5 ms·

That's the funny thing about anecdotes. You get to cherry-pick examples and make broad allegations from those cherry-picked examples. I'm a self-taught develope

by 67726e 13y ago

That's the funny thing about anecdotes. You get to cherry-pick examples and make broad allegations from those cherry-picked examples. I'm a self-taught developer, and I've worked with plenty of "credentialed" developers that were either lazy as hell, having only gotten into software for the money, or were flat-out incompetent, again having only gotten into the industry for the money. That doesn't mean most folks with degrees are shit developers, it just means those ones were. I think the real difference between the good developers and the bad is more a result of "passion" for the field. If your only care is about getting the job and the salary that comes with it, you may very well spend a lot of time and effort getting to that point, but you probably won't go beyond that. On the other hand, the guys on my team, myself included, are all passionate. Now that doesn't mean "slaves away for ungodly hours" or even that they spend their time working on side-projects. The common-denominator is that we very much enjoy the line of work. We try to be "craftsmen" and not just a desk-bound office rats. Some jobs allow you to get to a point where you just don't have to put forth much effort unless you actively try to be the best. Software development/engineering/<term du jour> is not one of those fields.

digitalzombie 13y ago
Passion is abstract and it's harder to show. The degree is the best effort so far in our society that shows that someone is competance in their field.
- nogbit 13y ago
  "is competance" or "has competence"? While it may be the best effort it surely is misguided. It's given people too much faith over the years in a system that is old and tired, dated and not meeting market demands (but aka opportunity for those working on a solution, yay!). I never finished my degree but instead I finished a ton of other projects, businesses and employment that has made me a ton of $$. And I would do it all over again for a fraction of that money because I go to bed at night (reluctantly) thinking about all the cool shit I get to build and program the next day. Passion is abstract, excitement is visible. If one day you are looking to hire someone and they don't have the academia creds but do have the experience and are pumped up about your company, team, product or project then give them a shot, you wont be disappointed!

by 67726e 13y ago

digitalzombie 13y ago

Passion is abstract and it's harder to show. The degree is the best effort so far in our society that shows that someone is competance in their field.

nogbit 13y ago
"is competance" or "has competence"? While it may be the best effort it surely is misguided. It's given people too much faith over the years in a system that is old and tired, dated and not meeting market demands (but aka opportunity for those working on a solution, yay!). I never finished my degree but instead I finished a ton of other projects, businesses and employment that has made me a ton of $$. And I would do it all over again for a fraction of that money because I go to bed at night (reluctantly) thinking about all the cool shit I get to build and program the next day. Passion is abstract, excitement is visible. If one day you are looking to hire someone and they don't have the academia creds but do have the experience and are pumped up about your company, team, product or project then give them a shot, you wont be disappointed!