What is 42?
It's hard to begin software development.
Imagine I want to start learning software development and I have no prior knowledge of it.
What do I learn first?.
Should it be procedural programming, the C language, or JavaScript, the main frontend language for websites? Should I spend time learning a language just for its sake or should I already decide on a future domain?
I ask around, search the web and make a decision to this already difficult question.
And now what?
I start working on a project. Following a tutorial. But lo and behold, there are things working in the tutorial that aren't working for me.
That is the first programming deception.
Then it's the documentation. It sometimes lacks, and sometimes isn't updated.
What I would need in times like these would be a helping hand. A mentor. Someone to share the experience with. Someone to help me see that these deceptions are what programmers face every day and it's something to grow accustomed to.
Where did I learn the most during my college years?
The most interactive and effective lessons of all my college years were team projects. Team projects made me feel ready for joining the workforce like no other assignment I did. I learnt project management and co-working with a team. I learnt that you can learn how to build a website with community forums alone. I discovered that all the information for creating the digital tool we wanted was in fact on the internet. We didn't need a teacher to hand it to us.
We just needed a teacher to guide us towards it.
Years later, a work colleague showed 42 to me. And it seems like an innovative solution to a long-lived problem in software development training.
What is 42?
Since its creation in 2013, this faculty has set its mission to make Software Development easy to enter for everyone. At 42, you don't need any school certificate to register, and you don't need prior coding knowledge.
It is a non-profit organisation and has no teachers, no classes and no tuition fees.
The 42 method
We believe that laying the foundations of programming should happen in the pace and rhythm that matches with the students.
Their vision is preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow. Learning many programming languages falls second while learning how to learn comes first.
The faculty is focused on forming independent, actualised professionals by providing the community, the tools and the necessary support.
Learn your way
Learning is done through a gamified approach. There are levels to the curriculum and you level up by earning points from team projects. Projects have real-life application and set you up for team collaboration and handling challenges on your own.
Students finish the 42 programme in an average of 3 years, but you can finish earlier or later, depending on your pace. The curriculum is modular and the campus is open 24/7, so you can customize your schedule.
A global network
At the time of writing, the faculty has implementations all over the globe. 31 campuses in Europe, 5 in Africa, 8 in Asia, 1 in Oceania and 4 in America.
You enter the faculty by entering an admission pipeline called the Piscine made to figure out if 42 is for you and you are suited for the 42 community.
After 42
According to a 2022 survey in a 42 campus of Paris, 100% of the students who completed the common core are employed. 94% are hired on permanent contracts and 12% started their own business.
Finally, company's satisfaction with a trainee from 42 ranks 4.65/5.
To conclude
If you know someone that's curios of programming and is open to relocate, share 42 with them. It might just be the answer to everything they're looking for.
Question to ponder
Are team projects enough to prepare someone for a job?
It's excited to see that software developers takes a more practical approach to learning. I'm curios to how the next generation of software developers will handle the real-world workforce.
Changes are learning through projects and teams will make them better prepared for a real job. Or will this method amp up their expectations of the work environment? And if that's the case, will they manage to create change in the domain?
This article includes human style and opinion. ChatGPT was NOT used in its making.
TeckStar Innovate. Transform. Succeed.
I write about tech, philosophy, and the future.
3 years in Software Dev. MSc in Artificial Intelligence. BSc in Computer Science.