42 Silicon Valley: how to get selected
February 1 ended January Piscine in 42 Silicon Valley , and I would like to share my experience and some set of hacks that can help get a lot of exp, a high level and, as a result, an invitation to cadets.
Most likely, this may be useful for participants in school 21 , but this is not accurate.
Long story short. This is a free programming school in Fremont, California that can provide you with a hostel bed, inexpensive food, coffee (not always), video lectures and a great company. Once you reach level 7 (it takes about six months), you can be helped to find a job — usually an internship in a large company. But, according to one of the cadets, recently small startups often come for employees.
And there is also Robotics Labs, which, according to rumors, is leading some kind of joint project with Tesla.
The photograph does not reflect current realities, now there are much more tables, they are all littered with equipment — it is clear that people work.
First of all, it will not help you get a study visa. You can go to study at community college (it will cost about $ 3,000 per semester), which will provide you with F-1 and a hostel. And drive in the evenings to Fremont, at 42 SV. There is an important nuance here: if you live in Nostromo Dorms (hostels 42 SV), then, as a cadet, you must log at least 35 hours a week and receive at least 1 level per month. If you live somewhere else, there are no such requirements.
Without an appropriate visa, you are unlikely to be accepted for internship. But you can team up with other cadets and organize an outsourced development agency, for example.
If you're counting on lectures, a strong tutorial, and up-to-date technology — this is probably not the place. Materials will have to be searched independently on the Internet, and besides the same cadets nobody will help you.
This is called peer-to-peer learning.
For example, this:
But you need to keep in mind that most success stories are very young professionals who decided to go to 42 SV instead of college.
The qualifying stage is called Piscine (French "pool"), lasts 4 weeks and is an intensive course in C, which includes:
It ends with an 8-hour exam.
Passing the Harvard CS50 in front of him will greatly simplify life. The programs are similar, David is divine, especially compared to the “native” lectures in French with English dubbing. Many writers began to watch the CS50 while they were studying.
Work with pythontutor.com and then switch to the built-in debugger, because in the exam you will not have access to the Internet.
The first two days are needed in order to hit self-esteem as much as possible and tune in the right way. Be attentive to details, but in some cases only luck will help. Do not worry too much about failed tasks, everything is as planned.
I spent 13-15 hours a day in the laboratory, and that was, frankly, not a good idea. It is better to do a half-day assignment, take a walk around the campus and talk with scribes and cadets, than to get the highest level and burn out for the 3rd week.
Always test your work with Stupidity , but you should not rely on it completely.
After you have completed the daily task, look at the decisions of other writers on Github. Save the code you like best somewhere — this is useful for exams.
If you are doing the job, most likely the first week you will be constantly distracted and asking for help those who can not do it. Some balance is needed here, otherwise you may be pulled to the bottom.
Never ask the cadets for help : the administration will punish you and them.
About half of the writers fall off after the first exam, which ends the first week. If you survived it, you already have good chances.
Github has exam questions broken down by level. Make a table with them, add your decisions, share and discuss them with other scribes.
We made such a table before the final exam and worked with it for the past few days.
One of the main problems in the exam is inattention. People forget to put the file in the correct directory, or remove main () when you need to write a function in the task (in the final exam, I deleted and #include along with main () in function with malloc ()).
Most of the experience is given for exams, followed by individual projects, group projects and daily assignments.
At the same time, group projects are the most time-consuming, because you need to not only write the code, but also speak it with classmates so that they can answer questions during the defense. And to achieve their presence on the defense.
Sometimes this can result in you having to look for the number of the room in which your classmate lives, wake him up and take him to the defense.
If you doubt what you will manage to do both projects over the weekend, it is better not to register for Rush (so-called group projects). Otherwise, you may be the ballast for your group.
They say that if you pass the final exam, they will take you regardless of the level, the number of logged hours and other factors. I have some reason to doubt it.
Therefore, do not score on daily tasks, projects and exams. And try to log in at least 50 hours a week.
Some scribes, however, passed the selection, failing almost all the exams, including the final.
And if you become a cadet, your level will be reset to zero anyway. Therefore, do not overdo it.
If you successfully passed the final exam and didn’t forget to study, most likely there was some kind of mistake, and the administration should write about it.
If no error occurred, you can try again. Not everyone loves 2nd time pisciners, but there are always plenty of them. It will be more difficult for you to get a place in the hostel, but after the first week quite a lot of people empty the beds. Which, by the way, is true for cadetism.
You will need at least $ 400 for food (lunch costs $ 5 in a dining room, $ 6 dinner) and essentials. Forks, mugs and plates are unlikely to be useful to you, however. The fridge in the hostel will unpleasantly surprise you.
Carefully check your washing machines and clothes dryers before use. Some of them have broken off internal elements, and sharp screws protrude from the drum.
Do not store anything edible in the room — the local fauna may come to visit you and stay.
It is highly advisable to bring a computer mouse with you — you will never regret it. And buy napkins for the monitor, someone will always poke his fingers into it.
The nearest coffee is for sale at Starbucks, a couple of miles from campus. There are also supermarkets and fast food establishments. There will always be someone who is ready to take you there by car, but I would recommend walking. Especially considering the deplorable state of the gym in the hostel.
You should not go to the nearest bar (opposite Starbucks), it is better to take Uber to BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (but you need to book a table) or Swiss Park.
And find someone with American rights and take a test drive to Tesla, the plant is very close to the campus. It is also worth stopping by Stanford, where you can eat tangerines directly from the tree.
If you still have questions about Piscine or 42 SV, I will be happy to answer in the comments.
Most likely, this may be useful for participants in school 21 , but this is not accurate.
What is 42 Silicon Valley?
Long story short. This is a free programming school in Fremont, California that can provide you with a hostel bed, inexpensive food, coffee (not always), video lectures and a great company. Once you reach level 7 (it takes about six months), you can be helped to find a job — usually an internship in a large company. But, according to one of the cadets, recently small startups often come for employees.
And there is also Robotics Labs, which, according to rumors, is leading some kind of joint project with Tesla.
The photograph does not reflect current realities, now there are much more tables, they are all littered with equipment — it is clear that people work.
Why 42 SV may not suit you?
First of all, it will not help you get a study visa. You can go to study at community college (it will cost about $ 3,000 per semester), which will provide you with F-1 and a hostel. And drive in the evenings to Fremont, at 42 SV. There is an important nuance here: if you live in Nostromo Dorms (hostels 42 SV), then, as a cadet, you must log at least 35 hours a week and receive at least 1 level per month. If you live somewhere else, there are no such requirements.
Without an appropriate visa, you are unlikely to be accepted for internship. But you can team up with other cadets and organize an outsourced development agency, for example.
If you're counting on lectures, a strong tutorial, and up-to-date technology — this is probably not the place. Materials will have to be searched independently on the Internet, and besides the same cadets nobody will help you.
This is called peer-to-peer learning.
Why go there?
For example, this:
But you need to keep in mind that most success stories are very young professionals who decided to go to 42 SV instead of college.
How to prepare for admission?
The qualifying stage is called Piscine (French "pool"), lasts 4 weeks and is an intensive course in C, which includes:
- daily video lectures (no more than an hour per day) and tasks
- Fridays exams
- group and individual weekend projects
It ends with an 8-hour exam.
Passing the Harvard CS50 in front of him will greatly simplify life. The programs are similar, David is divine, especially compared to the “native” lectures in French with English dubbing. Many writers began to watch the CS50 while they were studying.
Work with pythontutor.com and then switch to the built-in debugger, because in the exam you will not have access to the Internet.
How to survive the first week?
The first two days are needed in order to hit self-esteem as much as possible and tune in the right way. Be attentive to details, but in some cases only luck will help. Do not worry too much about failed tasks, everything is as planned.
I spent 13-15 hours a day in the laboratory, and that was, frankly, not a good idea. It is better to do a half-day assignment, take a walk around the campus and talk with scribes and cadets, than to get the highest level and burn out for the 3rd week.
Always test your work with Stupidity , but you should not rely on it completely.
After you have completed the daily task, look at the decisions of other writers on Github. Save the code you like best somewhere — this is useful for exams.
If you are doing the job, most likely the first week you will be constantly distracted and asking for help those who can not do it. Some balance is needed here, otherwise you may be pulled to the bottom.
Never ask the cadets for help : the administration will punish you and them.
About half of the writers fall off after the first exam, which ends the first week. If you survived it, you already have good chances.
How to prepare for exams?
Github has exam questions broken down by level. Make a table with them, add your decisions, share and discuss them with other scribes.
We made such a table before the final exam and worked with it for the past few days.
One of the main problems in the exam is inattention. People forget to put the file in the correct directory, or remove main () when you need to write a function in the task (in the final exam, I deleted and #include along with main ()
How to get a high level?
Most of the experience is given for exams, followed by individual projects, group projects and daily assignments.
At the same time, group projects are the most time-consuming, because you need to not only write the code, but also speak it with classmates so that they can answer questions during the defense. And to achieve their presence on the defense.
Sometimes this can result in you having to look for the number of the room in which your classmate lives, wake him up and take him to the defense.
If you doubt what you will manage to do both projects over the weekend, it is better not to register for Rush (so-called group projects). Otherwise, you may be the ballast for your group.
They say that if you pass the final exam, they will take you regardless of the level, the number of logged hours and other factors. I have some reason to doubt it.
Therefore, do not score on daily tasks, projects and exams. And try to log in at least 50 hours a week.
Some scribes, however, passed the selection, failing almost all the exams, including the final.
And if you become a cadet, your level will be reset to zero anyway. Therefore, do not overdo it.
What to do if a refusal arrives?
If you successfully passed the final exam and didn’t forget to study, most likely there was some kind of mistake, and the administration should write about it.
If no error occurred, you can try again. Not everyone loves 2nd time pisciners, but there are always plenty of them. It will be more difficult for you to get a place in the hostel, but after the first week quite a lot of people empty the beds. Which, by the way, is true for cadetism.
Some household tips
You will need at least $ 400 for food (lunch costs $ 5 in a dining room, $ 6 dinner) and essentials. Forks, mugs and plates are unlikely to be useful to you, however. The fridge in the hostel will unpleasantly surprise you.
Carefully check your washing machines and clothes dryers before use. Some of them have broken off internal elements, and sharp screws protrude from the drum.
Do not store anything edible in the room — the local fauna may come to visit you and stay.
It is highly advisable to bring a computer mouse with you — you will never regret it. And buy napkins for the monitor, someone will always poke his fingers into it.
The nearest coffee is for sale at Starbucks, a couple of miles from campus. There are also supermarkets and fast food establishments. There will always be someone who is ready to take you there by car, but I would recommend walking. Especially considering the deplorable state of the gym in the hostel.
You should not go to the nearest bar (opposite Starbucks), it is better to take Uber to BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (but you need to book a table) or Swiss Park.
And find someone with American rights and take a test drive to Tesla, the plant is very close to the campus. It is also worth stopping by Stanford, where you can eat tangerines directly from the tree.
If you still have questions about Piscine or 42 SV, I will be happy to answer in the comments.