I consider myself a self taught software developer. I did go through school until the last year of my degree but i dropped off due to financial challenges. Ended up with just an Advanced Diploma in CS on my resume. This never stopped me from developing my programming skills for close to 7 years now. Recently a recruiter turned me down due to not having a BSc without even testing me technically, and was advised that i need 10years work experience to be considered for even a senior software engineer role. Should i go back to school just to get a BSc or continue on my path of a self caught software engineer? Need advice, could my path of a self taught guy be suicidal to my career path?
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Top comments (4)
I personally don't think finishing a degree necessarily shows, whether you're qualified or not. However, it shows us at least, that you finished a long term project. Finishing projects is a good habit to show ;) on the other hand, you have a good reason to drop out, so again, I would be fine with that.
I know people that managed to get a BSc., but honestly, I would never employ them because I know how they managed to pass their exams :D and I also know that they are mentally underqualified for many things :D (e.g. social skills, thinking out of the box, etc.)
One of the smartest and successful people I know personally, never finished a degree. He similarly to you started but had urgent reasons to drop out early.
If you look through insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/... this survey, you'll see that about 70% of developers have finished a BSc/MSc, so a big minority is working without that. Thus you are not alone with your educational situation. From my experience, 5 years of work experience equals a BSc. so probably for most recruiters, your 7 years should be more than enough!
Accumulating years alone doesn't make you a senior!!! You can be junior level after 10 years if you work as a lonely developer in a shit company were you just fiddle around with PHP without any framework and jQuery. Working 2 years in an Agency where see multiple projects and work with several very good developers can already shoot you to a senior level if you are a fast learner.
Finally, to answer your question :D I would say whether or not to finish your BSc. depends on multiple factors:
As for my self, I've finished a BSc. and I think it was worth it for my personal growth. For my current career, it definitely was a door opener for some of my jobs, but it never was a hard requirement. All the best for your path! I hope I could give you some useful opinion ;-)
Also, read this post here: dev.to/cilvako/what-is-your-backgr... people discuss their educational backgrounds
PS.: Just put on your CV the time you've spent in University, don't explicitly mention, that you have or have not received a BSc. Than add all the companies you've worked for. I bet most people will not ask, if you actually finished your degree. They'll ask you probably mostly about your last or last two jobs.
Knowelwdge without practice is useless in many ways and that's basically how many BSc go. BSc is required for some jobs because they feel more comfortable with it. Doesn't mean it's better or worse just that they think university can give you something which is not always true but in the end employers decide that not employees. You'll have much bigger chance of getting employed with good BSc but.... take me for example. I've finished BSc in Information Technologies which is not well known as Computer Science plus I did it in Bosnia & Herzegovina which a lot of people never herd of or think it's in Africa or something. It's not that valuable but for my friends that finished in Austria or Germany that's different. There's too many factors that come in like are your professors theoretical or have some projects and work which proofs their theories, or are yoy required a proof of concept work on evry subject for practical knowledge or just answer questions on exams?
The big advantage of study that I found was the opportunity to interact with different people from around the world rather than necessarily the study itself. In terms of getting an interview and then a job I personally wouldn't see it as a necessity.
I have sat on the other side and reviewed CV's and interviewed for tech roles myself. What I would look for is relevant experience, a stable personality, and a willingness to learn. A BSc helps in the sense that it reveals a lot about your interests. I mean by that if you were going for a programming role at a bank, having a BSc in Finance and technical skills would be seen as quite beneficial.
The other thing that you need to think of is the personal point of view whether you are comfortable not having a BSc. It is a tremendous feeling of achievement to complete academic study particularly if you are combining study with full time work. Also it can open doors for you in your profession that are not currently opened.