FAQs - SE Factory

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is the Difference Between the FSW Bootcamp & the FCS Program?

FCS covers the foundational concepts of programming. It’s a starting point for those new to programming or a refresher for those who studied computer science before. Knowledge of the concepts provided in FCS is required for FSW. It can also be taken ‘informally’ for free if you do not plan to continue to FSW Bootcamp or you are unable to commit to the online courses via Udemy: Free Computer Science Tutorial - Foundations of Computer Science: Theory and Practice.

The FSW Bootcamp offers holistic training in web development (coding, designing, testing, and bug fixing). It tackles advanced technical concepts and offers soft skills training that prepares you for the job market. FCS requires only a part-time commitment, and FSW requires a full-time commitment. Please note that both are intensive and require your commitment and dedication.

Where do I apply?

Go to the Get Trained section of this website and select the appropriate program for you.

What programs do you offer?

We currently offer four programs:
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FCS: Foundations of Computer Science
FSW: Full Stack Web Development
FSD: Full Stack Data
UIX: UI/UX Design Bootcamp
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Please, find the descriptions for each program below.

FCS

What is the Foundations of Computer Science (FCS) course?

The Foundations of Computer Science course is a precursory program that offers an extensive recap of the fundamental concepts in Computer Science. It is a prerequisite course for our FSW Bootcamp. The program is offered online multiple times a year and spans 9 weeks, giving you the flexibility of time while preparing you to join the advanced Bootcamp afterward. You can find the upcoming cycles' start dates here.

The relevant course schedule can be found in the application form. The course is intensive and requires an all-time commitment to complete assignments. Furthermore, you can access our free online course videos and learn the fundamental topics of Computer Science and practice them for full mastery on your own.

What are the eligibility requirements for FCS?

Coding enthusiasts who are just starting off and want to learn the theory. Available to commit to the course schedule (Part-time and online) Basic background in mathematics Over 18 Residing in Lebanon

What is the Schedule for FCS?

The Foundations of Computer Science is a part-time 9 weeks course. Sessions are delivered either: 3 days a week (mid-week) and run for 2 hours. 2 days a week (weekend) and run for 3 hours (The schedule is subject to change during the year due to unforeseen circumstances)

How much does the FCS course cost?

The cost of attending the online course after being selected (9 weeks) is LBP 540,000.

If I pass the FCS course, do I make it directly into the Full Stack Web Development Program?

If you pass the FCS course with: A total of 60/100 or more on the final exam combined with the midterm And showed good participation in the course as well as a good attitude. You directly get qualified to do the interview (part of our FSW process, please refer to the “Selection process” question).

FSW

What is the Full Stack Web Development (FSW) Program?

The Full Stack Web Development is a 14-week long boot camp that equips students with industry-inspired technical and interpersonal skill sets to become professional software engineers. During the Bootcamp students will be tackling SourceControl, Object-Oriented Programming, Data Manipulation, MVC Design Patterns, Dependency Management, modern Web Frameworks, AWS, and much more. Not to forget the soft-skills part covering Communication & Interpersonal Skills, Professional Writing, Technical Presentations, Negotiation, and Interviewing must-knows. The latter will be done through lectures, weekly projects, and tech talk sessions all resulting in a final project of either a mobile application or a website.

What if I have a Job or University During the Program?

Your application will not be eligible as the FSW program is very intensive and demanding, it runs from Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. It requires a significant investment of your time. It is mostly eligible for: Those who have an empty schedule; Unemployed and not enrolled in any educational institution; Those willing to accept a job offer after graduating from the program; Or willing to pause their educational path and rejoin after graduation.

Are Courses Fully Online?

Yes, both courses are fully online. For the Full-stack course, you will have to join us on-site for some workshops.

Will In-Person Training Resume?

No, keeping our courses online will help us reach all youth in Lebanon, and not only people in specific areas.

Am I Guaranteed A Job After Graduating?

No. SE Factory does not guarantee or promise employment. However, the program equips students with a unique and advanced skillset that highly enhances employment potential. We introduce our students throughout the program to representatives from companies looking to hire and help our students build professional networks. Since 2016, over 90% of our graduates received job offers within 6 months of program completion.

When Do I Hear Back Regarding My Application Status?

2 weeks before the start of the program, we will either send you an acceptance or a rejection email.

What if I'm Not Fluent in English?

Having strong English proficiency, both in speaking, writing, and comprehension, is essential for understanding the program and for future job opportunities. If your English skills are not up to par, we encourage you to work on improving them before applying to our programs. Strong proficiency in speaking, writing, and comprehension is necessary for a full understanding of the program and for future employment prospects.

What Laptop Specs Are Required?

Minimum Recommended Specs:

8GB RAM;
200GB (SSD preferred);
Intel i7 CPU (or equivalent), 64 bits.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements for FSW?

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Residing or living in Lebanon, regardless of nationality;
Being 18 years old and above;
Being highly motivated and hard-working;
Having studied the basics of computer science, typically demonstrated by Computer Science or Computer Engineering graduates. However, applications from all students who can prove knowledge in fundamental Computer Science topics (Algorithms and Data Structures, Database theory, Networking and Operating Systems, Programming Languages theory etc.) are welcomed, degree in the field is not mandatory. Note: This program does not teach the basics of programming;
Having a maximum of one semester left if still earning a University degree;
Possessing the ability to speak, read, and write basic English;
Committing full time for three months, all weekdays from 10 am to 7 pm;
Being open to accepting a potential job offer after graduating from the Bootcamp.

What is the Time Commitment for FSW?

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14 weeks (3 months)
From Monday to Friday (all weekdays and sometimes weekends)
From 10 am to 7:00 pm.

How Much Does the FSW Program Cost?

If you get accepted into our FSW Bootcamp, you are expected to pay LBP 510,000 upon admission. (If you were already enrolled in our FCS before and paid the fees, you don’t need to pay it again in FSW) After you graduate from the Bootcamp, and if ONLY IF you get employed, you will be contractually obligated to pay SE Factory a “Success Fee” following acceptance of a job offer, equivalent to: A $2,000 (two thousand USD) fee, if your gross monthly salary is equal to or less than $2,000 in the total amount. Or, one gross monthly salary if the salary exceeds a total of $2,000. You have the choice to pay this all at once, or in monthly installments spread over a period of 12 to 16 months. As a social enterprise, our mission is to transform the lives of young coders in Lebanon by improving their skills and helping them find viable and exciting job opportunities. By accepting to pay a one-month salary back to SE Factory, you are making it possible for more youth to also experience and benefit from this life-changing program :)

What Languages Are Taught?

Topics covered in FSW are:

Git Version Control;
CSS, Flex;
JavaScript, ES6, JSON;
Databases: MySQL and MongoDB;
SQL Queries and Indexing;
UI/UX: Wireframing, Figma, Prototyping;
PHP;
Typescript;
Laravel: a Php Framework;
NodeJs: a Runtime Environment;
React.js: Front-end Library;
ReactNative: Mobile Apps Development;
Amazon Web Services

Where Can I Find the Syllabus?

Here: https://www.sefactory.io/fsw/syllabus

What is Soft Skills Training?

Soft skills are non-technical skills that are essential for success in the job market. These include interpersonal skills such as: Presentation; Business Etiquette; Communication; Managerial skills such as project management, leadership; And the proper ways to succeed in a job interview and how to create a CV.

Does the Curriculum Cover Mobile App Development?

Yes, towards the end of week 7, students are exposed to ReactNative and how to build cross-platform hybrid mobile apps.

How Is the Curriculum Designed?

Our curriculum is developed based on detailed analyses of the market needs, as well as the in-demand skills currently requested in the tech sector. The curriculum is frequently refreshed and updated per the ever-changing trends of the industry and through close follow-up with our recruitment partners.

Tech Recruitment

Can you give me some details about the recruitment process?

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Companies can access our Hiring Portal which includes relevant information about each graduate (CV, LinkedIn, GitHub, Video) and then they directly go through their own selection process to decide who they want to interview.
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They then proceed with their own typical interview process (HR, Technical Test/Challenge, White Board, etc.). As SEF, we always try to make sure it's a direct and transparent process between companies and our graduates.
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We are always available to provide detailed feedback and insights about each graduate since we closely worked with each talent for 3+ months, when asked for it. We believe this enables us to provide specific insights and traits (strengths / weaknesses) about each student. We do our best to give direct, unbiased, and transparent feedback in the hopes of allowing you to hire your right candidate and avoid mishiring. This will eventually allow us to gain your trust and hopefully encourages you to always hire more SEF graduates.

When we want to communicate with your graduates, should it be through you, or can we go ahead and communicate with them directly?

Communication with our students is done directly with them. We prefer to allow you to have full transparency and we encourage you to proceed with the regular recruitment process that you already have set up at your company. We just ask you to inform us whenever you are looking to finally hire one of our graduates so we are able to track that employment and proceed with the next steps.

When can we start receiving applicants' resumes?

We have a Graduation Day that occurs each 3 to 4 months. You’ll receive full transparent access to our graduates’ profiles as soon as they successfully complete the training bootcamp with us.

Would the resources be working remotely or can they be based with us?

This is entirely your call. We see our role as facilitating the connection between our graduates and Recruitment Partners, but then we leave it to the two sides to agree on final employment terms and matters such as place of work.

I want to hire a junior developer, which will be leading on designing and creating a whole new website/mobile application. Is that feasible?

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We usually don't recommend hiring juniors for such roles, as they don't have the hands-on experience to implement such big projects. They still require assistance and consultancy from senior developers to better understand the server needed, the language to be used, any other aspects needed to complete the job successfully.
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What we recommend you to do is to hire a consultancy firm that will lead and guide the Junior Developer or to consider hiring someone with more experience to avoid any complications and mismanagement.

I want to hire a senior developer from your Alumni Network. Can you please connect me with them?

You may share the job description with us and we'd be happy to spread the word among our network and then send you interested profiles. However, we won't promise you that it's a 100% guaranteed result as most of them are already employed.

Do you have access to talent other than Developers?

With the aim to have a holistic recruitment approach, SE Factory can help you legally setting up your tech and non tech teams, in Lebanon. Also, SE Factory can help you with your other recruitment needs, through our sister company, HR Factory. For more information, kindly feel free to reach out to hire@hrfactory.io.

What type of Tech Talk can I give?

Any tech trends or relevant topics that you find interesting for our students. As you might be well acquainted with the process, during each SEF Full Stack Web Development cycle, we host technical lead representatives and have them talk about an interesting new technology/framework/inspirational story as part of our weekly tech talks.The main aim is to have our students pick up on a new concept, new tricks and hacks, or new perspectives in handling codes or situations following tech leads' experiences.