Hello everyone!
More and more people come into this industry without any kind of degree. Considering how easy it is to gather informations today, and how easier it has become to get a computer and start creating things, it is really no surprise.
I am one of those people, I've been a freelancer for almost 3 years now, and didn't get any degree after the high school diploma. Learning by myself, by reading books, watching videos and fucking up thousands of lines of code on the computer, I managed to do alright for myself.
But, even if I am proud of what I was able to accomplish by myself, there is no denying that some companies might not look at it very kindly. While companies/clients with that sort of attitude are not really appealing to work for, I might miss out on some cool opportunities.
Another thing that I have been thinking about concerns the learning of fundamentals. I've never been too concerned about it, picking them up when I felt it was necessary, and unavoidable. There are many flaws in my knowledge, things that some would consider essential. While this is sometimes a matter of perspective, it might be true some other times.
So, I was thinking, to fight the imposter syndrome, to learn some other stuff and to prove to myself and others my knowledge, I thought about getting an actual degree.
Now, in France, there is a way to validate a degree by proving that you indeed work in that domain, and pass a test in front of a jury to confirm that you do know what you are talking about. I have no idea how it works in other countries, but I have that possibility to work towards a degree without having to quit everything. It will add to my workload, but nothing unbearable. May I note that the cost of the procedure is not a problem in my case.
Taking this kind of challenge might also give me some structure about what I learn, because I would have a clear goal in mind (and boy do I struggle with that...). I could also imagine that it could be useful to have some kind of degree as a stepping stone, if I ever want to move in a slightly different direction in my career in the future.
So, I don't know, I'm looking forward to hear some of your stories, experiences, thoughts... I don't think getting a degree is ever a bad thing, but this has been in my head for a few days now.
Love ❤️
Latest comments (21)
I am also self taught developer working fulltime. But lately I have been thinking about getting a CS degree. While I can learn everything on my own I started to realize the importance of CS degree. My colleagues who have degree can switch jobs more often and often for better companies. While I am still stuck at the job for 2 years which I managed to get by luck. Now I am looking for opportunities to study CS in Europe and work a part time. It would be great if I can get part time web dev job and study CS at the same time. Gotta make that change while I am still 21.
I have a Communications degree and I don't consider it related to my career of web dev/software dev. I've toyed with the idea of getting a grad degree in CS or something related but life gets in the way. My concern is that I will hit my ceiling without an advanced degree.
I'd love to know if having a college degree and/or degree actually related to your field relates to salary. I always thought a degree was worth 10-15k per year but that could based on our parents generation and not ours.
I don't have a degree, since I'm an autodidact myself too. And I don't see a need for it, since it will not teach you the important stuff.
I needed to fill in the blanks too. And I never knew where to start.
If there is a curriculum that teaches you the important stuff from the get go, yes take it! But none of this exists in our field of "science". Computer science is not what makes up software development. Neither does informatics.
I will not invest time into an offical degree. However, I do spent quite some time to get into the important stuff.
The principles we have to deal with every single day are very old and still apply. Knowing these will bring you quite far and don't need a degree for getting to know them.
I expect the book "Righting Software" by Juval Löwy to become a classic. It will teach you things that no curriculum teaches you. This is the important stuff I mentioned. Right from one of the most legendary software architects around on this planet.
Yes, however at 58 years of age I wonder what the point would be of getting it seeing as
There was a recent question related to this where I answered as well: What are your impressions of your self-taught co-workers?
My answer is here
With that said, I think about getting a higher degree all the time. I certainly would have experienced much less academic discrimination over years and I'm sure I'd have started with higher wages for various companies. More so, I feel that I would benefit from the discipline of providing proofs to knowledge that I learn. It's probably not for everyone, and I've done OK otherwise, but it's really up to you and how you feel that you would use that education.
And, to be honest, I've never been sure that it was worth it relative to my own self-taught bubble. Hence, I'm still only self-taught :D
Hi. Thanks for d article. Can u pls tell me how u get freelance jobs. It will be great if u can help.
Interesting question.
I'm self-taught, but I'm about 20 credit hours away from an Information Systems degree (which had no serious CS component).
It would cost me $10,000 to $20,000 USD, and that's not worth it for me from a career perspective.
I'd love to go back and learn CS more completely, but only if it was basically free. There is also a consideration of my time -- I probably couldn't work on cool projects like DEV if I were going back to school.
Concur with many here, the degree is not so important (I've even heard plenty talk about the bad effects of a degree gain before real experience). If you're interested in some other topic (math, philosophy, whatever) you could always snag a degree in that just so you can check the box of "I have a college degree" and you might learn something interesting. Otherwise, just let you're work experience and any projects you can share speak for you, I'd say.
It depends what you are after, really. The "degree" is a certificate within a system (and it's increasingly just an approval-stamp too rather than any reflection of knowledge/skills) - if you enjoy the system and you want to rise within it, gotta collect all papers on the way, too, so sure, go for it.
A bit like in ye olde communist states: can't make it past this or that unless you have your party membership, what.
As a parent of 2, my priorities shifted and now dont have time and budget pursue a degree in CS. I will just push myself to read recommended books about programming and watch many programming conference on Youtube :)
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