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Ask HN: Any advice for a hacker without a college degree?

1 points by jmau5 ↗ HN
The traditional education model has never worked for me, not in high school and not now in university, so I am strongly considering dropping out at the end of the semester. I'm wasting money and I'm not gaining anything, all of the programming that I know is self-taught.

What advice do you have for a hacker without a college degree?

4 comments

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aa_memon
get a github account make it impressive.

otherwise you're just that guy who calls himself a hacker and doesn't have an education either :)

booduh
I hope you are good. Make yourself a few million ASAP! Proceed accordingly.
hluska
If I were you, I would:

- drop out (be prepared to get a non programming job) - start working on open source projects (follow aa_memon's advice and get a github account) - build/release two or three projects on your own - start trying to transition to a more fulfilling programming job

Most importantly, don't burn any bridges and keep your options open (ie - don't incur extreme amounts of debt). After a year or two away, you might decide to return to University!

Best of luck :)

natural_order
I agree with hluska. Get involved and start some projects. One of them might turn into a real job :)