Comment by jjw

I'm John, and I was one of the six students in the original batch[0] that met over the summer. I've only been out of college a few years (so YMMV if you're more experienced), but for me Hacker School was one of the two or three most important adventures I've had. (And, like most good things, I believe the benefits are ongoing.)

I first met the Hackruiters in June when I got in touch looking for a job. I had moved to NYC two years before to work at a non-profit and was ready for a new challenge. My best friend and I had spent the better part of a year moonlighting on side projects we dreamed might become startups, and--even though they went nowhere--I had realized I wanted to get back into programming.

Dave set up a Skype date and I told him about my background: I'd been a math/science kid who spent his teens coding, but ended up studying art history and architecture (because of varied interests) in school. I had done some technical internships, though, and was curious if I could rebrand myself. What kind of work could I do to make myself a better coder and ultimately become a developer? Dave had some initial suggestions and we agreed to talk again after a while.

I'll never forget sitting in the most boring staff meeting of my life and opening up Gmail to find a short (but warm!) e-mail from Dave asking if I'd like to join a school for hackers. There were to be no teachers, no assignments, and the dates and location were still totally in flux. It sounded perfect. Within the week, I arranged to take a leave of absence from my job. New York is not cheap, but I'd spent two years packing my lunch and avoiding taxis in the hopes that I would be ready when a cool, slightly risky opportunity came along.

I've spent a lot of time talking about my own background for two reasons. First, I hope you can empathize with me and--in doing so--will consider applying. I think there are many people with non-CS backgrounds who would benefit from and be a benefit to Hacker School. The other reason, however, is that Hacker School is exactly what you expect: if you can imagine a month (or three) working on projects that interest you with some of the brightest folks in the most exciting city in the U.S., then you've pictured it precisely.

Many alums will talk about the employment benefits of Hacker School; indeed, I honed my coding skills and talked to 6 NYC-based startups, eventually short-circuiting interviews after falling in love with one where I now work. For me, however, Hacker School was about finding a home with the kindest, most egoless group of smart folks I've met--a group that Dave, Sonali, and Nick are especially skilled at assembling. If this sounds like your thing, you should give it a shot--and I'll buy you a beer/coffee some Saturday when we (students and alums alike) head out in the evening to talk code and socialize.