The TRUTH About Computer Science Degrees in 2024

Let's talk about computer science degrees in 2024. Do you need one? Is it worth it? And can you actually become a self-taught developer in todays market?

⏳ Timestamps ⏳
00:00 | Computer Science Degrees
01:17 | What A CS Degree Is NOT
02:13 | What A CS Degree Is
03:33 | Facts You Need To Know
07:24 | Comparing The Costs
11:27 | Who Should Get A CS Degree
13:55 | Who Should Not Get A CS Degree

Hashtags
#techwithtim
#programming
#techeducation

[rkWilson]

Stack overflow actually has a survey where most professional software engineers have a CS degree. CS degree people are still preferred over people with any other degree or no other degree. People hiring software developers prefer people with CS degree or people with Engineering, Math or Physics degree. You don't need a degree is a myth perpetuated by online influencers and bootcamps to sell their courses.

[ServetTonga]

Another reason to get a degree is job requirements. Some of companies instantly eliminate candidates without a degree.

[julioo]

You HAVE to get your degree in 2024+. You don't know how privileged you are when you have a degree in software or cs

[bored_daisyxo]

Yeah the degree route was much better for me. Started self teaching myself and had personal projects, but didn’t actually start getting interviews until I started a post bacc in computer science that was less than $10K from a state school. I know you’re trying to sell your course, but there are definitely affordable CS degrees out there, and you’re qualified for internships whereas before you were not. You can really stand out from the crowd with a degree with all the competition out there.

[johnnytoobad]

Back in the day....(aka late 70's early 80's). IT gigs were pretty easy to get. I "dropped out" from a "big 10" school with a background in EE and CS.
I took a job in Fortune-500 company on the East coast in IT Computer Operations. The shop was implementing DEC systems into their remote locations.
I was one of the few people there who had extensive (albeit academic) training on DEC systems. One year later, they promoted me into "development".

They kept promoting me...and I stayed there for 4+ years. I was also lucky that my "boss" (aka project leader) was also my technical "mentor".
That's when I really learned about development vs. production, platform interfacing, real world "problems" and my favorite...memo writing
and user-level communications. Mentoring, speaking&writing and overall "social comfort" (with other peers) are really important in your first job.

[asadhashmi]

I’d say go to community college first and get the pre-reqs out the way then transfer to a 4 year. At a cc you can easily knock off 60 credits of a 120 credit program fairly quick (just make sure the classes transfer to your desired 4-year). It’s much cheaper and flexible than a 4 year so you have more time to learn additional skills and work a job alongside doing school whilst saving a lot of money.

[Basta]

You don't need a Computer Science degree per se but it is a lot easier for you to get a job compared to others - all else being equal. Math, Physics, Engineering degrees are somewhat equivalent for most companies.

1. Fundamentals of Programming - It takes a bit of time to actually understand well. Usually, 1 year in a college setting. A 3 month bootcamp is too short for most people.

2. Data Structures and Algorithms - Very important class in tech interviews.


3. Mathematics - A CS program usually requires up to Linear algebra. This is extremely important for machine learning. Statistics is very important for Data Science.

4. Computer Science - Its good to actually know how a computer works from the electrical components, logic gates, memory, machine code, Assembly, operating systems, compilers. Its like having deep knowledge in Biology and Chemistry for a healthcare professional worker.

5. Electives and Specialties - There are programming specialties that are very difficult to obtain without college. Computer Engineering, Bioinformatics, Quant Finance, Physics, Operations Management, Data Science.

6. Networking. Many of your classmates will be your peers. They may help you along your career with advice, referrals, and information. There are clubs that help with tech interviews. There are events like Hackathons, competitive programming. There is also Alumni support, meetups, mentoring..

7. Career Resources. Establish collegeds are feeders to the big companies like MAANGs, Consulting, Investment Banking, Government, Military, Fortune 500s, etc.

[swancoder]

1. You don't need a CS degree if your only goal is to find a programming job.

2. But to get into a top company, it's far easier if you have a cs degree from a top tier university.

3. People always say skills trumps degree. I agree, but i'm not sure why not both? It's really competitive to land a job in a top company. You do want every edge you can get. So for me, I want a top cs degree + great skills at the same time.

[cody_codes_youtube]

As a CS degree holder, this is actually a really good video about the topic. And I really agree with the part of you still need to learn outside the degree

[SkipperGoesDark]

Degrees Can only give you fundamentals but that is important too. Details comes from your own time. My fundamentals still help (34 years later) to take IT decisions.

[etgaming]

I have yet to see a job posting for data science that does not have a degree requirement. A lot of them require a minimum of masters too. Which is dumb because almost all my learning has come from Codecademy and building my own projects. I think no degree is more for SWE.

[ArisAris-fsip]

Self taught here. I self studied for 1 year, 6-7 hours a day. I live in Europe, and got a job six months ago. You just have to love it to succeed.

[jaa]

A portfolio is better than a degree. As a software company owner, I've met with multiple local universities looking for opportunities to hire grads or offer internships. The curricula are generally theoretical or outdated tech where they attempt to be hands-on. Sitting on the sidelines for 4-5 years in a fast-moving field like software is obviously going to leave you behind. To pay $100K-$200K for that downtime could permanently derail your personal finances. I'd only recommend a degree if you do it in parallel with working on learning skills on practical projects which could help you launch a product or build a good portfolio.

[OM-bsof]

Guess what? two people have impeccable hands-on skills. One with a degree, one without. Who gets hired? Go get a degree guys, don't listen to this guy.

[spkim]

I used to think back in january 2021 that I'd take a few CS courses at a local institute of technology and get a certificate and work as a software dev. Turns out after 24 credits, I realized I needed to know WAY more. Now, with 54 credits under my belt, I have a junior dev job, but I still feel I should know more if I ever want to work as a senior dev and plan to finish at least another 21 credits part time. But I'll probably realistically take another 30 credits or more.

[AdrianTregoning]

I am 42 with a degree in mechanical engineering, currently teaching myself to code. I would warn youngsters strongly about taking a gap year. I've got friends where one year became two and basically never stopped. I wanted to sail yachts, my parents said get a degree then you can do whatever you want. It was worth it. However I know how stupidly expensive tertiary education is in the USA, which is likely a large percentage of viewership here. To the people without a degree, your motivation and attitude towards work will count more. Unfortunately, without the degree you may sometimes struggle to get that door to open. But also know that most jobs one will get through contacts, or direct contact. So network as much as you can. To date I've still never gotten a job via a recruiter.

[primeix]

I am 42 I landed a job that is a hybrid network engineer : software engineer. I started college at 40 because job paying for it. I am almost done 6 months left.

I would say I have learned like Tim said about 25% useful things.

I also agree it takes a certain person to do this. I don’t think I am a good coder but I am a good network engineer so combining software makes me acceptable.

[Infinite_Guide]

I’m doing a computer science degree. But I’ll still tell people to self study or do boot camps. Employers only care if you can do the job, not what certifications you have. For people that doesn’t want to go the college/uni route, there’s still hope, you just got to grind and find that grit. Good luck my fellow future techs.

[etimezz]

I went to school for CS (online postbacc program) in my late 20's after completing a degree in music at age 22. I am 2 classes away from finishing my degree after 3 years as a part-time student. I got a really good job in support software engineering after my first year of school, largely due to the skills I gained in school. However, I cannot recommend getting a CS degree if you already have a college degree because of how much time/money it takes to complete. I think having a bachelor's degree is useful, and getting one in CS is especially useful, but if you already have a degree or have no interest in going to college, then don't do it. There are more time/financially efficient ways to do so. I definitely could have got my same job or a different one in software engineering without being in the degree program, and now it feels like I'm just finishing the program for the sake of it.

[tommeadows-iexb]

25 year professional developer in NYC. None of my comp sci training was relevant to any of my jobs, in particular the calculus, probability theory, discreet math, etc. But gone are the days of the face to face interview where you had the opportunity to sell yourself. I got many jobs just by doing a good whiteboard of my last project. Now you go thru multiple levels of testing before you meet a human being.