FormFollowsFunc

Get the degree. It's going to be a lot harder to get a job without it - it's one of those basic requirements for a lot of jobs.

A lot of what you learn in computer science isn't relevant to a programming job but they will still want you to have a computer science or software engineering degree.

After briefly studying computer science I went onto study architecture which is a 6 year course (1 year in the middle is work experience). After 3 years you get a BSc and after 6 years you get a BArch. I dropped out in the 5th year. I regret now not getting the BArch - it would have given me more options.

Maybe it's because developers don't run companies in general. For management cost and control would be more important considerations. I know of a local software company that's owned by 2 developers where they have individual offices. While 37 Signals kind of have an open office, it's meant to be as quiet as a library to avoid disruptions. People who manage probably don't need to concentrate as much as the people who create the stuff. I suppose my point is that people at the top call the shots, not the people at the bottom.

It's interesting to see what kind of groups applied for this. I'm working on a product at the moment and was thinking of applying but without co-founders I didn't think it was a good idea. Also from the application form I get the feeling you would be "encouraged" to move to the Bay area if not during the 2 months at least after it, which I can't do.

Where I worked previously it wasn't generally common for developers to have a side project. It probably depends on where you work. I presume everybody in Silicon Valley plans to start a startup like every waiter in Los Angeles plans to become an actor.

One reason I can think of, is maybe because they can - developers have the means to create software themselves though maybe not a way to market it. Anything physical requires a fair bit of capital to manufacture it, where's developers just need time. I suspect also that independence is more important to "developer types" than to others.

Another reason I can think of is management in companies can tend to treat developers as second class citizens which can make work unfulfilling. Working on your own products can make programming fun again.

Also in a lot of other white-collar areas like design, medicine or law it's fairly common to setup your own studio/practice after a few years of work experience. IT tends to create large global companies which sucks in a lot of developers.