Advice Should I drop out to work IT?

[sekfnhskjef]

Hi all,

I'm a long-time lurker, first time poster, and (it goes without saying) an undercover federal agent.


I'm asking for advice regarding these two options:
1. Stay in school for 2.5 years to get a CS degree from a mid-tier school, try to become a serious SWE
2. Drop out to work a physical IT job for roughly 2 years, trying to transition into a remote IT role and building contracting side-hustle

My general life goal is reliable remote income in the range of 30-70k annually (although more than 70k is fine).
Additionally, I study Chinese and want to achieve a B2 level before 30.

Here are some thoughts about both options:

Stay in school​

pros

• Statistically speaking, this is the the best option. Long term outcome studies clearly show that degree = good
• If I can develop a strong skillset + network + interview skills, then I could use my degree to legally work for a company overseas (interested in Singapore, Hongkong, China).
• Working for a physical company overseas would provide a sense of normalcy/interaction that remote IT work lacks.

cons

• School has a negative effect on my technical skills. It is just a distraction from self-teaching relevant technology.
• The process of graduating, getting a first job, and working up to a remote role would probably take ~7 years, which is substantial at my age (22)

Drop out to work IT​

pros

• I am far behind (22 y/o sophomore) and simply want to work already
• This is a relatively quick path to remote income (~2-4 years vs ~7 years)
• While most of my extra energy would go to job-hopping-prep/upskilling, I could spend a decent portion studying Chinese, which I could not during school.
• Can save wages

cons

• I'm more interested in SWE more than IT. If I were to travel on a remote IT role instead of spending that extra time up-skilling, I could be sure that I may never achieve more interesting and high-paying work.
• Dropping out will probably greatly reduce my life-time earnings, as well as create some other unforeseen negative effects.
• I will have to work physical IT for at least 2 years before I have a chance of securing a remote role, and/or being able to get contracts reliably.
• Lacking a bachelor's is a substantial disadvantage in life, especially if I want to legally work in another country.
• It will be deliberate and effortful to build my desired career starting from a mid-tier IT role without a degree. There is no a guarantee of success, and I may find myself stuck in low quality roles.

Closing​

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Rance]

No degree = no chance of white-collar geomaxxing to China or Taiwan. As well as some other countries like Japan and Korea

 

[Orientalist]

If I can develop a strong skillset + network + interview skills, then I could use my degree to legally work for a company overseas (interested in Singapore, Hongkong, China).

What could go wrong?

996 working hour system - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[AlexBrown84]

2 and switch to an online degree so you can geomax

my best geomaxxing moments were when I was 20. 3 years later now and I feel old so couldn’t imagine to start traveling at this age with no experience

 

[ExcuseMe]

School has a negative effect on my technical skills. It is just a distraction from self-teaching relevant technology

you also learn things doing a degree

 

[Orientalist]

you also learn things doing a degree

No you don't

 

[ExcuseMe]

No you don't

what did you study?

 

[Orientalist]

what did you study?

The blade

 

[AlexBrown84]

you also learn things doing a degree

what can you learn

 

[ExcuseMe]

what can you learn

things relevant in the field that you're studying
from my experience, higher education gives you broad knowledge that you won't get from a bootcamp or random Youtube tutorials

 

[kamster]

stay at school
i graduated because i was too lazy to work, but after some time i understand it was right decision to study

university degree gives you points for immigration
if you wanna work in IT you need degree anyway, why would they even consider non-degree candidate when they have thousands of people sending resume and half of them graduated. even if youre super good you will have no chance to show that, they wont ever invite you for interview. and they dont check stuff like your projects on github, nobody gives a shit anymore, they would assume its ai generated because they all vibe code at companies because its cheap and easy and clients dont give a fuck about quality of code

 

[ExcuseMe]

why would they even consider non-degree candidate when they have thousands of people sending resume

yeah that's another thing. the job market for ITcels (especially junior positions) is way worse now than pre-COVID,

UK graduates face tough jobs market as AI transforms recruitment
> The ISE said graduate vacancies at the large employers it surveyed had grown 4 per cent in the past year, compared with 6 per cent the previous year. But graduate hiring in the digital and IT sector fell 35 per cent, while in finance and professional services it was down 5 per cent.

Software developer jobs shrink by over 70% in the US
> According to new data from Revelio Labs, a workforce intelligence company, job postings for software developers in the U.S. fell by over 70% between Quarter 1 in 2023 and Quarter 1 in 2025 — a decline more than twice as steep as the 35.8% drop in white-collar postings overall.

The tech job market is rough for entry-level workers right now
> A SignalFire report found that entry-level hiring in Big Tech is down more than 50% from pre-pandemic levels; at startups, it's down more than 30%.


you can really find so many articles like this

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

I am far behind (22 y/o sophomore) and simply want to work already

1. Stay in school for 2.5 years to get a CS degree from a mid-tier school, try to become a serious SWE

Time will pass regardless, might as well be 25~ with a degree, rather than without. Don’t think about the time you’ll have to allocate before options open up. Just build steady.
You can build real world skills and get a degree. It doesn’t have to be either or. Many of the best devs build their portfolio while in uni.

Degree also opens more doors in the future, especially internationally. Say, for example, you find out a remote IT isn’t for you or you want a change of pce. With a degree you still have employment opportunities, and that degree is necessary in getting a foot in the door if you want to work in East Asia.

The alternate path you want to go down you’re considering of 2 years physical IT with hope of getting into remote work is guaranteed. If it doesn’t work out how you want you’ll end up stuck without a degree.

 

[KingWigga]

Both are fucked now but IT >>>> software. Legit no one is hiring for CS but you can still find it jobs in help desk/networking/cybersecurity

 

[Acion]

Drop out of society and live in the woods