[dagw]

I dropped out of college when I was 19 and worked a couple of sys admin and programming jobs for the next 3.5 years. After that I a) felt like I a had a much better idea about what I wanted to do and b) felt ready and interested in going to university, neither of which where true the first time around.

10 years later I haven't regretted either decision at all. I got much more out of university the second time around since I actually wanted to be there and the work experience I got working those years not only really helped me land my first couple of jobs, but provided invaluable experience that I still rely on. And while I never had much trouble finding jobs without a degree, the jobs I found with a degree are much more interesting and fun.

So my advice is that while university on the whole probably is a good idea, there is nothing that says you have to go to university right out of high school.

Another piece of advice is to remember that there are a lot of courses offered at universities and just because you love programming doesn't mean you have to study CS. I, for example, got my degree in mathematics with a side order of economics, and have found that the combination has opened up a whole avenue of opportunities I probably never would have had if I'd just stuck to programming, while still being able to use my programming skills. So take a step back and reflect over if perhaps there is some other area in addition to programming that you find fascinating and perhaps consider getting a degree in that, when you feel ready..