Degree v.s. No-Degree - Which is Better?

user18

More than anything, having a degree might open doors for you that would otherwise be closed. I went back to school while working and I’m glad that I did.

Valmont

I'm self-taught and am currently an analyst/developer in R, python, and SQL but I am seriously trying to get in somewhere where there are people who know more than me. God knows what bad habits I have. While I learned enough on my own to get in the door in my current job, my lack of understanding of the fundamentals will seriously hamper me in an interview room with real developers.

However, people here seem to be forgetting that you can also learn computer science without going to university. Yes, most people start by learning to code because that will help them pay the bills, but there are books you can buy (!) on C, computational theory, and algorithms that could put you on an equal footing with other candidates. I'll let you know how I get on!

I'm just glad this field is one where degree vs no-degree is even a question we can consider. Tech is a true meritocratic wild west; either you know things and can do the job or you can't--a degree might have got you there or it might not, it doesn't really matter. Now let's just hope they don't establish an Irish board of certified developers to regulate the profession.

Evil Phil

I've been moderating this board for more than 10 years now, and this topic has always been discussed.

IMHO a degree tops no degree every time. I started out of a FÁS course and did well for the first 6 years until 2001 and was then the first on the redundancy list before people with less experience but a degree. I now have a MSc, as do all the senior engineers where I currently work, principle engineers largely have PhDs. Junior devs have at least a post graduate diploma, if not a degree. I work for a large engineering firm, not a software company.

A formal education is always helpful, nobody asks me what my thesis for my masters was or did I get a merit or credit in my final results. I changed course six months in because my original choice wasn't challenging enough, I use the knowledge I gained from my MSc all the time.

Education is always a good thing.

Jim2007

At this point in time it really does not matter what the pros and cons of a having  a  degree are.  If you want to join the profession today and what to build a career then you need a degree, not to give you to an edge, but to make you equal to all the others joining the profession today.  The alternative it so leave your future to luck, luck that you'll be in the right place at the right time, find a sponsor that is willing to advocate for you despite you not having the basic qualifications that everyone else has and so on.
Now of course there will always be exceptions to the rule, people who will make it without a degree and so on.  But the are few and far between.  
The decision is up to you.

Molly

Valmont wrote: »

Now let's just hope they don't establish an Irish board of certified developers to regulate the profession.

I actually think this would be a great thing. Not just for Ireland though.

14ned

Molly wrote: »

I actually think this would be a great thing. Not just for Ireland though.

Very, very unlikely, either at Irish level, or worldwide.

I can see a future where subsets of software engineering become regulated by a professional body. But the whole thing? Nobody wants that yet. We're seen as a cost centre, regulation would increase those costs and reduce sustainability. Nobody wants another medical profession (yet).

Niall

Molly

Oh, I don't think it's likely at all. I wouldn't really compare what I want to the medical industry, more like engineering industry where you can choose to become chartered through having some work peer reviewed or maybe something like CFA/CFP where there are a series of exams. Software engineering certifications tend to be outdated or not worth the paper they are printed on due.