The prisoners trying to code their way to a better life

I&#x27;m self taught, and had 2-3 years of a career before being incarcerated. I was incarcerated for 6 years. During that time, I had a few books. Other than a couple of basic computer courses, no access to computers. Just did my best to keep my mind in it.<p>EDIT: I guess a new account can&#x27;t comment more than once (makes sense) so I&#x27;d like to address the background check issue: I&#x27;ve had numerous jobs, where I disclosed honestly. My felony was a <i>very</i> serious one.<p>Now I&#x27;m quite successful (making well over market; a regular poster on HN; throwaway account is obvious). I recently hired a released inmate who I knew could code though he hadn&#x27;t ever really done it (he showed me some code he wrote down in TI-BASIC). This guy was locked up 15 years, but within a few months, he&#x27;s learning as fast or faster than any random person.

I actually think this is a great idea. While it is true they likely wouldn&#x27;t be able to find a job in the industry with this training, I am sure some of them will come out with enough skill to do things like bid on freelance projects on elance.com.<p>It really doesn&#x27;t take a lot of projects to make equivalent and greater money then the type of minimum wage or manual labor jobs many ex-cons would end up working instead (or even petty crime).

Well, finally. I mean, prisoners are kept without computers in their jail cells usually, bored out of their minds. Instead, they could be reformed by giving them useful work!

Wow, learning to code without being able to refer to stackoverflow or anything on the internet... does that count as cruel and unusual punishment?

If anyone has information on how to help with or reach out to this or similar programs, please post what you&#x27;ve got!<p>[Edit] Here&#x27;s an article with more comprehensive information, including the program&#x27;s origins and the organizations behind it: <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/how-18-inmates-at-californias-notorious-san-quentin-prison-learn-to-code/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;arstechnica.com&#x2F;tech-policy&#x2F;2014&#x2F;11&#x2F;how-18-inmates-at...</a>

&gt; San Quentin state prison in California has begun a ground-breaking programme to teach prisoners how to code.<p>What is so ground-breaking on that? Any normal country will some sort of education to their prisoners.

This is great, but there is a much greater need, simple literacy. <a href="http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/11/18/75-of-inmates-are-illiterate-19-are-completely-illiterate-ruben-rosario/#sthash.lbNiWXt6.dpbs" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.invisiblechildren.org&#x2F;2010&#x2F;11&#x2F;18&#x2F;75-of-inmates-ar...</a>

There is one path for HackReactor to make money on this, they can act as recruiters between prisoners and companies.<p>I know as an employer of developers, that I would hire someone with a felony because I know their introductory salary will be lower but their skill set should be the same. Which may sound over opportunistic, but it&#x27;s just economics, fewer offers mean lower initial pay. The downside is if they become excellent developers it&#x27;ll be hard to keep them at the lower salary, even if they do have a felony.

Except that - if I understand how US justice system works correctly - they won&#x27;t be hired by anyone because they have a sentence in their books. Which is awful.

I had the idea of wanting to teach programming in a prison, but it seemed to have the same requirements as teaching anywhere else: a degree, preferably in education, preferably a master&#x27;s. I&#x27;m self taught and don&#x27;t have a degree, so it sounds like it&#x27;s not really an option for me. Does anyone have more information about how one would go about doing this, perhaps on a volunteer basis?

one of the best programmers i&#x27;ve ever worked with spent his time teaching himself php. he was a bright kid who made a stupid decision, but didnt let that stop him. we worked together for about 2 years and he ended up getting a couple great offers and now balls way, way harder than me. i have so much respect for him.

Maybe The Mafia, or some other criminal organization could sponsor this training. This way they could create a nice, steady pool of applicants for the White Collar Crime Division :)