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>I think that's part of the reason so many students are drawn towards web development; where it costs next to nothing to set up a web dev workstation and anyone

>I think that's part of the reason so many students are drawn towards web development; where it costs next to nothing to set up a web dev workstation and anyone can throw together a professional looking site. You are absolutely right. I am currently in high school, and I enjoy doing lower-level stuff like game engines, compilers, OSes and hardware. I am currently thinking of dropping out of school, but it will probably force me to do freelancing and web dev. It's almost impossible to get a job in any of the areas I am interested without a University degree. Back in the early days of PCs, I could easily make a hardware startup and earn a decent living, or maybe even get rich. But now it's virtually impossible to do so. It costs billions of dollars to setup a semiconductor fab and the field is encumbered in patents and politics. Majority of games studios also have budgets with about the same number of digits.

fzzzy 13y ago
It's totally possible to get a job in those areas without a degree.
- redorb 13y ago
  Highschool can help grow you up a bit.. And it's expected you finish in today's society.. Please let's not encourage people to drop out and yes, let's encourage them to stay in.
- hobs 13y ago
  Correct, but its harder and you need work experience typically. Which can be hard to get with no GED equivalent.
emddudley 13y ago
Drop out of high school? Don't be stupid. You don't know nearly as much as you think you do.
snoman 13y ago
Dropping out of high school, especially if you are interested in and want to work in computing, will be the worst mistake you ever make. Whatever is making school unbearable for you, fix that problem instead (or ask for help to fix it) of trying to get away from it.
CoryG89 13y ago
In general, I think dropping out of high school is a bad idea. I did so, however, now I am about to graduate with a 3.5 GPA in software engineering at Auburn University. I do feel that some high schools aren't worth going to. If that is the case you would have ended up learning more at a community college and then later a University. I'm sure I did at least.
casual_slacker 13y ago
"Droping out of highschool" usually means getting your GED. Once you have your GED you'll be perfectly fine. If you don't get it though, you will be severely crippling yourself in society. If you have two years left of HS and you're struggling, then maybe a GED is the right option. If you're doing well, or you only have a year, just stick with it.
mvarner 13y ago
Hi! I just graduated high school, but spent most of my time hanging out in research labs at a university. If you happen to live close to a public university/college, I would recommend seeing if you can take classes (some states in the U.S. allow for students to take university level classes for free, don't know what the policies are for where you live!) or working with some of the labs. High school is horribly dull, but if you find a way to make it work for you, it can lead to larger opportunities and allow for you to build up a CV/resume while enjoying teenager-y things like school clubs/sports.
eli_gottlieb 13y ago
Let me tell you a bit about myself. I dropped out of high school at age 16 because it made me fucking miserable, and self-studied for two years to get myself into college. I had a GED, a 3 in AP Calc AB, and a 5 in AP Computer Science by the end. They admitted me to the honors college at UMass Amherst. I did my undergrad there BSc Computer Science (with honors), specialized in the Programming Languages and Compilers Track. Today I'm at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, doing a research-track MSc. You want to do stuff like compilers, OSes and hardware? Screw high school, get yourself to university as fast as possible, and once you're there double down on all of it. For specialized areas like these, even at a good undergrad institution you're going to have to take grad-level courses to get to the Real Deal. You can do this! So hurry up and get to work! EDITED to elide bragging. Stupid me.

fzzzy 13y ago

It's totally possible to get a job in those areas without a degree.

redorb 13y ago
Highschool can help grow you up a bit.. And it's expected you finish in today's society.. Please let's not encourage people to drop out and yes, let's encourage them to stay in.
hobs 13y ago
Correct, but its harder and you need work experience typically. Which can be hard to get with no GED equivalent.

emddudley 13y ago

Drop out of high school? Don't be stupid. You don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

snoman 13y ago

Dropping out of high school, especially if you are interested in and want to work in computing, will be the worst mistake you ever make. Whatever is making school unbearable for you, fix that problem instead (or ask for help to fix it) of trying to get away from it.

CoryG89 13y ago

In general, I think dropping out of high school is a bad idea. I did so, however, now I am about to graduate with a 3.5 GPA in software engineering at Auburn University. I do feel that some high schools aren't worth going to. If that is the case you would have ended up learning more at a community college and then later a University. I'm sure I did at least.

casual_slacker 13y ago

"Droping out of highschool" usually means getting your GED. Once you have your GED you'll be perfectly fine. If you don't get it though, you will be severely crippling yourself in society. If you have two years left of HS and you're struggling, then maybe a GED is the right option. If you're doing well, or you only have a year, just stick with it.

mvarner 13y ago

Hi! I just graduated high school, but spent most of my time hanging out in research labs at a university. If you happen to live close to a public university/college, I would recommend seeing if you can take classes (some states in the U.S. allow for students to take university level classes for free, don't know what the policies are for where you live!) or working with some of the labs. High school is horribly dull, but if you find a way to make it work for you, it can lead to larger opportunities and allow for you to build up a CV/resume while enjoying teenager-y things like school clubs/sports.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago

Let me tell you a bit about myself. I dropped out of high school at age 16 because it made me fucking miserable, and self-studied for two years to get myself into college. I had a GED, a 3 in AP Calc AB, and a 5 in AP Computer Science by the end. They admitted me to the honors college at UMass Amherst. I did my undergrad there BSc Computer Science (with honors), specialized in the Programming Languages and Compilers Track. Today I'm at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, doing a research-track MSc. You want to do stuff like compilers, OSes and hardware? Screw high school, get yourself to university as fast as possible, and once you're there double down on all of it. For specialized areas like these, even at a good undergrad institution you're going to have to take grad-level courses to get to the Real Deal. You can do this! So hurry up and get to work! EDITED to elide bragging. Stupid me.