Re: Sacrifices made for Free Software

[Davis Remmel]

> Of course people might argue the merits of college education to start with

I'll argue that. :)

I didn't even go to college because I saw it as a scam where most of the 
dollars goes to administration, not instruction.

To say some words about choosing a life of Free software: it has served me 
phenomenally well. I've used Free software in personal and professional life 
for a decade, and I would never have made as much money as I did (as the VP of 
Engineering at a data center ISP) if I didn't go down that path. All I know is 
directly attributable to being able to read and modify source code, to learn 
_deeply_ how systems work.

The people who matter, those who admin the big networks and write systems code, 
all agree with the Free philosophy and wouldn't be where they are, either, 
without going deep into it.

It is exactly that knowledge that has afforded me well. Reasoning about your 
work saying, "we'll use this because it is better because X," instead of, 
"nobody got fired for using Y," is very special--most "professionals" I've had 
to work with couldn't program a rice cooker, and fewer ever heard of GNU. 
Fad-Driven Development is a cancer, and the ones who get ahead are those who 
see it for what it is.

> People will generally take you more seriously

I'd take the OP more-seriously if he stuck to his moral principles, and I would 
hire him before someone who graduated by "making a CPU out of a PIC" or wrote 
some CRUD web apps. There will always be other people who dismiss us because 
they don't understand us, but I would argue they aren't worth our time to begin 
with. It's a big world.

> You'll be in a better negotiating position to get work that that requires 
> less proprietary software and makes more money

You don't get less of something (non-Free software) by using more of it. Money 
is a stupid construct, but it's quite nice that it falls from the sky upon 
those who took the path of greater resistance...those who learned a heck of a 
lot more than their peers by taking that path.

> You'll be in a better position to get work at all, considering how the 
> economy is moving

To OP: don't ever settle! You're still young, but don't make the same mistake 
so many others do: to settle for a job, sacrificing a little of yourself for 
something/one else. The gift of Life is incredibly precious, and limited!, and 
you're here now so make the best use of your time. When you die, you'll be able 
to look back with nothing but a smile on the decisions you made, and you'll 
likely inspire others to follow in your footsteps. You can either be a leader 
or a follower, and the former sets the rules for the latter. I suggest leading 
by example; on that, you're off to a heck of a good start.

:)

--
Davis

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Monday, June 8, 2020 1:23 PM, Roberto Beltran via libreplanet-discuss 
<libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org> wrote:

>
>
> > I studied for 2 years at SIUe before dropping out
> > because it became impossible for me to continue and keep my freedom.
>
> I don't want to make any assumptions about your financial situation or past 
> education experience or why you were studying, but for others that might be 
> in a similar position, I'm not sure this is a good move.
>
> I graduated in 2018 and I've definitely done my share of negotiating with 
> professors and taking small hits to my grade to avoid proprietary software. 
> When it came down to it though, if it was between graduating and freedom, I 
> picked graduating.
>
> As a (perhaps broke or indebted) student you have little power. You've tried 
> your best move: organizing your peers, but it seems this was ineffective. I 
> think the next best move is to suck it up for two measly years so you'll be 
> in a position where as a professional:
>
> 1.  People will generally take you more seriously
> 2.  You'll be in a better negotiating position to get work that that requires 
> less proprietary software and makes more money
> 3.  You'll be in a better position to get work at all, considering how the 
> economy is moving
>
>     and further if you stay in and can carve out even 2 hours or so a week 
> you can try starting a libre student group. It can be unofficial to start, 
> don't let the bureaucracy spin your wheels (this is where I messed up). You 
> probably won't see the fruit from that tree, but future students might.
>
>     On the other hand, by dropping out, sure you stop being a victim in the 
> context of your school that I've never heard of, but you're setting yourself 
> up to be more of a victim in society at large where you're spending the rest 
> of your life.
>
>     Of course people might argue the merits of college education to start 
> with, but I'm operating under the assumption that you've weighed your options 
> and decided college was a good move for you.
>
>     Best regards,
>     Roberto Beltran
>
>
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