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Comment by cylinder | Hacker News Reader

Do you mean had a successful career in a non-tech field and making the switch?

Yes, that's correct. My cohort had a former music teacher go straight to a front-end role at Apple. We also have graduates working at Salesforce, Coursera, a16z, and others - to my knowledge none of these people had prior tech experience.

My running theory is that companies know what they're getting into with a bootcamp grad, and what is important to them is that the candidate is a quick learner, hard working, and motivated. Someone unproven like a college dropout, or someone who has worked retail for the past few years will have a much harder time proving that.

Interesting. What would you say is the average age of these people? Would you say a 31 year old would be on the "older" side comparably?

Average age I would say is mid to late 20's. I believe the youngest in our cohort was 20, and the oldest was around 40.

I think a 31 year old would fit in just fine.

Hack Reactor grad here. I was 24 when I went through the program, and was the second youngest person. You'd feel right at home being 31.

I'm more concerned with job outcomes and long term career prospects than the course itself though.

If you are concerned with outcomes I would strongly recommend not going to HR or an affiliated school. There has been internal conflict about the declining quality of cohorts, and I believe the 97% hiring statistic is no longer accurate. I went to a HR affiliate and have been unemployed for the past five months since I have graduated.

I can't comment on App Academy because I have not taken their course.

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