brewerhimself

I spent 2 years studying computer science but I couldn't afford to attend my school anymore, so now I'm taking a year off. Honestly, I don't know whether I want to go back.<p>Can I find an internship in my situation or should I be looking for a full-time position?

I know Mixpanel uses both of these, but what are some other startups that use both C and Python?

EDIT: Bonus points for any companies hiring junior developers!

Just curious. Could you tell us about your experience?

I released my first project recently on GitHub and I was hoping for some tips on how I could get more people interested in using it.

I don't have any projects to show off. I haven't been programming since I was 5 years old. I don't have a college degree. How am I supposed to compete with those who went to Stanford, started programming while still in the womb, and have already started 2 or 3 companies? Obviously I am exaggerating, but there are still loads of potential developers out there whose resumes would run circles around mine. What can I do to make sure I stand a chance?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm working on a site and I just don't believe that I have an eye for what looks good. I know what good code looks like though. :)

I've been considering freelance work because I want to travel, but I'm not sure whether there's a market for what I'm interested in.

I like solving algorithmic problems. I enjoy it so much that I do it for fun. I know there are plenty of people offering web design/development service, but about algorithm design and development?

To clarify: I'm looking for work where I get to work with a lot of companies that do (hopefully) interesting work. My specialty is taking a problem specification and providing a solution by designing an algorithm and then implementing it for the company. I wouldn't be opposed to helping the company integrate this algorithm into their system and providing follow-up service and maintenance, but I don't want to develop entire products.

I have a hard time staying focused on anything for more than a few weeks, so I'd like to get it, do something new and interesting, and then get out.

I’ve been reading a book called “How To Win At College” by Cal Newport of Study Hacks fame. The book is broken up into a series of tips and tricks that are meant to ultimately lead one to greater success as a university student. One of the tips in the book is “Do something better than anyone you know.” I’ve decided that I want this skill to be the ability to solve algorithmic problems by applying algorithm theory to real-world problems and I’ve decided on The Algorithm Design Manual by Skiena as my introduction to algorithms.

We all agree that computer science is not programming, but I believe a firm grasp on basic CS concepts can make anyone a better developer. This relationship is similar to that of a journalist who studies English. While a journalist can have a great career without studying English, there is certainly an argument that theory (English) is just as important as application (Journalism). For programmers, this is the difference between studying theoretical computer science (algorithms, data structures, AI, etc) and learning programming languages (Python, C, etc).

My goal is to become proficient at engineering optimized algorithms for solving real-world problems. This won’t happen by diving right into a book on algorithms and that is something that I fully understand. My question is this: What do I need to know before I start tackling The Algorithm Design Manual? To be a good algorithm designer one certainly needs to know how to analyze the time complexity of an algorithm. What math skills, specifically, are required to do this well? I’ve heard that going through a book on discrete mathematics would be a good idea. What else would you recommend? Statistics and probability, perhaps?

I’m thinking about going back to school in the Fall to get a degree in Computer Science or Mathematics. I suppose the reason I’m not sure whether I want to or not is because I’ll have to spend 2 years at a community college where I can’t take any CS courses and between school and working part-time, I won’t have much time to do any programming. A solution to this is to do some freelance development while I study, in lieu of working a job in, say, retail or fast food.

I’ve never done any freelancing or professional development before. What advice do you have to offer to someone in my situation?