My Journey to Get a Job as a Software Engineer without a Degree

Faceless Men

Faceless Men

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I am a 27 year old college dropout. I dropped out of college thinking I'd make money online. I did make some money online here and there but I wasted my potential a lot.

I had already start coding when I was 14-15 years old but instead of pursuing that, I pursued internet marketing. I wasted 6 precious years running behind something I wasn't even passionate about. I made only a fraction of money I'd have made if I pursued software engineering.

I can't get back the time I wasted but I can make something out of the time I have left. I won't be going back to college but I will be learning from books and building open-source projects to showcase my skills to employers.

I am planning to grind 10-12 hours everyday so that I can catch up to the current technologies.

This is day 1 and I am going to polish my knowledge of JavaScript and start building a web application.

I will try to keep this journey updated as often as possible.
 
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All the best for the journey.
 
Hey, mate. Respect for being honest about your journey - many of us, including me, have taken detours before finding the right path. I took a two-year gap between my college to try out different stuff, but went back to college. I regret not taking many chances, but I am taking them now. Keep at it, and you will get there eventually.

With your coding foundation and the dedication you’re putting in now, you’re setting yourself up for something solid. Good luck, buddy! :)
 
Best of luck, you are going to recover for sure. Dont forget to join online sites like Stack Overflow, build your relations and contacts over there. I have seen people getting picked by companies from that site. But I am not sure if its still a thing after AI.
 
Best of luck on your journey, @Faceless Men. Wishing you success ahead!
 
Congratulations for realizing your situation. That is the first step in the right direction. College may no longer have its appeal now, but it is useful for many reasons to have a degree of formal education. That said, today's world offers many ways of doing well for yourself without a degree. What most people care about is your ability to deliver what you claim. Prove that and it is game on..good luck.
 
achiever2011 said:
All the best for the journey.
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Thanks :)

V said:
Hey, mate. Respect for being honest about your journey - many of us, including me, have taken detours before finding the right path. I took a two-year gap between my college to try out different stuff, but went back to college. I regret not taking many chances, but I am taking them now. Keep at it, and you will get there eventually.

With your coding foundation and the dedication you’re putting in now, you’re setting yourself up for something solid. Good luck, buddy! :)
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Thanks, V!

Nut-Nights said:
Best of luck, you are going to recover for sure. Dont forget to join online sites like Stack Overflow, build your relations and contacts over there. I have seen people getting picked by companies from that site. But I am not sure if its still a thing after AI.
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Thanks, I'll definitely join sites like Stack Overflow and keep networking

Rufai said:
I would go back and finish college if I were you. It's not about the certificate but what you become in the process. Good luck with your journey.
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I am planning to get a entry-level job and finish an online degree on the side. Thanks :)

RK said:
Best of luck on your journey, @Faceless Men. Wishing you success ahead!
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Thanks, RK!

Brickbat1 said:
Congratulations for realizing your situation. That is the first step in the right direction. College may no longer have its appeal now, but it is useful for many reasons to have a degree of formal education. That said, today's world offers many ways of doing well for yourself without a degree. What most people care about is your ability to deliver what you claim. Prove that and it is game on..good luck.
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I will definitely enroll myself into distance-learning/online college once I get an entry-level job. Thanks :)

Fang Yu said:
You can do it
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Thanks bro
 
Good luck on journey! Don't forget to take some breaks in-between.

I'd recommend to learn with someone, it's way easier to build stuff and discuss with someone everyday than just keep typing on a keyboard in your room.
 
SirTop said:
May the wind be at your back... and the sun shine warm upon your face, mate :)
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That's so nice, thanks mate :)


hallooo3 said:
Why software? Why not trades?
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Because that's what I am passionate about and above average at. And trades don't pay well in third-world countries like India.

vickysan said:
Good luck on journey! Don't forget to take some breaks in-between.

I'd recommend to learn with someone, it's way easier to build stuff and discuss with someone everyday than just keep typing on a keyboard in your room.
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I do have a friend who is in the same boat as me. We're going to build projects together. Thanks :)
 
Faceless Men said:
I do have a friend who is in the same boat as me. We're going to build projects together. Thanks
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I'd like to join this very much if you want an additional member, I'm also learning to code...

Drop me your contact details like tg or discord and we can all build projects and keep each other accountable.
 
You’re not behind, you’re just starting with more perspective than most CS grads have
 
best of luck its a great time indeed keep going and you don't have to rely on academics just learn from internet its way bigger and rational!
 
noobiereact said:
I'd like to join this very much if you want an additional member, I'm also learning to code...

Drop me your contact details like tg or discord and we can all build projects and keep each other accountable.
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Sent you a DM :)

code API said:
Go for it mate.
Banish the naysayers
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Thanks mate :)

shijin said:
You’re not behind, you’re just starting with more perspective than most CS grads have
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That's the way to think about this. Thanks shijin :)

wizard47 said:
best of luck its a great time indeed keep going and you don't have to rely on academics just learn from internet its way bigger and rational!
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Thank you so much! :)

UPDATE:

Finished reading first few chapters of Eloquent JavaScript (a good free book if you want to learn JS) and solving some coding exercises.

Will finish the book in 3-4 days at the current speed and keep solving problems. I will also share the free resources I have come across.

Code: 
https://eloquentjavascript.net/
 
I wish you all the best. As I’m reading this, I feel like you’re talking about me haha. Same age, almost the same profile picture, and even the same things that happened to you happened to me. I didn’t finish my studies, thought I could make it on the internet, and I also wasted more than 6 years just jumping from one thing to another. Wishing you all the success.
 
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