1. John Carmack
John Carmack is a legendary figure in the gaming industry and is known for his contributions to popular games such as Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake. Carmack was never formally educated in computer science but taught himself programming as a hobby. With his passion for gaming, he went on to found id Software, one of the most successful and influential game development studios of all time.
2. Linus Torvalds
Linus Torvalds is the creator of Linux, a popular open-source operating system for computers. He started programming as a hobby while studying at the University of Helsinki, but dropped out to work on developing Linux. Torvalds taught himself programming and is now considered one of the most influential figures in the tech industry.
3. David Karp
David Karp, the founder of popular blogging platform, Tumblr, is also a self-taught programmer. Karp dropped out of high school to focus on programming and coding. He taught himself how to code and eventually created Tumblr, which was acquired by Yahoo! for $1.1 billion.
4. Andrew Ng
Andrew Ng is a computer scientist and entrepreneur who is a co-founder of Coursera, an online learning platform. Ng taught himself programming while studying engineering at university and went on to become a professor of computer science at Stanford University. Ng is now a leading figure in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
5. Alexis Ohanian
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, is a self-taught programmer who dropped out of college to focus on programming. Ohanian taught himself programming languages such as Python and built Reddit, which is now one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world.
These success stories prove that while formal education may be beneficial, it is not essential to becoming a successful programmer. With a passion for learning and the right resources, anyone can teach themselves programming and make a name for themselves in the tech industry. So, if you’re thinking about pursuing a career in programming but lack formal education, these stories should be an inspiration to you.
