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Jul 28 2022 04:03pm
I feel pretty stuck currently job/carrer wise

When I graduated HS I just wanted to save up and move to NYC because I loved the city and fashion etc

Basically my parents really want me to go to school for coding, Ive always loved computers and been somewhat tech savvy so I'm sure as you all know that equals to a computer god to that generation lol

My parents offered to my half of my tuition to go to a community college for tech, and if I did good there they would pay for half my tuition to send me to a 4 year school

Would it be worth it for me to shell out like 40k and have my parents shell out like 40k for me to go back to college for CS or something like that, or would it be more worth it to take courses and try to really learn it on my own?

I find myself pretty intelligent, been when it came to focusing on school and learning stuff that I'm not REALLY interested in its hard for me.

I'm finally at the age though where I want to get a nice job and then follow all my passions on the side.

Im just kind of worried if this is for me, my 1st cousin works for cyber security in Boston making over 200k a year and they paid for her masters and such so my parents are always like oh BLANK did it you can too which is true to a sense but I feel like to actually do something like that you have to really want to do something like that. I'm sure all the work and the HW is going to be a straight grind and I'm ready for it, its just that I don't want to start and then hate it and waste some of my parents or my money

Anyone have any insight for me? I dont feel like I explained the situation too well but I tried the best I can

I don't know If I should be on youtube looking up series on learning different coding programs
But I dont even know what program I would be using, or the differences, whats good whats not good.

If I wanted to go to school for UX design would that be a different path than say website building?

Is there certain programs for certain things like say I wanted to get a career in UX design would I learn X program vs if I wanted to make apps then I would need to learn X program

I dont even know what I would want to do because I dont really know what coding apps for an iphone vs UX desing for a clothing shop would be

Feel pretty stuck honestly... appreciate anyone who read this and anyone who has something to say
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Jul 30 2022 02:37am
The 2 year degree will help, however just make sure you apply for jobs while at school too. IT jobs boil down to merely a numbers game. It also depends if you are applying to a FAANG position. Some state and federal jobs won't even let you submit an application without a degree. The private sector is a bit different, but it really just depends on the hiring manager / company.

You need to start building projects and code in what you are interested in. Whether it's going to a community college, youtube tutorials, etc. When you discuss your experience and knowledge during the interviews, it will be paramount.

I also wouldn't recommend this unless you have a fire in your belly. Remember, your parents are not you

This post was edited by ChocolateCoveredGummyBears on Jul 30 2022 02:38am
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Jul 30 2022 09:20am
ultimately, I think school/degree would be a good end goal, it will open a lot of doors that would otherwise be closed for you

that being said you don’t need a degree to start learning cs concepts today and seeing what interests you. there’s a ton of resources out there. the youtube channel for Harvard cs50 goes over a lot of the basics on some of the theory. you could watch those to see if the topics are interesting to you

college basically teaches you how to learn and collaborate with others. it’ll give you structure and a curriculum. you’ll have good professors and you’ll have awful professors. It’s an investment in yourself which is the best kind you can make

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Aug 2 2022 12:56pm
Hi Opgg,

I wouldn’t waste your time with college. If I had to do it all over I would do this

1) teach yourself as much full stack or backend stuff as possible with Js
2) get yourself into Hack Reactor bootcamp with deferred payment, you only pay when you get a job that pays over 60k

The acceptance rate is low and it’s not easy to get in which is why I recommended 1).

Once you’ve done both you would’ve built enough projects and a well established GitHub to get you into interviews, from there it’s all up to you whether you get the job or not but HR career coaching and job placement assistance is worth the $17k itself.

I know some aren’t a fan of bootcamps but it will give you structure and discipline when learning this new skill.

Hope this helps
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Aug 2 2022 07:58pm
If you find it interesting it would definitely be worth it. You definitely need to nurture or develop a love for it, otherwise it won’t be that interesting. I recommend learning some of the cool things you can do with code, maybe dissecting it, and attempting to reverse engineer what you find interesting.

Look up cool coding projects and see if it would interest you. If it does, I would say you should immediately dive in and go back to school. Don’t think about it, just do it.

Also, like the post above states, you can teach yourself. But the reason why school/bootcamps are such a good tool is because it will give you the structure you need to succeed and if you network with your peers, and professors, you can make some friends that are also into coding and you can teach and learn from each other while teaching yourself using your resources in your spare time. I would say go that route if you’re 100% serious and want to succeed.


https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=96050714&f=120&p=622657250#p622657250
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Aug 3 2022 01:20am
Thank you everyone for the reply
Quote (ChocolateCoveredGummyBears @ Jul 30 2022 04:37am)
The 2 year degree will help, however just make sure you apply for jobs while at school too. IT jobs boil down to merely a numbers game. It also depends if you are applying to a FAANG position. Some state and federal jobs won't even let you submit an application without a degree. The private sector is a bit different, but it really just depends on the hiring manager / company.

You need to start building projects and code in what you are interested in. Whether it's going to a community college, youtube tutorials, etc. When you discuss your experience and knowledge during the interviews, it will be paramount.

I also wouldn't recommend this unless you have a fire in your belly. Remember, your parents are not you


Very good points.. I have fire in my belly finally for sure

I would have some really cool ideas for projects, its just learning the program etc to make it come true

If I did go to school it probably would be for 4yrs not 2

If I went to cc for 2 yrs it would cost me about 10k for both years that my parents would pay for
Then probably 40k each for another 2 years

Once I start making real money though I am going to pay my parents back + so much more
Quote (penguinhero @ Jul 30 2022 11:20am)
ultimately, I think school/degree would be a good end goal, it will open a lot of doors that would otherwise be closed for you

that being said you don’t need a degree to start learning cs concepts today and seeing what interests you. there’s a ton of resources out there. the youtube channel for Harvard cs50 goes over a lot of the basics on some of the theory. you could watch those to see if the topics are interesting to you

college basically teaches you how to learn and collaborate with others. it’ll give you structure and a curriculum. you’ll have good professors and you’ll have awful professors. It’s an investment in yourself which is the best kind you can make


Thank you this made sense for sure

I think I need to figure out what I want to go in for exactly.. leaning towards something like ux design/ app design or something more creative vs data etc

And I think the college would be good for me structure wise... I have pretty good socials skills, I could always improve them obv but I think more structure would be good for me too
Quote (Krawk @ Aug 2 2022 02:56pm)
Hi Opgg,

I wouldn’t waste your time with college. If I had to do it all over I would do this

1) teach yourself as much full stack or backend stuff as possible with Js
2) get yourself into Hack Reactor bootcamp with deferred payment, you only pay when you get a job that pays over 60k

The acceptance rate is low and it’s not easy to get in which is why I recommended 1).

Once you’ve done both you would’ve built enough projects and a well established GitHub to get you into interviews, from there it’s all up to you whether you get the job or not but HR career coaching and job placement assistance is worth the $17k itself.

I know some aren’t a fan of bootcamps but it will give you structure and discipline when learning this new skill.

Hope this helps


Hey krawk thanks for the reply ive seen your responses on here before

I heard you should learn python first, would you say Js?

And I for sure would do a bootcamp, the more structure the better for me... I even would do paid boot camps

Is there any like 0 to here coding courses or youtube series you recommend? Thanks again
Quote (NoCap @ Aug 2 2022 09:58pm)
If you find it interesting it would definitely be worth it. You definitely need to nurture or develop a love for it, otherwise it won’t be that interesting. I recommend learning some of the cool things you can do with code, maybe dissecting it, and attempting to reverse engineer what you find interesting.

Look up cool coding projects and see if it would interest you. If it does, I would say you should immediately dive in and go back to school. Don’t think about it, just do it.

Also, like the post above states, you can teach yourself. But the reason why school/bootcamps are such a good tool is because it will give you the structure you need to succeed and if you network with your peers, and professors, you can make some friends that are also into coding and you can teach and learn from each other while teaching yourself using your resources in your spare time. I would say go that route if you’re 100% serious and want to succeed.


https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=96050714&f=120&p=622657250#p622657250


Hey thanks so much for the reply and link

I like to think im more of a creative person than more of a math/numbers type of person

I think the most success and will get the most enjoyment out of fields with some creative ability

If I knew how to code a solid mobile game or websites for business and just free lance it I know I could be sucessful

I also dont want to burn myself out and thats why I want to go more creative... my sister was doing marketing for about 10 yrs and burnt out thankfully she built up a really big makeup business
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