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If 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

If 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 ago
  Imo 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 ago
      I'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 ago
        You 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 ago
        You 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.
        joshuahornby 14y ago
        9,000 is still a massive sum of money. And obv it's more than just me paying but the fact still remains I am paying them for a service. I expect a certain standard.
        a_bonobo 14y ago
        I seriously don't understand your position, at all. Education is rarely "fun" - there is a huge amount of dry information out there that is impossible to colour in a "fun" way, I had an excellent teacher explaining to me the interesting intricacies of the Krebs cycle but I still had to learn that terrible thing by heart. If you just want to learn the things that are "fun" you have become the ultimate consumer, the guy (or girl) who just picks the easy things in life. Other people will be better trained, will make more money than you, will be your bosses because they are willing to do what it takes, even if it's "boring". I remember during my Biology BSc I had a couple of lectures that were extremely uninteresting, for these I just didn't show up and learned for the exam with the lecturer's PDFs or the required books, that went perfectly fine. If you want advice on what to do now, re-enroll and buckle up. Judging from your posts I don't think that right now you have what it takes to be a self-motivated freelancer or leader in this economy.
        14y ago
  - cafard 14y ago
    Perhaps you should switch tracks or switch schools.
  - DanBC 14y ago
    Your comment, although I partly agree, makes me angry. Education is fantastically expensive, and it's hard to change between different providers and so the market isn't quite free. I realise you're not asking for everywhere to be a party college. But, and I say this as politely as I can: You have immense privilege. People in many parts of the world risk death to get education. Here are two photos. (http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201102171228410821/A-girl-does-her-homework-in-Kandahar-Afghanistan http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201102171228410821/A-g...) (http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201104041243130656/A-child-walks-through-the-Bangboka-airport-near-a-mined-area-Bangboka-serves-the-eastern-DRC-city http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201104041243130656/A-c...)
jasonkester 14y ago
No real need to elaborate on this, as it's the correct advice. Valid reasons for leaving college to go into software development include having build an app/site/open-source-thing that's exploding to the point where you've demonstrated beyond a doubt that you're good at this stuff and therefore don't need a piece of paper from a 3rd party saying as much. It doesn't sound like you (original poster) have done that yet. The quick test is this: Has Twitter offered you six figures to come work for them? If not, then no, you don't get to skip college yet. Stick it out until that happens, then go. Otherwise all you're doing is stacking the deck against yourself. And in the meantime, try a bit harder to enjoy your time at university. Forty-year-old you will probably look back at it as one of the best parts of your life.
- khyryk 14y ago
  > And in the meantime, try a bit harder to enjoy your time at university. Forty-year-old you will probably look back at it as one of the best parts of your life. That's a very depressing thought for a large number of people.
  - ben1040 14y ago
    "One of the best" != "the best." I wouldn't in a heartbeat trade my life now for what I had then. But looking back, if life is a series of ups and downs then my university years would definitely fall under the "ups" column. I have met some very close friends during that time that I still keep in contact with 10 years after graduating (I just flew out to SF to meet one such friend's new baby last month), and the circumstances under which I met those friends were all very positive.

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 ago
Imo 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 ago
    I'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 ago
      You 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 ago
      You 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.
      - joshuahornby 14y ago
        9,000 is still a massive sum of money. And obv it's more than just me paying but the fact still remains I am paying them for a service. I expect a certain standard.
        a_bonobo 14y ago
        I seriously don't understand your position, at all. Education is rarely "fun" - there is a huge amount of dry information out there that is impossible to colour in a "fun" way, I had an excellent teacher explaining to me the interesting intricacies of the Krebs cycle but I still had to learn that terrible thing by heart. If you just want to learn the things that are "fun" you have become the ultimate consumer, the guy (or girl) who just picks the easy things in life. Other people will be better trained, will make more money than you, will be your bosses because they are willing to do what it takes, even if it's "boring". I remember during my Biology BSc I had a couple of lectures that were extremely uninteresting, for these I just didn't show up and learned for the exam with the lecturer's PDFs or the required books, that went perfectly fine. If you want advice on what to do now, re-enroll and buckle up. Judging from your posts I don't think that right now you have what it takes to be a self-motivated freelancer or leader in this economy.
        14y ago
- cafard 14y ago
  Perhaps you should switch tracks or switch schools.
- DanBC 14y ago
  Your comment, although I partly agree, makes me angry. Education is fantastically expensive, and it's hard to change between different providers and so the market isn't quite free. I realise you're not asking for everywhere to be a party college. But, and I say this as politely as I can: You have immense privilege. People in many parts of the world risk death to get education. Here are two photos. (http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201102171228410821/A-girl-does-her-homework-in-Kandahar-Afghanistan http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201102171228410821/A-g...) (http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201104041243130656/A-child-walks-through-the-Bangboka-airport-near-a-mined-area-Bangboka-serves-the-eastern-DRC-city http://www.irinnews.org/Photo/Details/201104041243130656/A-c...)

jasonkester 14y ago

No real need to elaborate on this, as it's the correct advice. Valid reasons for leaving college to go into software development include having build an app/site/open-source-thing that's exploding to the point where you've demonstrated beyond a doubt that you're good at this stuff and therefore don't need a piece of paper from a 3rd party saying as much. It doesn't sound like you (original poster) have done that yet. The quick test is this: Has Twitter offered you six figures to come work for them? If not, then no, you don't get to skip college yet. Stick it out until that happens, then go. Otherwise all you're doing is stacking the deck against yourself. And in the meantime, try a bit harder to enjoy your time at university. Forty-year-old you will probably look back at it as one of the best parts of your life.

khyryk 14y ago
> And in the meantime, try a bit harder to enjoy your time at university. Forty-year-old you will probably look back at it as one of the best parts of your life. That's a very depressing thought for a large number of people.
- ben1040 14y ago
  "One of the best" != "the best." I wouldn't in a heartbeat trade my life now for what I had then. But looking back, if life is a series of ups and downs then my university years would definitely fall under the "ups" column. I have met some very close friends during that time that I still keep in contact with 10 years after graduating (I just flew out to SF to meet one such friend's new baby last month), and the circumstances under which I met those friends were all very positive.