Sam Willsea: Bootcamps or Bust? How we can train future iOS developers

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1EOo4f0PvQ&feature=youtu.be

Title: Bootcamps or Bust? How we can train future iOS developers

Speaker: Sam is currently an iOS Engineer at ZapLabs in Oakland. He is a graduate of Reactor Core's iOS Development Bootcamp, and is assisting with iOS teaching initiatives in the Bay Area. Prior to his work as a developer, Sam explored a diverse range of topics as a researcher and economist - from the impact of community financed wind turbines, to the environmental awareness levels of different income groups, to the potential for Islamic financial structures in the United Kingdom. In 2013, he gave a TEDx talk at the Museum of London on the nature of progress and the policy implications of well-being indices as alternatives to current economic targets. In 2015, he led the establishment of Schumacher College for New Economists, a non-profit initiative created in partnership with faculty drawn from the some of the most forward-thinking economic organizations in the US and UK. The college’s curriculum spans 150 separate topics, and covers everything from worker cooperatives to alternative local currencies.

Abstract: As software engineers, we all have to learn constantly — it's part of the job description. But in recent years, the demand for more developers and the prevalence of low-cost and high quality online teaching has led to a stark shift in the way new developers enter the field. Over the last year, the percentage of programmers indicating they were self taught shot up from 41% to 69%. Self-taught learning poses potential pitfalls for new programmers, but also for their future employers and colleagues.
This session would take a look at how new developers are learning, and help identify ways forward. For newer developers, we will identify some of the areas that are most important for future growth. For employers and current engineers, we will look at how to more accurately assess the skills of new developers, and how to help them get up to speed quickly in the areas in which they're lacking. This also means taking a hard look at current hiring practices, especially when it comes to the reliance on testing algorithmic thinking as the key metric of future performance.
As we wrap up, we'll look at the future of the job market, and think together about not only what we would have liked to focus on in our own education, but how to pass those lessons on to the next wave of developers.

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/swillsea