Drop out of university to pursue coding?

Question

I'm feeling more motivated and excited to code than study and do my university course work I feel like I might be wasting my time and my parent's money getting a university degree. I really enjoy learning to code. Any tips?

Answer 1

You don't need to throw away progress you've made in current courses to program and it doesn't sound like you have a guarantee of a software development-related job very soon. If your grades are good and you've finished a year or two of university, you can likely get a teaching assistant or tutor position. You could ask your previous semester's professors if they have openings or will have any next semester.

If you're not studying mostly computer science courses, you should definitely change your university program so your university courses mostly line up with software development. Studying feminine studies with a plan to become a software developer doesn't line up.

Check if your university has a co-op or paid internship program. That's another way to get the university's help getting you a software development job.

Try to find work affiliated with the university and that should be less difficult to get than directly competing with experienced developers in the broader job market. Take advantage of your current relationship to the university and status as a student. Even though a teaching assistant position for a computer science class isn't super-related to software development, the hours will be perfect for letting you continue studying courses. The university's website is maintained by a team that you might be able to join. They might have an IT department you could apply to. There may be university-affiliated media organizations with paid web dev positions.

It doesn't seem like a big mistake to leave university for a good job opportunity but definitely don't drop out of your courses when you have no job offer lined up that you're confident you'll maintain for a few months. For most people, it is quite a struggle to get a good software development position until being almost done the university degree or teaching yourself a lot. You don't want to drop out and become jobless. Some can't get a related job even after graduating. A more cautious and smarter strategy is important.