A Computer Science Degree is (Mostly) A BAD Decision

Thinking about going (back?) to college to get a Computer Science degree? Think it will help you get ahead? Think it will help you land the job quicker and thus kickstart a more solid career?

Well in this video, I want to share why I think computer science degrees (and really most college degrees (in 2023 and beyond) are a bad idea overall.

This video is not to bash CS degrees overall, but more to look at the overall scope of college degrees and why they can, more times than not, do more harm than good, including CS degrees.

What do you think? Would love to hear your comments below.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:10 2 Exceptions
01:59 Disclaimers
02:30 COST
04:43 The Alternatives
05:35 Degree Indecisions
06:08 No longer required
07:05 Times have changed
07:49 How to be self-taught
08:41 Outro

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[xnadave]

At 28, I did community college for two years, did very well, get a scholarship to a four-year university. Since I had already been coding professionally for 10 years, I chose Electrical Engineering instead of CS. I managed to complete the degree while working full time, and the (partial, but generous) scholarship kept my total cost to about $20k at a well-known and respected private university. I established relationships with my professors that led to a master's degree that was 100% covered by research grants. My path certainly isn't for everyone, but, in my case, it was totally worth it. Now that I'm middle-aged, the degrees have opened up a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't otherwise have had. The extra math in EE vs CS has really come in handy.

[tyanqt]

While getting a CS or engineering degree doesn't guarantee you a job, a degree from a well-known university will open more doors for you than a bootcamp or being self-taught. There is, for sure, a difference between you will learn in school vs what you do on the job. However, I think it's definitely worth thinking about survivorship bias. The people who are self-taught or did bootcamps and are successful are the ones you'll see posting on the internet, you rarely see anyone posting who didn't find success - just something to think about. Overall, interesting points!

[satysin]

This is why I am grateful to live in Europe as all of what you talk about is very much an American problem. Getting good higher education here is essentially free and the networking advantages you get through the university system is well worth it. I do find it kinda insane how much it costs in America.

[simonabunker]

It may be possible to learn the skills you need without a degree, but it is going to be a hell of a lot harder to convince employers that. Places may say you don't need a degree, but it is a recognised standard that everyone understands. It is also pretty much required if you ever want to work abroad. The other advantages of higher education are the access to staff and peers it provides - it is much harder doing it on your own without that support network. University friends also tend to be people you keep in touch with for life - as you self selected the same interests. The main thing it gives you is time to learn these skills - sure you can take a sabbatical, but it is totally up to you to fund and motivate yourself. Complete self study may be (debatably) monetarily cheaper, but in many ways it is the harder option - that won't necessarily be appreciated by employers.

[kevinsouza]

Good luck getting hired in 2023 without a degree.

[jayrock]

Getting a degree in Computer Science, Engineering or IT related fields is definitely NOT A BAD decision.
Besides, a CS degree is not equivalent to knowing programing.

[TheCasou]

Telling people to not pursue higher education in this economy is such bad advice.

[korg]

Online accelerates universities, notably WGU, is in my opinion the best budget option for a degree. I got my Cloud Computing bach in 2 semesters and only 9k debt that I already paid off, and my friend got his CS degree in 4. We're both making six figures so it speaks for itself.

[bjiggs]

Agree with a lot of what you're saying but this was my experience... I graduated college with a non-CS engineering degree but quickly decided I'd made a mistake and would rather be a Software Developer. ...so, I jumped ship, "learned to code" (although I already knew a lot) and luckily found a company to give me an opportunity. I absolutely considered myself self-taught at that point and I was very successful for the first few years. ...but after a while I realized I just seemed to be missing some things that really-good CS grads knew. So, I went back to school for a Masters. Fortunately, by that point, I could MAKE MY EMPLOYER PAY FOR IT. Anyway, I discovered the things I was missing were basically the boring, but important, crap nobody wants to learn on their own without being forced to. Are you really gonna take the time to learn the difference between an O(n log n) algorithm and an 0(n^2) algorithm on your own? Probably not. But knowing that stuff takes you to the next level....if that's what you're after.

[BekiTMBTI]

It depends on where you live. Online people are saying don’t go to college but look at most job searches & they want people with a degree. If you work for yourself you don’t need a degree but then you need capital to start a business. And success doesn’t happen overnight.

[pankybakesandcooks]

I have a little over 3 years professional experience as a self-taught mobile dev and have been stuck on whether or not I should get a degree. Reason being, I've only worked for start-ups and I have a goal of working for a Fortune 500, but I feel my resume gets filtered out or something without that Comp Sci BA. But you are right, it's not worth going into so much debt, I think I do need to get better at networking.

[Maldroid]

Fortunately, I have the advantage of parents who covered a significant portion of my educational expenses. Originally, I was pursuing Computer Science, but I found the coding and math too tough, so I switched my major to Information Systems instead.

[velins]

TBH go to community college first, college allows you to network and meet peers and socialize while learning, also having a degree is better than not having one, and it generally takes 4 years which is really not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. I am going to a community college for the basics for CS and it is really not that expensive compared to going to a well known 4 year university that most people go to for the name of it, also I know plenty of people that regret not going to college because it is a good place to make friends and meet people on similar journeys, tbh studying on my own SUCKED because the only communities are primarily online and discord which isnt that much fun tbh

[marchebbo]

as someone who had 2 years of experience before joining university, data structures and algorithms are very hard to learn on your own.

[faisal.]

Are you serious man!!
Computer science is not about learning code that would makes it worthless as you mentioned but it is about solving problem with math the way computers work.
Computer science prepares you to write good programs and analyse it.
"It is a science not just coding".

And by the it's hardly to get a job with no degree because all the HR systems automatically checks if you meet the requirements or not and all companies requring a bachelor degree as a minimum qualification.
Also with the AI in hand so it's hard to get a job even as a freelance.

[coding]

I really don't think it takes 1 year. It takes 2-3 years of practice 40+ hours a week to get a job. I spent 3 years an average of 10 hours a day 6 days a week self teaching before I felt comfortable enough to start interviewing.

[gbhwdgy]

I did this. I have an AS degree in Science. I got a Software Engineer Apprenticeship at IBM. 2+ years later I'm being laid off. I'm being rejected from every job, completely ghosted. I wish I had the confidence to apply during the pandemic I would be a Senior level dev by now and much harder to lay off. Now I won't be employed probably for 2 more years and will need to start my career over.

[zalty]

bro why do people say a degree is 216k public state schools are like 15-18k a year but i think colleges biggest downfall is the useless classes you have to take you already took in highschool such as humanities and english etc

[browsingtheinternetwhilena]

But HR will automatically disregard your application if you have no degree

[clallen]

I enrolled in the Air National Guard/Air Force program which provided me access to the GI Bill, funding my college tuition. Through this program, I now have lifelong benefits including VA home loans, free medical treatment at VA hospitals, $5 prescription drugs, free eye glasses every 12 months, and many more benefits.

The initial training requirement was manageable - 8 weeks of basic training and about 4 months of technical school. After that, the only obligations are working one weekend per month and two weeks per year.

The Air Force, Air National Guard, and Space Force offer the most valuable job experience for transitioning into the civilian workforce later. The skills and training in these branches provide excellent alignment with in-demand jobs outside the military. Focusing your military service in one of those areas will set you up well for a smooth shift into related civilian careers.