How to Live Life for Dummies

NPC Risk Diagnostic

Check all symptoms you exhibit. Be honest - your soul depends on it.

CORPORATE_ASSIMILATION_INDEXSENTIENT BEING

0% (free)???100% (lost)

You have a favorite spreadsheet and think about it outside work hours
You have said "let's circle back on that" without irony
You own multiple pairs of khakis and a rotation plan
You know what 'quarterly targets' means and care about them
You have strong, documented opinions about office coffee
You have used "stakeholder" as a noun in casual conversation
You refer to your cubicle as your 'workspace' with affection
Your screen time is > 10 hours and none of it brought you joy
You have a 401(k) that you think about more fondly than your hobbies
You've unironically recommended 'synergy' as a strategy
You schedule 1:1s to discuss 'alignment' and 'visibility'
You own a branded company hoodie and wear it on weekends

The Project Spectrum

Where are you on the pipeline from "script kiddie" to "legendary engineer"? Click a tier to see the diagnosis.

Course Value Optimizer

A brutally honest breakdown of what your CS degree actually teaches you, ranked by real-world relevance. Toggle between the catalog description and the truth.

> sort_by = "actual_value"Real talk

01
Data Structures & Algorithms
The one class that will actually make you a better programmer. Everything is trees. Everything.
02
Operating Systems
Learn how the magic box actually works. Spoiler: it's all interrupts and scheduling.
03
Discrete Mathematics
Logic, proofs, graph theory. The actual math of computer science.
04
Linear Algebra
Invisible until you need it. Then it's the only thing that matters.
05
Computer Networks
The stack that makes the internet not fall apart. Most of the time.
06
Database Systems
How to store and query data without crying.
07
English Composition
Unironically one of the most useful classes for a software engineer.
08
Software Engineering
Waterfall is bad, Agile is good, here are some UML diagrams nobody uses.
09
Calculus II
Integration by parts. That's the class. That's the whole thing.
10
Any Gen Ed History Class
You are paying tuition to memorize dates you will Google later.

The Pipeline

The roadmap from "I type things and they appear" to "I build things that matter." Click a stage to see what it takes.

INTERACTION NOTE: The highest-leverage move is skipping to building real things now. You don't need permission. You don't need a title. You need to ship something that makes someone say "wait, who built that?"

This guide will self-destruct when you ship your first project that scares you. Until then, stop scrolling and start building.

system ready for > build