Ask HN: Should I leave working at a startup in favor of university?

Hey HN,

I've been working as a software engineer in startups for the last 12 months since I graduated high school. I chose working in the industry over accepting the university place in Computer Science that I was offered. For added context: I'm a non-US citizen working in the US. The college offer was in my home country in Europe.

Fast forward 12 months and now I wonder how this decision will affect my long term employment prospects. While I would have work experience relevant to the positions for which I would like to potentially apply unless I change my course I will lack any quantification above a high school level on paper. I could see this being a possible disadvantage even in preliminary screening of applicants were I to apply for a job.

What I have seen of the tech industry would make me think that ability trumps your paperwork but I don't know how long that will last or whether I would be barred from working any higher up than simply being a developer. Would management positions be completely out of reach were I to continue? Can work experience really count more than a degree?

Any thoughts on this would really be appreciated as it's an issue that I have been pondering for quite some time. I figured HN would have a varied enough audience to be able to give good advice from all sides.

Thanks HN!

Forget the job for a second, what about your life goals... Will you be satisfied with your lack of a degree?

How long do you think you will live for?

With current and future medical technologies you can expect a long life… let's say 100+ years. So, in how much of a hurry are you to get a job and make cash?

Even if education and other life experiences don't impact your employability, they are probably still worthwhile. And if you don't have that change the world idea lined up, then you're not missing any boat to go learn and explore.

I enjoy the theory behind software development and often read research papers for fun. It's not uncommon for me to sit and read RFCs or wikipedia on certain subjects when I'm not working.

I know that there are many areas in which my knowledge is incomplete and I would worry that these gaps will not be filled purely through my working experience. That said if they're not required in my daily work I don't see them being absolutely crucial to learn.

I've met people on both sides of the fence in relation to the value of their degrees. Many of my friends still carry their student debt and would wager that the degree has not made a huge difference. Others really enjoyed their 3rd level education and saw it of being huge benefit to them.

Talking about 'promotions' and 'management' at your age seems a little blinkered. Even if you end up being a cog in a wheel, I don't think you should optimize for this. Having a comprehensive and broad world view, bringing things to the table besides your core discipline, these are just as important.

It also seems the days of higher education just being about a window of time around the age of 20, might be numbered. The education model of the future may be more about life long learning. That suggests you can go get new skills as you need them. But if you ever need some personal development and new experiences, that time will be now.

You know what, my standard answer would be: "Go take a degree if you want to cross the screening barrier at companies for a job. This is what companies usually do to avoid spending time looking for individuals who don't have a degree but are awesome". But over a round of beers at a nice pub I would say is that the education system is highly overrated. If everybody started looking for talent of an individual, leaving aside the educational certificates they hold, we would have society working at its full potential. In my opinion, the aim should be learning, not getting a degree. Also to get higher up, you don't need a degree. Just because one has a degree doesn't mean one is capable of executing the task assigned to. Suppose, you get a degree and grab a job, but you fail to deliver. Are you still gonna get higher up? Now say, you get in without a degree, but really churn out a stellar performance at work. Is anybody going to stop you from climbing up? What is the difference between the two scenarios? One is of course the degree and the other one is the quality of work you are putting in. I really didn't give you an answer as you might have subconsciously made a decision but I hope I have propelled you to think more and take a right direction.