

Non-CS Bachelor's Degree now vs waiting longer to finish CS-related degree? - devs1010

I'm wondering if anyone can give any advice on this as I am in a situation where I took a meandering path through college (going part-time for the last few years, was kind of aimless for a while) and I nearly have enough units to have a Bachelor's in Liberal Studies. It looks like it would take another year and a half to finish a degree instead in a Business / CS hybrid major which would be better, obviously, but I've already been working as a programmer for a couple years so I have experience and not sure if it would be beneficial to just have the Bachelor's in anything vs waiting a while longer
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waivej
I think you need to weigh how much comfort you take in the "common route".
That can mean getting the nice house, reliable car, good paying job. The other
route can mean traveling, working at startups, starting your own business,
etc. You might take the quick route now and get another degree in a different
school later. On the other hand, you might regret not finishing your advanced
degree when money was available to pay for it.

I went the direct route and got the quick degree (in comp sci). I landed a job
programming when I was at a similar spot even though I could have snapped up a
higher level degree within 12 months. 17 years later, I have never interviewed
for a job where it would matter. I stayed with one company for 7 years and
have worked for myself ever since. Though, a programmer I managed at that one
company was denied a higher salary since he had no degree.

In moments of weakness, I've looked through job listings and ones with higher
salaries seem to require the "right" degree or the "right" experience. Those
are usually corporate or headhunter jobs I assume I'd hate. It might be nice
to make 3-4x as much money and program for myself at home. Though I might
never have had some of the experiences I value most in my life.

Side note: a few times I've jumped the queue and had to go back and fulfill a
requirement that seemed like a step back. Invariably, I learned something of
great value that I used later in life.

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rcoder
From my POV as a hiring manager a CS degree is far less important than a
proven history of shipping working code. If you're already in the industry,
contributing to open source, etc., you can accomplish a lot more in 18 months
out in the field than you could in school.

However, if you have gaps in your CS knowledge, it may be easier to fill them
in school. Once you're coding full-time, it can be hard to find the time and
motivation to explore as diverse a set of languages, data
structures/algorithms, and tools as you are (hopefully) exposed to in a solid
CS program.

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devs1010
Thanks for the advice, well, I wouldn't be taking any time off work, I would
have to continue as a part-time student as I currently work full-time. I think
that it may be best to just get a general bachelor's so I can "check the box"
on applications as it seems some companies just care about having a degree
period and I'm not sure the return on investment for taking out more student
loans, etc to get a CS bachelor's may be worth it as I could potentially later
put that towards getting a Master's instead if I decide to continue with my
formal education.

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rcoder
Your instinct sounds solid on this one. From what you've said, I think going
into debt now to change the focus of your bachelor's degree would be a bad
idea. Focus on building your skills and experience at work, and I don't
imagine you'll find the lack of a CS focus in your degree program will hinder
your chances down the road.

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devs1010
lol at "change focus" :) I think the problem was I had no focus for too long,
I was just kind of taking classes since 'its what you're supposed to do', it
seems I was just taking the most general ones possible.. thanks for the advice
on this though, definitely helps to hear from others to reinforce what I'm
thinking

