

Ask HN: Unsure where to go from here - nnwa

Hey there guys and gals,<p>I&#x27;m posting here as I browse frequently and figured I&#x27;d get some good responses.<p>I&#x27;m from Melbourne, and I&#x27;ve just turned 18. I&#x27;m not sure what I want to pursue or how to go about it. I&#x27;ve got 3+ years of experience in Penetration Testing&#x2F;Web Security but no actual qualifications. There are massive gaps in my knowledge and I&#x27;m not sure if I should be trying to get an internship or get a qualification of some kind. Any advice would be great at this point. I also haven&#x27;t learnt a programming language (I&#x27;ve learnt what was essentially required during Penetration tests). Does anyone have any suggestions as to what language to pick up, and if so which one to start with?<p>Any advice is appreciated. Thanks all!
======
seldo
Though by no means essential for a career in computing, a computer science
degree is incredibly useful. At the very least, at the end of your course the
skills you have now will have been given a stamp of authenticity by the
accreditation, but in the best case the high-level tour of computing provided
by a good degree course will have introduced you to concepts that will make
you a better developer, and possibly sparked a deeper interest in some part of
the field you're currently unfamiliar with, that will help guide you in
picking the next stage of your career.

Choose wisely though: all degrees are not equal, and depending on the expense
involved (I don't know what tertiary education costs are like in Oz) they may
not be a net win.

~~~
nnwa
Thanks for that - Can you give me any recommendations of a qualification I
could take online which would be worth having for the piece of paper?

~~~
seldo
None of the online-only sources are yet at a level of quality where I, wearing
my hiring-manager hat, would take them seriously enough to justify the money
spent. They'll get there eventually, but they're not there now.

Is there any reason you can't/don't want to attend a physical university?

~~~
nnwa
No, but if I can do it from home that works equally as well for me.

