> I would hesitate now to recommend any path into it except the top-school CS degree route. Sure, there will be exceptions, but you will have a vastly easier time if you follow that path.
And how is this useful to someone who can't get into these top schools because life is happening? Also, your outlook seems very unrealistic to me.
This is software development we're talking about, not medicine, not mechanical engineering. To be a top tier software developer, you need access to a decent computer and good resources to learn. The two boxes have never been easier to check. Add to that the excellent guidance of curricula like OSSU, TeachYourselfCS, and others like them, if you have the mind for it and a bit of discipline, your skills will be as sharp as any top school graduate's. "Self-taught" today isn't the same game as what it was 20 years ago. You can make yourself incredibly valuable on your own.
Now, getting a degree in CS and teaching yourself CS are different goals. The first is a pursuit of recognition for a skill that you may or may not have, and along the way, perhaps you've obtained a truly valuable education for which you're also grateful. The latter is a self-directed pure pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and skill. Regardless of your path, these are the real gems companies are after, and if you truly have them, you will NOT be invisible in this domain. They're rare commodities in the real world, regardless of how you get there.
Getting hired in software has always been about showing that you can build software. There's no danger of this changing. Sure, it may mean different things to different companies, but that's always what it's been about. Some want people that can crack algo problems, some want hackers, some want makers with a portfolio, some want tech wizards that understand the stack up and down. No matter, you can opt in to any of the above outside of academia and make a space for yourself.
> And how is this useful to someone who can't get into these top schools because life is happening? Also, your outlook seems very unrealistic to me.
If you can't go to school because of life, chances are you can't self-study because of life as self-studying is harder.
> This is software development we're talking about, not medicine, not mechanical engineering.
Software development in many ways has more competition than those fields that have entry level positions in more rural areas.
> To be a top tier software developer, you need access to a decent computer and good resources to learn.
No, not to be a top tier software developer.
> Add to that the excellent guidance of curricula like OSSU, TeachYourselfCS, and others like them,
Someone who want to become a software developer shouldn't prioritize studying CS.
> if you have the mind for it and a bit of discipline, your skills will be as sharp as any top school graduate's
It will be many times as hard reaching that level yourself.
> Regardless of your path, these are the real gems companies are after, and if you truly have them, you will NOT be invisible in this domain.
Little to no indication that this is true. More like companies might still hire someone they need if they pass all the recruiters and tests favouring the traditional path.
> Getting hired in software has always been about showing that you can build software.
Always has been a academic, military and business field. That is why hackers happened in the first place.
Almost every partner and the founders have an elite or close to elite education. Something only around 1% of the population have, yet they make up all of the people. That is in an untraditional firm which literally runs Hacker News.
And how is this useful to someone who can't get into these top schools because life is happening? Also, your outlook seems very unrealistic to me.
This is software development we're talking about, not medicine, not mechanical engineering. To be a top tier software developer, you need access to a decent computer and good resources to learn. The two boxes have never been easier to check. Add to that the excellent guidance of curricula like OSSU, TeachYourselfCS, and others like them, if you have the mind for it and a bit of discipline, your skills will be as sharp as any top school graduate's. "Self-taught" today isn't the same game as what it was 20 years ago. You can make yourself incredibly valuable on your own.
Now, getting a degree in CS and teaching yourself CS are different goals. The first is a pursuit of recognition for a skill that you may or may not have, and along the way, perhaps you've obtained a truly valuable education for which you're also grateful. The latter is a self-directed pure pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and skill. Regardless of your path, these are the real gems companies are after, and if you truly have them, you will NOT be invisible in this domain. They're rare commodities in the real world, regardless of how you get there.
Getting hired in software has always been about showing that you can build software. There's no danger of this changing. Sure, it may mean different things to different companies, but that's always what it's been about. Some want people that can crack algo problems, some want hackers, some want makers with a portfolio, some want tech wizards that understand the stack up and down. No matter, you can opt in to any of the above outside of academia and make a space for yourself.