7 ms·

As a 19 year old programmer who just dropped out, this eases my anxiety. A lot.

MrFoof 13y ago
I was you 12 years ago. The odds are still against you. You will lose opportunities due to credentialism. The best bet is to become better than your peers and be in the top 5% of the talent pool. When you work with someone who really knows their shit, shadow them. The better bet is to eventually go independent once you know you're more towards the top of the heap. Years ago, a McKinsey subsidiary ultimately ruled me out due to a lack of degree. Nowadays they're a customer and have no problem subcontracting me out, because "I run my own business" and a proven track record is just as sufficient as the degree they otherwise look for.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  I was you 12 years ago. And it's even worse now.
  - cheesylard 13y ago
    Wait, really? I was under the impression that a college degree for programmers is less important nowadays.
danudey 13y ago
As a 31-year-old systems architect and software developer who dropped out of university: I realized that I had to choose between a degree I would enjoy that would be useless in getting me a job, and a degree that I would hate that would be useless in getting me a job. I wasn't cut out for EE or CS, and I didn't have the math marks to get in (and I didn't realize at the time that a lot of my problem was ADD-related). So… I left. In the end, I lucked my way through a succession of jobs, due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it, so my personal experience was worth as much as anyone else's. My recommendation: do lots of projects, contribute to open-source, put a bunch of personal projects up on github (and do them right; document them well and write good code), and apply to forward-thinking companies (startups, etc.). Show that you can do the work and no company worth their salt will care too much about how you learned it.
- gwright 13y ago
  > due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it I need to put a plug in for my alma mater: http://www.rit.edu/programs/networking-and-systems-administration-bs http://www.rit.edu/programs/networking-and-systems-administr...
voidlogic 13y ago
Beware, if you are outside of the Bay Area getting a degree is comparatively more important to employers... At least until you have oodles of XP.
- cheesylard 13y ago
  I grew up in Sunnyvale. A lot of my friends from high school have part-time jobs / intern over the summer at the startups/companies from where around I used to live... But I don't live there anymore. And I'm kind of hesitant to move back to Sunnyvale (It is the most boring, soul-sucking place on earth) so I guess that doesn't really count for anything. Meh.

I was you 12 years ago. The odds are still against you. You will lose opportunities due to credentialism. The best bet is to become better than your peers and be in the top 5% of the talent pool. When you work with someone who really knows their shit, shadow them. The better bet is to eventually go independent once you know you're more towards the top of the heap. Years ago, a McKinsey subsidiary ultimately ruled me out due to a lack of degree. Nowadays they're a customer and have no problem subcontracting me out, because "I run my own business" and a proven track record is just as sufficient as the degree they otherwise look for.

sliverstorm 13y ago
I was you 12 years ago. And it's even worse now.
- cheesylard 13y ago
  Wait, really? I was under the impression that a college degree for programmers is less important nowadays.

danudey 13y ago

As a 31-year-old systems architect and software developer who dropped out of university: I realized that I had to choose between a degree I would enjoy that would be useless in getting me a job, and a degree that I would hate that would be useless in getting me a job. I wasn't cut out for EE or CS, and I didn't have the math marks to get in (and I didn't realize at the time that a lot of my problem was ADD-related). So… I left. In the end, I lucked my way through a succession of jobs, due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it, so my personal experience was worth as much as anyone else's. My recommendation: do lots of projects, contribute to open-source, put a bunch of personal projects up on github (and do them right; document them well and write good code), and apply to forward-thinking companies (startups, etc.). Show that you can do the work and no company worth their salt will care too much about how you learned it.

gwright 13y ago
> due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it I need to put a plug in for my alma mater: http://www.rit.edu/programs/networking-and-systems-administration-bs http://www.rit.edu/programs/networking-and-systems-administr...

voidlogic 13y ago

Beware, if you are outside of the Bay Area getting a degree is comparatively more important to employers... At least until you have oodles of XP.

cheesylard 13y ago
I grew up in Sunnyvale. A lot of my friends from high school have part-time jobs / intern over the summer at the startups/companies from where around I used to live... But I don't live there anymore. And I'm kind of hesitant to move back to Sunnyvale (It is the most boring, soul-sucking place on earth) so I guess that doesn't really count for anything. Meh.