Ask HN: How to thrive in tech without post-secondary education?

8 pointscloudedcordial1y ago4 comments

Are there any of you who did not have any post-secondary education in any disciplines and found success in tech? What was your journey? Would you recommend people to follow your path?

My aim for this question is not to have someone use this post to justify that they should not attend college or university. My advice still leans towards an education to expand their minds and to make human connections. I also acknowledge that formal education does not work for some people.

During my career, I met several folks who fell into tech during or right after high school. They enjoyed the work and decided to start working at 18 or 19. By their mid-20s, they had earned a few years of real-world experience when people in the same age bracket were still finding their place in the profession.

Here are rough stories from two folks I worked with:

Person "A" started working part-time for a local tech firm as a manual tester towards the end of their high school career. He worked in various departments including support, IT and software development in the same firm. By his mid-30s, he was promoted to become the DevOps architect with 20 years of experience in the industry.

Person "B" disliked school and found work in support after quitting high school. He moved around different companies and roles including QA, software developer and manager. His last known role was as principal engineer in a software company.

4 comments

geenkeuse1y ago

Totally possible. I did it too. Hung around too long in the same position, though. Now I'm a middle-aged and unemployed Server Admin. The outlook is not great. Don't do that.

If you're just starting out, IT Technician jobs are a good place to start. Replace some RAM, Install printer drivers etc.

The rest is up to you.

whatnotests21y ago

I don't have post-secondary education, but I have always enjoyed learning new things and mastering interesting concepts and challenges.

Technology fits my predisposition just fine. It's always changing, so I'm always learning.

I started out by making a website for a girlfriend's business 25 years ago, enjoyed it, and just kept on going.

Nowadays I have worked at on important projects and products for some of the most well known companies pushing the boundaries of technology forward.

It turns out that soft kills are extremely important, and self mastery is a powerful skill. As powerful in some cases as knowing how to twiddle bits or predict the results of a left-outer SQL join.

Learning how to enjoy learning, and how to work effectively alone and with others cannot be replaced by a diploma on the wall. The diploma may serve as evidence that one has been tested and proved to have the qualities necessary to acquire the diploma, but absence of the diploma is not proof of the absence of those qualities.

Develop yourself. You will be rewarded.

metabro1y ago

I have a non technical bachelor’s degree and work at faang as a senior engineer and have been offered to move into staff.

I think being curious, always learning, being likable and good at interviewing (leetcode and sys design) don’t need a college degree after a few years of technical experience.

Everyone assumes I have a cs masters because that’s common at faang.

If I could get a do over though I’d just get the cs degree. I think there’s some value there.

comprev1y ago

I've been in tech 20yr now without a degree (or even good school results) and this sometimes gets picked up during interviews (in a positive way) because it's less common.

First job was 1st line tech support and moved up the Ops IC ladder ever since.

Still to this day tech is one of the few industries where you can go far (and be financially rewarded) despite lack of academic background.

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