

Ask HN: How to get a development job without a college degree? - rlcn

I'm currently a student at a top-10 computer science school who is on leave of absence because of poor academic performance. Right now I'm taking a few classes at my local community college and I'm thinking about getting a job soon. The problem is currently I have no college degree, and if I mention my current school they will probably ask for my transcript, and I don't want to give that out because my GPA is under a 1.5.<p>I'd like to get a development job of some sorts, or maybe some entry-level IT position, but unsure where to start because I have no previous work experience. I have several years of experience in Web development with PHP and MySQL and a bit of knowledge in C++ and Python. And I have some projects (mostly web apps) that I made which could probably serve as a portfolio and be put on my personal website, but I'm not sure if that's enough to get my foot in the door, let alone count as work experience.<p>Also because my GPA is so low and my school is quite expensive, I'm thinking of withdrawing and just starting over at a local 2-year CC then transferring to a school with a good CS/eng program (there are a few in my area). I honestly don't think I'm going to graduate and get my BS in CS at this school, even though I'd like to have the prestigious degree on my resume.<p>What should I do?
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shanelja
I am currently 19 years old and in my second job in the industry, I was
completely self taught and didn't even finish what you would consider high
school (since in the UK we leave when we are 16.) Your degree is a piece of
paper which tells your employer you are capable of learning and remembering
large quantities of data and theory, your practical experience on the other
hand, is what tells your employer you are genuinely capable of doing the job.

Get yourself an internship or go work for a small company for 6 months or a
year, you will learn soon enough that your degree is mostly irrelevant and
that university is more-so for building character and connections than actual
practical experience.

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barredo
The most obvious to me are: Apply to internships in your zone and start
github-ing to let others watch your work

