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Segador
09:10 AM

In reply to How a HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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 HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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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(Starman) Starman
10:46 AM

@Curves: I, too, am also a buccaneer. It would explain the strange and strong interests that I've had in historical events.

What really attracts me to history is that it's one-way logic: all past and present events can affect the future, but what you do in the future cannot affect the past.

I also tend to also take the classes that interest me one way or the other, and I find that I learn more out of that experience than just taking a class for industrial workplace purposes.
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Curves promoted this comment Edited by (Starman) Starman at 11/27/09 10:47 AM (Starman) Starman was starred

Curves
10:46 AM

@(Starman) Starman: If we forget the past, we are doomed to relive it.
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(Starman) Starman
10:54 AM

@Curves: Happens every goddamn time I accidentally hit the reset button. URGH
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Pope John Peeps II
07:58 AM

In reply to How a HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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 HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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

Jacubious
01:04 AM

In reply to How a HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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

Torley
12:16 AM

In reply to How a HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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 HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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 HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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 HS Dropout Became the Youngest Boss 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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valkilmerisawful
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless
I'm packing a suitcase and going to New Zealand to read lots of books. I wouldn't be caught dead with an e-book. There something satisfying about the feel of turning pages, the scent of paper, and generally appearing more intellectual than people around you who are not reading books at that moment.
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donwonton
11/25/09

@valkilmerisawful: Nevermind pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter to air, water, and land in both Canada and the United States.
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valkilmerisawful
11/25/09

@donwonton: Yes, let's nevermind that. Never happened...
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Wraithen
11/25/09

@valkilmerisawful: I love books. I love the way they feel, I love the way they smell, I love cracking open a crisp new one nearly as much as I love returning to an old one and reliving the hours I've shared with it.

Nothing will ever replace paper books.

I also love my e-book reader. it lets me enjoy reading in a completely different way than I used to.

I guess the way I look at it, just because you bought an mp3 player, you didn't stop enjoying your vinyls.
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DeLarge
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless
At 1:28, looks like boobs, jejeje...
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Digo
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless
Awesome, I can't wait to upload this video to my nook.

P.S. j/k I hate ebooks.
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Bertone77
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless
*jaw drops*

/goes to grab unfinished book off nightstand
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Kaiser-Machead
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless
By FSM's noodles,

This is outstanding. Somewhere out there someone's eBook just snapped in half.
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met2art
11/25/09

@Kaiser-Machead: rAmen to that...
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Edited by met2art at 11/25/09 10:59 AM met2art was starred met2art was unstarred

BergenCountyJC can't beat MW2
11/25/09

In reply to Spectacular Stop Motion Book Ad Make eBooks Seem Downright Soulless

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