How Important is a Computer Science Degree for Software Developers?

Is a Computer Science degree important to be a software developer? Do I need to get one? If I don't have a CS degree, will I be at a disadvantage? These are the questions we will answer in today's episode of Dev Questions.

[marvinjno-baptiste]

Not having higher qualifications has never hampered my progression. What did was whether or not I applied myself fully. Showing people what I can do has proved more useful than saying to people what I theoretically can do.

[HamletTanyavong]

I don't think many people understand the purpose of going to university and get disappointed that they are not learning things that they would use regularly. If all you want to do, for instance, is program and you don't care about the rest, then getting a degree isn't really necessary.

The point of going to a university to get a degree is to become a _scholar._ It is more than just learning to do, it is learning about the history of your field—all the math, science, engineering, etc that goes into it. It is about _preserving_ knowledge; it is about pushing the field further through _research;_ it is about _scholarship._

For example, If you want to get into quantum computing, you won't be able to do this without first going to university because it is actively being researched and requires a lot of advanced physics. Over time, as things are figured out, it will become much more accessible and there may come a point where a degree isn't necessary to do it. Until then, everyone will have to wait.

Another example, if you want to learn how to write encryption algorithms that are safe from quantum computers, you will not be able to do so with a degree in mathematics/physics/related field because it is still being researched. Just recently, one of the algorithms submitted to *NIST* was found to have a flaw; this flaw was also found through some advanced math. Until such an algorithm is found, no one who doesn't have a advanced knowledge of mathematics is going to be able to write such code.

Again, I think many who are pushed into going to university are given the wrong idea about what it is about; it is about scholarship. Scholarship is more than just learning to do things. If all you want is to learn how to do something, then most of the time, getting a degree for it isn't really necessary.

[maratnikitin]

Hi Tim,
Thank you for another great video!
The Dev Questions Series are my favorite.

[KosherCoder]

Agreed 100%. In this field, passion is the most important thing.

[JasonTira]

I agree 100% with this. I do not have a degree, but due to work experience I have a fantastic job and work life. The only time this has been an issue was early on in this path. A couple of the C level people were pushing for it because they put value on that paper. It didn't take much talking to get that turned around.

That said, the training and pushing I do myself has been a leading factor. If you don't continue to learn and push yourself, you will probably have a harder time.

[opietwoep]

Im a self taught sql developer 25+ years now . The people coming out of college can’t code. I quit after 1.5 years of college because it was not worth it.

[TISINLI]

When we were getting ready to graduate, me and my friends were asking ourselves "ok, so what are we going to do with this degree? Are we ready for a job?" College only taught us C++, basics of web development. But the job market was requiring way more than C++ like SQL, Ajax, HTML, CSS, Ruby, C#, Java. College however does teach you some great things like data structures and algorithm analysis which the big companies like Google, Amazon would look for. My friend without a college degree but years of experience did an interview with Amazon just to test his skills. He said that the only thing they asked him were probability and statistics, and algorithm analysis too.

[AliHaider-dhzy]

Hey Tim. When you talked about “ related experience” is that work experience or experience when your actively learning. For example, if I want to become a front end developer and I’m learning html, css, JavaScript, react etc right now for a year. Is that one year considered as experience you can write on your resume?

[EekChocolate]

I feel like these days, information systems degrees are WAY more useful for young people trying to get into software development than computer science degrees. Switching majors to information systems was one of the best decisions I made back in college. It included classes on business requirements gathering, databases, the software development life cycle, network infrastructure, and other subjects that proved VERY useful to me when I entered the work force.

If I remained a comp sci major, I would've spent an extra two years torturing myself with computational theory, discrete mathematics, and coding on EMACS using a PuTTY SSH connection. Meanwhile, my information systems classes taught me things like basic Android development, working on Oracle databases using PL SQL, and how to use modern IDEs. If your school offers a B.S. in information systems, I encourage you to look into it. I'm glad I did.

[ryanhuntbachcoding]

Great video. There are a multiple ways to learn software development, including watching IAmTimCorey videos. On the other hand, dev managers are sometimes pressured to hire a candidate who checks all the boxes, including the "all important" degree. In my experience, this is particularly true in big companies. A degree isn't essential (as Tim suggested), but it does open some doors, especially when you are new (as Tim suggested).

[teriyakov]

I fully agree with this! Working on a decent software project (through the entire software lifecycle) from start to finish and have it deployed/published to be used by the real world beats a degree any day! But it depends on how intricate the project is. You're only as good as the problems you solve. The number and size (in monetary terms) of the end user(s) determines how valuable the project (and by defintion, YOU) will be.

[mrq]

Thanks Tim. Two years ago, with zero knowledge, I started a vocational retraining programme to become an IT specialist for application development (in germany). It's similar to a computer science degree, but compressed into two years and therefore with less depth.
I'm currently retaking the exams for the first time and it's going to be close, I probably won't make it.
Should I still apply or would an employer not tolerate my failure?
Worst case would be to get back to my old job and become ill again.

[gustavocielo]

I've been looking for some important studies about computer science to complement my knowledge, because I did courses and started working as a developer 3 years ago, so I have a lot of working experience but not enough theorycraft... I've been thinking about doing a college, but way too much time, too many useless courses in it, etc etc. Thank you for sharing this information!

[DavidMartin-vsdm]

Early in my career I was told I should just teach myself but there weren't hardly any resources other than books. I went to night school and got a diploma (similar to Associates Degree) and I had to get a $ 5k loan. It helped me get my first job but only because I knew someone that was leaving their job and they recommended me but I had to learn the language I started to program with. All of my learning was for mainframe and this job was for an Apple IIe. I've never had a job programming on a mainframe and have had to teach myself each language I used. If I were starting my career today, I would not go to school. There are too many online resources and you can learn on your own. You will still have to be creative to get that first job but you will be much better off. You might even need to volunteer your time but once you get the experience, things will get easier getting your next jobs.

[RiderInHell]

I agree with this. I didn't go to university either. But I did complete a 2 year course that was completely free for me and I got a lot of practice, I got an internship and later a job. I'm on my 2nd job and around 5 years later I'm quite at ease on SQL Server and other tools and I'm also training someone else.

Now, I'd love to transition to C# while keep using SQL Server. Do you think most companies would take on a dev that has moderately advanced SQL Server and some C# knowledge? I have also worked in C# but more on the maintenance side.

Thanks for your input.

[neven]

In my country, when it comes to web programming, a CS degree is mostly required for back-end positions, and languages like C#, Java, etc., are used for that. However, for front-end programming, only a few employers seek a CS degree. But of course, experience is still required, which is not easy to acquire :).

[ivanjasenov]

As Tim said, it depends on the region. In Europe(where I am) the cost of getting Engineering degree(4-5 years) is almost zero. And if you have to pay it's like 500$ per semester at most. In USA, the student debt is a major drawback from this path and it's totaly legit.

[DaXiS]

I leanred coding at 29, did 1 year course and have been working as web developer for almost 5 years. I wonder what life would have been like if i did CS but im happy with my route. Thanks for the video!

[josipkovac]

Offtopic: Tim, what's up with support? I'm not getting reply to my e-mails (last e mail sent in Monday) ... can you check it, please?

[KaraboKNtswane]

I like the fact that you factor the region you live in. I'm from South Africa and we pay around R35, 000 (ZAR) per year for a Bachelors degree. Not really much since most entry level software jobs here begin at R18, 000 net per month