Ask HN: How can I help my son into a CS career who is struggling at college?

[dadofprogammer]

I’m struggling with how to help my son.

He seemingly lives to program but has struggled with college, especially on the timed tests, even though he feels he knows the material. Because of this, he just feels like his goal of getting a degree and then a career is becoming unobtainable. He’s always said he just wants a mentor or something who could appreciate his work and help him along with being a better developer.

I guess what I’d like to know is: are there any non-untraditional avenues for getting a degree and getting into the industry?

[op03]

Ask him to talk to as many profs in the dept as possible. Something will click. Thats what I did. Specifically that he is into programming, what excites him etc and that he is looking to work with them in whatever capacity available. Profs with research labs always need extra labor.

I wasn't a fan of exams and deadlines either and consistently goofed off, but I got into a research lab doing odd jobs for profs/grad/phd students which slowly turned into full time lab work. The profs I worked for gave me enough independent credits for the work I did there, to coast through.

He is right in that mentors and the right/encouraging environment is crucial for learning. I learnt more in those labs than in any classroom. And he should actively go look for those mentors/environments and prove to them his interests are genuine. Good things will happen but he has to do that work.

[pixeloution]

Getting a degree isn't a prerequisite; and its possible to learn enough on your own to get a great job in the industry. I have at least a few people on my team at fortune 100 company without degrees and making comfortably six figures.

You can read about some non-degree holders in the industry here: https://www.nocsdegree.com/

I'm not saying it's easy. There's a vast amount to know and master, and it will require a lot of practice building things to get the skills required. Not to mention study to get through the hiring hoops of algorithmic problems candidates are expected to solve at major companies during interviews.

[dadofprogammer]

What are these coding boot camps exactly? It seems like the material they cover is stuff someone who knows how to write code would already understand. Is it actually valuable?

[new_guy]

Stay well clear of them, they're garbage.

I'd suggest getting your son a personal tutor, even someone he can just talk with over skype/zoom whatever. He probably just needs a mentor/friend to help him get through stuff.

He'll do great at uni, and although a degree isn't a requisite, it will make his path a lot easier and if he's in a position to get one, he absolutely should. Despite what people say, it is basically invaluable.

And kudos to you for looking out for your son, the world needs more fathers like you.

[kakaoscott]

Interesting dilemma. Good for you though. I wish my parents had pushed me into cs when I was out of high school. Sometimes kids need to be put on a track they can follow.

https://www.leagueofstartups.com

[xupybd]

Why is he finding tests so hard. Is there something that could be sorted out like an anxiety disorder?

Looking at the root cause might help him in college and with his career.

[dadofprogammer]

Since he’s remote now I can see a bit. On a test today he needed to have an insight then code the solution, but he missed something and wasted a lot of time which cascaded to the following problems.

It drives him crazy because it one small mistake seems to ripple into wrecking the whole grade.