Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 105 posts

Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#1

Post by watermel0n »

I am in Italy and I need help. I hope there is anyone here on HN that can help me. I am a Computer Science student, I started 3 years ago the course because I LOVE PROGRAMMING. My only wish is to get away from here. It's like a trap. I have to thank the internet for connecting me to the outside world. It feels like it's the only way out for me and I am obsessed. Thing is "startups" here are hell, lots of bureaucracy and so on. I tried to look away, apply for a job/internship in the U.S. but the reason is always the same: visas are hell. I would do anything to get my way out.

I study EVERY DAY so hard, University here is a mess, bad management and few very good professors. I know how to program, I have a strong passion for algorithms, data structure and complexity analysis. In addition I try to learn new things in my free time, like other programming languages, tools, etc. You know, I am in my third and final year and if it wasn't for my curiosity now I would have no knowledge at all for REST, Python or even Maven! (Just saying)

I feel trapped, I am trapped. Jobs here in enterprises are that trap, you can get a job, maybe programming in Java, and stay there forever. Because here is how the things works. I can't get my way out. I would like to pursue my educational career and I hope that my applications to English University succeed but still it's just a try.

I don't expect anything more from my situation, I really hope that someone can point me to the right direction or at least give some help.

Thank you HN and sorry for this post, but I had no other chance.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#2

Post by nmc »

You should not feel trapped. Programming, more than most sectors, grants you the liberty to choose your next job very freely, and to ease your mind about quitting your previous job.

Because: if you are good, people will fight to work with you. So be good.

Then, if you dislike your job, just stash some money and quit. Your savings will easily carry you for the few months you might need to find a really interesting job.

* * *

To sum up:

- You "love programming", so you should enjoy doing it for a living, as long as the project is interesting

- There are lots of interesting projects out there

- Regardless of whether the project is interesting, you will be well-paid

So my advice is: be well-paid for a while, and if you are not interested in the project, just quit. There is plenty of other fish in the sea.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#3

Post by ig1 »

Move to a tech hub in Europe, given you speak English then London would be the obvious option (Berlin might be another option if you want to work for startups). There's also other countries in Europe where you can study post-grad CS in English (e.g. the Netherlands, Sweden, etc.).

If you're interested in getting into the job market there's plenty of tech companies in London who are willing to hire people straight out of university. It might be easier to get into big companies (as they're more willing to provide training and pay for flights, hotels, etc. to bring you over for interviews) than smaller startups though.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#4

Post by weddpros »

Alternatives :

- send your resumé to uk/ireland/switzerland to get a good paying job where you can sharpen your skills (it's easy to relocate inside Europe)

- start your own business if you're living at your parents AND if you feel like you can be an entrepreneur... focus on international users (so you can host your company somewhere else easily later). It's only risky to start a business if you have something to lose. If you're living at your parents', there's basically no risk.

- get a job, save AS MUCH money as possible, learn as much as you can. Do it for 1 or 2 years, then leave to a sunny paradise (in asia?) where you may want to become an entrepreneur.

But do yourself a favor: don't expect others to be your only chance. YOU are your only chance.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#5

Post by mjhoy »

Have faith in patience. Good things will come. Stick with what inspires you. What I took from university, I took from two excellent professors out of dozens -- they are who matter (and I did not study CS). Don't grasp for "getting out," dive deeper into what interests you and see what happens naturally. Get involved with a community; open source, hacker meetups, etc. You will know where to go soon enough.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#6

Post by edent »

There are lots of options - but it's up to you to make them happen.

* Speak to someone. I know you feel like you're alone - but you're not. Find a local tech group and speak to the people there. If you're feeling really down, speak to a mental health professional. It's a great feeling to get something off your chest.

* Find a job in London - or any other UK city. You seem to have good written English and you're a European citizen so shouldn't have any visa issues.

* Start your own consultancy - either work for small local companies or use oDesk and bid for work.

* Take a "day job" and concentrate on your passions in your free time. Grinding away in a Java shop may be dull - but could provide you with enough cash to start an interesting side project.

* Finally, don't worry about starting small. My first job out of university was driving a truck and delivering PCs! A bit shitty, but it provided a springboard to all sorts of interesting work.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#7

Post by markusian »

I have studied in Italy too and, even if I didn't have a big passion for programming as you did, I see your point.

Apart from English University, think also about coming to study in Denmark, in particular where I'm studying now, at DTU (Technical University of Denmark).

Here the Startup scene is very vibrant and the University itself is very keen on the entreprenurial scene, with a lot of possibilities for student that want to open their own companies.

On the other side, the lectures are very practical, so you could apply your bachelor background in more close-to-real-life projects. You'll also work quite often in groups, as in a real job, and the bureaucracy does not exists. You call the teachers by name, they answer emails (!), you know the date of the exam since the beginning of the semester, and you have a variety of courses you can choose from, creating your own personalized study plan.

Aaand, student jobs are quite easy to get here for Computer Science students, and the wages are quite good, even comparing them with the high cost of living.

Think about it ;)

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#8

Post by andretti1977 »

I'm an italian 36 years old computer engineer...i understand your complaints and agree with you quite on every thing you said but you don't need to go away (even if it wouldn't be a bad idea at all). Three years ago, after working as an employee (my skills regarded most j2ee) i started working as a freelance: i grew my skills (now android, iOS, a lot of web-related technologies and languages) knew a lot of people, solved a lot of different clients needs through my skills. if you want you can freelance and you will be able to improve yourself and live a bettere life even if you live here in italy, even if we have unacceptable tax levels and burocracy.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#9

Post by CalRobert »

Presumably you're an EU citizen. Move to Berlin, London, Dublin, Warsaw, and pick up from there. If your English needs work, work on it. Build your own projects.

I moved from California to Dublin and the startup scene is really good here. You have options.

Re: Ask HN: Help. I need to go away from here

#10

Post by eps »

weddpros wrote: post #4

Alternatives : - send your resumé to uk/ireland/switzerland to get a good paying job where you can sharpen your skills (it's easy to relocate inside Europe) - start your own business if you're living at your parents AND if you feel like you can be an entrepreneur... focus on international users (so you can host your company somewhere else easily later). It's only risky to start a business if you have something to los…

Probably not Switzerland as it's not in EU.
Post reply on HN