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    2 years ago

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    Recurse Center - Discussion at RC

    Recurse Center

    (1 review)

    Downtown Brooklyn

    RC is hard to describe. Yelp currently categorizes this as a "vocational & technical school" and I…read moresometimes hear people call this a coding bootcamp, but it's really the opposite of those things: there's no curriculum, no tuition, and there are no instructors. Unlike bootcamps, which often promise a job paying at least $X/yr, RC doesn't promise you'll get anything but a t-shirt. Well, that and three months in a safe, encouraging, environment where people can learn whatever it is they want to learn. There's guidance available, if you want suggestions for what you might want to work on or who you might want to work with. But you're responsible for deciding what you want to do. RC is heavily influence by the "unschooling" school of thought. To quote the RC website, "Unschooling starts with the belief that people are naturally curious, and that school drains us of our curiosity. We don't need grades or tests to motivate us to learn how to walk or talk, and as toddlers we are endlessly curious and excited to explore the world. The process of schooling -- that is, compulsory education dictated by teachers and backed by fear of punishment or embarrassment -- demotivates us and keeps us from developing our capacity to set our own paths. RC provides a space that supports rather than hinders curiosity and self-direction." As a result, it's hard to say what you'll get out of the experience. Personally, what I got out of it was a large, uninterrupted, block of time to learning about software (I previously worked in hardware), and a connection to a community of people that is the kindest and most helpful collection of programmers that I know. I know of a few people who didn't enjoy their experience, but they're pretty rare -- the vast majority of people I know who attended RC are glad they did, including people who hated NYC and couldn't wait get to get back to the midwest afterwards, people who didn't want to work in software and just wanted to spend some time improving their programming skills to help their work in another field, and people who'd been programming for decades and probably didn't get all that much direct programming help from other people during their time at RC. If you're on the fence about applying, I recommend applying anyway (the application only takes a few minutes) and talking to one of the interviewers about your reservations. Personally, I wasn't sure RC was for me. I brought up my specific concerns with one of my interviewers and they convinced me to give it a shot; I'm glad I did. Unlike a lot of vocational schools, RC staff seem closely incentive aligned with participants. Although they pay the bills by taking a recruiting fee when a member of the community takes a job with a partner company, RC accepts a lot of people who either aren't planning on taking a programming job or already have a job lined up, and they're quite scrupulous when advising people on job offers and will advise people to take a job at a non-partner company if that's in the person's best interest. Anyway, my point is just that if you're not sure RC is for you and get an interview, I believe that your interviewer will give you their genuine perspective on what you'll get out of RC given your circumstances. I can't say the same thing about any of the schools I've attended (college, grad school, 2nd grad school); from what I've heard from friends of mine who went to coding bootcamps, I also don't think you'll get that out of a bootcamp either.

    Z Factorie - vocation - Updated May 2026

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