I was at a meetup recently where the presenter asked who codes on a regular basis. I raised my hand. He then asked who was there that was an architect and I raised my hand.

He was like 'You must work at a small company'. I didn't think it was a good time to point out that regardless of the size of the company an architect with real responsibility should be writing code on at least a somewhat regular basis. So instead I went with the 'but we're growing fast' and slipped in a line about how we're hiring.

You're right!

Can you post that in 140 chars or less, call it offensive to women's value / career choices, and get a push request to change "dom" to something less offensive and meritocratic?

@iosys

Probably don't care what I think but with only 1 semester left I would finish out. Studies have shown time an again that having a degree increases earnings over one's lifetime. It will also be easier to get a job in most instances if you need to.


I was like you in uni and hated it wanting to break a way. I was fed up by the end of my first year. Glad I got the paper but still think it's a crap system. I think the time to fight it is before going in not right when you're going to get out. At that point I'd just get the degree and take advantage of what that can get you.

unless you're a person with enormous self-discipline and motivation, plans like this aren't likely to work out. if you are that kind of person, it could be great.

iosys:

that's truly and profoundly stupid. finish your degree, there's zero pride to be had for "doing it without a degree," especially in this case where you already have all the benefits of a higher education and just won't have the formality of a diploma.

to put it in perspective i'm a community college dropout who is doing "it" (freelancing, gambling, etc. as my only income) and my biggest regret in life is not following through with my education. you can still make money independently with a degree, trying to do it without one is just a totally pointless handicap especially when you're basically through with school.

if you think that not getting a degree and succeeding despite that is going to be some kind of scathing indictment of higher education, you're wrong. yes, the education system in the US is flawed, but going though a university and quitting just before you graduate isn't going to prove anything to anyone.

women can be "shadow doms" too i'm sure

>go to school and learn cs & how to program
>drop out and pretend you're self taught

nh

iosys,

How do you think its going to look on your resume that you went to school for CS, couldn't finish, yet continued to work in CS? You can't really use the "it wasn't for me" excuse like you could if you were studying Law or something.

Speaking from personal experience, I left uni with 6 credits left to work for a startup. The plan was to write a final project worth 6 credits while I worked but that was just lol cause my motivation was on my job. Later I finished those credits before I went to grad school but the gap has always been a sticky issue to explain to employers.

If you have one semester left, and this is what you want to pursue as a career, then not finishing is ******ed. If you were just starting out in college, then you'd have a legitimate decision to make.

Still looking at the posts but probably will take year off and see what happens.

I've been in uni too long tbh, I started uni with a different degree in mind; teaching math + art to kids is what the goal was originally.

I've been self taught for pretty much every programming course besides some great fundamentals that I got from two professors in 4 consecutive semesters.

So I have like gap where there is learning to teach kids and then a gap of two years interning at Intel; where I actually got to do cool stuff, that has yet to see the light of day because Google + Microsoft didn't want to cooperate with each other.

I don't really care much for money, going to think more with notebook of ideas but dropping out doesn't seem as dumb as some of you are saying but I still don't have much life experience.

I don't have a degree, and I don't discriminate against those that don't, but I certainly would give a second look to someone with a degree that I may not to someone with out one.

Although your plan sounds good, if it all goes to **** in a few years you will be glad you have a degree. Finish it.

I work for a big cooperation. We had to move mountains just to hire a guy without a degree as a contractor through Infosys. We found him and interviewed him, they just needed to be the vendor. They have a policy they won't hire people w/o degrees.

Eventually they gave in. I think he could get hired by my company now that he's worked with us. But they would never have hired him directly w/o a degree.

okay well as someone with lots of life experience i am telling you as an absolute fact it's dumb. not even like "well i can see where you're coming from but in my personal opinion it's not a good idea," it's just objectively the wrong choice for you to make under almost any circumstance.

iosys, I pretty much blew all of my 20s chasing rabbits and dreams, and I've nearly blown all of my 30s doing the same thing.

You have one semester to go. It may not feel like it to you when you are in your 20s and spent a significant part of your conscious life in those walls, but life is long and has a ton to offer. Those last 5 months aren't going to be there until you die. Leaving school now is a terrible plan and you will regret it later on.

One of my friends has been going to school for I don't know how long, but I've known her for 7 years and she was in college when I first met her. I credit her with immense determination, but I suppose having a good cheerleader helped her as well. For certain, known her has helped me push through many rough spots, helped me focus.

Find someone in life who is proud of you. Sounds like you need that more than anything now. You won't have to search far, as I'm sure that person already exists in your life. Take it from me, you don't get far in life being a lone wolf. I'm still learning to not be 100% independent in invulnerable, and this is possibly my largest life struggle.

I spent many years traveling, working in restaurants, construction sites, playing poker, eating fire, and doing whatever I could to make life interesting, moving to a whole new city on a whim (why am in Austin?), and having a life with no personal and professional stability isn't a solid life plan. If you want to travel, have something stable somewhere. A "home" that represents you, your work, a place that you know is always there for you. This could be represented as a job you work remotely for. Even professional poker players have a home somewhere, and many have businesses in their home towns. Find stability first, because fighting against unknowns with no stability isn't going to help you make optimal decisions in life, and if you are trying to make a fortune in life, live an amazing story, what-have-you, you need a place to call home.

Believe me when I say it, people judge you on what you have done. I probably get hit harder than most because... I worked with people who had PhD's and even worked with some living legends, and it is very difficult to connect totally with people who have "done it," and it is hard to connect with people who you have no shared experiences with, and even more difficult to connect with people who you aren't comfortable talking about your experiences with. Having an unfinished degree will end up being a blocker in your life, for the gatekeepers want people around who can connect. For all that is written on culture, there really is a lot to to it.

I like the iosys "I've been self taught aside from the 2 years of excellent teaching" line, assuming 4 consecutive semesters is 2 years in ioland

Non-technical and no-longer technical people in technical leadership positions seems like something so bad for so many reasons, I can't believe how common it is, but it is.

iosys,

You have 1 semester left and your plan is essentially nothing that is hindered or worsened by waiting 1 semester.

If you had a startup that you could imminently start and be looking at either real users or funding in 6 months then sure go for it. But if you are just going to be playing poker to survive and contracting/ doing random self-projects, it is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> to finish the semester.

Iosys,

You're coming across as incoherent, emotional, and irrational. Stay in school and get some counseling. If in 6 months when you graduate you still want to flush your life down the toilet then go ahead, but at least you'll have something going for you in your degree.

i dropped out of a CS degree to play poker. i don't regret it.

i also didn't have 1 semeseter left.

stick it out. then pursue your plans. you've wasted 3.5 years otherwise. one of my fav quotes is, "no matter how far down the wrong road you've gone, turn back." but i still think you should finish.

and don't let this guy discourage you from going after your plan.

the safe life is even riskier

To be fair, saying iosys comes across as incoherent, emotional, and irrational is pretty much always correct.

I wouldn't call what he has laid out here a plan. He sounds very confused and I'm legitimately worried about his mental health.

I may have put things harshly but he needs to see through what he started and take that time to come up with a real plan rather than the vague notion he has now

man plans, god laughs

I prefer: "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."

Yeah this. The common theme that I have heard from people that freelance successfully is that it is a drag because you are constantly having to sell your skill set to prospective clients. They seem pretty burned out on doing that for the most part. I guess if you play poker really well then you don't need to freelance. I am pretty sure he's just going to drop out though.

Even if the end of the road is only a few yards away?


He asked for advice so seems fair. What is a "safe life" in your view?

Why did you fail at the goal bolded?