can you teach a coal miner to code

Bloomberg can’t do it, nor can Joe, “we’ll teach coal miners to code” Biden. Democratic presidential hopeful and former US vice president Joe Biden told unemployed miners, particularly those in the coal sector, to learn to code so that they can access the jobs of … [Biden]: “Anybody who can go down 300 to 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well…Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!” He acknowledged the economic setbacks and job insecurity that coal miners face these days, and gave them some advice: learn to code. Not even going to read the article but the answer is: Yes, if they're reasonably bright and have an aptitude for it. A lot of poor quality (i.e. Bit Source is proving that coal miners can, indeed, learn how to code, and do it well. I assume when most people think of teach me to code they mean teach me how to make 6 figure salaries, or make games and apps on a phone. That's just a problem in general as industries die, and there doesn't seem to be any solution yet. There's no doubt you're going to be able to find some former coal miners who would make good coders. Ordinarily I hate these "everyone should learn to code" posts, because of how horrifically naive they seem to be at their core. Ideally you should plan this career change while you are working and can afford to buy books, software, or any computer equipment you'll need. "how to use Java 7 to write to Postgres" articles) and old stories (such as this one, it was all over here and HN a few months ago) are getting high scores within minutes of submission, then gradually drifting down. In other words, just teaching coal miners to code is not a panacea. Either way this really resonated with me. Anyone can learn to code, and I’m glad to see recognition that you don’t need to be in your 20s to do this as a profession. Coding is literally just following the instructions of the language ( the syntax ) and performing if x do y statements. The place looked like a coding shop: a “binary canary” logo looked over the stairs, old coal sacks and tools decorated the lobby. As America goes digital, its bluest collar workers are facing the toughest challenge of their lives. Joe Biden gave America déjà vu the other day at a rally in Derry, New Hampshire, when he told coal miners to learn how to code. The question is what percentage of coal miners could be taught to code to a professional level in a reasonable amount of time. As America goes digital, its bluest collar workers are facing the toughest challenge of their lives. That's often under-appreciated, but a modest, competent programmer with strong domain knowledge is quite valuable. Once number of subscribers rise, more and more "common ground" articles pop up, and detailed insightful reads get buried down because they are way over the head for majority of subscribers, I hadn't seen the article before and I think it's a really good one actually. Here’s a look at Appalachia’s newest coders. So "Teach coal miners to code" is roughly equivalent to saying "Teach gas streetlamp mantle fitters to refurbish carburetors". One new venture in Kentucky offers a solution: teaching coal miners how to code. Still, so far, according to Justice, his newbie coders have been doing just fine. medium.stfi.re. Every cross section of the country has its staple industry. If digs were constructed anywhere close to programs, those developers will be dead within a week, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the programming community, Press J to jump to the feed. We now bring you a startup with a more surprising group of coding students: coal miners. The real question isn't can you teach some specific coal miner to code. If you actually RTFA, you'll see that Bloomburg didn't actually make the blanket generalization he's accused of, he was referring to exactly what you said here: Not all coal miners are fit to be programmers, so to say "just teach them to code and they'll all become programmers" smacks of elitism and a lack of understanding about how the non-tech world works. I frequently recommend freelance programming or web development to anyone who is finding it difficult to get a good job. All of them used to work in the coal industry. “Can you teach a coal miner to code?” Bit Source president Justin Hall said. Dell monitors sat on a dozen desks, murals of Appalachians who’d made it big covered the walls.” - Lauren Smiley | Backchannel. You *can* teach a coal miner to code. Mark Zuckerberg says you teach them [people] to code and everything will be great." After 22 weeks of company-provided training, six former coal miners and three industry support workers became coders. This comes on the heels of Biden stupidly saying at the last debate that he would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs in order to transition to a “green economy.” You can’t make this stuff up. Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested Monday that displaced coal miners should learn to code. Want to receive more content like this in your inbox? Not all programming is esoteric and difficult, and programming skills apply in job areas all over the planet, not just silicon valley, and not just dedicated programming jobs. Reddit's scores also are not simply upvotes - downvotes, Rusty thought a potential miner-to-coder pipeline actually makes a weird kind of sense. It started three years ago when Rusty Justice and M. Lynn Parrish, the owners of a Pikeville, Kentucky excavation and engineering company […] Appalachian Miners Are Learning to Code By . Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The above seems like a given but I shudder to think of how many evenings I've lost because it's turned out after the fact that someone on a team I've been on has sat on something they couldn't figure out, out of pride. He added later: “Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!”. “On the same day his unemployment ran out in March, Jim Ratliff walked through BitSource’s door. Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!” the former vice-president said at a New Hampshire rally on Monday. The TechHire East Kentucky program attracted 1,600 applicants to its first class teaching coal miners and others from the industrial sector how to code. Fixed that for you. H ere at Bright we’ve taken you inside a tech camp for young coders in New York City. But I always warn people that there is a steep learning curve and you need to give it a lot of time. “Anybody who can go down 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well,” Biden said at a New Hampshire event Monday. “The mind of a coal miner or an engineer, you know, they’re very technical. Excellent article on the subject here. “Can you teach a coal miner to code?” Bit Source president Justin Hall said. The reality being anyone can create a flashlight app, or TSA random generator app by following basic instructions online in a short timeframe. Several months later, in April 2014, in response to a comment by Mark Zuckerberg about shifts in energy use that has led to many coal mines being closed and coal miners behind laid off, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the Future of Energy Summit said, "You’re not going to teach a coal miner to code. Unfortunately, there’s been a long history of projects intended to help Appalachia’s perpetually lagging economy failing because despite the seemingly airtight premise, the jobs never actually appear and the people grow more bitter and disillusioned. That’s when he came across Bloomberg’s latest jab. The best thing about Joe Biden telling coal miners to learn … A lot of it is domain knowledge. This is the fate of most popular subreddits. so, what went wrong with coding classes in coal country? The question is what percentage of coal miners could be taught to code to a professional level in a reasonable amount of time. “Appalachia has been exporting coal for a long time,” says Justin Hall, the company’s president. Yes, Joe Biden just literally told coal miners they should learn to code. You also have to be smart about freelancing and avoid speculative work, app marketplaces, freelance job sites, and clueless entrepreneurs. There's no doubt you're going to be able to find some former coal miners who would make good coders. Coding is hard. The startup tech company was praised Monday during the area’s Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Innovation Summit. Called Bitsource, the company hired its staff with the unique goal of "teaching miners how to code." There are literally online tutorials everywhere. It makes me appreciate my good fortune. Dev Bootcamp shuttering shows challenges of teaching coal miners to code. In this case, the miners organised themselves, spent their own savings learning, and seem to have a very real appreciation that nothing comes without hard work. You can't turn to programming to make money immediately. Reaction from West Virginia Coal Association senior vice president Chris Hamilton. They just don't know they are coding. 3. After all, coal was the back-end code of 200 years of industrial progress. On a side note, I was struck by how little ego they seem to bring even to their standups, with the article even highlighting people being quite open about struggling with something. The problem to solve here is how to retrain a ton of coal miners who were making solid wages before into new professions that aren't slowly vanishing. Terms like “startup” and “incubator” conjure up images of apple laptops, flannel shirts, Doc Martens, and $5 espressos. I imagine Minecraft mods would be an ideal place to start. “ You’re not going to teach a coal miner to code.” There he was, this business mogul, preaching “compassion” for … According to Dave Weigel of the … Whats easiest, to teach a coal miner to code (well enough to plan and build a sellable product) or teach a coder to mine coal (well enough to be able to plan and execute a productive dig)? But when he does — even if it’s just for a moment — it’s like remembering the … Read more: http://ift.tt/1MZnYAv With coal mining at a 35-year low, coal regions have been struggling with job losses and stagnant local economies. “On the same day his unemployment ran out in March, Jim Ratliff walked through BitSource’s door. Subscribe to the newsletter of Writrsbloc. Called Bitsource, the company hired its staff with the unique goal of “teaching miners how to code.” “The mind of a coal miner or an engineer, you know, they’re very technical. man, anyone can code if they have the passion and put forth the effort. Can You Teach a Coal Miner to Code? Biden riffing on how Obama put him in … ... “A lot of people look at us coal miners as uneducated,” said Ratliff, a 38-year-old with a thin goatee and thick arms. The startup tech company was praised Monday during the area’s Shaping Our Appalachian Region Innovation Summit. Here’s a look at Appalachia’s newest coders. The answer was yes until _headmelted picked that headline. The dirty secret is that you can’t become a software engineer in weeks or … Michael Bloomberg said nearly the same thing at his 2014 energy summit in New York: “You’re not going to teach a coal miner to code.” Yesterday, I published a story on Backchannel called “Canary in the Code Mine” that shows, quite literally, you can teach a coal miner to code. Actually, miners make good coders because they're good at hacking. As America goes digital, its bluest collar workers are facing the toughest challenge of their lives. News Joe Biden Coding Coal 2020 Election During a campaign event on Monday, Joe Biden suggested coal miners could simply learn to code … Garland Couch used … Judging by some of the comments on r/programming, I think this is more of a soft requirement. In Kentucky, it’s coal mining, and in much of rural America, it’s agriculture. For instance, the average pay a coal miner can expect to make, under a contract negotiated by the United Mine Workers of America union, “comes out to at least $61,650 a year, and closer to $85,000 a year with overtime.” This does not include healthcare, pension, and other benefits usually offered by such jobs. Or maybe I'm bullshit intolerant. May 25, 2018 - Rusty Justice doesn’t think about Michael Bloomberg very often. I like reading stories about people getting into programming to solve their financial problems. The real question isn't can you teach some specific coal miner to code. My parents can edit html sites and its amazing how many people were adding markup language to geocities, then myspace, etc. There's something suspicious with the voting around here recently. The problem to solve here is how to retrain people who were making solid wages before into new professions that aren't slowly vanishing. The gap between that and creating a success app or getting a high paying salary comes down to passion, willness to continue learning beyond 'hello world' and years and years of experience and training. If you're only siphoning off a few percent of the best and brightest, you really haven't solved the fundamental problem. As America goes digital, its bluest collar workers are facing the toughest challenge of their lives. Bit Source, a two-year-old web and software design company based in Pikeville, Kentucky, was built to answer a question. Tim Loh. Can You Teach a Coal Miner to Code? Through BitSource’s door saying `` teach gas streetlamp mantle fitters to refurbish carburetors '' Source president Justin Hall.. Could be taught to code. forth the effort we’ve taken you inside a tech for! Solution: teaching coal miners to code. “on the same day his ran! Look at Appalachia ’ s newest coders i imagine Minecraft mods would an! 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