Landing a Silicon Valley Job After Learning to Code in Prison

I think these programs are great, and the formerly incarcerated do need more of these types of opportunities otherwise it will only continue the cycle of recidivism.

On the other hand, I also wish some of these types of opportunities could also be offered to some of us that aren't part of the big tech companies currently but have talent and drive too, but might have a poor or limiting work environment that they can't easily withdraw from.

I'm sure many people with coding experience outside of the tech industry that are interested in breaking into the "tech companies" in the Bay Area would appreciate getting that opportunity to demonstrate their skills, but if one's background is not appreciated and you can't even get to that point to show a company what you're made of then that also seems like wasted opportunity for companies that are missing out on good potential talent.

This past year I've been very much interested in joining a fully remote/distributed company but I would very much appreciate getting that opportunity to work with a team and start showing what I'm capable of, than harping on the fact that I haven't been resolutely focused on the latest language, framework, or specific tech these past few years (it doesn't mean I'm not aware of most of them, or have dabbled with each of them to a small degree...just not enough where I can tell you with confidence I'm an expert...plus any new role I would jump into would likely require it's own specialty that I could acquire within a short time of starting.

Got to give us "normies" an opportunity too ;-).