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Ask HN: Do I need College?

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61–70 of 77 posts

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#61

Probably. Most people like college, and many people try to re-create aspects of the college experience at later points in their lives, usually without success. Even those who don't learn much seem to get a fair amount out of college. A lot of the learning takes place between the lines, and between classes. I've seen college from the position of an undergrad, a law student (I quit) and now an ABD in a Phd program. I'v…

Defiantly some things I overlooked - a social life is one of them. I really appreciate the feedback!

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#62

First, let me put it this way: you can do perfectly alright without a college degree, however, you can only rise so high. You must not expect to be the next Gates who is obviously an exception. Secondly, college is not about only about learning. Queue the "Don't let schooling get in the way of your education" spiel. It's experience. I'm not even talking about partying and getting laid, which are still experiences, bu…

I wouldn't compare myself to Gates. :P Great points, I appreciate the feedback!

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#63
A person who moved from developer to CTO to CEO I am warning you don't MISS college. I have found myself in strange situations without knowing Mathematics that I have to go back to basics to do my job. If you take it easily by looking at low hanging fruit you will suffer later. The memories and learning you will have from college will be always there with you like swimming -- no matter if you dont swim for 10yrs still you won't loose that talent.

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#64
post #44

Ok so as a student who never thought going to college wasn't an option, until about Freshman year of High School I never thought about the fact that some kids didn't go to college. So I am now a Sophomore in college studying Computer Science, and I whole heatedly think that you can do perfectly fine in the software industry without a degree. I haven't taken any classes that I feel like made me a better programmer. I…

A good point that I had overlooked completely, the social factor. It's amazing how something so obvious gets looked over so easily. Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#65
post #23

College is a great place to make friends, bond with other intelligent people and learn of course. Even though when you reach some point, you have to do all the learning by yourself with books and articles anyway... If you were Canadian / French/ German / Finish, studies would be very affordable. Maybe you could go over there to study? My sister is in Finland right now and she tells me that school is free for everyone…

I think I need to switch Countries! :D

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It certainly does. In tech, which would probably be one of the few fields that is like this, it seems open. It seems like if you know what your doing, regardless of your degree, you should be fine. I am sure it varies by company, but with the given climate in the tech field...just go work for someone else.

Oh, I'm not saying you'll be SOL without a degree. Rather, you might not be able to work at what would otherwise be your top picks or best options.

> you might not be able to work at what _could_ otherwise be your top picks or best options

Subtle but significant difference.

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#67

Probably. Most people like college, and many people try to re-create aspects of the college experience at later points in their lives, usually without success. Even those who don't learn much seem to get a fair amount out of college. A lot of the learning takes place between the lines, and between classes. I've seen college from the position of an undergrad, a law student (I quit) and now an ABD in a Phd program. I'v…

Defiantly some things I overlooked - a social life is one of them. I really appreciate the feedback!

Glad you find it helpful. If you have specific questions, my e-mail address is in my profile. But the majority of what I have to say is in my essays, http://jseliger.com/essays/, or blog, and those are much more developed than the things I'm writing free-hand. In the essays, pay special attention to "How to Get Your Professors' Attention, Along with Coaching or Mentoring."

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#68

College is not beneficial to all people but to many it is critical. At least in America the state of elementary, middle and high school is simple failure. Students are graduating with skills 8th graders had 30+ years ago. Students are graduating with only ever have taken watered down math and science courses. I was one of those students who went to a public school which the standard of education was pretty darn low.…

Absolutely a valid point, that is defiantly the thought that has kept me in thus far. I know a handful of kids that graduated with me and literally haven't worked a day in their life. I think it's amazing that people are content with that type of existence. Thank you for your feedback, it's appreciated!

I'm a sys admin too, just one with a CS degree. I don't think you need a degree to do well but it certainly does help. You were right in that many companies have strict education requirements. It may not limit you now at a younger age but once you are in your 30's or above and you start to be considered for management that's when the education requirements really kick in. In many cases you may be in line for the management position but they simply cannot hire you due to internal policy. That royally sucks. It's a reason why many CS classes are occupied with older students, they are coming back due to that limitation.

You're only young once. College is fun, especially if you go to a big school and live on or near campus. Yes it's expensive and a lot of potential income is lost but the experiences you can have are really priceless. I say can have instead of will have because it's what you make of it. If you go and are a hermit you will have some good times but not the full package.

Some people like myself didn't come from families who could afford college. I had to take loans. Some people who took loans hate paying them back and regret going. I happened to get a good job out of it doing something I really enjoy (I get paid to play with linux all day). I don't mind paying off my loans. I am very grateful that I was able to take the loans and when I pay them I know it was for one hell of a good time. It really made me who I am today. I was challenged in class, met a few professors who changed how I learned, was exposed to all sorts of new ideas and met a bunch of friends who were actually smart. I found it well worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#69
If you want to be the best developer you can be, go to college.

Where else can you spend 40 hours a week learning about programming and computer science? At your job, you have to go to meetings, fix inane bugs, and focus overly specifically on your one little language|environment|product.

College (at a decent technical school) teaches you Computer Science. College will teach you the WHY of everything we do. Why do we do X, why do we not do Y? How do compilers work? How does TCP work? Why do you almost never use recursion in real programs?

Think of it this way - programmers are like carpenters. We build stuff. On the job training can teach you to remember to measure twice and cut once, to always put plastic over the insulation, etc. You don't need college for this stuff, you can learn from the experienced guy on the team. This is programming - the tips and tricks for getting stuff done in a specific language, common pitfalls, etc.

However, college teaches you to be an architect - to think about wind stresses on the walls, to think about traffic flow in the rooms and halls, how different materials will affect the size of the rooms you can build, etc. This is Computer Science. This is the interesting stuff.

Anyone can learn javascript and throw up a webpage with some buttons that do stuff. But if you want to truly be a master of your craft and someone that other people consistently look to for insight into how a program should be designed and how to solve really tough problems.... if you want that, you have to go to college.

Re: Ask HN: Do I need College?

#70
post #30

Go to college. Take science to discover something you're good at. Take humanities to discover something you may love. Take at least one art or music class. Take at least one advanced math class. Join a fraternity. Learn how to play bridge (and play all night sometime). Learn how to play foosball. Get drunk. Learn how to play foosball while drunk. Get laid. Play an intramural team sport. Get a part time job. Eat somet…

Not quite my idea of college, but thank you for the feedback at least! :)

Good. It's not always like that, and a lot of people who want college to be like that, flunk out.
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