Pls i need advice, i wanna take a bold step in my life !!!

Am presently pursuing a National Diploma in Banking and Finance but im thinking of droping out of school to face programming full time cuz i dont think i really need the cert. My ambitious is to be a programmer, I had little knowlegde on VB only, Now im determined to take the bull by the horn at all cost, dat's to know JAVA, JAVASCIPT, C++, ORACLE and other programming language.

So what's your own advice/opinion?

Shld i drop-out of school and face programming?

Wat did u think?

U can help me too in any way, If u had anything in programming dat can be of help to me, i will really appreciate it.

Destiny's Guy.

I share ur feelings too, Destiny, but believe me, I've been there! I was once studying B.A. Theatre Arts at the University of Abuja, Gwagwalada, Nigeria, before I dropped out, just a semester into the course. Not that I wasn't any good there, but I thought, " Men, why spend (or rather, waste) 4-5 good years trying to get JUST a cert, when all I loved and ever wanted to do was just wake up with computers, have breakfast with them, go to bed with them, and everything you could ever imagine. But after that, I really regretted my decision.

Believe me, the advantages of having a cert,especially here in Nigeria, certainly outweigh the disadvantages.

1. You'll need it to go very far, even in the computer-related job market.

2. You'll need it to measure up to the status of your peers, friends and even fellow workers.

3. You will have a sense of completeness, whether you like it or not.

4. It is preferable you have it now that you're younger and full of (mental) life.

5. Especially if you have a computer-related degree, you can join the National Association of Computer Science Practitioners. That is one of their requirements.

Believe me, right now, I'm on my way to start a degree in Computer Science. To me, though I'll need time to do it, I feel I'll still have a lot to gain in this 4-year pursuit, including the broadening of my knowledge base.

You know alot of research still lies ahead for us.e.g Artificial intelligence?

Kindly take my story as a true life example. Don't make the same mistake.

Be focused. Know what you truly want, and , JUST HANG IN THERE. Love ya,

Here comes the job searchers again who said programming is all about making money. As for me University in Nigeria is a waste of time and money instead pursue your dreams and if you are good enough you will stand out from the crowd.

@ angelchyke
Thx 4 ur advice bt Higher Institution in Nigeria is fustrating and i dont really need the cert, i can said i need d cert cuz of my peer bt as far as d career concern, i dont really think i need it.
I luv u, Thx Alot

@ malone5923
Thx 4 d courage !!!
I need more courage b4 finalizing wat to do.
Want to know if i can really go far on programming, im determined to do watever to accomplish my goal.
Malone pls give me ur id so we can chat beta! my id loversguy4real@yahoo.com

PLS HELP ME CUZ ANY MISTAKE HERE WILL REALLY AFFECT MY CAREER !!!

Hey , You need not drop out of school. it is kind of like stupid to do that, you will not be the Bill Gate of our time. relax, one thing at a time. you need to go through the rigor of academic stress to prepare your mind for what you really want to do. This would be a time to really think and choose what is feeling for your live. Live is not always rosy anyway. You could get on with your career in banking stuff and still come out top, but if you feel that you could be cool with coding, well welcome to the world of programming were you stretch your imagination beyond what you see around you. and start looking at things from the eyes of a programmer. We programmers have the task seeing the beauty of solving problems through our programs and our duty is to make life easy for others.
I am a coder in a number of development languages and i am still striving to learn more. I could code in PHP, Python,Javascript, Java, HTML,Ajax and a whole lot of them. I am currently working for a company that does e-portal development.
So if you think that coding is your calling take some time to figure things out for your self. Get your degree cert first, no company would want to pick up a guy that does not have a cert with him. When you have that under your belt , then you could then start with the coding thing. It is not really easy to start off but i could tell you that once you are able to scale through the inertia , you are on your way to becoming a developer.

@cdeveloper Help me tell bro. The Nigerian society is very much unlike the western countries. Destiny, just wish u'll make the best decision coz my earlier advice to you was from the heart to a brother. Remember, no mistakes. Bye.

meeennnn, i'm so happy i have met my likeminds.

don't be decieved my brother. u have to live ur own world, define the rules and abide by them. u set ur own laws for success and believe in them. I would not tell u to opt out or not but dont be carried away by the certificate ish thing naija is known for. all u need is skill as a programmer not pali.

i have once been in ur shoes and meenn i didnt think for long, wat i did? i didnt even bother attending . Dem call family meeting for my head but all na opata. this was way back in 2001. instead i attended NIIT and did a 2and a half yrs course and i bet you my father is soooo proud of me today. Java don carry me go places wey graduate no fit enter.

If you have a dream, pursue it. if u need a pali to achieve the dream, remain in skool. if u dont, men get out dis minute,

check www.jajitech.net to find out more,

meeennnn, i'm so happy i have met my likeminds.

don't be decieved my brother. u have to live your own world, define the rules and abide by them. u set your own laws for success and believe in them. I would not tell u to opt out or not but don't be carried away by the certificate ish thing naija is known for. all u need is skill as a programmer not pali.

i have once been in your shoes and meenn i didnt think for long, what i did? i didnt even bother attending Cheesy Smiley. Dem call family meeting for my head but all na opata. this was way back in 2001. instead i attended NIIT and did a 2and a half years course and i bet you my father is soooo proud of me today. Java don carry me go places wey graduate no fit enter.

If you have a dream, pursue it. if u need a pali to achieve the dream, remain in school. if u don't, men get out this minute,

check www.jajitech.net to find out more,

Thank God I met you I had and still have the same problem, my family, friends and some individuals has being bugging me about the school issue though I have pointed all my ambitions to them still never seem to understand even my closest friend is calling me a failure , but still is not as bad as yours(java prince) calling a Family meeting for you thats massive and look at you now from your comments you have being given and can proudly say that you are better than most of all the processor in Nigeria who still use jdk1 for compilation. Why does everybody thinks I wont succeed they all say " go to university and get a good job" why does everything have to be about a good job. That why they will all waste there 4(univetsity) +1(Nysc)+1(Strike) and some stupid hopefulls 2 years(Masters) wasting their time learning Fortran(God dont even get me started on the rubbish they teach this students).
Destiny follow your dreams and join the world of programming I have being programming for 2 years(only got serious about It Six months ago) but still I will never regret my decision for not attending any University in Nigeria

Warning: If you havent being involded in proogramming desting better try it out first so that you know what you venturing into if not you might regret your actions.

Why does everybody thinks I wont succeed they all say " go to university and get a good job" why does everything have to be about a good job

same thing fey told me. Anytime they ask me which skool i attended, if i say i'm a student of NIIT, dey wud say "ki lo n jebe?" Whats d meaning if dat. They want to hear lag or lasu or uniben and all.

Lots of pple are scared of change. I dream of opening an IT institue in this country and i'm prepared to pray, fight and bribe my way try Federal Mintry of Education to get it certified. Shebi na plai una want, we go give una,

I dream of a skool whre IT is taught like it has neva been taugh b4 in dis kontry. May God help me,

Warning: If you havent being involded in proogramming desting better try it out first so that you know what you venturing into if not you might regret your actions.

Gbam !

@Poster, here is a break down of what I think you ought to do


1) Get a Book: Purchase a book on programming and concepts. While you are working on your current degree program, spend time on the side trying your hand on the ideas you learn from the book(s) and get a good understanding of what are is best fit for you.

2) Get more books: Do not drop out of school but instead get more books and spend more ours on the side learning how to program and every itty bitty thing you can to get you base level understanding of programming. From Data Structures and algorithms to best practises etc.

3) Make sure you get at least a degree: This degree you are working on right now will work well in your favour if you do not quit. There are many talented programmers out there today but there are also many companies out there that are not willing to hire people without college degrees. Dropping out will only narrow the margins for you. If you were to find yourself on a potential hire list for an international firm, having at least a college degree moves you up the list to about the same level as those with more than one certificate to offer. It also opens the door for you to obtain your masters in computer science, regardless of what your Bachelors degree is in and moves you even higher up the ladder than those who have been working years in the industry with no college degree to show.

I understand that you may feel the college is a dud but most employers may not know that as all they are mostly interested in is the fact that you have a college degree from a 4 year college and you have proof of it.

@Kobojunkie

I feel you and i agree with most of your advice.

We have different dreams and aspirations in life. Even if we have the same, the road to achieving them might be different. Unless I find myself out of Nigeria, i personally will not attend a naija university, but i can pay millions of pounds to attend a 40yrs programming course that makes meaning and in-line with the latest trends of development.

The lens i view life and education in general with (naija context) is different from the lens worn by the socierty. I have been in this probs before, and not just me, i have met hundreds of people. Infact while i was in NIIT, i we had 4 school dropouts in my class. One is in You now, the other is doing well and runs a company here in lagos (Cygress, and he developed www.whogobuy.com).

@poster
try out @kobojunkie's advice. seems a good one to me since u are already in school.

@kobojunkie

won't there be clash of interests as programming might take much of his time?. Wont there also difficulties with his school work as programming is a lonely and time consuming effort?

You need a lot of education to succeed as a programmer but you do not need a degree of any kind to succeed. There are a number of note worthy people who succeeded in programming with out any degree or certification. But on the flip side: there is a reason why they made the news:- There are far more successful programmers with certification and degrees than there are successful dropouts.

Don't drop out of school except if you are persuaded with all of your heart that getting a degree stands in the way of your progress.

@tomX:


Don't drop out of school except if you are persuaded with all of your heart that getting a degree stands in the way of your progress.

Gbam ! Excactly my point !

Just like one of the poster to ur thread said

Get a degree to help ur move up through the ranks faster
and get a better pay for ur self ,

A university degree is good if u know what u want to do
before u get in , If u want to become a programmer
then the best course to do is computer science because dont let me
deceive you computer science will expose to a lot and the hiden thins abt computers
and the various areas to explore, It will also build ur analytical & logical minds and makes
u more broadminded in IT rather than just being a 'programmer!', with a computer science degree
you can rise to management position of any IT/Telecoms company in the industry.

When u finally get to the university in Nigeria or Abroad you have toi help yourself a great deal
dont get caried away by what u're taught in the skul, learn many thins and do some certifications
to help you,

Dont mind those pple that are saying a degree is not worth, it is worth more than get a good job
look at the country politics , it is the turn of the Degree hoolders, Doctors, Engineers and Scientist
its no more a game for crooks and illiterates.

Moreso not everyone can pay 400,000 naira for a course in NIIT and the likes

Just like one of the poster to your thread said

Get a degree to help your move up through the ranks faster
and get a better pay for your self ,

A university degree is good if u know what u want to do
before u get in , If u want to become a programmer
then the best course to do is computer science because don't let me
deceive you computer science will expose to a lot and the hiden thins about computers
and the various areas to explore, It will also build your analytical & logical minds and makes
u more broadminded in IT rather than just being a 'programmer!', with a computer science degree
you can rise to management position of any IT/Telecoms company in the industry.

When u finally get to the university in Nigeria or Abroad you have toi help yourself a great deal
don't get caried away by what u're taught in the skul, learn many thins and do some certifications
to help you,

Dont mind those people that are saying a degree is not worth, it is worth more than get a good job
look at the country politics , it is the turn of the Degree hoolders, Doctors, Engineers and Scientist
its no more a game for crooks and illiterates.

Moreso not everyone can pay 400,000 naira for a course in NIIT and the likes

Who said NIIT is the only mean of becoming a efficient developer and why does everthing 80% of you nairaland programmers have to be about getting a good job, why cant you just do it for the love. That is why we will never grow because everybody wants to work for somebody and earn change then after spending 10 years he/she sets up is company then start erarning chicken change upgraded to two, why cant you just sit down and be creative and do some thing that helps the country and does not already exist and you all call yourself developers yet you rely on readymade things when you are asked what projects have you being involved you say payroll system etc, how many of you have being involved in the development of a new method or syntax in sun java community or something new. This is just my point of view and this those not mean I am the best developer I am still a beginner in programming(who is willing to learn more).

I thank you all for taking ur time 2 advice me
Im Grateful
I will start programming in few weeks coming, gathering info's nw wit d help of pple
So i will be doing d two 2gether, i.e. schooling n programming but if i can't bear it again
i will be left wit no option than 2 drop school 4 nw, so dat i can face programming.

Dat's ma dream
dat's wat i thot of b4 sleeping
dat's wat i dreamed of when sleeping
dat's wat i woke up wit still

I dont want to keep dreaming, I wanna start leaving ma dream !!!

Thank U All
Destiny's Guy Luv Y'all