Ask HN: How to become a good hacker?

3 points by campinhos 14y ago ↗ HN

Hello HN, I'm a newcomer living in Portugal and I'm currently studying computer science. Although I'm learning a lot and enjoying some of the courses, I feel that I'm somehow wasting my time here.

So since January I've decided to become a hacker. I started reading and learning all that I could find about technologies people use, ruby, htm5, node.js, et cetera.

But what should I do next? Should I keep learning and start working on my own projects? should I join an existing project? Or even worst: should I just sit back and relax?

Because the problem is that I have the soul and knowledge of a hacker, but I have nothing to put my hands on.

Thanks HN for being an amazing inspiration!

1 comment

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 12.8 ms ] thread

c_t_montgomery 14y ago ↗

Whatever you do: don't just sit back and relax.

If I were you, I'd find a problem you have and try and build something to fix it. Complement that with occasional hacks on existing projects.

To me, being a "hacker" is someone who's never really satisfied. Ask questions about why things are the way they are, and do work to change that.

Good luck.