Ask HN: Do I need College?

Going part time gives you less of an opportunity to relate multiple classes together. The crypto course you took two years ago and the networking course you're taking now may have a lot in common, but if they're separated by that much, you'll miss it.

This is also the road you take if you think the BS is really only worth what it does to your resume, and I think it's so much more than that. You can really get a head start on making yourself a great developer by going to college and finishing early, rather than trying to work and get a degree on the side.

People who worry about college loans didn't get a degree in Computer Science. You know what the environment is like out there... there's always jobs, and even entry level ones pay really well.

You won't be "missing out" if you spend a few years getting your CS degree. You'll be right in line with everyone else getting a degree, and when you graduate, you'll have your work experience to make you stand out. Plus, your work experience will make college that much easier, because all the dumb stuff won't be hard, and you'll be able to concentrate on the interesting stuff.

Widen and expand your spectrum of experiences.

Learn the difference between change and change for the better.

Learn what being a real friend is so you can have others be real friends to you.

Learn value. Your own value. The value you can provide others.

Start a student group with a goal of it existing in 10 years and no one knowing who your were.

Learn that it's not what your degree makes of you, but what you make of your degree.

I came out of high school knowing exactly what I wanted to do: make video games. So that's what I did throughout college, while professors forced me to work on problems and with languages that had nothing to do with video games, including one class where I made a course-scheduling web app in Django.

I graduated and worked in the games industry for a couple of years, until I was an engineer on a multi-platform game engine working on PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, 3DS, PC, and iOS games.

Then I realized that what I really wanted to do was start my own company, so I started teaching myself web development on the side. I got a job at a YC company with a Django-based site and I've been here for the last 9 months, learning the ropes before I try to start my own thing.

If I hadn't been 'forced' to work on problems outside of my own interests in school, I wouldn't have been able to make the career change I did. College might not teach you everything you want to learn, but it will make you learn things you never realized you needed to know.

But yes, college is an expensive way to figure out what you love doing. Even if that thing that you love doing is just hitting the bong and getting laid.