A way to think about vocational education!

Original English version: The Apprentice programmer

-- Talking about the German education system

At the age of sixteen, I dropped out of school. The school is not suitable for me. Computers are much more interesting to me. Right or wrong, I think it is a waste of time in school. My real education started only after I got home. I don't like school any more, which means I don't have to study hard. They diagnosed me as a learning disability and started to treat me. I just want to escape far.

I decided to drop out of school and become an apprentice.ProgramMember. This is a stupid decision in North America, because they all go to college to obtain a computer science degree, but in Germany, it is normal to drop out of high school to become an apprentice. People call it a dual education system, which may be one of the main reasons for Germany's success.

This system has a long history in Germany. Carpenter and many other craftsmen have their own apprenticeship system to teach technology and experience, which has been inherited for centuries. The central idea is that the success of some occupations depends more on experience and skills rather than theoretical cognition. Therefore, the Educational time for these occupations should be used in practice, not just watching and listening.

Many German companies recruit apprentices, just as North American companies recruit interns. If a company accepts you as an apprentice, this position is protected by the State. If the company goes bankrupt, you will be arranged for another company the next day. A network is formed between companies to ensure the presence of this location. This network is spread across the country.

Unlike interns in North American companies, in Germany, apprentices are treated as formal junior employees, but with less wages (I was at $400 a month ), if you do not need to go to work 60 days a year, go to a vocational school. Vocational schools will teach students the theoretical knowledge of the selected types of work, and send a certificate after the three-year study period expires. Students who successfully complete the entire process will be eligible for professional qualifications.

I entered a local company named bog Koblenz, a subsidiary of Siemens, with a tradition of recruiting apprentices. I still clearly remember a question during the interview:

"Lily in a pond doubles every day. The first day is one, the second day 2, the third day 4, the fourth day 8, the fifth day 16, the sixth day 32, and so on. If the pond was filled with Lily on the seventh day, then half of the pond would be Lily on the seventh day ?"

It's not hard at all.

I started to work as an apprentice with three other people. On the first day, we visited this 150-person Company, which was already very large for me. In the first year, we did a lot of work: we spent the first three months in the restaurant, then three months to help with accounting, three months to stay in the warehouse, and three months to receive the reception at the front desk. They told us that this was a ceremony.

During the three months at the restaurant, I quickly met people in the company and learned what kind of coffee or tea they liked. I have served them all well. My favorite group works in the basement of Building 2. I don't remember what their title is, but they must be engaged in a secret development job.

They are totally different from what other people in the company do. Most people in the company use an esoteric programming environment named Rosie SQL, which is like a book to me. The group uses Delphi. I love Delphi! It places people on machines.Programming Language. It allows programmers to quickly experiment, make prototypes, and get satisfaction. Its window management library named VCL is greater than anything I have ever seen before. More importantly, the group's head is Jürgen.

Jürgen has long white hair. in his 50 s, he is a rock-and-roll fan. He is perfect for joining the hell Angel gang. (Note: A group famous for riding a Halle motorcycle in the United States ). He is a rebels. He refused to wear company uniforms, refused to use formal languages, and often used tips to call others publicly. Even so, everyone respects him very much. I tried to show my willingness to work for him. I borrowed the Delphi manual and tried to learn it when sending the coffee.

At the same time, I go to a vocational school every Friday and take classes twice a year. We have to wait for two weeks at school and take the exam. This learning method is more suitable for me. It is closely related to work. I learned a lot of basic things with the J ü rgen team. We learnedAlgorithmAnd Big O, and even learned some basic welding and electricians.

Facts have proved that the so-called learning disability does not exist. I just need to practice it. I cannot understand the problems that have not been solved, or give answers. In vocational schools, I know the problems that are being solved. I have had my own experiences. This is amazing! My self-esteem and self-confidence quickly increased.

After the first year, J ü rgen moved me to his basement team. This is probably the most important thing in my career. Jürgen is a master teacher. In the environment he created, he can easily achieve career development for 10 years each year. It is an environment I tried to create in shopify.

Most of the time, when I go to work, I will find a printedCodeThe red marker pen is everywhere on the paper. Where I use improper terms, there are better abstract options, and the places where I could have done better are marked. He taught me not to mix self-esteem with the code I wrote. Code always needs to be improved. It is a gift to get feedback.

I still remember that we wrote software for general purpose companies. A car dealer needs a fast system to estimate the value of recycled second-hand cars. This is a great challenge. Jürgen handed over the project to me. It's almost time to deliver the goods. The company made a special offer to buy me a suit. After all, we work for Siemens.

The car dealer is one day away from us. On the day before departure, J ü rgen told me that he had something else on time and would not go with me. I had to deliver the goods by myself. I felt overwhelmed, but I finally made a good impression on the customer and finished everything.

This happens afterwards. Jürgen knows the scope of my capabilities and from time to time creates situations that are appropriately out of scope. By trying, making mistakes, and improving my abilities, I will soon be able to put the theories learned by vocational schools into practice. I succeeded.

My degree is not recognized in North America, so I am only a high school student here. I have a doctorate in shopify, So we often joke that our average level is undergraduate.

But the degree is not important. Experience is important. This is what I learned from my apprenticeship and dual education system: Practice and quick learning are the ultimate skills of life. If you can, you will be able to create miracles and ultimately achieve success.

Perhaps the apprenticeship experience is the most important thing for me to do is to give me a leading opportunity. If I went to college to fight for the title of doctorate, maybe I just got out of school now. In fact, I am 32 years old, but have 16 years of experience in developing complex software.

Thanks to Germany's dual education system, it enables everyone to be talented. According to the latest statistics, there are currently 356 different occupations in Germany to recruit apprentices. From hairdresser to oven workers, as well as various computer programming majors. For practical learners like me, the apprenticeship system has paved the way for success.

It is a perfect environment for me. I have learned a lot and I am glad to have chosen this path. I hope more countries can make similar choices for their students in the face of drop-out and unemployment issues.

(The author Tobi lütke is CEO and co-founder of shopify)