

Ask HN: Fastest way to get a CS degree in the Bay Area or online? - citizenkeys

I already have a bachelor's degree in business management.  This summer, I'm considering taking some classes to get a CS degree.  I don't expect to finish getting the degree during the summer, but now is a great time for me to get started on it.  I already basically know most of what I'd need to know in order to get a CS degree.  However, it'd be nice to have a formal degree as proof that I know what I claim to know.<p>Since I already have a bachelor's degree, I should only need to take whatever upper-level classes are required to get a second bachelor's.  Alternatively, I could pursue a master's degree depending on how many credits and however much effort it requires.<p>So... anybody can point me in the fastest and/or simplest direction to get a CS degree here in the Bay Area or online?
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LokiSnake
In my opinion, a formal CS degree is not achievable in a summer’s time. Just
the core material can take at least a year or two to finish as a full time
student. This should include data structures, algorithms, some discrete
mathematics, computability/logic, programming languages (class on issues and
features in language design and implementation), and some computer systems
work (looking into lower level system topics). It is a lot to cover and absorb
in a summer’s time. Unless you are familiar and have experience with most of
these topics, just one summer is extremely optimistic.

CS isn't just about programming and software engineering, as there's quite a
bit of theory involved and generally isn't learned just writing code on your
own, which I'm assuming is where you've picked up what you know. It can be
much easier to get a software engineering or a programming related degree if
that is the case, and should be more doable in a short time frame.

P.S. I'm assuming you are like most programmers that have learned programming
on your own, and you haven't dug into the more theoretical topics on your own.
Most don't, and I wouldn't have learned most of the more theoretical topics on
my own. But they are very useful and good to know, as they will make you a
better programmer. Lastly, don't get a CS degree that does not require these
topics, as you'll just be kidding yourself and people you show your diploma
to.

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citizenkeys
I'm not planning on finishing the degree during the summer, just get started
on it. If I could take the classes online, that'd be something I can do in my
spare time.

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sebkomianos
Are you open to discussing why you want a degree?

Why don't you just follow a few CS courses?

If you don't mind me asking of course. :)

~~~
citizenkeys
I want a CS degree because my only degree right now is in business management
and even the management positions in Silicon Valley require some
CS/engineering talent. I feel like I would be a more competitive candidate for
job offers if I had some sort of tangible proof that I have technical skills.

~~~
falsestprophet
A Computer Science degree is not tangible proof that you have 'technical
skills'.

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amorphid
You don't need to go to school. Hang out with geeks, write code, and share
your work on GitHub. Try to build something substantial.

My day job is recruiting, and at night I study Ruby on Rails. Tonight I was
learning how to get started with Project Voldemort.

