[jpitzo]

I had no idea what I wanted to be growing up. My dad worked construction and after working with him one summer when I was 15 I knew I absolutely didn't want to do that.

When applying to college I kind of randomly chose computer engineering since I liked video games and built up a computer once. At the time I had no idea what a computer engineer actually did (I'm honestly still not really sure), but hey, it had computer in the title. I was lucky enough to get an internship as a software dev at a startup and that's what I do now.

[sycren]

Do you think then that the Education system is broken with helping people decide what direction they want to take?

What startup are you working at now?

[jpitzo]

Yes, especially for people in the lower half of the socioeconomic scale. I went to a pretty crappy HS in Pennsylvania (bottom 6th percentile), where there were no programming classes (at least in 2004) and very little college guidance since only 20% of kids (of those who even graduate HS) went to college.

Part of me understands why there were so few AP classes and not a lot of focus on college. I mean, since 80% of kids weren't going to college, why not focus more on vocational classes? While my mom certainly couldn't help me out with college tuition, she did have good enough credit so I could actually secure loans via her cosigning. Contrary to what a lot of people think, stafford loans are not "all you can eat" and most of the time need to be supplemented with private loans that you need to qualify for, even for a state school like Penn State. I personally knew a few people that had to take a year off and build up some credit just so they could get loans to go to school.

Fortunately a lot of smart people are starting to take on this problem via alternative means of education. I think that's really the only solution for people from backgrounds similar to mine.

[anywherenotes]

I finished highschool in '95, I was in good school, and we had computer science course - though I didn't notice them ... but my friend gave me his programs from which I learned. We had law classes, everything.

Still I had no guidance in what major to pick in college. Ended up in computer science for same reasons I saw in list - hands aren't steady enough to be doctor, I liked law (took in highschool), but thought I'd have to deal with criminals all day, and I liked video games. Not once did a job such as taking x-rays, or other medical-field non-doctor jobs pop into my head.

My point is I felt even my good school didn't give any guidance to pick a career. (They let you try a lot of subjects though, all electives - take anything, you want if you want.)