So you want to become a software developer, but you are stuck between two cross-roads
- Become a self-taught software developer
- or, study go to college and study it through school
But which one is truly better and, should you really go to college? Well let’s find out.
So as a self-taught software developer myself and also studying software development at college, I will share you my experience from both perspectives which are good and bad.
Is being self-taught the best?
Being self-taught has it’s own share of pros and cons just like anything else but the biggest advantage that I’ve seen is that you are not dependent on what school wants to teach you.
In fact, you can learn way more within 2 months of self-study than you learn at college in a 4 year time span.
But, should you go to college?
It really depends on what you want to do afterward, do you want to work for another company or do you want to become a freelancer?
If you want to work for a company, unfortunately going to school will give you some extra credits, which I disagree with.
Why?
Well its simple, going to college does not justify your knowledge of programming at all. In fact, I’ve seen people who just finished college who are horrible at programming while the self-taught developers are actually good.
Besides that, do you want to spend thousands of dollars on education and still be in debt afterward?
And what is your age? are you someone who’s trying to switch careers or did you just turn 18 years of age?
If you are an adult already, you should not go to college at all since it will be a waste of your time. Instead, go study it yourself or get an mentor to help you out.
Conclussion
If you are still under 20 years of age, yes you can go to college but only if you practice your skills during your free time as well. If you only learn it at school, then it’s going to be a waste of your time.
Otherwise, you should become a self-taught developer because not only will you learn way faster, but you will also have way more freedom in what you want to do later with it.
Oh and btw, if you do want to become a software developer but you are tired of all the confusing video tutorials and articles on the internet, go send me a message on my Facebook saying “I want to become a software developer”.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/michielarkemaofficial/
Or check out the program at: https://michielarkema.com/software-developer-accelerator
