Holberton School – a project-based alternative to college for software engineers

Holberton School – a project-based alternative to college for software engineers(holbertonschool.com)

100 points by vinch 10 years ago | 25 comments

wasd 10 years ago |

Just a heads up to any holberton school developers, the site is throwing 502s on every page.

julien421 10 years ago | |

Thanks wasd, servers are overloaded, we were not expected so much traffic. We are scaling now.

sylvainkalache 10 years ago | | |

We were not expecting so much traffic, that's great! I scaled up our infrastructure and we are back in business :)

cryoshon 10 years ago |

Do you plan to allow students to attend remotely, or not? What is the grading system like, if your school isn't accredited?

How do you plan on making your students well rounded in the way that traditional colleges are supposed to?

sylvainkalache 10 years ago | |

Re remote: We don't plan to allow students remote for now. If you look at the online program, they have massive drop out. The human factor is very important, and having a “physical” school will provide the kind of social environment that is conductive to sustained engagement and learning. It’s easier to motivate yourself and focus if all your friends are doing the same thing at the same time. Struggle on the same pbs and help each other.

Re grade: It's project base, for each project we have a mandatory core to build, and a lot of options for those who would be faster than others. For each project you will get a % completion, from 0 to 200% (with all options).

At the end you will get a certificate (paper and digital). The digital certificate will be issued in a secure environment (256 bits encryption and 2FA) and inserted into a public blockchain (the technology behind bitcoin) so that any employer can instantly verify the validity of the certificate.

Re well rounded: on top of our curriculum focused on technical skills, we insist a lot on soft skills. Students will also interact with the local community (local startups, mentors, etc...). We also have mentors who will come monthly asking questions like "Does computer science make us better human beings" :)

ckluis 10 years ago |

I got my MBA/MSE at night while holding down a job. I'd kill for a skills/project based version of tech school which would let me do the same. I don't care about the degree/certification so much as the knowledge. For me the structure of a formal program would be better than many of the current online programs. Awesome concept.

rudyrigot 10 years ago | |

Thanks a lot ckluis! From what we've seen so many times of the gap between what recruiters expect from a job applicant, and what graduates can show off after a regular school, we 100% agree with your insight. :)

eimai134 10 years ago |

Great that there is no discrimination of any kind. Some of the smartest kids I know didn't do well in high school: "Holberton School is open to anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 128, whether or not they have obtained a graduate degree from high school. No programming experience is required. Our selection process is based only on talent and motivation, with no consideration given to gender, nationality, ethnicity or social status."

mbastian 10 years ago |

Site is still throwing 502 errors, maybe you're running in dev mode? (just joking :)) Question, what's the rationale behind the name? Just curious.

julien421 10 years ago | |

lol :) The school is named after Betty Holberton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Holberton

throwaway789078 10 years ago |

Getting 502.

"Holberton School offers a truly innovative approach to education: focus on building reliable applications and scalable systems" -- hum.

julien421 10 years ago |

wow... too much traffic... sry guys. We are scaling the servers right now!

arenaninja 10 years ago |

I saw a few pages but now I'm also getting 502s. I'm curious about their 'Full Stack' claim, since they don't appear to define 'Full Stack' (which they should), and they don't pick a stack (assuming this is for web dev full stack? Even that was vague)

rudyrigot 10 years ago | |

We think Full Stack not in the web stack. But more of "every layer of a system" - from the servers, infra, to the front end of an app.

arenaninja 10 years ago | | |

Interesting. There was a discussion here on HN a few weeks back where nobody could agree on a definition of "Full Stack", which is why I think it'd be better to dedicate some time to more fully fleshing out/illustrating what YOU mean by it, so that both potential students and potential companies looking to hire your students are able to interpret it in the way you intend

EDIT: Found the discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10182936

julien421 10 years ago |

Hello everyone! I am one of the three co-founders, please LMK if you have any question!

jtr1 10 years ago | |

Hi Julien - would you mind talking a little about what you see as the value difference to a student completing your two year program vs completing a bootcamp program and say, jumping into an apprenticeship or learning on the job somewhere?

rudyrigot 10 years ago | | |

Techcrunch puts it better that we do: "Here’s the problem. Learning technology-related skills in 8 weeks is really, at best, the tip of the techberg. We’re selling students an unrealistic short-term outcome. Because of this illusion, we are saturating the market with students who understand very little about products or engineering, yet still expect to get jobs that require years of experience. As any experienced product or web engineer will tell you, it takes at least a few years to wrap your head around how the web and business work together." (source: http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/29/graduated-from-an-engineeri...)

Code is one of the many skills solid software engineers must be great at; and we believe only real projects such as the ones we do at Holberton School can build up the real experience and skill variety recruiters expect from solid engineers. More and more companies are taking on a "no-bootcamp" policy, because the bootcamp trainee are saturating the job market, and recruiters are noticing they don't fit the bill as well as students with project history.

stevepm 10 years ago | |

Hi, I just wanted to let you know about a typo here: https://www.holbertonschool.com/education#projects

Valerie Tching, Senior Sfotware Engineer at LinkedIn.

rudyrigot 10 years ago | | |

Thanks stevepm! Fixed!

loukan42 10 years ago |

Congratulation guys ! You rocks !

philjeudy 10 years ago |

Congrats!

vtllr_ 10 years ago |

I know these guys: they are awesome! Unfortunately ... I am already a techie :(

julien421 10 years ago | |

Thank you :)