[mikecane]

My advice is to go back to school. And not because you are being pressured to but because it will broaden you in ways you can't anticipate. You'll be in an environment that is unpredictable and stimulating and you don't know where future inspiration will come from because of it.

Jobs found inspiration after dropping out but -- and this is the important bit -- while still on the campus:

>>>“The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting,” he said. Among them was a calligraphy class that appealed to him after he saw posters on campus that were beautifully drawn. “I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.”

-- from the Isaacson bio

Listen, you can always make money later. But you are young only once and if you pass up the chance for serendipity when you're young, you'll regret it later in life because by then you'll understand you've trapped yourself in a bubble for years.

I hope this helps.

[bookreader]

Thanks for the response. Several people have advised me to go back for the overall experience, but I feel like I'm not likely to enjoy it if I'm unhappy or depressed there.

I'm wondering how bad dropping out would be. I have about a year and a half of experience as an employed programmer, and I know several languages and frameworks.

Would the lack of a degree become a serious problem in the future?

[_jss]

I entered the professional field after some minor community college experience right during the .com bubble (1997). It was very difficult to get my foot in any doors, largely due to the lack of a degree.

After 5 years of experience that went away, partly from the changes in the tech environment and also my experience.

It is competitive when you are starting out, but developers are high in demand. As someone now more in an employer role (which I'm not hiring now), I would look at Open Source work over a degree. If you have a github account with a maintained project or two, especially with a few stars, I'll think you are more qualified than if you have just a BS.

[atsaloli]

Will your school allow an open ended leave of absence? I have been on such leave for eighteen years. It's good knowing I could come back.