No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
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No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
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Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#2I'm learning to code at the moment (Python this summer after learning the basics.)
I kept talking to developers online to find out about their backgrounds as I don't have a CS degree. I figured as I was already asking people how they learned to code I might as well write up some proper interviews and share them with other people. This way I can scratch my own itch and stay motivated as well as sharing motivation with other people.
You can check out my traffic/revenue at my open page which I have started from day one instead of waiting until big numbers www.nocsdegree.com/open
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#3I wonder when (if ever) we’ll reach peak “You don’t need a CS degree to be a developer” rhetoric
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#4I'm learning to code at the moment (Python this summer after learning the basics.) I kept talking to developers online to find out about their backgrounds as I don't have a CS degree. I figured as I was already asking people how they learned to code I might as well write up some proper interviews and share them with other people. This way I can scratch my own itch and stay motivated as well as sharing motivation with…
I'll be interested to see what variety of stories and individuals you interview. I know learning to code today is far different than it was 25 years ago. It would be cool to see the stories on a timeline once you have more.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#5I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app that rakes in cash . But there’s something beautiful about peeling back the layers of abstraction : you gain an appreciation of how things work underneath the hood.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#6I really appreciate this as a self taught dev with a full time full stack job. I worked my ass off for 3 years, taking online courses, building product after product for people to actually use and ultimately landing a well paying and satisfying job. Things like this make imposter syndrome a little less nagging in my every day life.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#7I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
You can "peel back the layers of abstraction" without a CS degree, all it takes is time and (admittedly rare) dedication. Webservers, operating systems and books on theoretical CS are all out there, you just have to be interested.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#8I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
Your comment goes to the heart of the debate: does understanding what’s going on behind the scene of your tools help you become better at using them? I think for the vast majority of jobs it does not, but for a few it absolutely does.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#9I'm 39 years into a coding career with no CS degree. But as a compulsive auto-didact (probably a common syndrome among HN readers) it hasn't been a barrier. Self-learning is a continual, daily requirement for coders. If you can continue your education as needed for this job you probably also have the skills and interest to learn from scratch.
I studied the same books and did the same exercises as my brother the CS major and do feel that my training would be incomplete without that. But I don't feel disadvantaged by not doing that within a class structure.
The main thing I lack is access to government jobs, which routinely require credentials I don't have. But I've probably had a more diverse and satisfying career as a big fish in small private sector ponds.
Not everyone can learn coding without externally imposed structure. But those who can't probably have an ongoing problem in keeping up with the state of the art.
Re: No CS Degree – Interviews with self-taught developers
#10I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
I completely agree, Hackernews has really helped me personally. Tons of interesting articles over the years on LLVM or the inner machinations of garbage collections. Picking the brains of clever CS friends also helps a lot too!