I recently followed a 20-minute tutorial to build a to-do list, and now I want to create a useful open-source project—something ambitious and widely adopted. Do I need to study computer science formally to do that? I've read about successful founders who built major products without graduating, so I'm wondering how someone at my level should begin. I'm an average student and usually get C or D grades, but I'm motivated to improve and build something meaningful. What should I learn first, and how do I find a worthwhile problem to solve?
3 Answers
You don’t need a computer science degree to start building things. A degree can help with certain jobs, but it isn’t a requirement for making your own projects. Start with the basics, build small programs without blindly following tutorials, and learn from the problems you run into. Your first projects don’t need to be impressive—they’re practice for developing the skills you’ll need later.
The hardest part probably won’t be writing the code. It will be choosing a real problem and finding people who actually have it. Pay attention to frustrations in your own life or ask people in a group you want to help. Once you have an idea, build a small version and get feedback from potential users—their needs may be different from what you initially expect.
AI-assisted coding can help you make a basic prototype, but it shouldn’t replace learning programming fundamentals. Many generated projects look fine in a simple demo but fall apart when they need security, testing, maintenance, or lots of users. Learn a language properly, practice by writing small programs yourself, and use documentation and tools to understand what you’re building.
That makes sense. I’ll try to look for a problem first instead of picking a project just because it sounds impressive.