Ask HN: If you worked with a grad from a code bootcamp, how effective were they?

Totally agree with this. The key is that if you're hiring someone from a bootcamp program you need to carefully build an on-boarding process for them that can effectively spoon feed the critical bits of your infrastructure/platform to them so that they don't waste any time in becoming productive.

I'm a cofounder at http://www.hackreactor.com -- AMA

Here's a note from a DBC employee that is dead for some reason:

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Full disclosure: I am a former Wealthfront employee, and am now an instructor at Dev Bootcamp. We hired two DBC grads onto my team while I was at WF, and a third after I left. We also interviewed DBC grads who didn't make the cut. Obviously I came to DBC because I believe in what they do. My experience as an engineer on the Wealthfront team was that: 1. DBC Grads were incredibly driven, hard workers, who had an exceptional ability to "drink from the firehose" and learn what we needed them to learn rapidly. After seeing my first 9 weeks here, it's clear that _no other kind of person_ can make it through DBC. 2. DBC Grads were very effective communicators. I think there's a lot of value in DBC's "engineering empathy" curriculum. 3. DBC Grads had a solid enough basis in CS fundamentals and web development to be effective immediately as new hires. Both our DBC hires were adding value right off the bat, and rapidly grew into their role. Wealthfront has a strong mentoring culture, and mentoring had an outsized impact on their ability to grow, because they had already "learned how to learn." To be honest, they were more independent than some fresh CS grads I know. There's no textbook once you're in industry. We rejected some DBC grads too. Like in all things, there is a spectrum of talent and ability across DBC graduates. In the end I was impressed enough to leave an incredible team to become an instructor here. Like any junior engineer, graduates of these hacker schools are investments. I happen to think the graduates we produce are particularly good ones. If you're curious, here's an interview my students did with me about DBC. We talk a fair amount about my experience with our two DBC grads at Wealthfront: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viLYR0kAqAc

This is spot on in my experience. I'm a recent grad with a BS in Computer Science and know several people who have graduated from different bootcamps. In comparing the kids I graduated college with to the ones who just did a bootcamp I see exactly what you described.

I'm a CS major, and have worked a few years as a programmer in embedded systems. For a number of reasons I'm making the switch to Ruby, and am attending Dev Bootcamp to accelerate that process. I find the practical-centered bootcamp makes a nice compliment to the theory-heavy computer science taught in college. I haven't attended the camp yet, but I've worked with a few students on projects so far (there's a lot of pre-work involved). I have to say, I've been impressed. My group has a Stanford grad or two, plus a decent number of Ivy Leaguers. Of course, my sample size is very small, I can't speak for everyone.

The good thing about DBC is its intensity. We're asked to work upwards of 100 hours a week.* I'm dubious as to exactly where that number comes from and how accurate it is, however it is clear that students work long hours and almost always stay late. I'm told at least a few drop out each term. At least to me, this indicates that the students who complete the program are motivated.

I think the problem is when applicants rely entirely on a three month program to get work. I'm attending DBC not so I can put it on my CV and hop straight into a startup job, but because I genuinely want to add Ruby to my toolbox.

IMO bootcamps shouldn't be taken just to have another line on a resume. They should be a stepping stone, giving the student the tools to contribute to real projects that will give them real experience. I think these contributions that the bootcamp experience allows are where the real value comes from. I apologize if I've been rambling, my point is that bootcamps work best as a part of a bigger and longer story that shows a dedication to the craft of programming.

*Someone mentioned this isn't the case. I'll see if I can dig up where I read this.

> I think one way to filter out the inept students is may be let them do some algorithm problems during interview?

Depending on the goals of the interview, that can either be useful or a waste of time.

Bootcamp students may have never had a formal introduction to algorithms. Therefore, phrasing a question in terms of space / time Big O complexity is pointless.

However, if the interviewer is capable of posing an algorithm question in more generic terms it can certainly tease out an interviewee's approach to logic and problem solving.