Quote:
Originally Posted by Shap
Thanks for the reply. I understand what you are saying and the reality is if someone came to us and was a perfect fit in every way but that one then we'd definitely take a good look at them. I don't think that is the make or break when it comes to the position.  |
Good answer
I don't have a high school diploma or GED although I went to a year of college based on my SATs... but ran out of money
Yet... I'm a published author, I taught as a college professor, I'm entrepreneurial, I've owned my own company (starting another), and I'm currently employed as the lead developer for the largest dating site in the US.
College degrees mean nothing more to me than debt and a basic level of understanding. I've hired close to 40 people during my career, all tech related. I've found that the vast majority of brilliance does not come from the college graduate crowd; especially in the tech field. The majority of developers I've hired usually went to a year or two of college and then left for one reason or another. Usually because it doesn't hold their attention and they've already out learned their professors.
When people ask me for advice on how to learn programming or anything tech related my answer is always the same. Hit up the book store or if you can afford it, hire someone to work one on one with you. Then it's practice, practice, practice. Make up your own projects, get inspiration from other projects and then go for an entry level position in the specific field your interested but look for some place that already has a good amount of talent. Learn from the best, surround yourself with the best, and be like a sponge. Never stop learning, never stop progressing, just never stop. If you want to be at the top, that's what it takes. No amount of education is any sort of substitute for experience.
Don't take this the wrong way however as there are certainly specific fields where schooling is an absolute necessity. Doctors, lawyers, scientists to name a few. And just the same there are some magnet schools out there that having a degree from means you learned a few things more than you would elsewhere to give you a step up... MIT comes to mind
/endrant