How hard would it be to maintain a 30 to 40 hour client workload while going through the program? (And still have the energy to get all I want out of it.)
I think this would be extremely hard (at least, I know it would be for me). We've had couple people hold down substantial client work (more on the order of 20-30 hours a week, I think) while doing Hacker School and make it work (and still get a ton out of it), but we've also had a couple that tried this and quickly realized they had to leave the program.
How hard would it be to get a reasonable room in NYC while maintaining a home elsewhere?
This is perfectly doable logistically. The biggest obstacle is the financial burden of paying two rents (or rent + mortgage). You can get a room in the city for ~$600-900/month. NYC has a crazy housing market but there are so many people here there's always stuff opening up and turning over, so it's easier to find a sublet for a few months here than, say, in Mountain View (I tried doing that and it was a mess).
When will the next (after the Feb 13) session be? (That may be the best answer to my first 2 questions.)
We take about a month off between batches, so it will start in late May or early June.
We've had couple people hold down substantial client work (more on the order of 20-30 hours a week, I think)
I was typically able to get in 20-24 hours a week while in HS batch[1], so it is possible to do HS and client work at the same time, but it's very challenging. I came in with two clients but wound up passing one of the projects off to another developer because it was too much work. The other client I still work for. Having two clients while in HS was completely impossible. Having one client while in HS is doable, but it depends on the quality of the client. The client that I kept never bothered me about trivial matters, gave me full autonomy over my work, provided the resources I needed to get the job done, and were just plain cool. I still work for them. If my description sounds nothing like any of your clients, I wouldn't recommend doing HS and client work simultaneously.
How hard would it be to maintain a 30 to 40 hour client workload while going through the program? (And still have the energy to get all I want out of it.)
I think this would be extremely hard (at least, I know it would be for me). We've had couple people hold down substantial client work (more on the order of 20-30 hours a week, I think) while doing Hacker School and make it work (and still get a ton out of it), but we've also had a couple that tried this and quickly realized they had to leave the program.
How hard would it be to get a reasonable room in NYC while maintaining a home elsewhere?
This is perfectly doable logistically. The biggest obstacle is the financial burden of paying two rents (or rent + mortgage). You can get a room in the city for ~$600-900/month. NYC has a crazy housing market but there are so many people here there's always stuff opening up and turning over, so it's easier to find a sublet for a few months here than, say, in Mountain View (I tried doing that and it was a mess).
When will the next (after the Feb 13) session be? (That may be the best answer to my first 2 questions.)
We take about a month off between batches, so it will start in late May or early June.
Thanks for the best wishes!