3 ms·

> Are there any ways by which I could motivate myself to study more? Probably not, if you're asking the question. But I don't think you should study more. I th

by ef4 13y ago

> Are there any ways by which I could motivate myself to study more? Probably not, if you're asking the question. But I don't think you should study more. I think you should program more, since it's already something you enjoy enough to do for fun. It's a question of playing to your strengths. Put in the 10,000 hours of sustained effort that it takes to truly become great at it. Prove your abilities through open source. You will have no problem finding an interesting and well-paying career, if you push yourself hard to always keep learning both about programming and about the business of software. If that sounds like a lot of hard work, well yeah, it is. There's no shortcut. Either suck it up and do your homework and color inside the lines, or summon the guts to blaze your own path. Or do neither and let the path of least resistance take you where it wants. Which path are you more likely to regret 40 years from now?

msutherl 13y ago
I'm not sure it's advisable to encourage somebody not to do well on their A-levels. It's not like the US where you can get low marks in secondary school and be fine. He won't be able to attend a decent university, ever. Correct me if I'm wrong.
- iyra72 13y ago
  This is true, sadly.
- ef4 13y ago
  The same logic applies in the US. You won't be going to a good college if you have bad high school grades. But my advice was to consider eschewing academia entirely. I've worked with too many well-paid, respected developers without degrees to take the value of credentialing very seriously. It's not a panacea, of course. It takes a lot of sustained work and learning whether you do it in school or not. Some people just find it easier to learn outside of formal schooling.
  - msutherl 13y ago
    I think it's better to make that decision when you're 18, not 16. Always best to keep your options open because you don't know how you or the world will change, even in the near future.

by ef4 13y ago

msutherl 13y ago

I'm not sure it's advisable to encourage somebody not to do well on their A-levels. It's not like the US where you can get low marks in secondary school and be fine. He won't be able to attend a decent university, ever. Correct me if I'm wrong.

iyra72 13y ago
This is true, sadly.
ef4 13y ago
The same logic applies in the US. You won't be going to a good college if you have bad high school grades. But my advice was to consider eschewing academia entirely. I've worked with too many well-paid, respected developers without degrees to take the value of credentialing very seriously. It's not a panacea, of course. It takes a lot of sustained work and learning whether you do it in school or not. Some people just find it easier to learn outside of formal schooling.
- msutherl 13y ago
  I think it's better to make that decision when you're 18, not 16. Always best to keep your options open because you don't know how you or the world will change, even in the near future.