7 ms·

I did a year of college and dropped out and began my career at 20. It’s definitely possible to have a good career as a software engineer without it, but it defi

by dimmke 5y ago

I did a year of college and dropped out and began my career at 20. It’s definitely possible to have a good career as a software engineer without it, but it definitely put me at a disadvantage in some situations. Only one time that I explicitly know of professionally but it also caused some problems with feeling insecure. If you’ve already gotten a job at FB just make sure the offer isn’t contingent on completion of degree and you’re probably fine. But be aware there might come a time where you’d wished you had finished.

woleium 5y ago
I dropped out, went back to do a MBA part time (while working full time) about 10 years later because almost all director level positions I was looking at required it. It was hard work, but it worked out for me.
- sjg007 5y ago
  I'm considering an MBA for that reason.
google234123 5y ago
If you already have a engineering job at FB then they wont care if you finished your degree.
tombert 5y ago
I have a similar story; I finished about 1.5 years at FSU, and due to a lack of motivation and depression (and the two feeding into each other), I decided to drop out when I was 21. I was extremely lucky to find work as a software engineer really quickly, and I managed to piece together a pretty awesome career making a pretty reasonable salary, but there's been several occasions where not having a degree made my life measurably worse. Since then, nine years after dropping out, I managed to complete my degree at WGU (which has its own share of valid criticisms). I don't know if the degree will "help" me more than my experience has, but at elast it's one less inferiority complex I have to deal with.
- dimmke 5y ago
  Yeah. I could go back and finish (though I’d guess I would be starting from scratch now), but I’m now at a level where it doesn’t matter. It would be so weird to be taking English classes with a bunch of 18 year olds just to add a line item to my resume nobody would read anyways. I’ve had times where it felt like I had to work harder, but I think a lot of that was self imposed and working hard is important in being a good software engineer anyways. You can go on the CSCareerQuestions subreddit and see many posts from people who did the bare minimum and have CS degrees with no idea how to get into the industry.
  - tombert 5y ago
    If you just want a nominal degree, you might check out either WGU [1] or Northern Arizona University [2]. The competency-based system allows you to get through the courses a lot quicker (and cheaper) than you would with a traditional school (both are fully accredited). I don't know that it's "worth it", since that expression can mean different things to different people. For me, I want to unlock the path to do research, and a bachelors is basically required for that for most jobs. I also just wanted to get that chip off my shoulder (as stated before). [1] https://www.wgu.edu/ https://www.wgu.edu/ [2] https://nau.edu/online-innovative-educational-initiatives/self-paced-personalized-learning/ https://nau.edu/online-innovative-educational-initiatives/se...
- Buttons840 5y ago
  I'm doing a CS degree at WGU after 12 years in the industry. It's relatively cheap and being competency based means I could pass classes like "programming 101" - the class that teach you how a while loop works - I passed that class in one day. The ability to go as fast as I'm able removed the main reason I never went back to school, and once I learned I could go as fast, I decided to go back to school. I have learned some things in the program and don't consider it a complete waste of time, although it has its share of classes I'm not enthusiastic about, just like any school would. I'll be able to move onto a masters program if I ever decide, that is an important part to me. I wish an online competency based school would offer math degrees. Math has many good resources for self study, and is easy to test for competency, it seems like a perfect fit. Anyone know of a good online math degree?
chana_masala 5y ago
Yep. I graduated in the top ten of my high school, had a full scholarship to the state university, and already had about a year's worth of college credits from AP classes. I made it one semester. Too much instant freedom discovering drugs and parties. I should not have lived in the dorms. After a ten year gap year and years of professional experience I am now finishing up my degree.
EdwardDiego 5y ago
Yep, I developed a love for coding when I'd already squandered my attempt at tertiary education, and had a young son and wife who'd developed a belief that women shouldn't work, to support. So I wasn't able to go back to university, so I'm self-taught, although I sat (and passed) a few first year papers via correspondence. Later on I took second year papers part-time to cover gaps I'd identified in my knowledge of computer science. But it was very hard to get an interview with no degree. I had a portfolio of code I'd written for people freelance, but even getting people to look at it was near impossible. I was rejected several times with reasons along the lines of "self-taught devs write unstructured/bad/spaghetti code", which annoyed me when they wouldn't look at my portfolio. In the end, I got an interview via a friend of a colleague who was a stealth developer in the call centre I worked in. He was desperate to learn JS, so I taught him, and consequently he recommended me to his friend. Who, luckily for me, worked for a company founded by a developer who was also self-taught and sans degree, so he gave me a chance to prove myself. 13 years later, my lack of degree doesn't concern anyon But, 5 years to get an interview, and in the first 5 years, I was really worried what would happen if the company downsized and I had to find another job. Not to mention the imposter syndrome feeling.

by dimmke 5y ago

woleium 5y ago

I dropped out, went back to do a MBA part time (while working full time) about 10 years later because almost all director level positions I was looking at required it. It was hard work, but it worked out for me.

sjg007 5y ago
I'm considering an MBA for that reason.

google234123 5y ago

If you already have a engineering job at FB then they wont care if you finished your degree.

tombert 5y ago

I have a similar story; I finished about 1.5 years at FSU, and due to a lack of motivation and depression (and the two feeding into each other), I decided to drop out when I was 21. I was extremely lucky to find work as a software engineer really quickly, and I managed to piece together a pretty awesome career making a pretty reasonable salary, but there's been several occasions where not having a degree made my life measurably worse. Since then, nine years after dropping out, I managed to complete my degree at WGU (which has its own share of valid criticisms). I don't know if the degree will "help" me more than my experience has, but at elast it's one less inferiority complex I have to deal with.

dimmke 5y ago
Yeah. I could go back and finish (though I’d guess I would be starting from scratch now), but I’m now at a level where it doesn’t matter. It would be so weird to be taking English classes with a bunch of 18 year olds just to add a line item to my resume nobody would read anyways. I’ve had times where it felt like I had to work harder, but I think a lot of that was self imposed and working hard is important in being a good software engineer anyways. You can go on the CSCareerQuestions subreddit and see many posts from people who did the bare minimum and have CS degrees with no idea how to get into the industry.
- tombert 5y ago
  If you just want a nominal degree, you might check out either WGU [1] or Northern Arizona University [2]. The competency-based system allows you to get through the courses a lot quicker (and cheaper) than you would with a traditional school (both are fully accredited). I don't know that it's "worth it", since that expression can mean different things to different people. For me, I want to unlock the path to do research, and a bachelors is basically required for that for most jobs. I also just wanted to get that chip off my shoulder (as stated before). [1] https://www.wgu.edu/ https://www.wgu.edu/ [2] https://nau.edu/online-innovative-educational-initiatives/self-paced-personalized-learning/ https://nau.edu/online-innovative-educational-initiatives/se...
Buttons840 5y ago
I'm doing a CS degree at WGU after 12 years in the industry. It's relatively cheap and being competency based means I could pass classes like "programming 101" - the class that teach you how a while loop works - I passed that class in one day. The ability to go as fast as I'm able removed the main reason I never went back to school, and once I learned I could go as fast, I decided to go back to school. I have learned some things in the program and don't consider it a complete waste of time, although it has its share of classes I'm not enthusiastic about, just like any school would. I'll be able to move onto a masters program if I ever decide, that is an important part to me. I wish an online competency based school would offer math degrees. Math has many good resources for self study, and is easy to test for competency, it seems like a perfect fit. Anyone know of a good online math degree?

chana_masala 5y ago

Yep. I graduated in the top ten of my high school, had a full scholarship to the state university, and already had about a year's worth of college credits from AP classes. I made it one semester. Too much instant freedom discovering drugs and parties. I should not have lived in the dorms. After a ten year gap year and years of professional experience I am now finishing up my degree.

EdwardDiego 5y ago

Yep, I developed a love for coding when I'd already squandered my attempt at tertiary education, and had a young son and wife who'd developed a belief that women shouldn't work, to support. So I wasn't able to go back to university, so I'm self-taught, although I sat (and passed) a few first year papers via correspondence. Later on I took second year papers part-time to cover gaps I'd identified in my knowledge of computer science. But it was very hard to get an interview with no degree. I had a portfolio of code I'd written for people freelance, but even getting people to look at it was near impossible. I was rejected several times with reasons along the lines of "self-taught devs write unstructured/bad/spaghetti code", which annoyed me when they wouldn't look at my portfolio. In the end, I got an interview via a friend of a colleague who was a stealth developer in the call centre I worked in. He was desperate to learn JS, so I taught him, and consequently he recommended me to his friend. Who, luckily for me, worked for a company founded by a developer who was also self-taught and sans degree, so he gave me a chance to prove myself. 13 years later, my lack of degree doesn't concern anyon But, 5 years to get an interview, and in the first 5 years, I was really worried what would happen if the company downsized and I had to find another job. Not to mention the imposter syndrome feeling.