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Should I drop out of college?

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CS with only 28k in loans? Stay in school bud.

Just make sure you study and really take classes seriously, so you don't have to repeat or extend your stay.

Edit: University of Maryland????? Shit yeah that school has a great CS reputation. Stick with it for sure. Work hard and get a decent GPA and you will be able to get a job no problem. You will likely have plenty of internship opportunities and free grad school if you want it as well.
 
trust me dude, if you love math and computer science and you drop out for a trade job, you will regret it BIG time. I have been working with trades since last year and most of them say they can't do it in their 50's or 60's. It pays well but it is hard back breaking work!
 
Are you getting cold feet because you are unsure of the CS major or are you only afraid of the loans? If you are "poor as shit" then financial aid and scholar money should be pretty easy to get, also 28k in loans isn't much if you get a CS related job.
 
Well even if you have 28k of debt so what? If your doing CS youll eventually be making great money; more that you would without the degree so the debt would most likely be offset by you income within a few years of being employed.

Edit: I have like 30k of student loans and the pay increase I got vs. what I would have been making at like Costco where I used to work is well over that, and will only increase over time. So the debt doesnt bother me.
 
demosthenes said:
What do you do? How does a lack of BS do you a favor?
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I was saying that the lack of a degree does me a favor because I'll be weeded out by stupid companies that throw resumes out that don't have a degree on them. I was mostly just being a smart ass.

I'm a front end game developer. I'll be honest, it's a lot less fun than it sounds.

I do think college, and school in general, is mostly nonsense. I think the creator of Super Meat Boy said it well, "if you want to be a programmer, do not go to college."
 
0xCA2 said:
I just don't think I'll have the skills to be employable after school, and yeah, I do feel my disability/congenital deformity lowers my job prospects a bit.
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I can't speak for the second half of your sentence, but as for the first, I wouldn't worry. You'll probably find that most of your knowledge about the job will be from "on the job" training. The degree gets you in the door.
 
HammerOfThor said:
Well even if you have 28k of debt so what? If your doing CS youll eventually be making great money; more that you would without the degree so the debt would most likely be offset by you income within a few years of being employed
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totally agreed! And if you are really scared of debt, get a part time job! Earn money on the weekend to buy books and take care of transportation costs. Or you could start saving some money for loan repayment.
 
demosthenes said:
Not saying it's the same for everyone, but 20 years ago and today are 2 very different times.
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i dropped out 6 or 7 years ago and don't regret it one bit. i currently work for a f500 and have been offered positions with other f500s. it definitely isn't black and white but you should have a clear idea of where you want to go and what it takes to get there - sometimes a college degree won't get you anywhere close to where you want to go.
 
ProfessorLobo said:
I was saying that the lack of a degree does me a favor because I'll be weeded out by stupid companies that throw resumes out that don't have a degree on them. I was mostly just being a smart ass.

I'm a front end game developer. I'll be honest, it's a lot less fun than it sounds.

I do think college, and school in general, is mostly nonsense. I think the creator of Super Meat Boy said it well, "if you want to be a programmer, do not go to college."
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If you want to make a lot of money and work the minimal amount, don't be a game developer, and therefore get a CS degree haha.
 
0xCA2 said:
School is University of Maryland, CP. I'm not aware if there are any CS jobs available around here, just I feel bound to this area because it has a good transit system (can't drive because of disibility).

Thanks for the support and advice everyone, maybe I have a better chance at getting a job than I thought. No, I'm not looking to work at a big company or anything.
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Near DC, that's good. There should be a good amount of jobs available including in places like the health sector, with the government and financial firms. You might want to get a double major in something else to supplement your CS degree if you're still worried. Since you'll be taking upper level math courses anyway, it's probably not a bad idea to look into actuarial sciences.
 
If you drop out your life can't really go anywhere meaningful unless you've got that insane entrepreneurial drive and spirit.

If you do go at least you'll have a degree, debt sucks but not having any mobility sucks more.

Basically don't let 20 year old you ruin 30 year old you's life.

UMD has a ton of opportunities for CS majors. Take advantage of all their internship programs, look for any firms in the area that have need for programming. Don't limit your options look into web design, learn HTML and C# you'll have job prospects everywhere.

fallingdove said:
i dropped out 6 or 7 years ago and don't regret it one bit. i currently work for a f500 and have been offered positions with other f500s. it definitely isn't black and white but you should have a clear idea of where you want to go and what it takes to get there - sometimes a college degree won't get you anywhere close to where you want to go.
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You need a certain attitude and drive to get where you wanna go without a college degree and in a lot of careers no matter how capable you are you'll never get anywhere without a degree, especially anything regarding research. In certain fields a degree isn't as important but in others you'll just get road blocked by some one asking, "so you got a masters in what exactly?"
 
28k in loans is nothing when your major is going to be Computer Science. Come on man. You'd be a software engineer. You'd be able to pay off those loans within 5-10 years easily.
 
ProfessorLobo said:
Yes. Programming is something you can teach yourself in one year, and for a lot less money. And trade work is a pretty safe and well paid field.

GAF is funny, in most college threads everyone complains about how much of a ripoff college is and how they're all unemployed, and you go into one of these threads and it's all like "OMG don't leave life over!"
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He likes math/programming and wants to pursue CS. Why would we tell him that it's okay to drop out?
 
28k is nothing.

entry developer job in the states is what, 50+k?

stay at the parent's place a bit, and you can easily pay those loans off in 1-2 years.

being debt free is pretty awesome.
 
Flying Toaster said:
Do not drop out, you will hate yourself for it later on in life.
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Yeah. Don't drop out. I'm having to deal with the shittiness of dropping out of college when I was 21. I'm 30 and only a college sophomore. Trust me, it doesn't get any easier to finish the older you get. I work for a Fortune 500 company and now I can't advance anymore in my career until I have that damn piece of paper.
 
Not having a 4-year CS degree will put you at a disadvantage compared to other candidates. You'll need to have experience to prove your skills, which is a catch-22. However, having a 4-year degree and little experience will still get you to an in-person interview.

After a couple years of experience, I stop looking at a candidate's education background. For young devs, though, no degree and little experience is a red flag.
 
0xCA2 said:
Realistically, I don't see myself as having any job prospects after college. I feel this would be the perfect time to just drop out and pursue a trade, but I'm unsure about if this would be a good decision and unsure of what I could do as a trade (especially because I have a disability). As I being pessimistic? Should I drop out?
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Why would you think this? Yes, you are being extremely pessimistic.

Make your investment in college worth it. A BS in Computer Science is extremely valuable (what I will have in May 2015), and the kind of experience and networking you can make in college is just about as valuable. Prepare to study hard and get involved in some kind of organization. Try to get close with professors.
 
GuyKazama said:
Not having a 4-year CS degree will put you at a disadvantage compared to other candidates. You'll need to have experience to prove your skills, which is a catch-22. However, having a 4-year degree and little experience will still get you to an in-person interview.

After a couple years of experience, I stop looking at a candidate's education background. For young devs, though, no degree and little experience is a red flag.
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Since he already completed 2 years CC, he won't need to stay there for another 4 years. He can get the degree in 2 or maybe 3 years max
 
fallingdove said:
i dropped out 6 or 7 years ago and don't regret it one bit. i currently work for a f500 and have been offered positions with other f500s. it definitely isn't black and white but you should have a clear idea of where you want to go and what it takes to get there - sometimes a college degree won't get you anywhere close to where you want to go.
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See:

anarckitty said:
Yeah. Don't drop out. I'm having to deal with the shittiness of dropping out of college when I was 21. I'm 30 and only a college sophomore. Trust me, it doesn't get any easier to finish the older you get. I work for a Fortune 500 company and now I can't advance anymore in my career until I have that damn piece of paper.
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Like you said, it's not black and white but not having it can run into some pretty silly and unwanted road blocks.

OP, you say your family is poor as shit. This is a great way to try and end that.
 
Get at least a 3.0 GPA. Get an summer of internship.

You'll be hired in your first year and will be able to pay off your debt in your first year.
 
tarius1210 said:
He likes math/programming and wants to pursue CS. Why would we tell him that it's okay to drop out?
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Because it sounds like he doesn't want to pursue CS and he has very real concerns about debt, which is smarter than most other kids going into school.

I guess my advice would be this; figure out what you want to do, then do it. If you want to get a CS degree, go for it. If you don't, that's okay too. But you have to figure out the problems you'd like to be solving and the experiences you'd like to have on a day to day basis a few years from now. Most kids are told, when they find work, that they're "lucky" even to have a job, which is absolute and utter nonsense. Decide what you want to do, and then find someone who will pay you to do it. And if no one is willing to pay you, then go do it yourself.
 
OP I'm on my second year after graduating with a CS degree. Job prospects are great for the field. In this day and age, any entrepreneur with an idea needs engineers to execute that idea. Why don't you think you'll have a job?

In NYC, the average I'm seeing for a college grad is 90k before taxes. I know it's less in areas with lower cost of living, but it's a higher end frame of reference. If you live at home, you could pay off your loans in half a year tops. Don't worry about that.

Unless you're trending 70s in your grades you should do just fine. If that is the case, trade school is not bad if you know what you want to do. I've always advocated trade schools. Nowadays there are too many grads with worthless degrees and not enough skilled tradesmen. Both are solid life choices, but CS doesn't come with physical labor, so that's my recommendation to you.
 
ProfessorLobo said:
Because it sounds like he doesn't want to pursue CS and he has very real concerns about debt, which is smarter than most other kids going into school.

I guess my advice would be this; figure out what you want to do, then do it. If you want to get a CS degree, go for it. If you don't, that's okay too. But you have to figure out the problems you'd like to be solving and the experiences you'd like to have on a day to day basis a few years from now. Most kids are told, when they find work, that they're "lucky" even to have a job, which is absolute and utter nonsense. Decide what you want to do, and then find someone who will pay you to do it. And if no one is willing to pay you, then go do it yourself.
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His dilemma is based on cost not lack of interest.
 
OP, it all comes down to what you'd like to do for a career. Some require (or at least heavily favor) degrees, others not so much.

I dropped out of getting a computer systems engineering degree after two years, and 21 years later I don't regret it in the slightest. I have a >$100k/yr job as a Netezza/Oracle Database Administrator, and want to travel back in time just to high-five myself at the moment I walked away from uni. YMMV.
 
Nirolak said:
If you're in the US and can't pay your loans you can get basically indefinite deferment.
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Federal only... and you have to make sure you stay on top of that deferment and all required extensions. Student loans, along underpayment of IRS witholding, are some of the worst debts you can carry as far as personal consequences of default.
 
If you like CS, and want to do it, no reason not to finish he degree. In that field, you don't really need it, but you have to be pretty motivated to get by without it.

You can definitely get stuck with CS or other tech degrees when you graduate, as university coursework is really not exactly designed as job prep.

Best way to avoid this is to make sure you're not just doing the coursework in school. Get involved in out of class projects, teams, competitions, whatever, just make sure you're writing code and doing something beyond the minimum. This should be pretty easy if you're actually into it. Do that, and you'll be set- this stuff will naturally lead to plenty of job opportunities when you graduate.
 
0xCA2 said:
I just don't think I'll have the skills to be employable after school, and yeah, I do feel my disability/congenital deformity lowers my job prospects a bit.

School is University of Maryland, CP. I'm not aware if there are any CS jobs available around here, just I feel bound to this area because it has a good transit system (can't drive because of disibility).

Thanks for the support and advice everyone, maybe I have a better chance at getting a job than I thought. No, I'm not looking to work at a big company or anything.
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Maryland is chop full of defense contractors some of which may have transit programs due to the strange commuting nature of people in the area. That's going to be one of the biggest most accessible industry to break into round those parts. The University of Maryland has a superb Robosub team. I would strongly recommend joining it. There is some serious networking to be done there and the work would be greatly beneficial to your development as a programmer.
 
I know a CS student at UMD who has had an internship at a good firm right after his freshman year, and is going to be interning at google this upcoming summer. He is only a sophomore.

I think your prospects will be fine.
 
0xCA2 said:
Programming/Web Development (what I thought I would do after college) seem like very competitive fields, especially for new grads. I just don't believe i'll have the skills necessary to get hired after graduation.
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I worried about that while I was in school (for CS) as well. I'm not a very talented programmer, even though I can jump through the hoops for classes pretty well.

I was able to find a job within a week of graduating. The school sent an email out about positions an IT recruiting agency was trying to fill. Went through them, worked for cheap-ish for a few months, and now I feel like I'm making a plenty comfortable salary for a newbie.

I work in QA test automation, and just being familiar with programming would already make me way over qualified for my job, yet they only hire people with four year degrees (for the most part). It's low money for a tech job, but that's not the point here. The point is you don't have to be an amazing software architect or security expert to get a job. You can just be some guy with a piece of paper, and there can be opportunities.

The loan debt doesn't seem like much when you make enough each year to cover it. It's still going to take me a while, but I doubt you'll be out of luck finding a job and get crushed under debt.

From what I've seen, I'd only recommend dropping out if you're really talented, and can forge a career on your own merit/portfolio/ideas. Even then I think you're better off grabbing a degree to be safe.
 
Hollywood Duo said:
Hell no, unless you never want a decent job in your life. Even now there is a stigma against people without college degrees. Imagine what it'll be like in 30 years?
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Almost none of the people at my company have degrees and they pull in the big bucks, I'm just a lowly clerk so I don't pull in that stuff, but I already got a dollar raise.

Thank god I got healthcare and retirement, and even company paid life insurance. :)

I think since you aren't far from finishing you should just stick with it. I try not to give up on something unless I have tried several different ways to solve it.
 
28K is nothing if you are getting a degree in CS. I went back to school to get Computer Engineering and the jobs were 20k more compared to my EE degree.
 
Thank you all so much for the advice. I've learned a lot about my job prospects from this thread and feel much better about finishing my degree now.
 
I would say it depends on your goals, field, motivation, AND CONNECTIONS

I know people who finished school as an CS and got great jobs and play off loans within 2 years. And I know people who finish school in CS and is now working as a packer and shipper in a bike shop. I also know people who dropped out of school only to make it more than just fine.

There really is too many variables to give a straight answer. If you like math, and like the field it self in CS. Finish school, make connections (intern intern intern!), and getting a job would be a breeze. Especially if you get a degree at your current college.

But if you have the drive, to make it on your own then go for it. In the end it is going to be ultimately up to you. Hell even if you decide to drop out, it does not mean you can't go back. Whatever you decide to do, just do it and don't be stagnate. You really will not forgive yourself if you end up half assing anything you decide to do.
 
I wouldn't worry about the loans, hey, if you end up with a menial job afterwards then there is always income based repayment on loans. you could also get a job with the city of govt programming for them, then you could consider getting loan forgiveness.

There are ways, and especially with the mounting student loan debt, I'm sure in the future the govt will have to devise a plan to make student debt easier to get rid of.
 
Do not drop out. I have an A.S. and B.S. and I don't even work (wife does very well) but I still don't mind the $470/mth payment.... That degree... just feels good man.
 
ProfessorLobo said:
I have no desire to work for a place with such dumb policies. A lack of a BS does me a favor.
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We don't have years to invest in teaching people intro stuff. Most jobs worth having are a lot more specialized than they were 20 years ago. I'm already having to spend over half my day for the past month just teaching our programmer the nomenclature, so he can know how to do his job. Multiply that by edit: roughly 12 of full time work to train someone up, and you've got the amount of time it would take to teach someone with a blank slate enough so they could operate independently.
 
I dropped out of college after taking the technical courses I needed to do what I do (CCNP, SIP, VOIP, etc).

BUT

I also had a hell of a portfolio to prove my worth and was also working at an ISP in the mean time to have verifiable experience.

If you can take the technical courses you need, get some certifications, and get a job, then yeah, you can probably drop out and still be successful.
 
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