I am about as blue collar a developer as you can get.
Before I got into IT, I was a dock worker, a baker and a truck driver.
I supported myself driving a truck while I took a one year "Computer Programmer" course.
The differences in education are pronounced in junior developers, but by the time you get to intermediate and senior levels, where you went to school becomes far less important than how dedicated you are to your craft and improving your skills.
Pair programming, code reviews, and just generally working with people who are much better programmers / smarter people / better educated than I am has taught me far more than any courses I ever took.
Is there a stigma attached to my educational background? Sometimes, but not often. Mainly people care about your accomplishments and related experience often trumps education in a job search.
There is certainly something to be said for getting paid to learn on the job as opposed to paying to sit in a classroom.
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I am about as blue collar a developer as you can get.
Before I got into IT, I was a dock worker, a baker and a truck driver.
I supported myself driving a truck while I took a one year "Computer Programmer" course.
The differences in education are pronounced in junior developers, but by the time you get to intermediate and senior levels, where you went to school becomes far less important than how dedicated you are to your craft and improving your skills.
Pair programming, code reviews, and just generally working with people who are much better programmers / smarter people / better educated than I am has taught me far more than any courses I ever took.
Is there a stigma attached to my educational background? Sometimes, but not often. Mainly people care about your accomplishments and related experience often trumps education in a job search.
There is certainly something to be said for getting paid to learn on the job as opposed to paying to sit in a classroom.
Minus Forty is the magic temperature -40 C = -40 F = Damn Cold