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Comment by j3 | Hacker News Reader

I'll do my best to answer questions as they pop-up here today, but please feel free to email me at (contact at jumpstartlab) dot com if you want to know more.

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You mentioned that people will be payed during the training - what range are we talking about?

About the mandatory 18 month work - how is pay worked out for that? Before training starts?

I'm currently considering to apply, as I'm completely bored here with my CS and Economics bachelor. (Europe) I'd love to finally have some challenge :)

I don't have permission to talk specific numbers in public and it's not really my part of the program -- but expect the during program salary to be a reasonable living wage in our expensive city and the full post-academy salary to be at or above other beginning developer positions.

Sounds like a great opportunity. Is it open to non-US citizens? :)

Yes! We can work on the visas for exceptional candidates.

That's good to hear. I can't apply this time due to visa issues, but I hope the program is a success for both LivingSocial and the candidates so that more editions are done :)

J-1 "two years restriction"

What about the relocation expenses? Are you offering a relocation package?

As someone who has attempted a country switch a year ago I got myself into trouble when I had to arrange a place to stay - a proper place to stay, because the company back then could arrange me a room in a small apartment with 6 other people sharing a kitchen and due to issues that forced me to pay 3 nights in a hotel. Luckily I found a room to rent through a colleague, right on the first day in the office.

Point being, as much as I adore the idea of dedicating my whole life into learning software engineering and web development, get hands-on experience in a real company and do what I consider meaningful impact in the world, abstract things in the offer like "money", "relocation package" (if any) and apartment are going to keep me "trapped in Greece" for now.

Can you confirm or deny if my worries are legit?

You should probably talk straight to the HR people who have all the expertise/knowledge about these things. Email them at hungryacademy at livingsocial dot com.

Thank you very much for your response. I will ASAP!

This is awesome, more companies need to show this kind of initiative. I'll be applying, we'll see if i qualify as an "exceptional candidate"

After contacting with the HR in the email that you gave me they told me that they don't offer visas for this program. :(

Same here. Too bad.

I'm sorry, I was mixed up about this. It's still possible for future iterations of the program, but for this one they've decided "no."

That's alright. I keep hearing a lot about how hard it is for a company to sponsor someone and, given the short notice, I was struck surprised by it.

I think the calendar/rush is a bigger problem than the will/funding. I will do my best, for future iterations, to invite the world.

j3, I just wanted to say that I find your approach inspiring anyway. At least you and LS are doing something about this. Becasue it is an issue. All the companies want perfect candidates, but none is willing to take passionate people and just plain teach them.

thoughtbot runs a similar program and we do offer visas:

http://apprentice.io

Prem Sichanugrist was a former apprentice of ours. He's from Thailand and is now a full-time thoughtbot employee.

Please apply if it interests you!

Are you paying people regardless of whether they receive/accept a job offer from you?

I'm not privy to all the HR details, but you're paid during the program, expected to join the team afterwards, and to stay for 18 months.

I don't know what happens, exactly, if you finish the program then say "Seeya suckers!" But I'll probably cry, and that's mean :p

Dang, you guys had to mention being hungry. I'm hungry, but that's because the GF hasn't come home with our food yet.

When is the deadline for the applications?

Edit: Downvoters, seriously? Isn't this a legit question? Just ignore the part about me being hungry. I'm just reading through hacker news while waiting for my GF to get back with my cheeseburger.

The deadline, January 9th, is in a rather large font on a big blue button in the middle of the linked page.

Hi there, I love this initiative. I'll apply but my English is not perfect :S Should I be worried?

Do you have an option for remote commitment? (outside USA and not willing to relocate during learning period)

Also, is it possible to learn only Ruby, without Rails? While I find Ruby a very interesting language, I'm not really interested in web development.

The program is onsite-only and the content is directed by what you need for the LivingSocial engineering team, which means Ruby, Rails, and many other related technologies. Sorry!

When does the five-month program start?

Early March

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