So, I got a Web Developer's job. It is pretty good job. I am just 19 years old and I've been programming since ~15 years old. So, they liked me and said that you can come work with us. Problem is, it's full-part job and I need to quit college to work here. And I don't like college that much, because it contains so much theory and it's hard for me. So, what do you think I should do? (my parents yell at me like crazy)...<p>I really need help, thank you very much.
Finish college.<p>You <i>NEED</i> that theory stuff. If you don't get it now, it will stunt your growth and will limit how good you'll get at your craft (mainly because you'll keep making rookie mistakes for the rest of your life because you won't understand the theory behind what you're doing).<p>Quitting something just because it's hard is a very bad habit to get into. All it does is keep you on the bottom rung for the rest of your life. The good things are hard to get. That never changes no matter your age or station in life.<p>If you really want to do well in life, start researching companies now, while you're still in school. Find out what they're doing. Find out who they're looking for. Get contacts within those companies and talk to them. Build up a contact network. It's WHO you know that gets you in the door, and WHAT you know that keeps you going.
No, no, no, don't quit college. Your parents are completely right (sans yelling). Jobs come and go, but fundamental education is just that - the foundation for everything else that you are going to learn through other means. No foundation = mess in the head.<p>Besides, people who are self-taught are always treated with extra suspicion during the selection, interview and the trialing process compared to those with a proper degree. And quite rightfully at that. If you have Masters in Comp.Sci., it's given that you know reverse polish notation. But if you picked it all up by yourself, you could've missed this bit and it could complicate my life as your colleague or boss further down the road.<p>So, yeah, educate yourself properly first. The jobs will follow.
As someone who quit college at 20 for a high paying job I understand your feeling. I'll say this though, the only reason I quit college was because of my financial situation. Here it is 6 years later and I am ahead of my peers in terms of salary but know I had to work just a bit harder then everyone around me to prove myself because I've worked for companies where I was the only person in the whole building without a degree. Now as I progress through my career at such an accelerated rate I recognized this is not the norm by any starch and I am vastly approaching that glass ceiling (granted I can hack the system to break right through that too). With all that said it is a much smoother route if you get your degree first and since your only 19 instead of joining some company start your own thing in your spare time in school. You will be far better served working for yourself while gaining more knowledge in college. If i could go back and do it all again that's exactly what I would have done as I am on the path to trying to get my start up off the ground. NoBadGift.com
You get one chance in life for most things. As long as you exit gracefully, college will always be there to return to. This job may not be. Take it for the experience. If you hate or it doesn't work out, then go back and finish school.<p>But don't do it just because someone else tells you to (especially me). Do what you feel is right.
Wait, you don't have time for what? I worked full time + (IE overtime, IE 40-50 hour weeks), and went to school fulltime and also picked up 4.0's. The whole I can't work because I have school, or I can't go to school because I have work ordeal is lame at the most extreme levels. Deal with it. If you quit college your a fool. If you can't do both and excel at both your lazy. Get it together.
Even if you don't get much out of it. The BS will work on two levels. The first is when you inevitably change jobs, you need that single credential as a baseline for getting your resume in the 'to be reviewed' stack.<p>The second, is that it gives you a higher safety net if/when you find yourself off track in the future. You won't have to worry as much about finding employment just to get by.
No, you should not quit college. I worked a full time web development job while attending college from age 20 to 22 and I was much better off for the experience. I will finish my bachelor's next semester, and the combination of the experience and the degree are attracting far, far better jobs than the one I had at that age.
It's much easier to go from college to a job, and much harder to go the other way. Drop out if you end up inventing a successful business that's a once in a lifetime thing and pulls you out (think Gates and Zuck, not Jobs), but not for just another job. There are plenty of those where that came from.
How long have you been in college for?<p>What are you life goals, what do you want eventually do as a career? What don't you like about college (can you change programs/courses)?<p>You have lots of options, you should think about this a bit more, don't just take the job because its been offered to you.
Yes, listen to your parents. I was also not that good at college and couldn't wait till I get out, but you need to go through it. You will get another job, enjoy college. You can never get that time back and sometime you will miss it.
Why can't you do both? Or do you only want to do one?<p>I worked full time in college from the time I was 20 until I was 23. Work was 8-5, classes from 5ish to 8ish, hung out with friends afterwards.
You are a 19 year old web developer who finds college hard? Then they are not hiring you because you are the second coming of Richard Stallman. You are being hired as just another warm body, easily replaced or downsized. When you get the axe, you will have no job and no enrollment. Whoops.<p>Tell them no way, you are committed to earning a degree. Higher education is valuable to you, so it's part time or no time. Do not be apologetic or sheepish. Do not blather on with explanations. Leave a silence for them to fill with compromise. If they truly like you, or if they are desperate for a warm body, they will likely compromise on part time or summer work.
Do both. Most high paying jobs require a BS degree. HR often simply throws out resumes without bachelor degrees, even if you had 20 years of programming experience.
Be aware that traditional web development is going to continue to be more and more automated, cheaper, and commoditized.<p>I used to make good money as a PHP developer 10 years ago. These days I have been priced out of the PHP job market because I'm competing with every college dropout that's willing to do my job for a lot less.