Need input from some IT people

[sandlines]

Originally Posted by RarelyRelocating

Please, when I look at resumes that say that the applicant is very active in the open source community then the resume goes into the electronic shredder.

I don't want people to use company time to screw around with their open source pet projects, which they will inevitably do.

Why would you do this? Open source is one of the best ways to gauge the ability of programmers.

Also, open source does not necessarily mean the person did it in their spare time outside of work. Many people are paid by their employer to do open source. The top contributors to many of the best projects are usually paid to do that work. Open source means the code is publicly viewable, not that the coder was unpaid.

[sandlines]

Originally Posted by katestar

The projects you work for at this school would be this. During the course you have to build an app, you get a Git hub account (I honestly have no clue what that is but is a good thing?).

Github is a free site where people can contribute to open source projects. Most programmers have one although it's free and anyone can get one. It relies on git, which is a program Linus Torvalds wrote a while ago and it's used by many companies for 'versioning' their software and having their team collaborate on projects (whether open source or private). Very useful tool to learn.

[RarelyRelocating]

Originally Posted by sandlines

Why would you do this? Open source is one of the best ways to gauge the ability of programmers.

Also, open source does not necessarily mean the person did it in their spare time outside of work. Many people are paid by their employer to do open source. The top contributors to many of the best projects are usually paid to do that work. Open source means the code is publicly viewable, not that the coder was unpaid.

The point is that if someone has a sizable OSS project then it will take time away from the work that they are paid to do at the company they work at. The overwhelming number of OSS programmers do not get paid, but sure, there are some high profile ones who do develop OSS as part of their employment.

It's a simple conflict of interest, just the same as I wouldn't hire a person who has a blog that shows that (s)he is a daytrader. Clearly that person will use company time to do some of the trades.

There are approximately 4940328 qualified applicants for most every job. It's a straight forward risk assessment. I'd rather hire someone who has a verifiable history of success (senior position, market rate+ pay in current position) but doesn't screw around with OSS, than someone who has a long OSS history.

People are hired to contribute to the bottom line, not to the greater public good.

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by sandlines

Github is a free site where people can contribute to open source projects. Most programmers have one although it's free and anyone can get one. It relies on git, which is a program Linus Torvalds wrote a while ago and it's used by many companies for 'versioning' their software and having their team collaborate on projects (whether open source or private). Very useful tool to learn.

It's important to note that it's only free for public repos. Private repos cost $$.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by katestar

She's not currently working, so there is no opportunity to use what she has learned at a current job.

Then she needs to spend time at home learning php, and working on projects that she can post to the internet as part of the open source / shareware community. She also needs to go to tech meetups and mingle with people. She needs to be able to show what she has accomplished, ask these people what areas are lacking/need improvement at their companies, and explain to them how she can help them fix their stuff that needs improvement.

And to your Orlando comment, although it is not and never will be Silicon Valley, there are a lot of tech companies moving here. The area is booming like crazy. Even in my job I get calls daily if not weekly for jobs.

all the more reason why you don't need to pay someone $9000 to help her get a job.

In any case, she's tried everything already, and she's decided on this opportunity. She will leave the workshop with a portfolio that she will be able to submit right away to companies - she currently does not have that.

Three months of workshop isn't going to give her any more portfolio than she can do by herself at home in 3 months.