[stickydink]

Well done on starting early. I can say from experience that it's a great boost. I started programming when I was 12, made a few $1000 before I was 15 (in my mind I was a millionaire), then turned to Android games in 2008, working only on my own side projects.

Then, after graduating with a non-CS/programming degree, I was invited into a 6 figure job, have seen a near 100% salary boost in 18 months, and am given far more responsibility and freedom than any of my co-workers - who are all several years older than me.

In summary: Keep going and work only on projects you enjoy, and even if you don't make it on the App Store yourself, you'll reap the benefits when you outshine 99% of your graduating year. In todays tech world, there are plenty of people out there who value the teach-yourself approach, and the years of experience, over the CS majors.

[nshen]

Wow, that's a very inspiring story. I will keep this in mind as I continue to develop more and more games. :)

[stickydink]

Some things that I could have done better would have been to learn some more basic fundamentals. The sort of (arguably pointless) stuff that they grill you at some interviews about.

That, and learning the jargon. After years of hacking away at my own things, there were a number of times where I was conversation with someone, and we were talking about something - patterns/concepts, and I can tell you everything I know about it. Except what it's called!

This is all the sort of stuff that you'll pick up in CS, should you opt for that. But personally, I think having the opportunity to go into another field and still being able to keep up your programming on the side, can be really rewarding. Having done that, I'm working alongside CS majors -- but in the back of my mind, on top of all that I do now, I have years of Master's level physics creeping around.

So, when you get to the age you start applying to schools, think twice before just jumping straight to CS if you already know your stuff.

Good luck!

[nathan_f77]

Wow, what do you do, if you don't mind me asking? I'm very impressed if you're making close to 200k as a software engineer.

[stickydink]

I wouldn't say it's that unusual in SF after sticking with a good company for a while, but I think I'm perhaps a few years ahead of where others would be at my age. I work on game engine / platform development for iOS + Android. I'm obliged not to share who, but it's a semi-mature startup.

From what I've seen, the market for good game engineers is a little harder to get into - fewer jobs, perhaps, than going into web or app startups, but the difference between someone who knows what they're doing with games, and someone that's not (in my experience), is more noticeable. It helps that, in the mobile gaming space, the revenues (and hence, the rewards of talented early-employees) from a financially successful game can be obscene, if you can do it right (keep UA + retention costs down).