
Ask HN: 36 years old, should I get a CS degree? - potta_coffee
I&#x27;m 36, I&#x27;ve been working in tech for 6 years now and I&#x27;m doing ok for myself. I&#x27;m genuinely passionate about computer science and I&#x27;m thinking about getting a degree. The main reason I want to do this  is for the knowledge - I&#x27;m having a hard time picking up everything I want on my own (data structures &#x2F; algorithms &#x2F; compilers &#x2F; etc). I&#x27;ve learned about these things, but not to the level of completion I&#x27;d like. Also, I&#x27;m wondering if it will help my career at this stage. I&#x27;m &quot;senior&quot; level at my company and I&#x27;m the most competent developer on my team. Any thoughts? Finally, I wouldn&#x27;t mind recommendations for any good online CS programs that are credible &#x2F; worth checking out.
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raphinou
I went back to university (I'm in Europe, where tuition is affordable) at age
35, after working for 12 years in IT in several roles. I did it because I felt
I missed the theoretical foundations to progress further than what I had
learned by myself. The advantage of getting a degree is that you have a more
or less coherent program to follow, with potentially things you wouldn't care
to learn by yourself. I had courses on, amongst others, Operating Systems,
Machine learning, networking foundations, logic, software engineering,
programming paradigms, algorithms and computational complexity and more. I
wouldn't have learnt all this by myself.

I did it out of personal interest, I enjoyed it, and it was totally worth it,
even though it was exhausting combining it with my (downsized) freelance
activities. After that I went bask to my professional activities thinking it
didn't have impact on my career after all. But one year later I got a proposal
to do some research at the university with a professor of which I had followed
a course. And now, I'm working at a spin-off of that university. In
dramatically change my career path, even though it wasn't the goal.

Personally, it was the thing to do and I have no regret. But that depends of
course on your situation, motivation, interest, opportunities, expectations. I
hope you make the right choice!

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potta_coffee
Thanks for sharing your story

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rodiger
If you're already established I'd say it's probably not worth it. Learn the
things you want to learn through MOOC's. The real value in a degree is in
getting the first job (not including connections you might get through higher-
end universities)- if you've already reached that point it likely isn't worth
the investment.

