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by howandwhy 3692 days ago
I am currently 41, went to a Coding bootcamp in Bay area and after I graduated, I struggled to find a job for 6-8 months but ultimately succeeded to land one as a developer job. But I have had to drop $12k on tuition which I think it will take couple of years to pay off. The bootcamp did very little to add value to my learning skill and portfolio of projects.

I would have applied to institution like this in a heartbeat but I guess 42 would have been a no-entry for me. Why this discrimination? And also it is irony that they wont take anybody above 30 much less 40 years old but the institution is named as 42. Can anybody tell me why the organization named itself 42?

2 comments

42 is from Douglas Adams, the answer to the question of life and all that.

I do t know about the age limit, but it might be some (possibly faulty) reasoning about commitment. Staff have been tight-lipped. We have some people from the Pole Emploi (unemployment agency) here at the moment, and they are a bit older, so some kind of trial is underway.

Ah. got it. I suspect they discourage people older than 30 assuming it will be tough to get a position in a age-biased job market? May be. Just my guess.
12k should be a drop in the bucket for a Bay Area developer. You may be underpaid?

42 is the answer to life.

It can be a drop who is already a developer in Bay Area. But not for a person who is struggling to make ends meet in small cities and rural areas. Especially somebody with a family to feed and student loans. Heck I was paid close to minimum wage for 5 years during my graduate school as teaching assistant.