[cryptarch]

My experience is similar, but I didn't ever have any mentorship. I just decided to stop going to university, because I've hated every minute of school since I was 10 and have been having a very hard time staying motivated for the studies' material in the face of useless teachers and a perverse all-consuming focus on attendance and (group) homework. I didn't want to be stuck there for at least another 2.5 years.

I feel like every bit of will to submit to education has been beaten out of me, and I'm done grinding my teeth. Feeling my energy draining away day by day. I was having symptoms similar to seasonal depression, except they didn't match the seasons but the academic year. The safety net a diploma offers is just. not. worth it.

.

It's a load off my mind and I'm feeling very good about my decision. It's been a week, and I haven't found any good reasons to revert it. I'm getting my website up and running again, setting up backups worthy of a professional and practicing my coding. I've always been interested in the work people around me do, and because of that (and my previous programming experience) I'm meeting my first client right after the holiday.

It's not exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I think it's a great start (developing integration tests for an Angular-based EFQM/project management tool on a fixed-price + costs basis), and I'm considering subcontracting it to freelancers.

(Advice and comments are more than welcome. I'm 21 and HAVE to earn money for the first time, I want to build products as an entrepeneur but plan to do contracting to keep me afloat in the meantime. I'm located in the Netherlands.)

[3131s]

No advice, but plenty of congratulations and encouragement. Staying in college lead to some very unhealthy behaviors and decisions for me. The college I went to was quite competitive -- I kept it up for six semesters and managed to make the dean's list each time, and then crashed my last year and nearly didn't graduate on time. I was also nearly expelled many times throughout, which was incredibly stressful because my parents would've nearly disowned me if I blew the 40K tuition that way.

Just a thought, but living in certain countries can be very cheap while you build up your skills and pick up freelancing clients. If you want a totally knew experience, it can be a great way to educate yourself while working only part-time. Even teaching English abroad can be very lucrative and will afford you a lot of free time to continue learning on your own.

[mercer]

If you're located anywhere near the Amsterdam/Utrecht area, don't hesitate to hit me up for a coffee (or beer)!

I'm a web developer and while I might not have much to teach you about programming, I've been working as a freelancer/small-business owner for the past half decade or so.

In the past year I've been actively working towards figuring out ways to help or collaborate with people who eschewed the typical college path and/or are looking into programming as a career path or just a way to make a living.