The college-for-all model isn't working

Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by cortesoft on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:00PM (#6842757)

As a computer programmer, this really hasn't been my experience. I did not get a degree in a computer related field (have a BA in Philosophy), but have had no problems getting a job. I just showed the work I did for personal projects, and landed a job in weeks. I have since hired many developers, and I only look at education experience if there is nothing else that shows they can do the work. I have hired many people who never went to college at all.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by fnordfnordfnord on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:22PM (#6842910)

My gut tells me that there are a lot of well-regarded programmers with an education in Philosophy.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by cheesylard on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:08PM (#6842818)

As a 19 year old programmer who just dropped out, this eases my anxiety. A lot.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by MrFoof on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:15PM (#6842863)

I was you 12 years ago.

The odds are still against you. You will lose opportunities due to credentialism. The best bet is to become better than your peers and be in the top 5% of the talent pool. When you work with someone who really knows their shit, shadow them.

The better bet is to eventually go independent once you know you're more towards the top of the heap. Years ago, a McKinsey subsidiary ultimately ruled me out due to a lack of degree. Nowadays they're a customer and have no problem subcontracting me out, because "I run my own business" and a proven track record is just as sufficient as the degree they otherwise look for.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by sliverstorm on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:35PM (#6842999)

I was you 12 years ago.

And it's even worse now.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by cheesylard on Thursday December 05, 2013 @07:25AM (#6854035)

Wait, really? I was under the impression that a college degree for programmers is less important nowadays.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by danudey on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:17PM (#6842867)

As a 31-year-old systems architect and software developer who dropped out of university: I realized that I had to choose between a degree I would enjoy that would be useless in getting me a job, and a degree that I would hate that would be useless in getting me a job. I wasn't cut out for EE or CS, and I didn't have the math marks to get in (and I didn't realize at the time that a lot of my problem was ADD-related). So… I left.

In the end, I lucked my way through a succession of jobs, due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it, so my personal experience was worth as much as anyone else's.

My recommendation: do lots of projects, contribute to open-source, put a bunch of personal projects up on github (and do them right; document them well and write good code), and apply to forward-thinking companies (startups, etc.). Show that you can do the work and no company worth their salt will care too much about how you learned it.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by gwright on Wednesday December 04, 2013 @12:15AM (#6845167)

> due in part to the fact that my chosen career, systems admin, doesn't really have a university career path leading to it

I need to put a plug in for my alma mater: http://www.rit.edu/programs/networking-and-systems-administr...

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by voidlogic on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @03:28PM (#6842940)

Beware, if you are outside of the Bay Area getting a degree is comparatively more important to employers... At least until you have oodles of XP.

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Re:The college-for-all model isn't working by cheesylard on Tuesday December 03, 2013 @04:15PM (#6843238)

I grew up in Sunnyvale.

A lot of my friends from high school have part-time jobs / intern over the summer at the startups/companies from where around I used to live...

But I don't live there anymore. And I'm kind of hesitant to move back to Sunnyvale (It is the most boring, soul-sucking place on earth) so I guess that doesn't really count for anything.

Meh.

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