Within my lifetime, programmers will be paid minimum wage...
Bull. Absolute bull. There are some subset of programmers that will be paid minimum wage. Web coders, people writing crap for the mass market, but true coders will always be in demand, and therefore be paid appropriately. Coding takes creativity, dedication and intuition. Along with the talent and brains to do the code itself. Don't fool anyone into thinking that anyone can write code.
The reason for the prohibition of servers is two fold. One is to get you to buy the premium service. Two is because, like it or not, there are people out there who don't know how to secure a server. These are the same people who complain the loudest when they get cracked, or shut off for AUP violations.
Running servers is, for the vast majority that do it in violation of the AUP, not bandwidth intensive. But cable modem is asymetrical. Your provider would much rather you downloaded to your computer, and not uploaded. HFC's are pricey little widgets.
As a hiring manager in the unix biz, I can tell you up front that in 5 years, you are gonna have a tough time getting a job without a degree. Right now the single biggest reason I turn away candidates is lack of skills at programming (Be it shell, perl, C, anything). Most people don't pick this stuff up on their own, they learn it for one of two reasons:
1) They went to school and got the foundation for programming. 2) Their employer had the overhead to pay them while they learned thier job.
In the current economy, nobody wants to hire someone they have to train at $60K a year. Just not feasible. I have a staff of 10+ admins, and the one's without degrees are older than you and have had the time and taken the effort to learn their jobs coming up through an organization. The one's with degrees are mostly younger (5+ years younger) and make more, and have a better chance of moving up than thier non-degree co-workers.
Go to school, its harmless. Sure, you lose 4 years of earning the bux, but you'll make it back over time and then a lot more.
Slashdot Mirror
Within my lifetime, programmers will be paid minimum wage...
Bull. Absolute bull. There are some subset of programmers that will be paid minimum wage. Web coders, people writing crap for the mass market, but true coders will always be in demand, and therefore be paid appropriately. Coding takes creativity, dedication and intuition. Along with the talent and brains to do the code itself. Don't fool anyone into thinking that anyone can write code.
The reason for the prohibition of servers is two fold. One is to get you to buy the premium service. Two is because, like it or not, there are people out there who don't know how to secure a server. These are the same people who complain the loudest when they get cracked, or shut off for AUP violations.
Running servers is, for the vast majority that do it in violation of the AUP, not bandwidth intensive. But cable modem is asymetrical. Your provider would much rather you downloaded to your computer, and not uploaded. HFC's are pricey little widgets.
I take it you were a sysadm that got canned?
As a hiring manager in the unix biz, I can tell you up front that in 5 years, you are gonna have a tough time getting a job without a degree. Right now the single biggest reason I turn away candidates is lack of skills at programming (Be it shell, perl, C, anything). Most people don't pick this stuff up on their own, they learn it for one of two reasons:
1) They went to school and got the foundation for programming.
2) Their employer had the overhead to pay them while they learned thier job.
In the current economy, nobody wants to hire someone they have to train at $60K a year. Just not feasible. I have a staff of 10+ admins, and the one's without degrees are older than you and have had the time and taken the effort to learn their jobs coming up through an organization. The one's with degrees are mostly younger (5+ years younger) and make more, and have a better chance of moving up than thier non-degree co-workers.
Go to school, its harmless. Sure, you lose 4 years of earning the bux, but you'll make it back over time and then a lot more.