4 ms·

When I saw this, my first reaction was "Randall is stalking me." I'm in 11th grade. It's Ruby, not Perl, and regular, not just a weekend, but it's basically my

When I saw this, my first reaction was "Randall is stalking me." I'm in 11th grade. It's Ruby, not Perl, and regular, not just a weekend, but it's basically my life. All the school work I have leaves me not enough hacking time. I wish I could get sucked into a startup so I'd have a reason to drop out.

Oompa 18y ago
I stopped doing homework to program. I'm not sure I'd advise the same to others, but because of all the extra-curricular activities I did with programming, I feel it was worth it.
- jackowayed 18y ago
  yeah, I've contemplated that. doubt I'll do it though. I just do my homework quickly and code some still.
  - PieSquared 18y ago
    I tend to do all the homework I have a as far in advance as I can, then have a week or two of near-no-homework in which I can code, both for personal projects and a part-time job. (10th grade).
- jimbokun 18y ago
  I remember never taking any homework home from any class, I just finished it all in study hall. And still had time to write Basic programs on the school computers, during the school day (not all of it in computer class). Reading some of these comments, I suspect that the amount of homework has gone up, and that is the reason for much of the frustration. Not just that there is busy work, but the sheer quantity of busy work. My kids are going to a Catholic elementary school, and a parent who transferred to their school from the public school said that the amount of homework is much less in the Catholic school, and her kids actually like school now. Frankly, I find the idea of lots of homework in elementary school bullshit. I don't believe elementary kids really benefit from multiple hours of homework every night, and believe that it could lead to burnout by middle school. My son in 1st grade gets homework, but it seems more to get him comfortable with the idea, rather than to consume 2 more hours that he could spend doing other things, including reading things that personally interest him. That puts a lot of the complaints here in a different perspective for me. If there is so much homework that it doesn't leave time for Perl hacking, that's a big fail on the part of the school system.
mattmaroon 18y ago
Do you live in Ohio? I know a great startup looking for Ruby hackers there :)
- jackowayed 18y ago
  sadly not.
aneesh 18y ago
Somebody needs to give you the other side of the story. Don't even think about dropping out of high school to do a startup. Statistically, you have a ~99% chance (okay, I just made up that number) of failing and then you'll just be a high school dropout. Stay in school, and do something on the side. There will always be opportunities for cool startups in the future, and probably after you finish college, you'll be much better equipped to go after those opportunities.
- jackowayed 18y ago
  oh, I know that. I just am tired of school and wish I could code instead. I am actually considering taking a year off to do a startup or something before college. But I have every intention of graduating college (maybe even getting a masters in CS).
  - mattdennewitz 18y ago
    please, take your high school/general education seriously
  - sanswork 18y ago
    I'm a high school drop out that has managed to have a pretty good programming career thus far. A couple things I've found that have helped me the most though is drive, contacts and a lot of luck. Drive to keep me going when it seemed like I wouldn't get a job, and to be willing to start out low down in a company with good odds of progression. Contacts to get my name to the front of the list when new roles came up and luck to be in the right places at the right times and those chance conversations with people at the bus stop that ended up being really important to my progression. One of the best things my family ever did for me was allowing me to take a year off high school to try to start my own software company. After that I never went back but if it hadn't of worked out the worst that would have happened is I'd be a year behind. The one good thing about a high school degree is that it's easier to get into a university program later on if you want to. I'd love to go to university now to study a couple things I'm really interested in but have had difficulty getting far. Also don't underestimate the college experience in shaping your life. I was lucky that when I was starting my career I was surrounded by students and lived with them and did the same things as them so I got some of the experience but I'll always regret not having the full 4 years of college life.
GHFigs 18y ago
All the school work I have leaves me not enough hacking time. Turn on noprocrast and get back to hacking. The constraint of school is useful, in that in terms of productivity, feeling like you don't have enough time is better than feeling like you have plenty of time. You just have to learn how to make the most of the time that you do have--which isn't easy or intuitive--because you'll need that skill no matter what you do later.
sown 18y ago
Don't drop out for a startup. You could do what I did and drop out to go to college early. But you got to keep your eyes on the goal of finishing.
markessien 18y ago
When you first start coding, it's very addictive, because it gives you frequent 'success bursts'. All you're doing is chasing endorphins, you are likely not actually writing anything useful. You think it is, but it's rather rare that people of that age actually code any good. You're physiologically addicted to this, if you drop out of school, you'll have a lot of company in all the other people who are addicted to other things that give them those moments of pleasure.
- Raphael 18y ago
  Wow, that explains how I can code all the time but just tread water except for a few weeks a year.

Oompa 18y ago

I stopped doing homework to program. I'm not sure I'd advise the same to others, but because of all the extra-curricular activities I did with programming, I feel it was worth it.

jackowayed 18y ago
yeah, I've contemplated that. doubt I'll do it though. I just do my homework quickly and code some still.
- PieSquared 18y ago
  I tend to do all the homework I have a as far in advance as I can, then have a week or two of near-no-homework in which I can code, both for personal projects and a part-time job. (10th grade).
jimbokun 18y ago
I remember never taking any homework home from any class, I just finished it all in study hall. And still had time to write Basic programs on the school computers, during the school day (not all of it in computer class). Reading some of these comments, I suspect that the amount of homework has gone up, and that is the reason for much of the frustration. Not just that there is busy work, but the sheer quantity of busy work. My kids are going to a Catholic elementary school, and a parent who transferred to their school from the public school said that the amount of homework is much less in the Catholic school, and her kids actually like school now. Frankly, I find the idea of lots of homework in elementary school bullshit. I don't believe elementary kids really benefit from multiple hours of homework every night, and believe that it could lead to burnout by middle school. My son in 1st grade gets homework, but it seems more to get him comfortable with the idea, rather than to consume 2 more hours that he could spend doing other things, including reading things that personally interest him. That puts a lot of the complaints here in a different perspective for me. If there is so much homework that it doesn't leave time for Perl hacking, that's a big fail on the part of the school system.

mattmaroon 18y ago

Do you live in Ohio? I know a great startup looking for Ruby hackers there :)

jackowayed 18y ago
sadly not.

aneesh 18y ago

Somebody needs to give you the other side of the story. Don't even think about dropping out of high school to do a startup. Statistically, you have a ~99% chance (okay, I just made up that number) of failing and then you'll just be a high school dropout. Stay in school, and do something on the side. There will always be opportunities for cool startups in the future, and probably after you finish college, you'll be much better equipped to go after those opportunities.

jackowayed 18y ago
oh, I know that. I just am tired of school and wish I could code instead. I am actually considering taking a year off to do a startup or something before college. But I have every intention of graduating college (maybe even getting a masters in CS).
- mattdennewitz 18y ago
  please, take your high school/general education seriously
- sanswork 18y ago
  I'm a high school drop out that has managed to have a pretty good programming career thus far. A couple things I've found that have helped me the most though is drive, contacts and a lot of luck. Drive to keep me going when it seemed like I wouldn't get a job, and to be willing to start out low down in a company with good odds of progression. Contacts to get my name to the front of the list when new roles came up and luck to be in the right places at the right times and those chance conversations with people at the bus stop that ended up being really important to my progression. One of the best things my family ever did for me was allowing me to take a year off high school to try to start my own software company. After that I never went back but if it hadn't of worked out the worst that would have happened is I'd be a year behind. The one good thing about a high school degree is that it's easier to get into a university program later on if you want to. I'd love to go to university now to study a couple things I'm really interested in but have had difficulty getting far. Also don't underestimate the college experience in shaping your life. I was lucky that when I was starting my career I was surrounded by students and lived with them and did the same things as them so I got some of the experience but I'll always regret not having the full 4 years of college life.

GHFigs 18y ago

All the school work I have leaves me not enough hacking time. Turn on noprocrast and get back to hacking. The constraint of school is useful, in that in terms of productivity, feeling like you don't have enough time is better than feeling like you have plenty of time. You just have to learn how to make the most of the time that you do have--which isn't easy or intuitive--because you'll need that skill no matter what you do later.

sown 18y ago

Don't drop out for a startup. You could do what I did and drop out to go to college early. But you got to keep your eyes on the goal of finishing.

markessien 18y ago

When you first start coding, it's very addictive, because it gives you frequent 'success bursts'. All you're doing is chasing endorphins, you are likely not actually writing anything useful. You think it is, but it's rather rare that people of that age actually code any good. You're physiologically addicted to this, if you drop out of school, you'll have a lot of company in all the other people who are addicted to other things that give them those moments of pleasure.

Raphael 18y ago
Wow, that explains how I can code all the time but just tread water except for a few weeks a year.