Ask HN: How to make peace with my lack of degree?
I'm very concerned with my lack of degree:
- I'm being paid less.
- I can't get certain jobs or promotions.
- I can't get a visa to work in many countries (e.g., USA).
- All of my family and friends have bachelor's degrees.
- I feel like I'm taking less seriously.
- I feel like getting good jobs will only get more difficult.
- I don't know what fundamental knowledge I'm missing.
On the other hand:
- I'm an autodidact and I've already learned a lot of advanced CS concepts over the years.
- I can't imagine going back to school full-time for the next 4+ years.
- I'm not sure a bachelor's degree will automatically give me a significantly better job/salary/knowledge/satisfaction.
- A bachelor's degree is still not enough to do my dream job (HCI in a research lab).
- I still fantasize about creating my own company or working for myself as a freelancer, none of which require a bachelor's degree.
- AI might automate most jobs and UBI will be implemented.
I probably wouldn't worry as much about my lack of degree if I already had a successful career, a paid house, a profitable business, proof that the demand for programmers will go up over the next 20 years, or significant wealth.
I don't want to continue using my lack of degree to justify my lack of success ("If only I had a degree, I would be earning $200,000 at FAANG!"), nor do I want to invest 4+ years to get one, realize that my life is the same ("I'm still not working at FAANG"), and continue finding excuses for my lack of success ("I didn't go to a prestigious-enough college", "I don't have a master's degree", "I suck at technical interviews", "I'm too old for this industry", "Life is unfair").
To those who don't have a bachelor's degree and have stopped worrying about getting one: How did you do it?