3 ms·

I'm Australian and I would really recommend you go to uni and get the piece of paper. You are still young and as more and more time passes, it becomes harder to

I'm Australian and I would really recommend you go to uni and get the piece of paper. You are still young and as more and more time passes, it becomes harder to be able to go back and study full-time. I've personally found that working in the US is such a fulfilling experience (particularly in SF/SV) and having a degree will make the visa process much easier. You can still work part-time or freelance and uni will be a great way to meet like-minded people (AKA potential cofounders) if you're interested in founding something in the future.

HappyTypist 11y ago
Thanks, super interested in an Aussie's (your) perspective! Being about to get an E2 visa is definitely great. Can I ask for your depth of knowledge before you went to uni? What degree did you do, and how deep was the scope? I'm just asking because I've been programming for 5 years, on various levels and I'm wondering about how much 'new stuff' I'll learn.
- seekingcharlie 11y ago
  Do you mean the E3 visa? As for me, I started building websites in year 11 for friends/family - I was self-taught HTML, CSS and Wordpress. I had no "real" programming experience, which is where we might differ from each other. I did an accelerated diploma in Design and then went back and did my bachelors in Comp Sci at USyd. The programming components were definitely new to me (Java, C etc), but you may have experience with them already. I think it's safe to assume that CS is really not about teaching you how to program - many people graduate and do not know how to code. What you do gain is a deep theoretical knowledge that is really important and useful (algorithms, data structures etc). There are many threads on HN where the differences between self-taught & CS students are compared, you should definitely check them out. Ultimately, I think it really depends on what you want to be developing. If you want to work at FB/Apple/Google/MS or anywhere outside of Australia, get the degree. If you want to found your own startup, I could see an argument of why the degree might be less useful. That said, I think very few people would regret studying CS or software engineering, it's always going to pay off.

HappyTypist 11y ago

Thanks, super interested in an Aussie's (your) perspective! Being about to get an E2 visa is definitely great. Can I ask for your depth of knowledge before you went to uni? What degree did you do, and how deep was the scope? I'm just asking because I've been programming for 5 years, on various levels and I'm wondering about how much 'new stuff' I'll learn.

seekingcharlie 11y ago
Do you mean the E3 visa? As for me, I started building websites in year 11 for friends/family - I was self-taught HTML, CSS and Wordpress. I had no "real" programming experience, which is where we might differ from each other. I did an accelerated diploma in Design and then went back and did my bachelors in Comp Sci at USyd. The programming components were definitely new to me (Java, C etc), but you may have experience with them already. I think it's safe to assume that CS is really not about teaching you how to program - many people graduate and do not know how to code. What you do gain is a deep theoretical knowledge that is really important and useful (algorithms, data structures etc). There are many threads on HN where the differences between self-taught & CS students are compared, you should definitely check them out. Ultimately, I think it really depends on what you want to be developing. If you want to work at FB/Apple/Google/MS or anywhere outside of Australia, get the degree. If you want to found your own startup, I could see an argument of why the degree might be less useful. That said, I think very few people would regret studying CS or software engineering, it's always going to pay off.