A Unique Situation

Last night, I played in a recreation hockey league. It’s otherwise known as a beer league. Fortunately, they limit participation to those who are 40 years and older, so that saves my legs from trying to keep up with guys in their 20’s. But in any event, while rehydrating with ethanol and feeling sorry for my sore legs, I had an interesting discussion with one of the players after the game.

As we talked, I mentioned that I worked in software, and he related that his son wants to get into the industry as well. His son is currently a junior in high school, and his parents had to basically tell him to stop coding and instead study for an upcoming biology exam. So clearly, he has a passion for the craft!

The University Route

His son also has expressed a desire to attend the University of Illinois. That’s a very respectable and highly ranked school, and the same school that I attended. However I did caution him regarding some of my own frustrations with the curriculum, which I will explore in more depth later. But for now, I’ll mention that I experienced the following frustrations:

• Writing throw away code
• Over 33% of the courses required for graduation had no relation to my major
• Exam questions chosen solely for the sake of being hard

Some Unique Circumstances

Unfortunately, his son also has some learning disabilities. He is somewhere on the Autism spectrum, although he didn’t specific exactly where his son fell – and I didn’t press for details. In any event, I related the trend that I see in the industry towards a college degree becoming less and less of a requirement.

Personally, I think that attending a large state school would be even more challenging for someone with learning disabilities. Although a college degree does open doors for you (i.e. gets you through some first-cut resume reviews by HR departments), it is far from required. Whether his son attends an online school for a degree, or enters the work force after completing a coding boot camp, he liked the idea of his son being at home through this process.

And along those lines, there are plenty of opportunities in the software field for working remotely. Yes, if you need a remote job it does limit your opportunities, but you will still find opportunities.

Pushing the Envelope

I want to wrap up by saying how much I love the software industry. It has a history of breaking new ground, pushing the envelope, and discarding the ‘old school’ business practices of the past. The opportunities in the field, whether it be for an unconventional approach to education or an unconventional approach to work, are exciting. And, they are opportunities that you don’t find as much in other fields. The fact that these opportunities present new possibilities for individuals with unconventional needs is pretty cool too