1) Time is important, there's ageism in tech and you need to plan your career wisely - no one is going to do it for you. The best way to learn is to get hired ASAP and get professional experience.

2) College degree is very important. In this market, people are struggling to get jobs with experience & degrees. You just have much less likelier chance of success without a degree. This appears all the time, even actual prodigies like George Hotz are overcompensating and always appear eager to prove that they have the fundamentals down like a CS grad.

3) Moving fast into building things which generate hype is the best course of action for young people

I know a friend that got to interview stage with a FAANG they told him the position was for university degree holders. This is an old essay and I'd always take with a grain of salt what people say versus how the reality is. It's very easy to get wrong advice that's no longer applicable.