Price of our hobby

On Wed, 28 Jun 2000, Mike Cheponis wrote: I have to add my two cents to this. Yes, some companies will demand degrees and expect to see a candidate with 100% conventional background. In the tech sector, at least, these companies don't seem to be in the norm and where they do exist, are the LEAST interesting companies to work for. After I graduated from high school, I went straight into uni. I managed to complete my high school obligations with minimal effort and still graduate at the top 2% of my class---needless to say, this didn't translate into a highly successful career at the University of Washington. I attended UW for two years and dropped out without achieving Junior status. Today I am 23 years old and have hit the top of my profession (UNIX systems administration). In terms of technical knowledge, I outrank nearly all of my co-workers, many of whom are 15 years or more my senior. I have worked in numerous diverse environments, including several 'highly respected' companies such as Amazon.com, the Boeing Corporation, and Geoworks. Not once has my lack of a degree affected my ability to find a job. In fact, I am very up-front about my short-lived and extremely unglamourous engagement at uni. Yes, I am tooting my own horn here (quite loudly) but if I don't toot it, I'm afraid the fact that a successful career can be built on things other than advanced degrees may slip by unnoticed. Will I go back to school? Yes. Will it be to get a technical degree? Probably not. Divinity or theology are looking like likely candidates. ok r.