I'll take this opportunity to shine a light on the company I work for, Independent Software. We are in a similar space and value many of the things you do.
We run a program called Apprentice100 (A100). A100 is a 12-week program designed to teach emerging computer science students the real-world skills they need to be junior developers, connect them to the local development community, and match them with jobs. We're not a bootcamp - we work with students that have a formal academic background in CS.
We're also not a recruiter - we provide training and we value our community. We build relationships with all the students and companies we work with. We hold events to bring people in our network together and cultivate good Apprentice/company matches.
We do charge a flat fee to hire an Apprentice and in return the hiring company is eligible for a 70% refund on that fee and 50% wage reimbursement for 1 year. This week we became the first software apprenticeship program in the nation to be formally recognized by the DOL and DOE.
In addition to A100 we have been working more and more with mid and senior level developers.
I chime in here not only to spread the word of A100 specifically but also to say that some of us out there are trying to do job matching in a way that is good for everyone. It seems like dsk139 and other responders in this thread are doing the same.
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My apologies if this message is scattered or littered with errors. I am typing into a very small comment box from a very noisy train.
Maybe you're overthinking this. If your motivation in building this app is to have something to show off a little and earning income is only a secondary concern then the things you mentioned in your original post don't matter. The choice is simple - keep going, finish your app and launch. It's a win-win. If it does well, great. If it doesn't do well it still serves its purpose.
I am a first-year CS student looking to build a very small personal project. I could definitely use a mentor, if you are interested. You haven't listed your email but mine is in my profile, feel free to drop me a line.
and if not try http://www.weekendhacker.net/. It launched about a year ago with the same idea and format as Analog. It grew quickly and was fairly successful for a while. It has been quiet lately, the creator mentioned going through some personal stuff, but the most recent mailing was May 4 and it looked great and sounded promising. Good luck finding a project.
Preamble: I am 28 years old and have returned to school as a full-time student. I am finishing my first year. I live on campus as an RA and am in freshman level classes. I feel like I can offer a unique perspective to you, here are my thoughts for whatever they are worth.
Don't discount your relationship with your roommate. I know you are looking to other people, and thats fine, but if you two get along that is important. My first time through college was the typical drink/party/girls experience. I made friends and lived with the same group of guys all 4 years. Now, 5+ years later, there is ONE person from college that I am still close with. He is the only one I consider a "life-long" friend. After school he moved in with me and got a job at my company. He met his wife at work, they moved to Cali then to Chicago. They're doing great. A single friendship can make a huge difference...also, this friend and I didn't even know each other freshman year.
Freshman year is tumultuous. Many of the people you see all buddy-buddy right now will hate each other before the end of next year. A lot changes during college and much of it in first two years. Don't stress about friends too much yet, nothing is settled, it just APPEARS to be settled.
Don't try too hard. This will sabotage your efforts. In my first freshman year I had a tough time when my group of friends started mixing with this other group and those new kids didn't like me very much. I tried so hard to earn their approval and be a part of the group but nothing worked. Eventually I got flat-out fed-up and angry. I said "F* them." I started doing my own thing and almost instantly they responded with acceptance. Kids can tell when you are trying hard to make something happen and, for whatever reason, they respond negatively to that. Do whatever it is you like to do, do it well, be proud, be confident, be pleasant and people will gravitate towards you. This will create opportunities for you to create a relationship.
PLEASE don't internalize this. What you are going through does NOT mean people won't/don't accept you or people don't like you. It just means that you haven't made the right connection yet. Making friends is serendipitous to a large degree, the right comment at the right time, a well placed quip, etc. Things come together and it just happens.
And now for some advice,
In high school I moved from the east coast to the west coast for my father's job. I had never had to "make friends" before. I experimented and ranked the best ways to "make friends" They were: talk about sports, talk about music, talk about movies. I'm a big movie fan so I used movies a lot. Quoting movies is an incredibly effective way to start conversations. I still use it to this day. (I don't know what you kids watch these days, the harry potter and whatnot but for me its lots of Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and American Psycho.) They can be obscure quotes and/or obscure movies, whatever. Quotes are good because when someone else recognizes the quote it says "you and I like and notice the same weird/funny things." without saying it. You don't need to be funny or over-the-top about it, just throw it out there and see who responds. If no one responds don't feel awkward, its just something you've seen that they haven't.
This year I have found the after-class-food tactic seems to work pretty well. Towards the end of class, when you are packing up ask someone if they want to get some food, I have found that most kids without another class head to the cafeteria. This is an easy, low-pressure approach.
Practice, practice, practice. Socializing is a technique like a golf swing. Practice makes perfect. Try different things out, now is the time to do that. You will crash and burn sometimes, THATS OK, everyone does. Those crashes will mean nothing to you looking back. Just keep practicing and you will get better. Remember what works and what doesn't. Incorporate and adapt.
I hope some of this helps, I tried to be honest and straight-forward. I'll leave you with this postamble,
I've lurked on HN for quite some time now. A couple years I think. I've never posted anything because I've never felt confident enough in any of my thoughts to broadcast them to such an intelligent and awe-inspiring community. This is my first post because I feel confident in saying to you that it will work out. I can see just from what you've written that you have good things to offer. It's in the honesty and thought of your words. I know this is important to you but don't stress too much. Don't get too caught up in it. It will happen for you.
Please feel free to message me if you want to talk more.
We run a program called Apprentice100 (A100). A100 is a 12-week program designed to teach emerging computer science students the real-world skills they need to be junior developers, connect them to the local development community, and match them with jobs. We're not a bootcamp - we work with students that have a formal academic background in CS. We're also not a recruiter - we provide training and we value our community. We build relationships with all the students and companies we work with. We hold events to bring people in our network together and cultivate good Apprentice/company matches.
We do charge a flat fee to hire an Apprentice and in return the hiring company is eligible for a 70% refund on that fee and 50% wage reimbursement for 1 year. This week we became the first software apprenticeship program in the nation to be formally recognized by the DOL and DOE.
In addition to A100 we have been working more and more with mid and senior level developers.
I chime in here not only to spread the word of A100 specifically but also to say that some of us out there are trying to do job matching in a way that is good for everyone. It seems like dsk139 and other responders in this thread are doing the same.
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My apologies if this message is scattered or littered with errors. I am typing into a very small comment box from a very noisy train.