Thank you very much @twoinanddone , @MYOS1634 , @DarkMatter565 , @aunt_bea , and all you great people. Yes, all sensible and valid statements. It seems I have to start contacting local unis, and will do.
In the meantime I’m still able to find and participate with online/public researches, and make good connections(maybe for M.S, PhD, IDK).
Math and Science bless us all
Have you seen this resource
https://dl.acm.org/about
Or considered an online certificate.
First things first:
NO ONE will take you seriously in the academic world if you haven’t completed a BS, preferably from a reputable university.
If your local universities are corrupt or just not good, you need to find one where you can attend, preferably for free (or close to free, if I understand your situation correctly).
It’s possible to get that degree, just not in the US.
Then, depending on where you go for your Bachelor’s degee and how well you do, you could in turn get into grad school (=PHD) in the US.
This is going to be long.
But you FIRST need that first degree.
And if you don’t have an academic secondary school diploma (end of 12th or 13th year of school, age 17-19) you need that first; A Levels may be your best bet because they’re highly specialized.
I think in your case you’d need ALevels in
In the meantime, use legit websites and MOOCs to patch any content you may not have acquired through work experience:
What languages do you speak?
Or, if you’d rather not say, are there legit universities in countries where the languages you speak are used at the university level?
Thank you.
If your local universities are corrupt or just not good
Cannot tell they are absolute corrupt(but maybe a little yes). Graduate students do research tho, still very limited, and they are more like thesis(solo). I’m mostly scared, as my ex-students were all B.S. graduate students of those unis, but I have to admit some legendary students could make it to top unis for M.S., and PhD.
I got my HS diploma back in 2007, but recently just requested to retake it(to challenge myself, and make a better GPA). To obtain my new diploma I was told I have to pass some nonsense subjects beside STEM subjects which will destroy my GPA unfortunately, but I’m doing my best to just pass them.
Back in late 2022, the moment I decided back to school/college, I started studying math, physics, and chemistry full time. Mostly from Khan Academy, some great YT channels, Halliday Physics(that’s a real sacred book), … Very happy.
I believe I’m able to ace all those STEM subjects with ease.
I come from Iran, so I speak persian (I’m sorry). Iran has got some very fairly good universities, and great students. Getting into top unis are really hard, and as they accept new students once a year, so I have to keep studying for a year from now.
@Hippobirdy thanks for sharing ACM. Looks interesting. Going to dig into it.
Thank you in advance for your time.
There are a couple of chapters of ACM in Tehran. Good luck!
https://www.acm.org/chapters/find-a-chapter
There is no getting away from those “nonsense subjects” in a US university.
You will be required to take humanities and perhaps other languages to meet admissions requirements and to receive a university degree.
The reason for that is that US employers do not want to employ people who are ill-prepared to converse or speak to clients on any subject, regardless of major or speciality.
In my family, none of us attended the same colleges.
That’s 3 engineers-two CS grads, one EE. Plus one MD and one SLP.
One CS grad took a course on the Ming dynasty.
Another took an English class on classic fairy tales.
One took an agricultural course which included driving a tractor and a course in vintner studies.
As a humanities major, I took courses in physics.
Thank you for replying, but the subjects you mentioned are not really nonsense at all, and I’m totally okay with them. Yes, that’s good to learn some non-STEM subjects that come handy in life too, no worries, and thanks unis for providing them.
Nonsense subjects are taught here are beyond that actually(hard to explain, I’m sorry), but hopefully they are not very much, around 10-15 units.
(I’m guessing you mean what I’d call “Dogmatic Studies”, ie., Ideology of the country’s ruling party, History and Biographies of the Dear leaders and their Families, Oriented Views and Official analysis of the Majority Religion …)
You CAN get into a program somewhere and get a Bachelor’s degree.
My understanding was that you were living outside your home country, ie., outside Iran, but if you’re in Iran, the universities are very good. You’d need to get a high score in Konkoor to have a shot though. In addition, I understand why you might want to escape the country right now. If you moved to another country, you don’t have to attend University there, as long as you can find a reputable program in Europe to get your foot on the first rung of the ladder so to speak.
Also: in the UK and Europe, you can work off campus as soon as you arrive, without needing a special permit. In Canada, you can do that provided you passed your 1st semester.
If you work in SWE you should be able to get a part-time job relatively easily, however, again, you’d need to know the country’s language, which may limit choices. The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland have quasi-bilingual citizens but you would need to learn an additional foreign language).
UK is fairly expensive for internationals though I’d imagine.
And the guy says he needs financial aid. That’s the problem I can imagine with many of the potential options he could take.
Code bless you, you understand things really good, all correct statements.
One of my friends told me I may be able to go a uni without taking the entrance(something similar he did) if and if cs department is friendly enough to accept me because of my experience, certificate, etc… , and I’m going to try that as well.
GOOD NEWS: Just craved some news and changes regarding the entrance exam, and surprisingly, it seems I have to study only math, and science for that(super awesome!). Previously it was harder than going to the moon and find an alien. That’s really a good news if it’s true.
@DarkMatter565 is right. Yes, my biggest issue is fin-aid. Previously contacted some fairly good unis in Canada, and the US, and most admissions stated I’m likely make it to the uni(because of my resume, and cert), but fin-aid? maybe no! still need to proof that you can support yourself.
Science bless us all
If you’re really that desperate to get an international education, can you not save up for a few years?
I can’t imagine the schools you’re going to be looking at cost over $100k-$200k?
You’re in a tough spot being over 30 + not having money to pay for an international education.
Yes, you are right. Very odd situation. I can start saving up, but I’m sure if I can make it. Top paid salary for a ultimate good programmer here is below 15k~17k USD annually(but average is below 10k), so same zero luck with that path as well.
For now, I keep contacting best fit professors, and unis regarding my case, and IDK, maybe(below 1%) I can find a fairly good program(even online). Besides that, I’m going to do my best to get into a top local uni here.
Later I might be able to make it as a transfer student maybe, IDK. I’ve seen many dudes with almost 0 money made it to top US/Canada unis . very hard, but still possible.
Good point, I’d forgotten that part. Europe is often inexpensive or free though.
You should look at universities in Germany or France, either for their English language programs or if you feel you’d be able to learn the language (including “onsite”, ie., learning the basics at home, getting advanced understanding in the country over a year, then starting your studies). University is free in these countries and you can work up to 20 hours a week to support yourself.
Look at costs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Norway.