[Bioperl-l] Google Summer of Code: Call for Bio* Volunteers

[Hilmar Lapp]

On Feb 13, 2009, at 12:57 PM, Giovanni Marco Dall'Olio wrote:

> how much time of the day does it take to partecipate to a summer of  
> code program?
> Is it a full-time work, or I can do it only on the evenings and on  
> my free time?


That's a great question. In principle (i.e., the official position) is  
that being a Summer of Code student is meant to be a full-time  
occupation for the duration of the coding period.

That said, some people manage to work a full-time job on their  
evenings and weekends. It also doesn't mean that you can't be doing  
something else on the side. But empirical experience shows very  
clearly that if as a student you try to do Summer of Code on the side,  
at best, i.e., if you're a strong programmer and have the necessary  
domain background, you'll be on the brink of failure. The great  
majority of students is less strong, however (and making them stronger  
is one of the goals of the program).

At the end of the day, success isn't measured in hours spent. It's  
whether you reach your set goals or not. Every student is different in  
terms of skills and personality they bring to the table, and every  
project is different, so there is no hard-and-fast rule as to how much  
time you need to be able to spend. But if it's not going to be your  
primary activity that takes priority over everything else, then you're  
not set up to succeed. And setting students up for success is another  
goal of the program.

Does that make sense?

	-hilmar
-- 
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: Hilmar Lapp  -:-  Durham, NC  -:-  hlapp at gmx dot net :
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