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Comment by terryjsmith | Hacker News Reader

I've thought about that. The problem is that I'm the first to admit I'm not a fantastic programmer. My strongest trait is just getting stuff done and getting code out the door.

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Not for one thing or another but:

> The problem is that I'm the first to admit I'm not a fantastic programmer.

Is a trait unfortunately very few programmers actually have, most of them think they're aces (especially when they're not) and:

> My strongest trait is just getting stuff done and getting code out the door.

Is a very desirable property.

I think you're not half as bad as you may think you are. The mentality you display is more or less exactly what I'd be looking for in a new hire.

But not what you'd necessarily be looking for in someone who critiques code

No big ego: check. Ships: check.

I don't see a problem.

That's good personal insight - become a fantastic programmer.

I'm certainly trying. I am a CS dropout and feel like I'm lacking a good bit of theory (algorithms and math specifically). I gobble up what I can find that actually makes theory applicable/interesting.

Dsp for engineers is a fun read that makes a certain class of problems interesting, approachable and understood

I too am a CS dropout, and am grateful every single day for having dropped out. I learn more in a week of working at the startup I'm at than I did in a month of college. I'm only 3 months into doing real-world professional development, but I believe that this will still be true a year from today, and I hope that it will still be true 10 years down the line. I too am lacking in some of the theoretical stuff, and have found MIT's open courseware (their intro to algorithms course: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput... ) to be incredibly useful in supplementing what I missed while in school. I've also heard good things about Khan academy but haven't checked it out yet.

I'm a high school drop out and had a very similar reaction to yours for the first couple of years. Thing is this: industry teaches you process and refinement; not (or rarely) theory. You must obtain some sort of abstract theoretical foundation to be a "fantastic" programmer - whether you do that through self-education or a formal education doesn't matter.

I've personally taken the former route - rigorous self directed learning with a dash of discipline and love for the knowledge will turn you into something far greater than what could be elicited from you by "just going through the motions" at a college.

Granted. I'll probably be going to college soon anyways because I want to pursue Aerospace - but that's, again, self inspired (rather than "ZOMG I NEED TO GOTO SCHOOL OR MY PARENTS WON'T KEEP PAYING MY RENT" - not saying all people are like that, I know more likely than not most people are self-sufficient; I said that more in line with how parents tend to enforce college on their kids instead of letting them be inspired to the action).

Maybe you could offer to help solve bugs that someone has been having a hard time with. Sometimes all it takes is a pair of fresh eyes to spot the problem.

I appreciate the sentiment, but isn't that kinda in the StackOverflow space, where you'd get far more eyes on it (tho potentially of far more spread ability)

I thought SO was for more general questions. Do alot of people ask for help solving specific bugs there?

Maybe the best thing you can do is build that drive in others. Hell, I've got two web projects that have been meandering along for over a year, both not launch-ready - getting stuff out of the door is, for me (and I imagine many others), the biggest problem.

Perhaps you could be some sort of "entrepreneurial personal trainer" :)

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