Ask HN: Would a degree bring any value, in my case?
4 comments
> [...] what is the value of a computer science or software engineering degree in 2022/23, in my case?
This is what I tell my two daughters who have both opted to not attend university immediately after high school:
To an employer, a college degree conveys the fact that you are capable of setting a multi-year goal and actually achieve it.
While this seems trivial, it is remarkable how many people think they CAN do this, but when put to the test, cannot.
Aside from very low-skill specialized jobs at the lower end of the labor pool, employers need people who may not necessarily or likely already possess all the prerequisite skills at the time of hiring, but can set and achieve long-term goals, especially those with externally/extrinsically defined requirements, such as graduation requirements, or job requirements.
Can you get a job without such proof? Sure. But, will having proof help validate your claim that you possess the skill? Absolutely. And, despite what many think, there are plenty of people who do not possess the skill, and those people cost employers in both time, money and other resources, so employers look for ways to mitigate the risk of hiring them.
This is what I tell my two daughters who have both opted to not attend university immediately after high school:
To an employer, a college degree conveys the fact that you are capable of setting a multi-year goal and actually achieve it.
While this seems trivial, it is remarkable how many people think they CAN do this, but when put to the test, cannot.
Aside from very low-skill specialized jobs at the lower end of the labor pool, employers need people who may not necessarily or likely already possess all the prerequisite skills at the time of hiring, but can set and achieve long-term goals, especially those with externally/extrinsically defined requirements, such as graduation requirements, or job requirements.
Can you get a job without such proof? Sure. But, will having proof help validate your claim that you possess the skill? Absolutely. And, despite what many think, there are plenty of people who do not possess the skill, and those people cost employers in both time, money and other resources, so employers look for ways to mitigate the risk of hiring them.
> it is remarkable how many people think they CAN do this, but when put to the test, cannot
And people learn the hard way about this. I've learned that I need instant gratification, and am likely to fail the marshmallow test[0] each time.
Degrees need good time management, and the ability to retain vast globs of information, and the ability to puzzle solve in a strict time regimen. Not my cup of tea.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experimen...
And people learn the hard way about this. I've learned that I need instant gratification, and am likely to fail the marshmallow test[0] each time.
Degrees need good time management, and the ability to retain vast globs of information, and the ability to puzzle solve in a strict time regimen. Not my cup of tea.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experimen...
Do you have any work experience? Generally the more experience you have, the less it makes sense to go to university.
I had several gigs on a freelancing website, but nothing beyond that. I do, however, believe that I could easily land a junior position.
Initially, I considered enrolling in a formal program, but my math skills at the time (required for passing the entrance exam) were far from brilliant, which meant that getting into it required relearning all high school math from the ground up. Since I was still young (and optimistic), I delayed going to uni until the following year and started improving my math skills. Long story short, going from being unable to add two fractions to computing derivatives and integrals by hand took longer than I'd like to admit. To be clear, I could have finished earlier had I focused exclusively on math, but I simply couldn't, as it was too dry. In parallel, I went through three-quarters of the literature recommended in the curriculum. I have also acquired plenty of hands-on experience and have written a bunch of stuff, ranging from a traceroute clone to a virtual stack machine.
Frankly, I feel worn out after all these years of delayed gratification, and I can't imagine spending another 4-6 years this way. My entire self yearns for tangible results.
Even if I didn't feel this way, what is the value of a computer science or software engineering degree in 2022/23, in my case? Certainly, not knowledge, as virtually all information is widely available outside the uni walls. Networking? Is a uni an ideal place to network for someone like me, considering that my peers would be more than a decade younger than me? Wouldn't I be better off networking with people in the industry? I have high aspirations and dreams of working at a FAANG company. But even then, not having a degree isn't a deal breaker because I know, for sure, that it's possible to get into a FAANG without one. Immigration paperwork? Even for that, work experience can be a substitute for a degree.
Yet somehow, I still can't let go of this idea. I suspect it's burned into my brain as a boolean test of whether I'm capable.
My other plan was to find a local job, stay there for a few years to gain some marketable skills (for example, web), and then find a well-paying remote job in a couple of years.
So, tell me HN, what do you think?