was a bit of a gold rush with fly-by-night programs popping up everywhere; as a result the quality bar for bootcamp grads has probably shifted down on average, but I expect there are still some very talented trying to jumpstart a new career this way.

Early movers in the space like DevBootcamp and App Academy were able to be quite selective about who they took, often picking primarily non-CS grads from elite universities looking to redeploy high levels of baseline intelligence and communication skills into a more lucrative field than whatever they studied at university. That was definitely my motivation once I realized I might never afford a middle-class lifestyle (e.g. homeownership, children) if I kept going in the scientific field I trained for.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#64

Post by xapata »

awb wrote: post #6

Has 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…

> hired a bootcamp grad for a junior role and had a great experience.

Yes, but most interview candidates from bootcamps couldn't pass the tech screen, and most of the hires were mediocre. One was stellar.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#65

Post by wittycardio »

jurassic wrote: post #55
ed25519FUUU wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Filling out staff roles at FANG? Not at the FANG company I work at. I’ve never met a single boot camp person, and absolutely zero staff engineers are boot camp grads that I know of, unless they scrubbed it from their LinkedIn and never talk about it.

> I’ve never met a single boot camp person, and absolutely zero staff engineers are boot camp grads that I know of, unless they scrubbed it from their LinkedIn and never talk about it. This comment has the same energy as the person I once worked with who told me (a lesbian) with total confidence that they'd never met a gay person before. Just because you aren't aware doesn't mean it's not happening all around you. It…

Can also confirm worked at multiple faang never seen anyone with a bootcamp. Sorry to break it to you but It's pretty rare.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#66

Post by wittycardio »

awb wrote: post #6

Has 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…

Bootcamps are scams stealing money from the clueless.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#68

Post by benbjohnson »

awb wrote: post #6

Has 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've hired 2 bootcamp grads from Turing in Denver. They were great and have both gone on to senior roles.

I mentored another woman in a bootcamp about ten years ago and she later went on to be a senior engineer at HashiCorp. She then got a PhD in Mathematics and eventually got into an academic role in cryptography/security/privacy.

I only have a high school diploma and I've had a successful 20+ year career in software. Honestly, there are people that are driven that go through all sorts of education pathways. I don't see a bootcamp certification being a strong signal towards success or failure. It's just a tool that folks can use.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#69

Post by Egrodo »

prescriptivist wrote: post #57
MivLives wrote: post #52

I graduated Lambda School and currently have been hired and work in a software position. I don't encourage people to go to... Bloomtech they're calling it now. AMA. I was earlier in the life of Lambda. I got what I needed out of it but I watched a lot who didn't.

> AMA. Were you aware of YC before attending Lambda (ie, did the association lend credibility to Lambda) or did you find YC after attending?

Not OP but I also attended a part time Lambda School cohort around 5 years ago and the YC association was huge for me.

Re: BloomTech, previously Lambda School, cuts half of staff

#70

Post by ffssffss »

lmm wrote: post #51
rrss wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it unreasonable to have people in a government agency to address fraudulent colleges and stuff? Do you feel the same way about the bureau of consumer protection in the US FTC?

You don't have to register or get a license from the FTC to open a business. At least I hope you don't.

It's not about the importance of the act of filing paperwork, it's the fraud of lying to customers that you are following the law and then taking their money. For what it's worth, I don't think prison would help. But maybe some non-dischargable liabilities and a ban from being a corporate officer would.
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