

Occupy Hacker News? - robomartin

Sorry for the indirection.  I've posted this twice on HN and have gotten virtually no input.  Disconcerting because this is very much on-topic for HN.  So I figured I have to "SEO" the thing and see if I can get the right eyeballs on the post:<p>After twenty years working as a hardware/software engineer in various fields I am thinking about completing a degree. I never finished mine. I originally went for a EE. Took most of the science, math, physics and a couple of programming courses. Got bored.<p>By the time I was done with my second semester in college I had designed and built my own robots (as in: machine the parts and assemble, no kits) and all of the computers and electronics to drive them. I implemented all of the low-level code in FORTH (which I wrote from scratch) and wrote the high level operating software to run on a PC. This project became the subject of a paper I presented at an international conference on the subject. Again, school was like being in a slow-motion scene in a movie. I had to move faster.<p>I was designing and programming my own computers from scratch. By that I mean, wire-wrapping chips and writing the BIOS in assembler, implementing FORTH from scratch, designing my own floppy disk controllers from scratch and implementing drivers, etc. School felt very slow and painful, I was learning and doing interesting things at a much faster pace on my own.<p>Later-on I got in to FPGA's and went on to design boards to do real-time image processing in hardware. Again, I did the hardware (high-speed design, signal integrity, DDR memory, GHZ-range I/O), all the firmware (Verilog) and real-time OS for an embedded micro (8051 derivative) that ran the whole thing.<p>In all I accumulated experience programming in Assembler (various), C, C++, Forth, Lisp, Visual Basic, Objective-C, PHP, Javascript/jQuery, Verilog and probably a few more languages.<p>Now, years later, I am thinking about the idea of completing a bachelors in CS degree online. The motivations are many. From personal accomplishment to the idea of going further and opening the doors to get into research in a field I love, robotics. I am fascinated by humanoid robotics and want to contribute, but, despite my accomplishments, the lack of degrees stands in the way of participating in that field.<p>I'm wondering what HN members think about the various programs now available. I've looked at University of Illinois and a few others. Not sure how they all rank.<p>I am also very interested in the possibility of receiving credit for some of what I've done over the years. I mean, I could probably teach some of these courses with some prep. I wonder if these programs allow one to take a test and bypass the class altogether.<p>BTW, most programs start in Feb/March, hence my hurry in getting some feedback in order to make a decision.  Thanks!
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networkjester
FWIW

If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time and money on getting a degree. If
you've had that much experience in various fields it should be relatively easy
to find a way into the robotics industry.

Plus, if you have the money and the time to "validate" yourself by going
through the monotony of classes which sound like they would already be well
beneath your level, I would say you would be better off by putting that money
and time toward your own robotics company.

It sounds like you have more than enough initiative to accomplish the tasks
you set out on. Why waste time getting a worthless piece of paper to show your
level of worth? Just to work for a company that can't understand the value of
someone beyond what they see on paper?

Think up the next wave of robotics you'd like to see in this world. Then do
whatever it takes to make it a reality.

Build a company to work for if you can't find one that will hire you from your
background alone.

Now. ;)

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robomartin
Thanks for your kind words. In reality I was somewhat headed in that
direction. I started a tech business out of my garage about 12 years ago. Self
funded. A manufacturing business. Based out of the US. Tough and capital
intensive. After moving out of the garage I grew it to the point of having,
under one roof, just about anything you'd need to design and manufacture quite
a range of products: EDA tools, lab, prototyping equipment, fully-stocked Haas
CNC shop, etc. Then 2008 happened. Long story short, we were not ready for the
financial test that the economic downturn brought forth. After twelve long
years of hard work the business went under. So, yes, I am basically broke.

The problem with launching a robotics business is that it is very capital
intensive. And, if it happens to be about humanoid robotics the potential for
revenue is fairly limited. Most real humanoid robotics is still in the
research domain. I don't know if I am interested in making toys. Maybe I
should consider it. Still, making physical products is capital intensive and
there's a very long delay between investment and revenue generation. Unless
doing something relatively trivial the runway required is orders of magnitude
greater than for, say, an Internet startup.

My guess is that there is no way to get into humanoid robotics research
without a degree. Even if one wanted to explore SBIR funding opportunities you
need the legitimacy that degrees provide.

I don't know everything. In fact, I am keenly aware of just how much I don't
know. However, constant learning is a way of life for an engineer. And that's
exactly what I've been doing my whole life. This, for me, seems to be one of
those "if you can't beat them, join them" moments.

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jester5
Actually, I would go for it. I think with your experience the University of
Illinois would be more than enough.. Crap.. A degree from University of
Phoenix would make you CIO with that knowledge.. I'm not trying to hype you up
but honestly with you experience any degree should work..

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robomartin
University of Illinois keeps coming up as a good option. Frankly, I am not
sure about some of the "easy" programs out there. For example, there's a BS in
CS program out of the University of Atlanta that costs $12K for the entire
program. A superficial look of at the program gives me the idea that it might
just be a waste of money. For reference, UofI cost about four times that much.

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jester5
If you could some how port all that knowledge to "right cerebral hemisphere" I
would flat out give you my degree..

