6

This is my follow up question to the How do I make companies to consider me for the job irrespective of my very young age?

After completing K-12 I joined college for graduation but within a month I drop out college and became self guided student. Some of the reasons for the dropout was:

  • Syllabus esp. of programming was very less.

  • None of student was really interested in programming.

So, I felt miserable in the class, decided to drop out and became self guided student. Now, I am about to began my first job search and wondering should I include my educational qualification in the resume or should I just leave education section? Also, If my future employer asks me about my educational qualification, what should I tell him? Should I be honest or should I make some story?

Community
  • 1
user12416
  • 61
  • 1
  • 3
  • 6
    I think lying to a potential employer is always a bad idea. – Paul Hiemstra Nov 23 '13 at 10:51
  • I also feel same. – user12416 Nov 23 '13 at 11:47
  • 1
    @user12416 - The only thing potential employers need to know about is your interest. If you can show them some form of programming skill, no matter how minor, they will evaluate that for their needs. All discussions of education are a distraction. You are having some issues with English, but they aren't major. Keep posting questions and keep working on improving your writing. Look for a mentor. – Meredith Poor Nov 23 '13 at 22:45
  • @MeredithPoor Thanks for your advise. I am working on them. I am also trying to find a mentor but unsure where to find one. I don't know any person in real world who is interested in mentoring me. Any advise about finding a mentor? – user12416 Nov 24 '13 at 09:20
  • 1
    @user12416 - The way I got there in the late 1970s was through sales offices for computer companies. Find people that are selling computers in your area, get to know the sales people, tell them you're looking for a user that is small and isn't having any luck getting help. This probably won't happen very fast. The sales people may think you're trying to take their business. Some stores allow developers to post a card on their bulletin board, so that anyone walking through can pick from a list. I'm not sure how that works in your area. – Meredith Poor Nov 24 '13 at 09:41

3 Answers3

10

Should I be honest or should I make some story?

Try to act like a mature professional and avoid all lies. Immaturity is what many employers worry about when a teenager applies for a job. Don't start your search off on the wrong foot.

If you have any relevant educational qualifications, include them. But 1 month of college won't be relevant for any programming jobs I've ever seen- leave that out. The reasons you felt compelled to leave after 1 month aren't likely to make you a better candidate in the eyes of a recruiter/interviewer. Leave them out of your resume.

If you have self-guided educational attainments that could be independently confirmed (such as some sort of certification), you could include that. But if you only have a K-12 education, omit the Education section completely when applying for a programming position. No employers care where their programmers went to High School.

Joe Strazzere
  • 382,456
  • 185
  • 1,077
  • 1,492
  • 2
    I disagree with omitting High School if its the highest education you have. It's possible that some applicants may not have completed high school, and you want to distinguish yourself from them. – DJClayworth Nov 23 '13 at 19:05
  • 1
    @DJClayworth - True, even completing high school is some achievement that differentiates from high-school dropouts. But I also think that having a GED or HS diploma says that you at least know how to write and did complete something. Also, if there were any team/group projects, that would give the asker something to put on the resume that demonstrates he/she can work with others. The tough thing is showing that without highlighting the fact that it's just high school. – jmort253 Nov 23 '13 at 21:29
  • @jmort253 After 10th grade I took a very competitive entrance test for 10+2 at a very reputed university and qualified it. Then for 2 years I studied there. Maybe adding it can give a weigh to my resume. – user12416 Nov 24 '13 at 04:42
  • @user12416 - While your High School diploma should be listed, in order to seperate yourself from somebody who didn't recieve one or recieved their GED, taking an entrance exam isn't going to make a huge difference. You taking advance courses while in High School isn't a big deal, there are tens of thousands of students every single year, taking advanced college courses while in high school. – Donald Nov 25 '13 at 17:26
  • @Ramhound what you said isn't quite true. Entrance exams in some countries are extremely competitive and to be able to take advanced courses at a highly prestigious university in such a country has a different connotation than say, in the US. – Chan-Ho Suh Jul 27 '15 at 21:48
  • The use of the term K-12 indicates the author was from the US. I am from the US, my comment from my perspective,is 100% correct. Why do people 2 years later correct because of a comment? – Donald Jul 27 '15 at 22:29
  • The term "K-12" is used in other countries too. The writing stylewas a big indicator to me (eg "was very less") the OP is not American (Incidentally I guessed "Indian", and I see now the other question by OP was tagged "India"). That is all besides the point: I clarified for the benefit of other readers, particularly international ones, that what you said has limited applicability and I gave you a chance to respond by tagging you. – Chan-Ho Suh Jul 31 '15 at 01:43
5

An issue that you have to address as a part of the hiring process is that dropping out after a month tells me that you make irrational decisions.

Let me explain. You applied to one or more colleges, were accepted, and picked a college and a major. Registered for classes. Started taking classes. Then discovered that

Syllabus esp. of programming was very less.

None of student was really interested in programming.

Not everybody is in college for programming, and that you have to take some classes that are unrelated to programming. So you quit.

What happens when you are asked to perform a task that isn't related to programming. For example become an expert on subject X because we may want to write software for that market next year; or writeup these use cases so we can start the requirements process.

College is more than programming. Your self directed learning is not a broad or as deep as what would be experienced in a college or university.

You need to let them know that you decided that college wasn't for you, and that you are interested in taking classes at night. You will also have to find positions that don't require a college degree, but do allow you to grow into a programming position as you prove yourself. Or you just might have to go back to school.

mhoran_psprep
  • 72,299
  • 8
  • 131
  • 233
2

Include any job relevant coursework you completed (they may ask for school records) along with any other self-driven studies (e.g. Standford University has an open Objective-C course.).

Why you chose not to continue your eduction and how you were able to make yourself a qualified candidate should be explained in your cover letter.