Comment by EdSharkey | Hacker News Reader

Comment by EdSharkey | Hacker News Reader

Can you mooch off the parentals and live at home? You can be on their health care plan until you turn 26.

I don't like to make rushed decisions when it comes to money or health. If you're having trouble getting a job as a developer, consider that you have made a huge mistake in dropping out of high school and employers are not going to take a risk on you even if you are a true talent.

Anyhow, if you can go home, I think you should. If you opt to get your GED, that's good for your personal development but not much else. Most employers are going to be leery of you in any case since you couldn't keep it together enough to finish HS.

Aging into your 20's will help, and if you're any good, you'll get enough freelance jobs or contractor jobs that you'll make up for your past mistakes on your resume and can try out for full time positions at companies you like.

I am also not keen on the idea of working for free anywhere as an intern for future promises of employment or purely for experience, especially with your history. Don't let yourself get exploited.

Get some sleep.

I don't feel comfortable mooching, but it's an option if I get truly desperate. I do have my GED, so I can't go back and get my diploma. I can see how not having an understanding of introductory level calculus and intermediate level algebra and what not would be an issue, but I can prove that I have this knowledge, so I don't feel it's an issue that I don't have my diploma. I've used tools such as Khan Academy to make up for any classes I was not able to take. Thank you, and I will!

Generic observations that may not apply:

Survival depends on doing things with which we are uncomfortable or expending greater efforts elsewhere.

Education is great if you teach yourself basic math, writing and so on, but education is most often a distraction to getting down to actual work that makes money. The failure of ourselves is when we let pride or ego get ahead of rational self-interest.

There are plenty of blue-collar skilled trades that pay 100k+/year that academia-brainwashed people look down upon. Welder, electrian, plumber, carpenter, mechanic, on and on. Check out Mike Rowe's nonprofit for more... Nuclear industry rated and underwater welders make crazy money. Btw nurses and medical will always be needed and the pay is great. Want a niche technical OR specialty that doesnt always require an MD? perfusionist (heart lung machines). You would honestly be able to say you were legally sanctioned to kill people for a living without the morass of being a PMC, because you would be that person that flips the switch at EOL.

If you have the sand, fishing and crabbing makes coin by being hard and risky. Taxi drivers also on dry land.

Just pick something, try it out, move on if too terrible, don't waste time on analysis paralysis because it's just procrastination.

I'm looking to expand my knowledge into more areas as well! Some things interest me like mechanics, electronics, plumbing, firearms. Ill definitely check out Mike Rowes thing, I didn't know he had something like that going. I used to love Dirty Jobs.

Cool! And the things you don't get to do professionally can become hobbies :)

Military (army, navy, Air Force, marines, coast guard) has tons of logistics service jobs, and will pay for university. My stepbrother started off as a navy radar tech, lived all over, did college, air school and now flies f/a-18's.

Whew, I'm glad you have parents you can return to. It would make me sad if you had said otherwise.

This is my opinion: since you're 18 you have a God-given right to mooch. :) Consider how hard it is for college grads to get good paying jobs these days.

Be humble with your parents and try to get work such that you can pay some rent and maintain your dignity. If they don't require you to pay rent when you're working, you should pay them something anyhow.

As others said, your side projects are going to help you get into companies. Work like a bastard on them when you're not working your day job. Work like a bastard on your side projects in any case for as long as you have the energy and passion - it will set you apart.

College is an option too since you have your GED? Community college is more purgatory don't do that if you can avoid it, but state or private college isn't. You'll actually learn real computer science fundamentals and wire up your brain right technically and socially.

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