I wouldn't say impossible. In my late 20's I pursued a CS degree from a tough school by utilizing online courses, and taking jobs that had enough flexibility to work around my school schedule. Not easy, but I am at least a counterexample why it isn't impossible. It took me about 1 year longer than I think it would have taken someone who wasn't working, though.

> and taking jobs that had enough flexibility to work around my school schedule.

Where? Most jobs I can think of offhand that offer that sort of flexibility pay a pittance, like barely enough to live, let alone pay for large education expenses on top of that. I suppose you can also find work at night, while doing schooling for the day, but I wonder how the sort of sleep schedule imposed by that will effect you work in both.

I can't really say without exposing my identity in a way I'm not comfortable with, but I took a lot of work at night if I could, and if not, I took flexible jobs like Uber/Lyft that allowed me to make my own hours. My main gig allowed me to reschedule and move stuff around if I had to, which was critical.

I'm not saying it's easy, but especially in today's age with the popularity of online degrees, it's not impossible.

> not interested in getting a degree just for the sale of having a degree

This thread is about learning stuff that is helpful for the systems programmer. One way to go about getting a degree is to learn as little as you can get away with, but you get the certificate. Another way is to take the opportunity to learn stuff, and a degree course provides structure and resources to help that. The certificate is gravy, knowledge is the protein. The value for money of the second way can be very good. Was for me.

I understand it can be tough, but I didn't start my cs degree until I was 31. I'm now 34 and well over half way through. Go to a community college, then transfer to a state university, they are both cheaper and usually offer evening classes. I was able to work as a full time dev while going to school part time in the evenings, and that's as a (active and involved) single parent. Wfh and virtual classes helps a lot though. Not the fastest way to a degree, but it will get you there.

'Was' because I was laid off in Dec last year and have had a hard time in todays market with only 1.5 years of professional experience. But when I am not working, I just take more classes. Admittedly, I am staying with family, but with that extra support, this is all possible for me. Working full time and taking summer classes, you could finish in 5-6 years.

And yeah, because I truly love cs, and I've certainly learned alot about myself as an adult, I definitely feel like I'm getting more out of this education than I would have if I started out of high school. I'm not just here for the paper, I'm here to learn, but a degree is a nice prospect for a high school drop out. It wasn't the best path to get here, but I have no regrets. Coming from a decade plus of food service work, me and my kiddos prospects are drastically improved, and I feel like I've found my calling.