Can't Find or Afford a local degree. Need help.

[DirkO]

I am in a bit of a situation and I would really appreciate any help or advice from you all.

I have for the past five years been fighting to get a degree that is relevant to my interests and that is affordable.
Being that I have no financial support from family, I have been working full time as a Developer. Teaching myself everything I know from the internet to get to where I am.

However I really need a degree. After five years it seems my career will not grow because nobody wants to employ a self-taught Data Scientist instead of a person with a degree.

I cannot consider South African universities as I have to work full time to survive, and UNISA has time and again refuse my application for reasons ranging from "something is wrong with your ID number" to things like "for this current application period, we will not be admitting more than a select few".

I have gone as far as pleading to international universities for the chance to study, however South African banks aren't eager to support me. And I need an international co-signer to help me with an international loan.

I have also tried to leave South Africa to work internationally and study at an international college. However the same issue of Self-taught Data Scientist and Developer raises questions and negative feedback from prospective employees.

Essentially I am in a career and study rut, and I would really appreciate any help any of you have to give on this.

 

[Steamy Tom]

have you physically gone it to unisa to try sort this out? it really is likely your best option. Also does your company not sponsor studies in that field? imo you are with a **** company if they dont want to invest in you

 

[Zoomzoom]

I admit to knowing not much to nothing about the field, but looking at these jobs, there doesn't seem to be any call for a degree.

https://www.careers24.com/jobs/lc-south-africa/kw-data-scientist/

 

[Zoomzoom]

https://www.explore-datascience.net/ pass the tests, study for free JHB or CT.

 

[Steamy Tom]

I admit to knowing not much to nothing about the field, but looking at these jobs, there doesn't seem to be any call for a degree.

https://www.careers24.com/jobs/lc-south-africa/kw-data-scientist/

data science is pretty much in the development sphere, dare i say it is a form of development /shudders

that said, generally a degree will help to get a foot in the door, and internationally also, that said, we would generally test all applicants and screen them, and to me personally i wouldn't give a damn if the person didn't have a degree but showed real potential

 

[Zoomzoom]

University of Cape Town GetSmarter’s Data Analysis Short Course
Course description: On this data analysis online course, you’ll practice on real-world data sets and learn valuable skills to drive effective decision-making in your organisation. You'll walk away from this course with a sought-after skill set and a certificate in data analysis, backed by UCT, making you an asset to any organisation.

Location: Online

Duration: 8 weeks, with between 7 and 11 hours’ effort per week.

Cost: R14500

Prerequisites: None

Learn More: https://www.getsmarter.com/courses/za/uct-data-analysis-online-short-course

 

[DarkDragon]

Many great developers are selft taught and have no formal education locally and internationally. Have you actually gone to interviews and they indicated that you not having a degree could be a issue?

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

@op I would say drop the "self-taught data scientist" part. Looks bad, looks like an excuse. Just call yourself "A developer with a passion for data-science with a desire to complete a tertiary education'. Fck dude, I would beg to interview you if that was the first line of your CV.

Then go to UNISA in person and sort out your registration, start off with a certificate if you have to. Stop using money as an excuse.

I only graduated at age 42 with my BSc Informatics. While I've never needed it in an interview, it has given me the confidence to apply for jobs and the foundations to do my work.