OK, here's the situation as far as I can see... given how all encompassing job descriptions have been lately (great communication skills, presentation skills, client management, strong technical knowledge, leadership abilities, etc.), employers are looking for candidates who can fill multiple roles, have ultimate flexibility to handle any situation, and perhaps of most importance, give the impression that the are a "can't miss" hire. Times are tight, right? When a hiring manager gets the bucks to open a position it's usually because there is a strong, "right now" kind of business incentive. This means that the candidate has to come in ready to hit the ground running and have an immediate bottom line impact. This is also pushing the job descriptions, and interviews, to lean more heavily on "proof" that you can't fail if given the job. Proof comes in many forms but a degree and/or certifications really are key indicators since they're tangible things you can point to.<br>
<br>So, where does all of this leave you? Getting a degree in CS and/or certs certainly can't hurt. It shows dedication and the ability to set a goal and achieve it. Employers love that! It also shows that you have been at least exposed to most of the fundamentals (even classes you may like to avoid like a class on algorithms) so there shouldn't be any surprising missing holes in your background.<br>
<br>On the other hand, I have seen individuals who have focused more on heavy involvement in the altruistic and synergistic world of open-source engineering. These individuals have taken a love of what they do to the next level, learned from each other, mentored others, all to further some application, development platform, language, etc. Yes, they typically scratch their own itch, but it can lead to serious learning in an environment outside of traditional education. One issue though is that this kind of "geed cred" is recognize within your own community but may not be so obvious to the uninitiated hiring manager. Hopefully, your particular "itch" happens to be in a technology that is hot enough, and the hiring managers clued in enough, so this won't be an issue and it's all about your proven ability to be creative, produce, and have the chops to succeed. That was an easier "sell" in the early dot-com days than it is now with perhaps the exception of either cutting-edge technologies or technologies that just have to done to put out a product now (e.g., rich client interfaces just have to be done --> javascript is hot, etc.).<br>
<br>Of course, both forms of education (class-traditional vs. virtual participation-altruism) should not be in conflict and very strong candidates have a mix of both.<br><br>Not sure if that helped ;)<br><br clear="all">Todd<br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 1:49 PM, Aleksey Tsalolikhin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:atsaloli.tech@gmail.com">atsaloli.tech@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
2010/9/22 Todd Cranston-Cuebas <<a href="mailto:geekhunter@gmail.com">geekhunter@gmail.com</a>>:<br>
<div class="im">> You all know I'm a huge fan of open-source and I'm convinced that the<br>
> OS world can provide an alternative educational track than going the college route.<br>
<br>
</div>Hi, Todd. Could you please elaborate on that? I'd like to get a<br>
basic education in computer<br>
science but am not sure where to start. (I've been a sysadmin for<br>
over 12 years.)<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<font color="#888888">Aleksey<br>
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