School & Career - Degree Viable? | Hacker News Reader

School & Career - Degree Viable?

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I am currently a 20 year old college student, attending a local community college (choosing between Purdue and University of Illinois for CS in the upcoming fall), working a part time job, and have been fascinated by computers ever since I saw one.

I have been told time and time again that there is little benefit to obtain a Masters in CS, or in some cases a degree at all (many tell me to just become certified and gain experience). I was even told this by the IT man in the office I work and by the programmer on staff. I do understand that many computer programmers begin their careers with a certification or something similar, however would I not gain more from a BS or MS in CS? If there is little purpose outside of academia for a masters or doctorate in CS why would they be higher paid? From what I can find out online it is fairly rare to see masters in CS obtaining jobs with which a bachelors would not suffice.

Is there any viable reason for obtaining a Masters degree in CS with a goal of not working in academia, or is it even beneficial to obtain a degree at all (rather than experience in the field via certification and employment)?

You are being told wrong and you are going to want a MS assuming you become an actual competent, code-breathing programmer. Yes, at some point you will reach a career defining moment where you realize that 95% of everything you've been told career-wise has been bullshit. Don't listen to anyone who has to pay programmers or anyone without the degrees. An MSCS is going to be worth several hundred thousand dollars if you manage your career correctly and change jobs frequently. Most programmers change jobs every couple years until they max out salary, and this has been normal going back to the 60s.

Ideally you can complete an MS while working so you don't lose out on salary.

1. You can learn programming without the degree. Many do this as a hobby long before they need to for school.

2. In some parts of the world (or at least the US), companies still like to see a degree regardless of how amazing your coding capabilities are. A Masters certainly have weight in many cases in this type of scenario. While in other parts, its all about what you can do over what paper is in your name.

3. I have not, in all my experience, ever seen anyone refer to certifications as valid experience that matters. Although I'm sure they play a role, they certainly never come up in any conversations I've been in.

Obviously all of the above are base on my personal experience so take that as is. It all depends on what you're trying to do but if you are seeking a career in programming, a MSCS isn't going to hurt.

BS or MS is mostly about learning and the desire to understand it all.

If you truly are talking about employment alone, your time would be much better spent programming (not in school). I am twice as likely to hire someone with 4 years experience as someone who is a fresh grad.

No one in Silicon Valley cares if you have a degree. They care what you can do.

Work for big corporations...they care about a MS, but they will mostly have you managing other software engineers (not coding).

Also consider moving to Europe. They really value the old school of thinking and MS is almost required.

I agree, the companies that highly value degrees may not be the kind you want to work for, you can make it without a degree but long term it's best to pick one up along the way even if it's just from doing part time classes while working

I agree.....the conversation should not be "either/or" it should be "both/and". Certainly, I would prefer to hire someone with both, but I WOULD NOT hire a grad that cannot prove he can do the work and I WOULD quickly hire someone without a degree who can perform.

I would test ability and if I couldn't decided between two candidates, I may take a look to see if you have a degree from a respected school.

If you want to be in startups, I have friends that have applied and started jobs without being asked about educational background.

A certification may teach you the how, a Masters or even a solid Bachelors (but you should get a Masters if you can) will teach you the why. It's the difference between having the ability (if not the resources) to build a car versus the limited ability to fix that car.

Note your journey doesn't end when you're done with the Masters, but you should be able to carry on on your own after this. Also, if you can do some research while you're there, you should.

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