
Ask HN: Do employers care how long it took you to finish a degree? - JxGZV
I&#x27;m not going to finish my C.S. degree in 4 years, it&#x27;s going to take me a couple of years more. I&#x27;m not able to assist to all lectures and attend all exams because I&#x27;ve been going through a lot of stuff lately, so I haven&#x27;t been (&amp; am not) able to pass an academic year in a year. My gpa is still good.<p>I&#x27;m worried about being rejected for most applications in the future due to how long it took me to finish and I don&#x27;t want to come off as whiny or anything in interviews, etc when interviewers ask me (if they do) why it took me so long.<p>So:
Do employers care how long it took you to finish a degree?
How important is to employers and interviewers?
Is there anything I can do to counteract it?<p>Thanks.
======
davismwfl
Generally, no, employers don't care. When you list your degree just list the
graduation date.

Regardless of your work history, you should list internships and projects you
accomplished while in school on your resume when you are starting out anyway
(unless you were already employed in the field). And if anyone asks
specifically, tell them, yea I took a little extra time to finish my degree.
Never lie and don't deny it just be straight about it but don't go into
personal details.

When you are in college all the pressure and focus is around your GPA,
graduating whether you were in the engineering school or A&S school etc. When
hiring, those factors are never as important as your ability to sell yourself.
For companies that focus on your GPA or how long it took you to get through
school, I'd be very critical of whether they are looking for the right
candidates and whether I'd want to be there. That said, there are some tech
companies that have extremely competitive new grad hiring and so they use
school, GPA and degree as a filter, but I've never seen length of time to
attain the degree a factor.

Good luck!

~~~
dannypgh
They really shouldn't be asking specifically. IANAL and I don't think most age
discrimination protections kick in until you're 40, but that kind of question
- or asking if you were a "non-traditional" student - seems like a roundabout
way of asking someone's age, and is therefore quite unprofessional.

~~~
SmellTheGlove
It depends. If someone discloses to me on their resume that it took 8 years to
get a bachelors, meaning they put 2000-2008 next to that line item, it's fair
for me to ask about it. Besides, professional or not, you want them to ask it
if they're inclined to ask it. Not because it's information for them, but
because it's information for you. A candidate interviews the company as much
as the company interviews them, and from my perspective as a candidate I want
to know if these things matter to them and why. For instance, there are
qualities I appreciate about non-traditional students - people who started
college late, worked full time through, etc. I'm not trying to figure out if
you're 45 or not. I'm looking for positive qualities, not trying to shake out
the negative. I can distill the negatives when we talk about experience, and
those have nothing to do with age or anything else.

Beyond that, when I'm interviewing someone, I know I can't or shouldn't ask
certain things, and I don't want to make people uncomfortable or break any
laws. So I will often casually mention that I'm married or have a kid if the
opportunity arises while we make small talk. I never tie it to a follow up
question either, because that's too close to the line for me. But I'm not
trying to figure out your situation there either. I'm just putting it out
there that I have a life outside of here, that I'm probably going to sneak out
(very) early every so often, work from home sometimes to get some other non-
work stuff done too, etc. and that I won't hold it against you for being a
normal person either.

~~~
a_small_island
>Beyond that, when I'm interviewing someone, I know I can't or shouldn't ask
certain things, and I don't want to make people uncomfortable or break any
laws. So I will often casually mention that I'm married or have a kid if the
opportunity arises while we make small talk. I never tie it to a follow up
question either, because that's too close to the line for me. But I'm not
trying to figure out your situation there either. I'm just putting it out
there that I have a life outside of here, that I'm probably going to sneak out
(very) early every so often, work from home sometimes to get some other non-
work stuff done too, etc. and that I won't hold it against you for being a
normal person either.

This is a strange thought process. It's illegal to ask about kids/relationship
status and you apparently know that. You just attempt to fish for that
information because you want them to know that _you_ personally WFH and have
non-work stuff in your life? Why not just describe that work culture? Seems
like you are trying to find out if they have kids or a wife, otherwise I don't
understand the reasoning.

~~~
SmellTheGlove
I'm not sure that I described it well in my post, but I don't try and fish for
that information whatsoever. I don't ask any questions related to it, but I'm
not shy about my own situation either if it comes up in conversation. These
days many people are coached not to really ask about work life balance or to
bring up anything that would prevent them from being a 100% dedicated, 24/7
employee, and I think that's pretty shitty. I can't really ask about their
needs there in a way that makes me comfortable asking it, so if the
conversation goes that way, I'll describe my own situation without any follow
up questions.

Every company and every manager out there tries to sell people on their great
company culture and work-life balance. I actually have one. I actively
cultivate that internally and set team boundaries that promote having a life
outside of here. It's important (to me) that candidates know that we actually
do what we say we do in terms of work life balance.

------
mereo
Graduating is what counts, not the time it took you to graduate. Stuff happens
in life.

Me, it took 7 years to graduate due to severe health issues and family issues,
but I kept on going, taking one course at a time in some semesters.

So don't worry about it, in fact, it can be a positive thing. If they know
that despite many struggles in life, you kept on going, you'll appear as a go
getter.

So don't worry about it, stuff happens in life. Keep on going and graduate,
that's what matters the most.

------
pluma
What you need to understand is that employers don't care about anything other
than whether you will be a good fit for the position you are applying to. Your
CV is just a way to try to assess your skills and character, just like in-
person interviews are.

So yes, an employer might take into consideration how long it took your to
finish your CS degree but ultimately it likely won't matter much when all the
other factors are taken into consideration. It's one tiny factor that may be
very important for you right now but doesn't actually provide much useful
information to the employer.

EDIT: Just to make my point even clearer: taking slightly longer than expected
most likely won't stand out at all. Taking significantly longer may be a
negative factor, or it may be a positive factor, but either way it will most
likely not be even close to one of the most important factors an employer
might consider unless you literally submit a slip of paper with only that
piece of info on it.

------
stuff4ben
Nope, it's never occurred to me to ask that as someone who has interviewed
hundreds of people in my his career. If you don't put the dates on your
resume, it's highly doubtful anyone would ask unless they could infer it from
other things on your resume. One would be if you had a career, stopped it to
go to school, and then started your career again. And even then, you can or
should be able to easily explain it away. But what really matters is what you
know.

------
ajford
Honestly, don't worry about it. I have a weird background myself. I studied
Physics, but didn't finish my degree (about a semester short :( ). My
University (a branch campus) started shutting down and stuff got complicated.
I also got married and had a kid.

So I didn't finish my degree, got a good job offer doing Electrical
Engineering (based off a good internship I did) for 3 years. Then switched to
software, and with 7 years programming background (3 embedded at my last job
and 4yrs of side projects and research code) I landed a Senior Programmer
position at my new job. I'm not in the top bracket yet, but for essentially 4
years out of college (without a degree) I feel I'm doing pretty good.

Right now, CS seems to be a "Buyer's Market" where the job seekers have a bit
more sway since everyone wants a new app or site or what not.

Like plenty of others have said, work on side projects and demo code. Doesn't
have to be polished or whatever, but every little bit helps. Anything you do
to learn a new platform or technique, stick in your portfolio. Get a Github or
Gitlab. If you're shy about your code, Gitlab has free private repos, which
you can share with an interviewer when it comes up (though I highly recommend
you just go public with most of your code).

------
fecak
This is solved with a resume.

The short answer is "no, they won't care generally", but employers may care a
little bit very early in your career and that level of caring will eventually
fade to zero. In order for them to care, they first have to actually _know_.
We can prevent that rather easily.

The secret to counteracting this is done on your resume typically (I'm a
resume writer and recruiter, who coincidentally also graduated college after 6
years due to self-financing).

Listing college dates on a resume doesn't have any real rules. Early in your
career you will likely list your graduation date, and perhaps even some
coursework, projects, and a GPA. There is no need to list the date you
_started_ college.

At some point in your career your resume will change. You might not even list
graduation date at all down the road, in order to prevent ageism. You'll just
have your degree, major, and university - no other details. You also won't
list your GPA at some point, and you don't even need to list it now. If they
want to know, they'll ask.

If you're asked about college attendance, you should be honest and tell them
how long it took and why. But usually they won't ask, unless there is
something else on your resume that tips them off.

------
marsrover
It took me 9 years to finish my C.S. degree. I dropped out a few times and
took time off. I was 27 when I finally finished. My GPA was horrible, so I
don't list it.

All I list on my resume is my graduation date. I've never had anyone ask how
long it took, why I didn't list the start date (probably because I looked
older), or my age. My GPA has never been asked for either. Just don't talk
about anything related to the time it took, GPA, age, anything.

When I graduated I had multiple job offers within the first month. No issues
at all. The main thing they care about once you make it to the interview is
that you know your shit and can talk to people.

Good luck.

------
MrCat
Hi all,

I'm reading Hacker News pretty regularly but didn't bother to register since
now that I saw this question from JxGZV.

I come from really small EU country that was formerly communist and I'm also
an CS student in my final year:) With that being said, I want to share my
experience that I had recently with a pretty well known big company which is
in the business of software engineering and was merged with another company in
2012. Because of various reasons I'm studying longer that it is expected, but
nevertheless my CV is outstanding, since I have many achievements as an
undergrad (participating at conferences with posters, winning hackathons
etc....). To make long story short, I was asked what was I doing all these
years and if I was "doing drugs or what?!".My answer was "No I did not". I
didn't get an offer after this interview and was really happy because of that.

For anyone reading this, if you are in a similar situation, do not stress
yourself with such questions. Just send the application and CV. If they ask
questions like these, you can find a better employer and you probably don't
want to work for them anyway. Believe me. I experienced it.

------
donohoe
Relax. You're fine. No one cares. Just list graduation year.

In fact, I wouldn't really care of you had a degree or not. (Its a positive if
you have one, but not a negative if you don't).

------
iaw
I wont detail specifics but I took longer than normal to attain my BS and I'm
not shy about it on my resume. In all my interviews it came up once as an
afterthought "Oh, why'd this take so long?" and a quick story was
satisfactory.

No one will make a big deal out of it like you do. As others have said, try
listing only your graduation date. If you think it will come up anyway, have a
one sentence blurb prepared that seems reasonable.

Unless you're doing something like investment banking or consulting where the
pipelines are congested they are going to care primarily about how well you
can do the job.

~~~
hanginghyena
THIS.

Speaking as a hiring manager, I will absolutely notice any delays or
interruptions in your education (unless ancient); in the event you don't give
the years, it often becomes obvious when you list high school degree or summer
jobs.

The key is to have a reasonable story about the situation. Finishing a liberal
arts degree in five years after you spent the first four partying doesn't send
a good message. Finishing a degree after taking a break to handle <other
important responsibility - family, startup, etc> or as a consequence of a
major change that helps employer? Not a significant issue....

~~~
mturmon
And keep the explanation simple, even if you have complex feelings about it.
Think about it, identify a clear cut explanation, and give it when asked.
Avoid the "doth protest too much" problem at all costs.

------
roel_v
As most everyone says, no most interviewers won't care. In the small chance
anyone ever asks why you took longer, just don't spin a whole sob story to
explain. Just say 'personal circumstances' or so, very short and neutral, and
quickly divert attention away to your GPA (if it stays good) to make it clear
that it's not because you couldn't do the work.

I had an interviewee once who would try to explain everything that was
remotely sub-optimal on his CV with long stories of how horrible his
upbringing was and how hard he had it in life. I guess he was trying to get
sympathy but all I heard was 'drama all around'. Now, being able to overcome
adversity is a good thing in general, but there is a fine line between that
and being desperate to blame everything on everyone else or emotionally
blackmailing people.

So my advice, for what it's worth, is to not be seduced into giving long
emotional explanations. Just say 'I had to work a full time job' or 'I had to
finance myself' and leave it at that.

~~~
herge
You have not really overcome the adversity yet if it's still a chip on your
shoulders years later.

------
poorman
Depends where you try to work. Most employers are only going to care about how
sell yourself as a potential asset to their company. In the end, the only
thing that matters is your ability to perform your job.

PS. I have a *friend who took 6 years to graduate with a BA in CS and now
works for an awesome startup, that also employees some great programmers who
never went to college.

PPS. If you're in CS create a GitHub account to act as your portfolio. Work on
some projects in college; that way you have something to show the employer
when they ask "So what have you done?".

~~~
chillaxtian
> PPS. If you're in CS create a GitHub account to act as your portfolio.

this is totally unnecessary.

no reasonable engineer that is asked to interview you will look at your
github, or care if you have one.

~~~
stuff4ben
> no reasonable engineer that is asked to interview you will look at your
> github, or care if you have one.

yeah gonna have to disagree on this. I'm an engineer and work for a BigCo
Enterprisey company and while it's not necessary, if you have a GH account, it
makes my job easier when I interview you. Of course if you write terrible
code, then the GH account probably is not the best thing to have. But other
than that, I can't see a reason why not to have one. If you have one, I
definitely look at it and I consider engineers who have one higher than those
that don't. Doesn't mean that I won't rate you favorably if you really know
what you're talking about, but it doesn't hurt.

~~~
chillaxtian
> But other than that, I can't see a reason why not to have one.

you are assuming that

* they want to write code outside of working hours

* they will put the same level of attention into the code they write outside of work as they do the code they write at work

* they want the code they write outside of work to be open source

failing to do any or all of these things, or doing any or all of these things,
should not affect a candidates impression on you.

~~~
aianus
Of course it should.

Do you really not see the difference between being able to look at someone's
code and trying to guess what it might look like via lame whiteboard
implementations of basic algorithms?

------
SmellTheGlove
Hiring manager perspective: Nope. Glad you finished. If you're a new grad
without much experience outside of internships (meaning you didn't work in the
relevant field while obtaining your degree), I will care more about your GPA.
As a general matter, I often don't even look at or ask about GPA because it
matters very little to me, but if you took 6 years to get a bachelors I'd
prefer to see good grades. After all, when everyone else crammed 15-18 credits
per semester, it's fair to expect that the person doing 8-12 per semester for
a longer period of time should have better grades. Of course, if there are
external factors beyond wanting/needing more time to do the coursework, that's
taken into consideration as well.

Be prepared to talk about why it took you longer. It's not a bad thing to be
asked, in the same way that other hiring managers asking about my law
degree/legal experience isn't bad either, it's just out of the norm for
someone working in fintech. Be honest - you can say there were family reasons
or whatever without getting into the details. If your interviewer is anything
resembling a human, they'll understand. If they don't, you're avoiding a
shitty work-life balance situation and/or a shitty boss.

If you don't have other experience, though, or don't need/want to illustrate
that your degree happened while you were doing other relevant, career-path
work, you could just put the graduation date on your resume.

------
nibs
I think the evidence from a lot of people here is that:

\- Mostly it does not matter. List when you graduated, provide evidence of
what you have worked on and done well at, and be transparent if people care
enough to ask

\- It matters more in highly competitive or zero-sum situations in which they
are comparing two otherwise well qualified people, and less if they need to
hire someone.

\- It matters more in other, more competitive fields than it does in CS
because CS work is more accreditive (and less role driven than law, for
example)

------
impostervt
My father took around 12 years to get his CS degree. He was full time military
and raising a family at the time, and took night classes through the
University of Maryland which has annexes around the world, wherever we
happened to be stationed.

Maybe it's just because of that, but I've always had MORE respect for people
who take a long time to finish. I say this as a guy who went the normal 4
years in college.

You go through crap, you still get what needs to be done, done? Ya, I'd hire
you.

------
mrweasel
I got my CS degree after 6.5 years, normally it's a 5 year program, but I
switch from engineering at one point and messed up a semester.

No one ever cared. No one ever asked.

~~~
DonHopkins
Graduating is what counts, not how long it takes. Your time in school is what
you make of it. It's much better to take a long time and graduate, than to
take the right amount of time and not graduate, so never give up just because
you're late!

Only my university counselor noticed that I was taking a long time to
graduate, and chastised me for taking all these exciting high level computer
science classes and independent studies that I was interested in, instead of
the boring low level pre-requisites required to graduate.

I finally took the required prerequisites and graduated, but unfortunately it
was before "Rate My Professors", so I ended up failing and re-taking
Statistics from Sergy Brin's dad, who's "awful" [1]. But those extra semesters
gave me time to take some other great courses from diverse departments like
Art and Hearing and Speech, which were really useful.

[1]
[http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=761872](http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=761872)

------
sageabilly
Honestly, unless you're putting the years you've attended school on your
resume, I have no way of knowing how long it took you to get your degree.

I'm WAY more interested in what you can DO and what you have demonstrably
DONE, so it's way more important for you to focus on side jobs, internships,
and open source contributions than it is to worry about how long it will take
you to get a degree.

------
saluki
Most people don't finish in 4 years . . .

When you build out your resume just list the year of graduation for your CS
degree, which is standard. Don't include HS or other dates where they can see
it took more than 4 if you're worried.

If they ask be honest and just indicate you worked your way through college,
participated in this, lots of good reasons for taking more than 4 years.

------
eagsalazar2
I can't imagine this even coming up in an interview. Any company that did care
is probably a sweatshop so feel lucky if they decline you for that reason.

------
assemblyram
I'd like to piggyback on this question with my own, which is relevant.

tl;dr: do employers care at what age you finish your degree?

Long story: I'm a 35 year old software engineer with 6 years of experience
(mostly java/scala), currently an EU citizen residing in UK (London). I've
studied CS when I was 18 at the universtiy, but dropped out (various reasons).
Now since Brexit news I no longer feel I want to continue living here and I am
strongly thinking of moving to USA. My plan is to get a Computer Science BsC
from Open University in 3 years, apply for H1B visa/job and then later green
card. I'm only doing my degree now because of H1B requirements, no other
reasons. I would be 38 by the time I finish it.

~~~
chrisrhoden
In your case, it seems unlikely to be an issue. In most circumstances, I think
it would result in a few extra questions.

Generally, a degree that comes after years of professional experience
indicates a career switch, and those employees often need to work harder to
find a good fit – usually, an organization that can make use of the skills
they learned in the previous phase of their career. The reasons for this
mostly come down to being very junior in skill level but having difficulty
working under the same circumstances (low pay, trained by a 25 year old,
potentially long hours...) of the typical junior hire.

There are exceptions to this, and there are many career switchers that
navigate this well, but it's definitely worth keeping in mind.

~~~
Practicality
I am getting my degree now and I've already been in work for 17 years. Why?
Because I want to know the theory! :)

(My name relates to the part I know)

------
ebbv
Some will, some won't. In all honesty I think you should be glad for the ones
that will reject you based on that. It shows a toxic culture focused on things
that aren't really important.

Much more important is where your degree is from as to whether it means
anything.

You should have an answer prepared for why it took longer that is reasonable
and doesn't reflect badly. I.e. "I failed classes and had to take them over."
doesn't sound good. "I took a lighter class load so that I could work while
going to school to lower my debt." sounds reasonable.

"Going through a lot of stuff" isn't good enough.

~~~
Practicality
I dropped out of school in 2001 because my parents got divorced and I no
longer had a stable home to live in and I also broke my leg and had huge
medical bills, so I needed to make money and get an apartment instead.

I would call that "going through a lot of stuff." It's not good enough though?
Why not?

~~~
ebbv
So the way you would want to explain that to a potential employer is "I had to
take a break from school due to financial problems."

The actual phrase "I was going through some stuff." is not good enough. It's
an unprofessional answer. You need to be able to explain what "stuff" is in a
professional way that makes sense and isn't overly dramatic. Otherwise the
concern is you're going to "go through some stuff" as an employee and have
excessive sick days, etc.

~~~
Practicality
Yes, exactly right. Good answer :)

I mean, I would probably naturally start with "There was a lot going on," and
then explain. You know, being that I am human and all, so I have emotions.

Hopefully in an interview you would actually be able to have a conversation,
rather than it just being a series of questions where they write down the
answer and move on. I suppose you would need to gauge the style of the
interview. If it really is going to be that formal, yes, you would need to
have precise response like that.

It's hard to imagine an interviewer who wouldn't automatically ask the follow
up question when someone gives a vague answer.

Sometimes responding to comments it seems like I am arguing a counter-point,
but really I am just continuing the same line of thought from a different
view.

------
srblanch
It took me nearly 7 years to finish my BS degree in CS. I took a couple of
years off in the middle and then at the end I was working full time and taking
part time classes.

I also took 7 years to finish my Master degree. I was working full time and
only took a couple classes a year. I also took off a few semesters off when I
had kids.

Nobody has ever asked about either situation. I wouldn't worry too much. As a
hiring manager I've never cared about that.

------
mathattack
If a political science major with a 2.0 gap spends 6 years going through a big
state school - recruiters will assume they spent the time drinking. It won't
hurt in a sales or politics job but perhaps elsewhere.

It won't hurt a smart CS major with a good GPA. When asked, say, "I self
funded my education" or "I had to work" and that can even become a plus. (Just
don't outright lie)

------
csydas
Breaks for any variety of reasons are very common in University. Barring a few
specific majors where competition is so heavy that a break will lower your
standing, most employers won't care, and probably for legal safety, won't ask
about breaks. (For example, you might get into stuff you're forbidden to ask
about if you bring that up.)

------
throwaway2016a
I've never even asked in an interview and if they have more than 4 years on
their resume I just assume they had a rough semester, or some other external
factor.

My wife took 8 years to finish her MS because she did it part time. Does that
mean she doesn't know her stuff? That's very far from the truth.

------
buckbova
I don't even list the year, just school and degree. Nobody has asked ever,
aside from alumni who asked about a professor or did I know a certain person.

When i was right out of school I added some stuff about the program and
noteworthy projects but that came off after I landed my first job.

------
paulsutter
Beyond your first job, nobody will care. While interviewing for your first
job, employers may ask. But it's not a big deal unless you make it a big deal.

Have a simple clear answer. Working to pay for school is a great reason.
"Going through a lot of stuff" is a bad explanation, sounds like Jim
Anchower[1].

Work experience (internships, part time programming jobs) are a great way to
shift the focus from your school history to your work abilities. That's the
reason nobody will care after your first job, they will just be asking about
your work experience.

[1] [http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/jim-anchower-is-one-
smart-u...](http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/jim-anchower-is-one-smart-used-
car-shopper-16412)

------
valarauca1
Most employers (in the US) care first and foremost that you have a degree in
your field. Not so much where you got it, or how long it took you to get it.

inb4 people start posting they don't. HN isn't a solid representative sample
of the US let alone world job market.

------
blakesterz
For me, it didn't. I took NINE years to get my BA. That being said, an
employer might care, but my guess would be, most do not, especially if you go
on to get a masters or something else. For most any job experience counts a
great deal as well.

------
smoyer
As a long-time employer the answer is "no" ... I don't necessarily care how
long it took to earn a degree.

But ...

From my observations, earning a BS (or BA?) requires a far less rigorous
schedule than working at a full-time job. If you couldn't manage a normal
class load because there was "stuff going on", I'd expect that "stuff will
continue to go on" and that would distract you from what I need in an
employee.

What assurances can you offer an employer that you will be a functional
employee? Many positions (in the U.S. at least) have a probation period during
which you've got to prove you're carrying your weight (providing a positive
ROI in some sense).

~~~
outworlder
> From my observations, earning a BS (or BA?) requires a far less rigorous
> schedule than working at a full-time job.

Pfft. A 9 to 5 job sounds like a piece of cake compared to some of my
semesters. At least provided you are not working when you get home. I guess
that some universities just don't push students too hard then.

Also, the "stuff going on" could well be a full time job, as it was in my
case. What then?

~~~
dvtv75
9 to 5 jobs are a walk in the park compared with BS workloads. One of my
friends, while working full time in the university I was studying at, once
commented that I did more hours per week than he did. He said every time he
saw me, I was on my way to the lab, or on my way to class from the lab.

In the first week of the first semester of second year (Bachelors are normally
three years where I live), we lost 12 people from the core paper. By the end
of the second week, 20 were gone. By the time the paper had finished, 13 weeks
later, fewer than 50% of the people who signed up remained, and of those, just
over half were in a position to complete the paper.

To complete one assignment, I had to sit in the same spot for 17 hours, with
just half an hour off for some food. Went home at about 6am the next morning,
slept for an hour, went back to the lab, and worked another six hours. That
year, they seriously cocked up the expected workload for the entire second
year and gave us what they acknowledged was a workload appropriate to third
year.

There are laws intended to prevent that happening to employees, but no such
protections for university students.

In fact, the only time I've had a job that even came close to comparing with
this workload was a few years ago, when my employer refused to let me take
breaks and working just my contracted hours was (in his deluded little mind)
grounds for dismissal. No extra pay for the 15-30 extra hours I did every
week, though...

------
ryporter
They will if it's clear from your resume that you took 6+ years to graduate.
It's a reasonable concern for an employer, since the cause is often different
from yours (namely, lack of effort).

So, as other have suggested, don't make it obvious. It's ridiculous to see the
year of high school graduation on a resume anyway. Also, you don't have to
list internships from your first two years.

If it does come up, or if they ask about it, do not lie. The appearance of
hiding anything is a red flag. Just tell them that you were dealing with
personal issues, and that they are resolved now. So, it won't affect your
ability to perform the job.

~~~
zerkten
Is "lack of effort" really the cause in the US? College completion rates seem
to be heavily impacted by finances based on what I've heard on NPR.

~~~
pnathan
In my time and place (2001-2006, Idaho) finances weren't the driver for slow
graduation or delays. Frequently it related to poor scholastics and retaking
things (excessive pot, excessive alcohol, excessive video games are frequent
contributors). Other aspects might be: had a kid, got a job, but those usually
were thing that led to dropping out.

Your typical scholastic college student in my peer group did just fine in
graduating between 4 and 5 years.

N.b., a lot of the wailing over school costs is from the Ivy League and SLAC
set; those prices drive up the average considerably. State universities are
much, _much_ cheaper. (Still spendy... but often an order of magnitude
cheaper).

~~~
dragonwriter
> N.b., a lot of the wailing over school costs is from the Ivy League and SLAC
> set; those prices drive up the average considerably.

Not really; there's not enough schools or slots in that set to drive up the
average much.

> State universities are much, much cheaper. (Still spendy... but often an
> order of magnitude cheaper).

Both State universities and non-elite private universities have gotten
expensive much, much _faster_ than elite private universities (and both,
especially State schools, have much _less_ school-provided need-based grants
available, resulting in much _more_ dependence on loans, and much more impact
on actual affordability from the sticker price increases.)

------
roberthahn
I have a B. A. In Fine Arts (studio specialization). I have spent all of my
career as web, then software developer of some kind.

While I sometimes envy you (and others) for having CS degrees, I have never
had a difficult time landing work as a developer. Imposter syndrome is still
pretty high though.

As many others have suggested, just list the graduation date. That's all
prospective employers care about. The fact that you have a CS degree matters
more than how long you took to earn it.

But even that pales in comparison to your ability to clearly communicate what
you're competent at. So focus on your communication skills and self esteem.
And you'll do just fine!

------
majc2
A few will, the majority won't. The key to not coming off as whiny is not to
be whiny :)

As with any Resume/CV issue like this just practice answering the question - a
couple of sentences is sufficient, and you'll be fine.

------
jonnathanson
Plenty of people take longer than four years due to reasons that would qualify
them for protection from discrimination under the ADA. And as others have
noted, asking about this can also be construed as a roundabout way of
discriminating on the basis of age. Sensitive (and smart) hiring managers
would probably not probe that area too deeply.

And honestly, I question the predictive value to job performance of this data
point in the first place. I would hope most people wouldn't get hung up on it.
There are many more valuable data points to examine.

------
Mz
[http://business.time.com/2013/01/10/the-myth-of-
the-4-year-c...](http://business.time.com/2013/01/10/the-myth-of-the-4-year-
college-degree/)

[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/education/most-college-
stu...](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/education/most-college-students-
dont-earn-degree-in-4-years-study-finds.html)

Most people do not graduate in four years. This is not an issue.

------
zafka
In my case it took over 16 years to get my degree. I think it worked out in my
favor. If there is any age bias in the initial resume scan most reviewers will
guess me being 12 years younger than I am. Once you are in a position , often
the extra years give you a bit more gravitas then someone in their early 20s.
Either way, what really counts is how excited you are about doing the work. If
you love what you do, you should have no problem.

------
neom
Personally I've always been more interested in why you decided to study what
you studied vs what you actually went to school for or how long it took you.

------
DiffEq
The only time employers (that are worth working for) actually care about your
degree at all is if you are being hired as an engineer, a lawyer, or a doctor.

------
pcsanwald
As someone who's done a lot of hiring both at a large investment bank as well
as a small startup (grew from 5->80), it wouldn't even occur to me to ask
about duration spent in college.

I don't know anything about interviewing at large tech companies, but from my
perspective, the best thing anyone can do to prepare for an interview is to be
able to talk, in detail, about work you did that you are really proud of.

------
yannovitch
As I haven't seen that come up yet, I should add that it really depends in
what country/what culture you want to work.

I'm french and swiss. In France, they put (unfortunately) a really strong
focus on the degrees and the marks, in general, for everything.

It's truly hard to find a job, even if you're good, without a degree (except
maybe in the startup scene), and you better indicate if you take longer than
"normal". Most of the people do their first degree in 3 years, then their
engineering or business graduate school in 2 years, and as such, it can be
complicated if you're applying for a job at 29 if most of the people land the
same job that you're applying for at 23 or 25. It sucks, but it's
unfortunately how many people think in France.

It's quite different than in Germany, where I know a lot of people who have
stop for 5 years there, then continue their studies, then land another job in
a different work sector, ... It's not shocking for someone to be 30+ and begin
to work in IT, for example (at least, not in my experience), when i think it
would be a bit more in France.

Switzerland would be a bit in between France and Germany when it comes to
"elitism", "focus on degrees rather than experience", because Switzerland has
a very, very long history of apprenticeship and their whole education system
is based on it, and so, even if degrees are important, experience is too, but
sometimes, it feels like they are out of reality for some other work stuff.

And it's again very different from UK or USA, where indeed, I have been able
to land a position in a new startup without even showing my resume, but just
showing my skills and talking about what I experienced and learned and deduced
in the past. So ... really, "it depends".

A final advise I would give to you is that I feel like it's really important
to spend enough time to learn about the place you want to work at and its
culture (moreover it will help you know if you should precise or not if you
took longer than usual to complete your degree ;)), because too often, people
send dozens and dozens of resume and eventually, it feels like it lacks
"personal interest" and if an employer doesn't feel you're truly and
personally interested in working at his place, he will prefer to give your
seat to someone who "truly cares"

(edit : typos)

------
aadilmfarooqui
This is the best thing in C.S that no one even care about the duration of your
degree. They only consider the Technical Skills and the productivity.

------
YeGoblynQueenne
It took me four years to finish my degree (normally it should take 3) and
nobody has ever brought it up in the last three or four years (I gradueted in
2011).

Don't sweat it too much - most people understand you can be perfectly capable
of doing the job without having adegree in CS. More to the point, a lot of
programmers don't even get a CS degree and they still hold down very
productive programming jobs.

------
SatvikBeri
No, just list the graduation year on your resume. Almost no one will ask or
notice. If someone does ask, just give a canned answer like "I had some
medical issues when I started college, and had to take some time to get
healthy"–this answers the question and deflects further inquiry (asking about
medical history is approximately illegal) while making the problem sound
solved.

------
chillaxtian
just put your graduation date.

in my own experience (interviewed for internship, current full time position,
and a few competing positions, and have interviewed many candidates):

i did not feel like my educational experience was taken into account when
interviewing.

and when my coworkers and i interview candidates, education is almost never
discussed.

the only reason i suggest omitting the start date is to get past HR filters.

------
hkmurakami
I'm in a position to hire at a startup, and I definitely don't care. One of my
smartest friends took 5 years to graduate from Caltech and has a 2.x GPA to
boot.

Also you should just write your graduation year for education anyways, not
duration.

~~~
1_listerine_pls
...from Caltech

------
35bge57dtjku
It shouldn't even be on your resume, and in the US even asking your age is
very risky for them.

I'd be far more concerned that you are so completely unaware that this info
isn't even generally on anyone's resume...

~~~
_RPM
I was asked my age in an interview. What's the problem with doing that?

~~~
35bge57dtjku
You can sue the company for age discrimination if you don't get an offer and
they've asked you personal questions like that.

~~~
_RPM
Luckily they did give me an offer for an internship. I thought it was probably
a strange question to ask. It was in my third interview they asked, after I
already passed the phone tech screen and programming challenge. Maybe they
were already set on hiring me, and wanted to ensure I was drinking age?

------
timwaagh
Yes, you are likely to get questions about it. If you have an interview it is
wise to know beforehand what you will answer when they ask you this question.
But it won't prevent you from landing a decent job.

------
akulbe
I started my first college class in 1991, and finished my degree (finally!!)
in 2013. It hasn't hurt me, any.

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

To be fair, I was already well advanced in my career.

Business Management major. I work in Systems Engineering.

------
thefastlane
does not matter. also, after you have a solid employment history, it's common
to simply not put any dates at all in the academic section.

edit: if you put any date at all, just include the year you received the
degree. no need to put any further details.

------
dudul
Nobody cares. Nobody even has to know, just indicate the graduation year.

------
vorotato
In one word, no. If asked simply say personal life events.

------
JohnIdol
They most definitely do not.

------
artur_makly
who said u had to finish?? its what u know. its what u can do. paper is paper

~~~
fsloth
Some employers prefer candidates who have proven history of completed
projects. A degree is a one massive project, completed.

