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Ask HN: Dropped out of education what would you do next?
Ok, I was at university studying an average course, It was boring and wasn't taught in any way which motivated or inspired. What would you do next? I am learning Ruby, teaching my self jQuery. I know HTML and CSS and I am keen to learn everything. If you were me what would you do? Go begging or an intern job? Freelance? Any help will be gratefully received.
- zura 14y agoIf it is feasible for you, go to a better school. If you want to experience a "real world" taste - you can do that by part-time freelancing.
- vikram360 14y agoI had the same question - I study in a system that emphasizes on rote and knowledge rather than on understanding. I graduate with a bachelors in CS in a few months and am extremely unhappy with the education I've gotten. I plan on taking a year off and studying on my own - starting CS from scratch really, taking a couple of Udacity/Coursera classes and possibly finding a job/internship at a startup near where I live, hoping that it would lead to something of an epiphany or a life changing experience.
- mitchwainer 14y agoI would continue to hack away and find a job where a company will pay you to code. Plain and simple. =]
- robodale 14y agoIf I was you, I'd get my ass right back in school. Boring? Difficult? Don't see the point? Guess what, buttercup...you will be competing people who DO have a degree, who start their day much earlier than you and work until far after you are exhausted. You need every advantage you can get. It sounds like you like technology. Go back to school. Pick something you can reasonably see yourself doing (comp sci? engineering?). Get that degree. Learn to code in your spare time.
- DanBC 14y ago> Boring? Difficult? Don't see the point? Yes. It's kind of the point for college to be boring and difficult. You show to an employer that you can grind for 3 years. > Learn to code in your spare time. I agree with your post. I think OP could also build up an online reputation. Join sites like Stack Exchange or Bountify.
- joshuahornby 14y agoImo if I am paying for the course then it shouldn't be boring as such. There may be boring areas but the teaching shouldn't be sub standard as I am paying them to be there. My goal is to release an iPhone app with in the next year. Looks like freelancing is my option. I have a small web presence, a small blog and a dribbble account. We all have to start somewhere!
- powatom 14y ago> Imo if I am paying for the course then it shouldn't be boring as such. Says who? That's like saying that just because you pay for a gym membership it shouldn't be tiring to run on a treadmill.
- joshuahornby 14y agoI'm not paying the treadmill a wage. The lecture has a code of practice they need to follow. Not saying make it not boring is part of this but to make the class engaging I believe is one.
- anywherenotes 14y agoYou shouldn't give up on your future, just because professor isn't making class interesting. Other people's shortcomings should not deviate you from getting your diploma.
- DanBC 14y agoYou are in the UK. The maximum fees for Uni are £9,000. You get excellent loan rates, and you only need to repay the loan when you're earning more than £21,000. That £9,000 you pay each year? That's subsidised by government grants. I'm not sure how much salary you think £9k is going to buy. Add in employer's NI contributions, pensions, etc. Then add in cost of heating and lighting the buildings. And then the cost of the buildings.
- danpalmer 14y agoTry and go to industry events. Meet people, get involved in projects, and make a name for yourself. I'm lucky in that my university course is great and there are lots of hackathons and similar events taking place in the CS department, but I've been to quite a few outside of university.
- joshuahornby 14y agoThis is a good idea. Thanks
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- debacle 14y agoGo on craigslist and work for crap money until you have ~10 clients, then start finding new clients (real clients) at real rates ($60+). At that point, no sane company will say no to you. Or you can just keep consulting.
- dkisit 14y agoNetwork as much as you can and keep studying on your own time.
- powatom 14y agoGo back to uni - you've just put yourself at a massive disadvantage compared to everyone who successfully graduates. If you absolutely do not want to do that, then you need to create something that makes a ton of money. I'd get started now if I were you.
- dagw 14y agoIf the courses are boring you, take different courses. Take a course in statistics or biochemistry or microelectronics or geology or economics or history or psychology or anything else that sounds even vaguely interesting to you. See if there is something else out there that inspires you. Knowing X and programming will make you much more employable for almost any value of X. Or if you're really absolutely sick and tired of university take a year off and work whatever job you can lay your hands on and then go back, maybe to a different school.
- tjarmain 14y agoThis is shameless self promotion, but have you thought about doing a programming bootcamp like Bitmaker Labs? http://www.bitmakerlabs.com/ http://www.bitmakerlabs.com/
- ht_th 14y ago> It was boring and wasn't taught in any way which motivated or inspired Instead of going to university to be taught, go there to learn. You are responsible for your own learning process. That's not to say that university courses cannot be boring, are being led by people without any interest or experience in helping you by your learning process. In those cases: choose other courses with better teachers, be pro-active and ask the teacher questions you're interested in, engage in the learning community at large, do side-projects, and so on.