
Ask HN: 19, developer, burnt out, advice please - throwaway8475
My highschool career could be summed up by one word - mediocre. I didn't do horrible, but I did minimal, except for being in the robotics club. I graduated with the minimal credits because I wanted to finish in 3 years. At the time the classroom environment felt toxic. I was 17 and landed a salaried position doing web development with a very cool company. 
Fast forward and I'm almost 20, don't really know if I feel a passion for software - or at least professionally. I realized I only enjoy software if I'm building what I want to build or something that interests me. I'm wondering what HN would do in my shoes, should I just go to college, or is there a better option? I'm willing to put the work into school but I wonder if the cost is worth it. Please consider I would have to start at a community college of sorts because of my academic history. Anyways, please share thoughts and suggestions, thanks.<p>edit: spelling
======
edw519
Go to college.

    
    
      Take science to discover something you're good at.
      Take humanities to discover something you may love.
      Take at least one art or music class.
      Take at least one advanced math class.
      Join a fraternity.
      Learn how to play bridge (and play all night sometime).
      Learn how to play foosball.
      Get drunk.
      Learn how to play foosball while drunk.
      Get laid.
      Play an intramural team sport.
      Get a part time job.
      Eat something you never tried before at least once/month.
      Get high.
      Do original research.
      Take a class you think you'll hate pass/fail.
      Do 5 minutes at a comedy club on open mike night.
      Hang out with a professor you like.
      Get laid.
      Do a web start-up on the side.
      Make a few friends for life.
      Go to at least one party each week.
      Pick a major you love whether it makes career sense or not.
      Get someone who has written one of your text books to sign it.
      Blog about your college experience.
      Get laid.
      Go to Europe with nothing but a backpack for a month or two.
      Enter a college talent show.
      Meet as many interesting (and boring) people as you can.
      Read good books.
      Go without shoes for a week just for the hell of it.
      Get laid.
      Graduate.
      

If you don't go to college, exactly when do you expect to do all of this?

~~~
ichverstehe
I've done most of that in one form or another, with nothing but an unfinished
high school education. Still am. Every time one of these threads comes along,
I get the impression that Americans don't get to have a social/independent
life until college. Is it really that way? I'm honestly curious.

(I'm 21 and in Denmark, fwiw.)

~~~
RDDavies
I think a lot of it is that here in America, we aren't exposed to many other
intelligent thinkers, or many folks interested in much other than their
homecoming date, or barely passing the SATs until we get to college. If I'd
met just ONE person as inspiring as high school as the tens of them I did in
college, I'd have had a significant head start.

------
jraines
An option:

It's almost winter. Ski resorts are hiring. You can meet awesome people in a
very low pressure work environment (hey -- a non-college ready made social
scene that doesn't cost 40K a year) and have access to head-clearing, soul
uplifting physical activity that beats the hell out of jogging. And you'll
still have the time and energy to code if you want. And if you want it to be
not just a distraction, well, it's a big time industry with connections to
other big time industries, and it's really easy to meet and talk with the
higher ups at the resort about how your talents might find a place in that
world that's not just shovelling snow or selling tickets.

Caveat: I also upvoted the "go to college" comment.

~~~
tjarratt
Upvoting this idea. I've spent quite a few weeks up in cabins producing code
that I had a hard time concentrating on elsewhere. Easy access to lots of
people with interesting stories (who are generally willing to listen to what
you have to say) and opportunities to clear your mind with some intense
exercise makes ski resorts a clear winner in my book.

Now that I think about it, quite a few of the good developers and engineers I
know are either ski bums, or worked in a ski resort when they got out of
secondary school / university.

~~~
throwaway8475
This sounds like an interesting plan. I'm in the south east U.S, any
suggestions on where to apply? What state would be the best? I've got $1k
laying around, for a single dude I can make that stretch.

~~~
jraines
I did Park City, Utah. Best snow on Earth and SLC is 35 mins away and has a
burgeoning startup scene (even their own YC style program in BoomStartup).
Rent is about in the 500 - 600 range. Less if you live 20 south in Heber.

~~~
bradendouglass
Park City is in my mind way better than Mammoth and SLC is a short hop away.
Utah isn't exactly California but it has Boulder and Denver near by if you
want to run to a "heavy" startup scene in the summer.

I was burned out of a job 2 years out of college and decided to drop it all
and head to Jackson Wyoming. You are locked off from a lot of civilization but
you meet some amazing people, have plenty of time to ski/snowboard and code.
Needless to say I have been away for 2 years and miss it dearly.

Good luck, burnouts are fun hurdles

------
wccrawford
My suggestion is to go get a job that sucks. After a couple years of doing a
job that's utter crap, you'll realize that doing fun things that other people
want done isn't really that bad after all. You'll gain a new appreciation for
the work.

Alternatively, try to do contract work. You'll either find that it suits you
well (you get to pick what jobs you do) or that you absolutely hate not having
someone between you and the client or that you need the structured environment
not-being-your-own-boss brings.

------
SabrinaDent
_I realized I only enjoy software if I'm building what I want to build or
something that interests me._

You know what? It's called work because it isn't fun. Most people do a day job
to pay the bills. It's part of being a grown-up and it comes with commitments
and responsibilities that yeah, sort of suck a lot of the time. Even if you're
lucky enough to do something you love for a living (and I am) it isn't
passionate enthusiasm all of the time.

If you can contract on the side with projects you're passionate about or build
your own projects, that's how a lot of people stay engaged with the work. If
you don't want to be a software developer at all, though, college seems like a
good option only if you're going back to find a new area you're genuinely
enthusiastic about.

~~~
xentronium
_You know what? It's called work because it isn't fun. Most people do a day
job to pay the bills. It's part of being a grown-up and it comes with
commitments and responsibilities that yeah, sort of suck a lot of the time.
Even if you're lucky enough to do something you love for a living (and I am)
it isn't passionate enthusiasm all of the time._

Know what? I guess, you're wrong. If you (abstract _you_ , not the _you_ I am
replying to) are doing things that you don't like, you're pitiful, at the very
least. I strongly believe that life is too short to waste it on things you
aren't "genuinely enthusiastic about".

My 2c.

~~~
elblanco
Man you must really enjoy paying bills and filling out paperwork and other
wonderful, fun, life affirming activities (haggling over a car, getting sick,
stuck in traffic, selling stuff). 'cause you can't get through life without
that.

~~~
muhfuhkuh
But "haggling over a car, getting sick, stuck in traffic, selling stuff" are
minor annoyances compared to sitting at a desk for at least 6 hours every day,
5 days a week, 261 days a year working on what amounts in your mind to be
absolute BS.

And, this is coming from someone who works a 9-to-5 (albeit from home, which I
believe helps IMMENSELY), and who is working on starting his second business
(the first one was totally misguided and I had no heart for the industry, so
it sorta fizzled out). I don't want to quit because the work sucks, I dig it
just fine; I just want to go my own way. That way, my complaints of low pay,
paltry vacation time, benefit shrinkage, or lack of a window overlooking cool
stuff flow straight to someone who may listen and respond a little better.

~~~
elblanco
It's a pyramid. Lots of folks, particularly young people in my experience,
don't really understand that you have to do lots of crap work in order to get
to do the fun stuff. It's simply not possible to only do fun things, or if it
is, I've never met anybody who was able to do it.

Most of the stuff you have to do to live is crap work nobody has a passion for
or wants to do, then there's some measure that's tolerable, then a little bit
that you look forward to, then there's a teeny tiny little bit up top that's
awesome fun.

If you try and set unrealistic expectations that you only want to work on the
teeny little bit that's fun, you'll always end up disappointed because the
rest of the crap work supports you being able to do the fun stuff.

Of course, if your job never lets you experience any fun stuff, then what's
the point? Move on. But don't expect you'll find a place that's only fun.

Even the craziest 90s dot-com companies, with pool tables, lava lamps, comfy
chairs, top-of-the-line machines, liberal dog policy, etc. ended up not really
being terribly fun places to work in the end, because they forgot to do the
crap work that nobody wants to do.

This phenomenon actually manifests itself in a very real way in the open
source world. Nobody actually wants to write device drivers or boot loaders or
other such drudgery, so that stuff simply doesn't get worked on. What we end
up with then is upteen million shells, window managers, audio subsystems, and
other junk yet nobody can get their wireless card to work. (okay, maybe a bit
of an exaggeration, but until the open source world found itself corporate
sponsors, lots of necessary but boring stuff simply didn't get built).

~~~
xentronium
I don't believe your example with opensource is relevant, because most people
in opensource don't get money for what they do, thus, it's fair that they're
looking for fun stuff.

------
icco
I'd go to college and get a degree. I was kind of burnt out at the end of high
school, so I did two things, the first was go work in the mountains for a
summer and then went to college. Four years later I'm kind of burnt out on the
whole college thing, but I've made a ton of friends, learned a lot, and gained
a lot of interests outside of computers, which have actually fueled my love
for computer science.

------
elblanco
Steps to happiness

1) Go to college (yet another monthly "should I go to college?" posts on HN
_sigh_ ). I didn't go until my 20's either, and I've yet to regret going. I
certainly regret going that late. The reasons to do it are numerous, but
there's one important one that matters above all else, it's an investment that
will pay for itself very quickly if you do it right, and will continue to make
you money long long after you've finished.

2) Learn to work on stuff you don't want to work on. I know I'll sound old and
crotchety, but that's what distinguishes adults from kids, adults spend most
of their time doing crap nobody wants to do because it just simply has to get
done. It take extraordinary discipline to do this, and you have to work hard
at building that kind of discipline. It doesn't mean you spend your life in a
joyless and soulless pursuit of meaningless trivia, it means you understand
you have to do shit work sometimes in order to get to play on stuff you want.

3) Learn to pace yourself. You aren't burned out yet, trust me. Do what you
are doing now, with twice the number of hours, plus a full course load, a
mortgage, a couple car payments and a family, and you'll learn what burnout is
within 4-5 years. But you should learn the skill, how to pace yourself,
because it really is amazing how much stuff people can juggle if you learn to
do it the right way. If you run around pumped to max with your brain on fire
for everything, you _will_ burn out in a few years.

------
lsc
Eh, I also had a very mediocre high-school career, and didn't go to college.

now, uh, as for burnout, at 19, it's probably social. Are you dating? do you
want to be? Put some effort into that arena. Maybe cut back a little on your
work effort, but my advice is to keep your job. (I mean, by all means, switch
jobs within your career focus if you see an opportunity... I'm just saying,
don't leave the field.)

When I was a little bit older than you I also felt burnt out. I quit, saying I
wasn't going to work in IT ever again. And I then failed to get all manner of
menial jobs. It was a miserable experience. I got another IT job within a
month or two, but it was a significantly worse job (in terms of experience
learned; it actually paid about the same... but I went from being the small
fish around some really great people to being the 'big fish') that I think
probably set my career back many years.

As for dating, uh, I can't give you specific advice, other than to say it's
like any other problem, if you put effort into it, you will make progress.

for social stuff in general, moving to silicon valley can give you a fresh
perspective. Nerds are concentrated here, and they have a higher social
standing in the valley than anywhere else I've lived. This can, to a large
extent, solve the problem of feeling like a supernerd that nobody likes or
understands, because it's very easy here to put yourself in a group where you
are the least nerdy person in the room.

------
maxdemarzi
1\. Go to community college, to spend as little as possible on the college
degree.

2\. Your education is your own to manage, don't expect anything out of class,
just do the work, pass and get the piece of paper.

3\. Find a few friends and make stuff now, while you have no 9-5
job/wife/kids/401k/etc. to worry about.

------
AngeloAnolin
1\. Rediscover your passion.

2\. Get away from work and analyze what it is you really want. Then pursue it.

3\. Have some time with your relatives, friends, and loved ones.

4\. Re-learn the value of being able to enjoy little and solitary moments for
yourself.

5\. Do some charity / volunteer work.

~~~
garrettgillas
I agree with #5 highly. I've found that doing charity/service work to be a
great way to regain focus on who I want to be when I start slipping towards
self-absorption. Genuinely helping other people out basically keeps you from
becoming a douche bag.

------
madhouse
Or better yet, combine the two suggestions before me: take a year off while
you can travel cheap, go to college, find friends, and let your creativity
bloom during that time.

That few years also buys you enough time to figure out if there's something
else that would keep you occupied and happy than web development.

------
garrettgillas
What you said pretty accurately described my high school experience. I'm 28
now. After HS I bummed around 2 different colleges over 6 semesters and 4
different majors. I never liked what I was learning very much so eventually I
just left because I had a full-time job as a sysadmin that had been doing
while attending school.

Since then I've been doing web development at a couple different smaller
agencies. Usually either the job is great and the pay sucks or vice versa.
That's my experience at least. It sounds pretty ungrateful now that I'm saying
it.

Anyway, a couple of moths ago the owners of my company said that they were
going to move to out of state and that all (5) of us were going to work from
home. At first I resisted, but then I realized that this could be an
opportunity. Despite the monotony of working at home, I have been a lot more
free to work on my side projects and the MVP for my startup eyeclash is
launching this month. I can honestly say that I've never felt better about the
work that I am doing.

So I guess my point is, don't expect the way you feel to change with the
scenery. College really didn't help me much with my personal aspirations and
neither did most of the jobs I've had. Working on my own stuff and
collaborating with others on "side projects" (aka possible startups) is really
the only thing that has been able to bring me the satisfaction that it sounds
like you are looking for.

------
lmkg
Explore life, and find out what it is you want to do. Maybe you want to start
your own company. Maybe you're ok working a nine-to-five if it's an exciting
project, or if affects people, or it's a small and driven environment. Maybe
what you really want to do isn't even programming, but something like writing
or architecture or graphic design. Just because you're got at software, that
doesn't mean it's what you want to do, and it doesn't mean that it's what it
should do.

There are two good ways to do this. One is going to college full-time, and
taking random-ass courses that you think might be interesting. Don't go for
the degree, don't focus on CS courses only. Go for the experience, put effort
into things that aren't required that you think may benefit you, and
especially talk to people. The second way is to get a boring nine-to-five job
that puts food on the table and gives you enough spare time to get a hobby or
a side project. Then just do whatever suits your fancy, until you find
something that suits your fancy and you want to be more serious about. Getting
a crappier job is actually better, as it will be easier psychologically to
drop it and follow your dream when you find it.

The third, less desirable, option is to be a bum. This is much like getting a
crappy job and exploring on the side, except without the job, and subsequently
without the food that it puts on the table. This requires either awesome
friends or a savings account. Be warned, it's habit-forming. I would recommend
the other 2 options because they'll teach you self-discipline, which is
important.

------
jkaljundi
If you want to build software that interests you, do become a startup
entrepreneur. Your product, your decisions, doing what you enjoy.

Why go to school, if you are not sure what your passion is? Only do that if
you are 110% sure that's what you want to do the rest of your life.

Take some time off. Do sports, have fun, talk to friends and other people
more. Discuss actively the things you like and don't like.

Enjoy whatever you do. Forget about things you don't like, or even worse. you
hate.

~~~
BCM43
> Why go to school, if you are not sure what your passion is? Only do that if
> you are 110% sure that's what you want to do the rest of your life.

What? This is one of the main things I think that he would get out of college.
It expands your interests and lets you experience things you would not
otherwise.

------
grobolom
Definitely go to college. As much as it seems like that stupid piece of paper
they call a degree is worthless and doesn't teach you anything, it shows more
than that; it shows that you have the dedication to follow through with
something difficult (difficult aka. boring as hell in the case of community
college) and that you have some basic skills.

It's awesome that you already have a ton of experience under your belt, but no
matter where you go, missing that degree is usually a red flag. Even if you
end up as an entrepreneur, it will get you away from a lot of awkward
questions. Not only that, but in taking some basic courses you might find that
you have some other passions that were hidden before. Not to mention the
hundreds of people you'll meet and make connections with.

Also remember that you might not have to go to a community college. Go to some
prospective schools, talk to their admissions officers and teachers. Your
three years in software development _do_ mean something, and theres a chance
you could get in to a school that would actually teach you a lot.

~~~
dinedal
Also, if you get stuck in a community college make your first year or two
mostly gen-eds, and transfer to a better school after proving yourself. Most
bigger university's run the community colleges anyway and will let you
transfer between the two easily, so pick your community college based on what
it can provide to you in transfers.

------
petervandijck
Take a year of. Travel the world. For real.

~~~
locopati
Since you have tech skills, earn some money on short-term contract and take
off for 6-12mo travelling. Can get around Europe or Asia for much cheaper than
you might think (biggest expense is getting there and even then you can find
good deals on tickets). You'll meet a lot of people, expand your horizons, and
have clear head-space to think about what excites you and how you want to live
your life.

------
David
For reference, I'm 19 and a freshman in college.

From my perspective, college has a lot to offer. Research, the chance to meet
important people in the field, the chance to meet interesting people out of
the field. These influenced my decision to be here (though I hadn't actually
considered the possibility that college wasn't a requirement).

If you know your interests, I think going to college (for a degree) is a great
way to go, because you can learn cool stuff full-time and meet people like
you. Clearly you thought you did know -- but it turns out that working as a
webdev wasn't the answer.

Given that, you probably need to talk to people who _aren't_ the people you
identify with. My vote is to take some time to find your interests, by
traveling or being a bum on the streets of New York. Talk to everyone you meet
about _their_ interests. (Make a point, of course, to meet anyone and everyone
you possibly can.) Hopefully you'll find that someone will infect you with
their own passion.

If none of those float your boat, then get a part time job (one that you won't
tie to your identity -- it's hard to get burnt out from being a waiter, even
if it sucks to do) and make enough to pay your living expenses while you take
classes in any subject you can think of at a community college. (Not for a
degree, but to see if anything catches your interest.)

Whatever path you need to take, find _something_ that interests you. And then
do it.

If it turns out later that web development (but only cool projects) is really
what you want to do, then do it. If you still can't do it as a salaried
position, other HNers have recommended going freelance. I'd say either that or
keep your non-identity day job while you build shit on the side -- just make
sure that one of your projects is making you enough money to put something
away, because you won't be able to live forever on next to nothing.

------
Sindrome
I think you definitely need to change things up. Try taking up a new platform
on the side. Take a new job. Go to school and work part-time.

You don't have any kids, mortgage, etc... so the world is pretty much yours to
conquer if you really wanted to. You can try whatever you like to find your
passion. What's the worst that could happen. You run up a few thousand dollars
of debt at age 21. Most of your peers will be around 30k in debt once they
finish college.

------
trizk
"I realized I only enjoy software if I'm building what I want to build"

You sound like an entrepreneur to me. Find something you want to build, and
build it. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

------
fpotter
Yes, go to college but don't go for the piece of paper, and don't go to a
community college if you can help it.

I was in almost exactly the same situation as you at 19 (28 now). I screwed up
HS to the point where no good university would accept me, and spent 18-20
doing web dev and not really growing. I realized I had to get out of there.

My advice: go to whatever 4-year, brick and mortar university will accept you
and WORK HARD to prove your HS transcript is not an accurate assessment of
your abilities. Live on campus. Then transfer to the best school you can
that's going to give you the most opportunities for growth. I ended up at a
big research university where you could get involved in research as an
undergrad, and loved it.

Another thing: hang out with the right people. I think people, to a certain
extent, are just a product of their peer group. If you're surrounded by smart,
motivated people, it's going to rub off on you.

If you have a choice, I'd recommend not starting at a community college. It's
harder. You're not going to be surrounded by people with the same mindset and
goals.

------
michaelhart
Start a company, something you feel passionate about.

Another important thing: Have a balanced life. Focusing too much on one thing
works great for a while, but it never lasts. You always need time to wrap your
head around other problems or, better yet, nothing at all (entertainment).
It's like listening to the same song over and over again -- it sounds terrible
eventually.

------
harscoat
the only thing I wished I had known at your age is the "10 000 hours rule". It
is hard to find one's calling... but sometimes the "calling" is
retrospectively the place where you have put in the most hours.

Also what wccrawford describes worked for me (I just needed couple of month at
a crappy job, to be so happy/thankful to go to college).

------
fleitz
Suck it up and do something. The best things in life are neither easy, nor
fun. In hindsight they will seem fun, and you will get great joy from
accomplishing them. However, when you are in the shit it will not seem fun.

You think college is just doing what you want? If you can suck it up for
college suck it up for a business. You're getting paid to learn. Start taking
charge at work, and start it by taking on the responsibilities no one else
wants.

Leverage your youth and things you've already accomplished into a compelling
story. Start going to industry events and network.

Use the fact that you have a decent job already to spend less hours working
and more hours networking. Find the opportunities you want and grab them by
the horns.

In life you eat what you kill. Learn to enjoy the hunt.

------
svrocks
You don't have to go to college if you are self-motivated. I actually think
it's detrimental because it fills the time and gives you an excuse for being
lazy. "Oh but I'm going to school already, I don't have time to hack together
X with all my schoolwork!".

My unqualified advice: learn machine learning/AI. MIT OpenCourseware has good
lecture notes and I believe Stanford's ML course has free lecture videos.
These were the most interesting parts of my undergrad experience (and very
practical too)

------
jasonshen
Not sure if school is worth the cost right now... but maybe try doing
something outside of software development. Have you considered something in
the social sector / volunteer work? One of the best ways to get more excited
about life is feeling like you're really helping others and making a
difference people's lives, especially people less fortunate than yourself.

------
charlesdm
I turned 20 a couple of months ago and have been working full time for around
a year and a half. Now, recently, I started doing contract work and I'm going
to travel a bit over the next year. If you do contract work, you can charge a
higher rate and thus work less as well -- at least for a while. :)

Also, I'd say go to college if you want to, but don't feel pressured.

------
variety
Really now, a major part of dealing with "burnout" is to think of it as a
necessary part of personal growth and self-discovery process -- more like a
simple need to detach and "sleep" once in a while, rather than a kind of a
crash or a breakdown as we are inculcated into thinking it as being.

------
kreedskulls
Sounds like to me you need to understand your environment and take advantage
of the opportunity. If you work for a very cool web development company then
learn everything you can while building your own thing on the side.

------
bitwize
I dunno. Bartend? Sign up for one of those teach-English-in-Japan things?

Get away from the fucking computer for a while. In your off hours you'll come
screaming back to it with an itch to code.

------
retube
burnt out at 19? You're gonna be a crisp by the time you're 30. Sorry not be
more constructive, but I only have limited resources.

------
peterbotond
go and research hard cover books of your subjects in a liberal arts
univerisity's library of your choice. for a fee many will let you read books,
take 2 home for 10 days, do it for 6 months, see what happens. the fee is less
than a whole semester and many of the teachers, librarians are very helpful.
have a good quest.

------
basicxman
This is so scarily complimenting my life I'm paranoid of this throwaway
account.

------
seunosewa
Go ahead and find something useful that interests you, then just do it.

------
mikeyur
I'm 19, dropped out of school in grade 12 to work at a startup and continue my
freelance career (internet marketing) that I had been doing throughout high
school. I spent 7 months at a startup and the 9-5 burnt me out, it's pretty
sad. I can do 100 hours a week for myself, but 40-50 hours for someone else is
impossible. I have no idea how my parents did it, because it fucking killed
me.

I quit my job and took a trip to London. Best idea I've ever had. Keep working
until you have a small cushion and then quit, take a 1 month vacation in a
country much different than your own and just try to enjoy yourself. Meet new
people, spend time hacking on stuff you enjoy, just do what makes you happy. A
couple weeks in London gave me a fresh look on stuff, gave me a chance to
'grow up' a bit. I've been called 'mature for my age' since I was 10, but this
really made me realize I know absolutely nothing.

I got back, went back to freelancing and playing with startup ideas/meeting
new people locally in my spare time (90% of my days). I had so many new
business ideas and markets I could approach for freelance work, I thought of a
handful of products. I meet with people who are much smarter than myself and
bounce ideas off of them - bullshitting with another entrepreneur over coffee
can give you so much insight on markets, product ideas, etc.

I have a few things that make me happy: friends, making my own money, and
building cool shit. I've accomplished the first two, and working on that last
part at the moment. I still live at home and my next big step in life is
moving out, not sure if it will make me happy but I think it's a big step in
the 'growing up' epiphany I had.

I can't comment on college, but for a few weeks last year I felt I might be
missing out on something seeing my friends' facebook pictures of them at their
new school. I thought about going to school for a 'real' non-tech degree,
something simple like a pharmacist assistant (<$2k for whole course and a
guaranteed job) but that phase passed. The whole situation reminded me of how
much I hated high school and how this is very much like an extension with all
of the required courses. I like how free I am, I like working stupid hours on
stuff that makes me happy (or money - I've found they're kinda related in my
case). I'm looking at drop-in college courses for things like iPhone app
development, or an intro to web application development that they offer at a
local technical college - being a marketing guy trying to find technical co-
founders is a bitch, think I need to expand my brain and at least give
development a shot. I need to throw myself into unfamiliar situations to grow,
like last month when I had to talk in front of ~30 strangers at an event -
simple for some, panic-attack inducing for others, but I pushed through it and
felt better in the end.

You have to try something new, get out of your current situation for a bit. If
anything you'll recharge your batteries and come back with a new point of view
on things, or have a total epiphany and make a drastic change. Just try to do
what makes you happy. My email/twitter are in my profile, my phone number is
on my website, feel free to email/call me because we're both kinda going
through the same thing. I have ideas I want to bounce off of people, and am
always putting myself in a position to make new friends or find a co-founder
for some project I think could work. This offer is open to anyone else in the
HN community as well.

------
Deejahll
I was in exactly your position. Mediocre high school, a few years of a
programming job. In my case, I chose a community college followed by a state
school followed by a new job.

The choice to go to school is debatable, depends on your money situation. Out
of the five years it took me to get my Computer Science bachelor's, I had only
about ten really worthwhile classes. The rest just seemed like going through
the motions. I think it would have been different if I had picked a different
major.

On the other hand, I met my wife and made some of my best friendships at
school.

When I think back I consider what I might rather have done instead: build a
start-up company, or travel. But both of those would require money that I
didn't have, so school (for which I could get loans) was the best choice for
me at the time.

If you go:

Community college wasn't the cutting edge of academics, but it was cheap and
helped me make the transition. (Read: I had trouble with motivation and
getting to class on time, and those mistakes are easier to deal with at a
cheap community college.) Get your GPA up and then you'll have your pick of
good-quality state schools. High enough and you won't have to pay for them.

I don't regret choosing a state school after that. I'm happy I didn't rack up
more student loan debt.

Don't overload yourself with credits. I regret doing so. Take a moderate load
and do something interesting with your extra time. (Like your personal
programming projects and experiments. Or do research as an undergrad.)

Don't major in computer science. I regret doing so. Major in something "cool,"
a natural science like Physics or Astronomy, or something you can really sink
your brain into like Mathematics or Philosophy, or something that's not easy
to pick up as a spare time hobby like electrical engineering. Or any other
"real" subject that interests you. Take interesting computer science classes
as electives. Minor or double-major in it if you want. You can teach yourself
the same amount from a book, and your future employers won't care what your
major is in, if you can demonstrate that you know what you're doing. Plus,
having some science under your belt can lead to an awesome career of
discovery, instead of being a cubicle monkey re-writing back-end software for
a greedy bank or telecom company. (Burnout all over again.)

If you're anything like me, and this is my number one regret about school: go
to the fucking gym at least three times a week. Doesn't matter if you look
great or not: It's free and it's good for your _brain_. I stopped going to the
gym in school citing "lack of time" and slipped into an unmotivated depression
that almost ruined my school, my marriage, my basically everything. Do
whatever it takes to stay active. I wish I could go back in time with a
baseball bat and knock some sense into myself.

After school, if you took out loans to go, you're a slave until you pay them
off. If you do the above without failing, you'll get a decent job. I recommend
making the minimum payments, live frugally until you build up a savings
account. It might be cheaper in the long run to pay the loans off as quickly
as possible, but then you don't have the ability to quit a job if you burn out
again, and coast or travel the world for a bit.

------
alnayyir
I had the same experience, I went straight from a mediocre HS career to
development, and I did reach a point where I was burnt out (partially because
of a horrible gig, but we'll ignore that)

Just...do something else. More than likely, you'll come back to it later. (If
you don't, that's cool too, but I honestly enjoy programming for its own
sake.) The ski resort idea is solid, personally what I ended up doing was
starting my own business, failing, doing contract work here and there while
getting an education in comp sci and philosophy.

Going to college isn't a horrible idea if you don't know what you want to do,
but I think that's something you could do after doing some working/travelling
for a bit. (Caveat: I still haven't gone to formal school)

