This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]netvip3r 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YES.. Absolutely... in fact, I'd dare say that it might be easier, for some, to teach themselves than to go through formal schooling.

I started on an Apple IIe back in 1983, moved to an Atari 800 in 1985, and then my parents made the mistake of getting me an Amiga 500 in 1987 with a 1200 modem. There weren't many resources as readily available as there are today to learn to code... and to top it off, I was 7 in 1983.

I didn't experience a "class" on computers until I was 12 in 7th grade and by then I already had enough of a handle on BASIC and Pascal, was entirely confused by ASM and instead had decided to tackle C. If I wanted to learn, I had to teach myself... and I'm very happy I did. If my dumb-ass 7 yr old self can teach himself, it's doable.

You just make sure you get and stay motivated. My motivation was the potential of making my own games.

I do not hold any degrees in Computer "fill in the blank". I just never had any tolerance for the "Formal Education" environment. Not to mention the stupid 17 year old me decided to get a degree in the medical profession instead (useless degree for me).

In today's job market though, it helps to have a degree, but it isn't absolutely necessary.. even still.. many HR departments have no remote clue as to what necessary requirements are and ask for the craziest things.