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Do I need to go to university?

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Re: Do I need to go to university?

#11

Post by LudwigNagasena »

person_of_color wrote: post #8
raviisoccupied wrote: post #5

I just graduated (this summer). Previously I wasn't sold on university and did a year long internship with IBM in the UK. They offered me a full time 'degree-apprenticeship' in cyber security or consulting, but I instead left and studied literature at a UK University instead. I often think the biggest difference between a graduate and non graduate is three years. As an 18 year old there is no way I would have been ab…

Yes. And meet people outside of the tech bubble. Do you really want to be engulfed by a male-dominated IBM/Google monoculture for 4 formative years?

>a male-dominated IBM/Google monoculture

I don't see why "male-dominated" should be a problem. Statistically, I would even probably have more shared interests with them.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#12

Post by clarry »

raviisoccupied wrote: post #5

I just graduated (this summer). Previously I wasn't sold on university and did a year long internship with IBM in the UK. They offered me a full time 'degree-apprenticeship' in cyber security or consulting, but I instead left and studied literature at a UK University instead. I often think the biggest difference between a graduate and non graduate is three years. As an 18 year old there is no way I would have been ab…

> In many cases, does University just function as a waiting room in which young people can mature?

And the opposite is true. If I were 18 now, I'd probably go to university. Back in the day, I had my reasons not to go, and when the time came to reconsider it (mid 20s), it felt much harder to justify.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#13

Post by thereyougo »

Great article. I'm sure that there are plenty of people here who went to university and also run a successful company. If any of you see this comment:

If you could change the way the university tech you, what you would do?

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#14

Post by mvind »

I think the freedom to pursue intellectual curiosity is a thing which universities offer almost unconditional unlike jobs. This is a perk that not a lot of jobs in the real world offers. Almost nowhere else in a person's life are you given such an opportunity to invest in ones interests.

But I'm biased towards going to uni, since I live in Denmark where I get paid monthly for going to university.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#15

Post by fr2null »

I am 18 year old, I'm already working as a developer, and they have offered me a very nice full time job offer. I have been thinking about whether or not to go to university for most of the past year.

In the end, I did choose to go to university. I will be working part-time to pay about 90% of it (including housing) which means I'll have practically no debt. The main reason for me to go, was that I don't want to de a developer for the rest of my life. I think that having a degree will make a eventual career switch a lot easier.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#16

Post by orian »

HenryBemis wrote: post #10
tempodox wrote: post #3

Yes, you do.

1) Yes, you do. 2) No, you don't. 3) Depends. 2&3: I knew a guy, his father had sheep, plenty of them. He never bothered with Uni. He has been studying/training on seminars regarding agriculture, animal care, etc. He is set for life. He will never sit on a university theatre and keep notes. He does use technology (I remember how he was shocked when he discovered YouTube videos that exploded his mind and knowledge). H…

Statistically, people with master earn more and it's easier to get a job (other options are: you get aquihired, have a shit of money; your parents have lot of great connections etc.)

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#17

Post by fimdomeio »

You should have some experiences that move you out (even if temporarily) from the bubble you live in. University is a easy choice for that. If you have more experiences you will also have more ways to think about the world and more ways to deal with life and it's problems. My university experience in terms of learning could have been a lot better, but the experience as a whole and all the people I would not have met otherwise are still very valuable more than a decade after it ended.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#18

Post by AdrianB1 »

I had in my teams people without any college degree or college dropouts, some gave up after one year and some close to graduation. They were good developers, the only difference I saw between college graduates and the other developers was that the college graduates were less flexible and tending to apply what they learned in college to the letter, even where it did not make sense. A few days ago I was talking to one of these people doing some informal code review, he found a very formally correct explanation for a constructor that had no value in that context, something like "it is a good practice to do it because in case X it can be used for y", where x and y were completely not applicable in that code.

As a recruiter I never looked too serious for credentials, knowing myself going through the college only for that piece of paper at the end, working full time and knowing a lot more from the job than what the other students learned. From my former class in college I think I am the only one practicing IT, the others too other directions, including one that was a quite successful music band leader.

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#19

Post by clarry »

mvind wrote: post #14

I think the freedom to pursue intellectual curiosity is a thing which universities offer almost unconditional unlike jobs. This is a perk that not a lot of jobs in the real world offers. Almost nowhere else in a person's life are you given such an opportunity to invest in ones interests. But I'm biased towards going to uni, since I live in Denmark where I get paid monthly for going to university.

Yeah it depends on a lot of things. Maybe university isn't where your interests are, but you kinda need a degree and a job? I see lots of students whose life revolves around making it through courses and collecting ECTS points instead of really pursuing their interests..

Re: Do I need to go to university?

#20

Post by dijit »

clarry wrote: post #12
raviisoccupied wrote: post #5

I just graduated (this summer). Previously I wasn't sold on university and did a year long internship with IBM in the UK. They offered me a full time 'degree-apprenticeship' in cyber security or consulting, but I instead left and studied literature at a UK University instead. I often think the biggest difference between a graduate and non graduate is three years. As an 18 year old there is no way I would have been ab…

> In many cases, does University just function as a waiting room in which young people can mature? And the opposite is true. If I were 18 now, I'd probably go to university. Back in the day, I had my reasons not to go, and when the time came to reconsider it (mid 20s), it felt much harder to justify.

I keep thinking that I wish I had a university education. It wasn't on the cards for me at the time.

But now I live in relative comfort, and I would have to stop working and generating an income. I have savings that could tide me over but when the choice is a home for a future family or a university degree with questionable worth it's a tough ask.

I can't imagine having dependents and going back to work.

Of course everyone is going to chime in and say that you don't need to do university full time, but, you do. Notwithstanding the mental exhaustion that comes with our jobs but also I believe it to be unlikely that you'd be able to get into the right mindset to be creative, social and learning deeply.

I sincerely believe that university is a thing that you can only do at a certain point in your life, and I'm passed that point.

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