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Comment by nja4 | Hacker News Reader

Anecdotal evidence doesn't work though. The majority of "good" software jobs don't just want anyone. The average person can't do all the things you just listed. The average person can't market his/herself without a degree effectively.

I feel like we all know success stories, but I would say I have worked with a lot more phds than I have people without a degree. Does that mean that everyone needs to get a phd? No. You can be successful with any level of education, but it's unwise to advise any student to go for this without being exceptional.

EDIT: I have worked/am working at 3 companies, a non-profit, Tableau, and Intentional Software. I'm 21. I'm a student. Across the ~100-200 engineers I've met, I've been the least educated.

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Replying to your edit -

It sounds like you're an exception and a smart person, then. No sarcasm there.

The problem with being exceptional is that you tend to think of everybody else as exceptional, so the ones who'll naturally fail don't really have a fallback. One fallback can be self learning, but the crazy culture of "College dropouts only work at Best Buy"[0] prevents them from being able to get back on their feet.

(Of the 1,500 or so engineers I've worked with, I've only known one other person with less education. He dropped out of high school and started worked directly for Wolfram ;).)

[0] It's funny how earlier I was accused of using myself as anecdata earlier, but that same user emphatically agreed with someone who used their friend's dropout failure story as evidence that college dropouts will fail. It's so one sided... Editedit: oh, it was you. Yeah, check it out. It's kinda funny.

I just meant that despite the exceptions like you that are doing awesome, the typical high school educated person makes less than a college educated person.

Hahah sorry, I'm not crazy smart or exceptional! I work really hard, and that's it. I mean to say that for most people, they aren't like you. They can't succeed like you. I got incensed over the article and wanted to tear it down because I'm so disenfranchised with European "dream education" and see anything against conventional us education similar. Anyway, I think you made the right choice presented with what I have. You seem to have had the skills to make it without a degree, and that's amazing. I'm not sure I would have made it without having UW get me noticed by companies and tell me what I need to know. I feel like most students are more like me. Anyway, I don't want to tear you down in a fit of passion. You seem like a cool, successful, guy, and best luck with your court case and even more with drumming (I'm in marching band at my uni hahah).

Just curious, if I may.. how old are you? My generation was told without question that we need to go to school. Parents, family and teachers all repeated the same thing over and over again. Yet, the folk my age I've talked to all say "Holy fuck, my degree is useless."

More of what I'm suggesting is that it's entirely possible to learn depth in a subject without the need for school. I get what you're saying, but with a lot of the dynamics of college education these days, it seems that college is an even greater risk than not going to college.

I know and have worked with an almost equal amount of phds and nongrads. They all say the same thing - "I'm not sending my kid to college. What a waste of their time and money."

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