[ale] Making kids stop being entitled slackers with free software

[leam hall]

Dustin, I can't really agree with you on this one. My degree has
nothing to do with operating systems at all. Most of my certifications
and training have come after I taught myself the material. College is
an expensive and not really great option unless you really need it
(Physics, Chemistry, EE).

Success is based on hunger, not privilege. If you're teaching yourself
Linux then you are probably far ahead of those who go to college for
Comp Sci. They may have written a compiler. Great. You can save your
company tens of thousands of dollars in much less time.

If you want to get into this career, I'd recommend reviewing the
material in https://class.coursera.org/startup-001  and helping
someone with a project or three. You won't get paid in dollars but in
experience and resume bullets.

Leam

On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 10:51 AM, Dustin Strickland
<dustin.h.strickland at gmail.com> wrote:
> I wasn't very motivated as a teen, either. I dropped out at 16 because
> the curriculum bored me(a major failing of our education system, but
> that's for another thread) and started going to school for radiology,
> but I couldn't keep it up because our parents are "rich." I didn't
> qualify for enough financial aid to keep going. If he drops out like
> I did, he's not going to be able to go to college for the same reason;
> not to mention that they keep tightening their grip on the financial
> aid.
>
> I'm 21 now, and I'm devoting all my time to studying Linux so I can
> get certified and either start up my own company, or as a contingency
> plan, go work for someone more established. And no shit - it is *hard*.
> I taught myself just about everything I know from self-developed
> exercises, working odd jobs in the field, scouring MIT's free
> coursework, reading mind-numbing amounts of man pages and any free
> ebooks I can find. I don't want him to have to put himself through
> school, becoming his own teacher, like I'm doing just so he can have a
> decent career. It would be much easier on him if he used his brain to
> graduate with honors like my dumb ass should have done.
>
> On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 10:03:41 -0500
> leam hall <leamhall at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I must confess to being a pretty unmotivated teen and
>> twenty-something.Thirties were pretty slack, IIRC. Once I found my
>> niche things took off. Every few years I re-evaluate and am either
>> renewed or ramping up in a new direction.
>>
>> Sometimes I regret missed opportunities of youth. Yet with a late
>> start I've not done bad and enjoy life much of the time.
>>
>> Leam
>>
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