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Segador
09:10 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
Great read, but James is extremely lucky. He's obviously very intelligent and hard-working, but his story seems to devalue the increasing importance of a "traditional" education in our workforce today.

I haven't read his book, but from his tone in this excerpt, he seems to feel that those who toil for years in school to earn a degree aren't really independent thinkers, but sheep in the quest of a piece of paper.

"I talked to coworkers who wanted to further their education, but they typically spoke in terms of getting a new piece of paper, such as a bachelor's degree, a masters, or a PhD."

Right. That's because this is how we've measured and confirmed the educational level of individuals for centuries. Educating yourself is fantastic, but try getting a research or medical position by telling them you've really been boning up on your biochemistry lately.

Granted, an advanced degree on someone's resume is by no means a guarantee of the person's intelligence or ability, but it does demonstrate that they've put in the years of hard work that the degree required. That, more than anything else, speaks to the nature of the person.
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Edited by Segador at 11/27/09 9:11 AM Segador was starred Segador was unstarred

Curves
08:31 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
What a great read. I didnt know it, but I am a "buccaneer" too. I am constantly taking some class or other, not toward a degree, but for the purpose of learning, discovering, and putting the pieces together. Overall, I like how my brain works when I am learning. It seems to be in a mode of taking more in, mulling more over, and just generally running more productivly. I hope to never stop learning and encourage everyone to do the same. Yes, its hard work, but the results are very much worthwhile.
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Pope John Peeps II
07:58 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
There certainly are a tremendous number of people on this thread with comments extolling how much they LOOOVE to learn.

Psychologically, this thread is quite compelling.
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Odin
07:45 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
Ick testing. My personal opinion of it is low. It's quite possibly one of the most boring parts of software development, no scratch that it is the MOST boring part. I was going to say it's in close competition with documentation but since testing often involves its own set of testing documentation it wins for just bringing more of that crap to the table.

Granted it does have to be done but I don't think I could ever bring myself to do something like software testing full time. I prefer to write stuff, do some informal testing, when I'm happy it should work forget about it and just fix it when someone else finds a problem with it.
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Edited by Odin at 11/27/09 7:46 AM Odin was starred Odin was unstarred

SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!
05:34 AM

In reply to Apple's Black Friday Sale?
Black friday sales are also available here in Brazil...WOOT
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Edited by SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!! at 11/27/09 5:45 AM

SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!
05:46 AM

@SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!: Oh shit, the savings do not worth it -_-
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Jacubious
01:04 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
Part of it is finding a good opportunity. My current employer was able to look past my lack of training in the industry to see that I was a good candidate for the position. I feel fortunate that my boss hired me with that kind of perspective as it seems pretty rare.

And on the topic of university and education; if you can combine that thirst for knowledge in a good educational setting, it can be nirvana. Reading through the course calender is like walking through a Candy-shop as a child. Sitting in discussions about topics that have kept you up at night is an amazing experience. University certainly isn't for everyone, but there are good reasons it is valued.
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Edited by Jacubious at 11/27/09 1:05 AM Jacubious was starred Jacubious was unstarred

Benguin
12:25 AM

In reply to Stair Dismount iPhone Game Hands On (Verdict: Sadistic Fun)
I'm going to have to check it out. Is it the same devs as the original?

... also I'm sure you probably just forgot, but a mention of the price and a link the iTunes store would be nice. I wouldn't usually complain, but since that info is usually in these reviews I just wanted to point out the small oversight. Which for the record, it's $2.99 [itunes.apple.com]
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Edited by Benguin at 11/27/09 12:26 AM Benguin was starred Benguin was unstarred

Torley
12:16 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
As an intense autodidact who rarely finds my energy for learning eclectic topics (virtual worlds, electronic music production, procedural texture creation, domestic automation, typography, VHS artifacts, neuroscience, etc.) matched with a likeminded soul — but am exceedingly grateful when I do — this does look like a "wonderful read". I'll check it out further on Amazon.

James sounds like an exception, so this is definitely not applicable to everyone, but those who can relate (and may feel doubt if they're following the right path) will surely leap up and do *jazz hands* like myself. After all, exceptions are exceptional.

I give thanx, James and Gizmodo!
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stevewoz
12:16 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
We had a few other young managers without a college degree when we started.

I was thankful that HP let me design calculators because I had the ability to, even though I had no degree.

Getting that 'paper' does give you a place and time to develop and learn on your own at the same time.

And getting my degree later on gave me a place to identify myself with. It's like the 'paper' is a symbol of who I am more than testimony that I'm smart enough to do a job. It's something desirable for emotional reasons, in other words.
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dagamer34
12:02 AM

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
As great as these stories are, I think people seem to forget that the world was a MUCH different place 20-30 years ago. Might I remind you that 10 years ago, similar stories from Google and Yahoo! were from PhD candidate students, not high school dropouts.
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Dreamwriter
01:23 AM

@dagamer34: The world isn't really all that different. It's sorta different in that there is more competition for jobs right now, but that's a temporary state and a lot of tech jobs are still really needing people. And 9 years ago I got into my dream job as a game programmer with no college degree - I taught myself to program the Gameboy Color, made a demo game, and started interviewing around showing them my demo and discussing how I wrote it. Tech companies are smart, they know that a degree is less important than actual real-world experience.

Heck, I still don't have a degree - I've used all my spare time learning new programming techniques, learning to develop for new game systems (popular and not), etc. As long as you keep learning, you can keep yourself in the game doing what you want.
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craftmike
01:29 AM

@dagamer34: True. 1987 was a good time to be THIS guy in THAT place. I intend to read the book, but I'll probably view it through the filter of Macolm Gladwell's Outliers.
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Wilson Rothman
03:08 AM

@craftmike: Hate to just sound provocative, but you might be better off viewing Gladwell's Outliers through the filter of James' book.
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ReconToaster misses garnett :(
11/26/09

In reply to How a Self-Educated HS Dropout Became the Youngest Manager at Apple
Ugh. I don't think reading this would really encourage me to bring up those straight Cs.

The institutions established by our society might suck, but only those who manage to get through them will ever be in a position to put an end to them.
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dingus
11/26/09

@ReconToaster misses garnett :(: I'm adding this to my Amazon wishlist and will pick it up once I finish my degree. I already did one round of drop-out-of-college-and-land-a-professional-career and did well by it, but I need the stupid piece of paper this time.
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BubbleF**kingBuddy
11/26/09

In reply to The Best Gadgets
I can't believe the COWON S9 got no love in the PMP section. It straight-up blows the iPod Touch and Zune HD out of the water.
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skierpage
11/26/09

In reply to BassJump Brings MacBooks a Bit of Bump
It's complement!

Compliment: "You look marvellous!"

Complement: to be something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect; one of two mutually completing parts; counterpart.
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Odin
11/26/09

In reply to The Best Gadgets
The best gaming PC will always be one you build yourself.
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Duckspwn
11/25/09

In reply to The Best Gadgets
I considered putting something about how "The Best Video Game Console: Xbox 360" made me let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. But then I decided not to. Oh, wait a minute...
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