Do programmers still need a computer science degree to land a great job

Z

zippy

Honorary Master
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
10,320
Reaction score
897
Location
Kent, UK
ah yes. That question again. Interesting read from the US perspective:

http://www.techrepublic.com/article...computer-science-degree-to-land-a-great-job/#.

"You can teach yourself something, but that doesn't mean that the way you taught yourself is the best way to do it," Reed said. He also said when going after a first job, the degree can carry more weight for a candidate until he or she has racked up more experience.

The Silicon Valley CTO also pointed out that many larger companies with HR departments use computer science degrees as initial criteria for weeding out candidates.

"Google's the best example. If you don't have a computer science degree from a top school, you're not going to get an entry level engineering interview with them," he said.
Click to expand...

Although I have heard of people getting a job at Google without it, I think that comment refers more to applicants applying via job ads etc. Word of mouth is still a great way of getting into companies.

Don't burn your bridges is the lesson.
 
Getting a dev/engineer job in Silicon Valley without a degree is exceedingly rare, but it does happen, and yes, all examples I've personally seen (about 3 in ten+ years) have been word of mouth (as an entry point), and previous experience once that person has a big name company on their resume.
 
*subscribes to witness inevitable flame war*
 
Yeah you kind of need one, not necessarily in Computer Science. But you do need a degree which shows that you have some programming aptitude.
 
It's like asking if a bricklayer can build a house. He might put something box-like together, but it wouldn't be very safe or impressive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X