

Ask HN: Is college/degree in CS really worth? - mystik

Time ago I left college and my studings in Computer Science for pursuing a startup I was working on. Unfortunately it didn&#x27;t work out well and now I have the choice of going back to college and finish it, or to start working on something else.<p>I am quite confident that at the moment I have tons of experience and more knowledge of most of people that just graduated.<p>How much a degree in CS is really worth in our field? I personally don&#x27;t feel the need for it, but how much could it make the difference during job interviews &#x2F; the future?
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nols
It really depends. I have a non-CS degree and it has helped me in my work,
both the degree and knowledge I probably would not have gained if it weren't
for my university forcing it. Your experience on a startup might garner
interest from future employers more than a college degree.

Keep in mind though there is more to starting a successful start-up than
programming though, there's also filling a need. And learning about subjects
other than CS helps find a need to fill. You see tons of brilliant programmers
looking to do a start-up but without an idea of what need to fill so they just
create knock-offs of successful apps. Pinterest for specific groups, mobile
rewards, ephemeral messaging, the recent rehash of delivery services, etc;
think of something new instead of trying to just be better than the 5 other
companies doing the same thing.

Your stint in college might give you a broader education than sitting in an
office coding all day would, and that broader education might lead to better
ideas for a future start-up, or lead to networking with someone who isn't a
programmer but sees a need to fill.

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arisAlexis
I say get the degree since you have already invested time in it without
getting any outcome, it's only logical. Unless you only went for a semester
and then dropped out.

