That statement is rubbish. An education in CS will get you certain things, but your career is what you make of it. If you(hypothetical person, not OP) go to a bootcamp expecting to be handed a career on a silver platter, then you're a moron. Yes, there are plenty of those morons. I knew some of them when I went to Dev Bootcamp. And they were the types who didn't take charge of their careers, work on their people skills, go to meetups, interview like mad, etc. They got exactly what they put into it and either floundered or ended up in a different career, and I don't begrudge them for figuring out that the field wasn't for them.
Going to a bootcamp was a turning point in my life, and I'm making six figures working on a high profile app 6 years later as of this month. I know others who went to my bootcamp, didn't have a degree in CS, and are way more successful than I am. But it doesn't even matter if someone goes to bootcamp; they can learn entirely using free resources, and their inner drive is still the most important variable in their future success.
Is having a CS degree better? Maybe it is. But your post is telling people, who may be the perfect type of person to go to a bootcamp, that bootcamps are junk and are short term gratification. That's asinine.
By the way, what makes you think that your knowledge in CS and AI are going to be applicable in another decade? You have a good shot, for sure, but if there is a revolution in AI that changes the field fundamentally, or if(when) computers begin programming themselves, then you are just as screwed as someone whose framework or language of choice has become obsolete and dead.
Tech stack might go out of vogue? Then fucking learn another one. Your language is going the way of COBOL? Then fucking learn another language. The end. You don't need a formal education to do that. The only reason anyone is in a bad situation because their skills became obsolete is because their ability to predict the future sucks and they couldn't or wouldn't learn new things fast enough. Most languages aren't even that different, and there's a TON of replication between frameworks, libraries, compilers, VMs, etc.
I'm not trying to disparage your background in CS. I commend you for it. No matter what, there will always be people who are too inept to adapt. CS will only help those who have a calling for it, but no matter what, if someone doesn't have that fire within them that's going to take them where they want to go, they're an accident waiting to happen.
I'm making six figures working on a high profile app 6 years later as of this month
6 years is not really long enough to measure longevity.
Is having a CS degree better?
That's exactly what I'm saying. Your time and money would be better spent on getting a CS degree if you are concerned about career longevity and opportunities.
By the way, what makes you think that your knowledge in CS and AI are going to be applicable in another decade?
Because general CS knowledge stays consistent.
This is almost like asking whether broad subjects like math, chemistry, physics etc. will be relevant years from now. Yes, they will be. If you are asking this question, then perhaps you should reevaluate what you think CS is.
If AI reaches the point of becoming self aware and writing code, then we're all out of work. I'm not too worried about that happening.
OP may have other skills that they are now complimenting with coding knowledge.
Specific domain knowledge, outstanding interpersonal skills and customer empathy, design/UX/sales etc - these will likely be far more valuable than CS fundamentals if AI starts writing all code.
That's exactly what I'm saying. Your time and money would be better spent on getting a CS degree if you are concerned about career longevity and opportunities.
I am 45 years old, got my degree from a no name school that taught one simple data structures class and the rest of the classes were teaching either outdated programming languages (except for C). I can honestly say that nothing I learned in school served me better than the time I spent hacking around in assembly in the 80s in middle and high school.
How much more “longevity” should I be on the look out for since My degree was useless? I’ve already been doing this professionally for almost 25 years.
That statement is rubbish. An education in CS will get you certain things, but your career is what you make of it. If you(hypothetical person, not OP) go to a bootcamp expecting to be handed a career on a silver platter, then you're a moron. Yes, there are plenty of those morons. I knew some of them when I went to Dev Bootcamp. And they were the types who didn't take charge of their careers, work on their people skills, go to meetups, interview like mad, etc. They got exactly what they put into it and either floundered or ended up in a different career, and I don't begrudge them for figuring out that the field wasn't for them.
Going to a bootcamp was a turning point in my life, and I'm making six figures working on a high profile app 6 years later as of this month. I know others who went to my bootcamp, didn't have a degree in CS, and are way more successful than I am. But it doesn't even matter if someone goes to bootcamp; they can learn entirely using free resources, and their inner drive is still the most important variable in their future success.
Is having a CS degree better? Maybe it is. But your post is telling people, who may be the perfect type of person to go to a bootcamp, that bootcamps are junk and are short term gratification. That's asinine.
By the way, what makes you think that your knowledge in CS and AI are going to be applicable in another decade? You have a good shot, for sure, but if there is a revolution in AI that changes the field fundamentally, or if(when) computers begin programming themselves, then you are just as screwed as someone whose framework or language of choice has become obsolete and dead.
Tech stack might go out of vogue? Then fucking learn another one. Your language is going the way of COBOL? Then fucking learn another language. The end. You don't need a formal education to do that. The only reason anyone is in a bad situation because their skills became obsolete is because their ability to predict the future sucks and they couldn't or wouldn't learn new things fast enough. Most languages aren't even that different, and there's a TON of replication between frameworks, libraries, compilers, VMs, etc.
I'm not trying to disparage your background in CS. I commend you for it. No matter what, there will always be people who are too inept to adapt. CS will only help those who have a calling for it, but no matter what, if someone doesn't have that fire within them that's going to take them where they want to go, they're an accident waiting to happen.