I don't understand what the apprehension is towards learning mathematics. Take it at college (university). Take as much as you can. Take it instead of silly courses like philosophy (for which you can sit in a lecture in your spare time, or look at online videos, or take out a book from the library and read at your own leisure). Just learn the freggin' math and stop bitching about "is it necessary, do I really need it, blah blah blah". It's an IMMENSELY useful subject in just about every branch of human knowledge. It's never a waste of time, perhaps even more so if you're a computer programmer.