Is it worth it to do a Computer Science Degree?

[Rouxenator]

B.Tech FTW

 

[binarycape]

If you are younger and starting out most certainly, but don't stop there. It is the ground base, but then you need to add onto it with different technologies, specific to where you want your IT career to go. At the rate at which technology moves never stop building on that IT degree.

 

[MattRoy]

I think that there are jobs out there today which would benefit from the experience and knowledge which can be gained by doing computer science as part of your degree.

 

[kreuiter]

Lots of diverse opinions. In my experience, I was rarely able to apply direct knowledge of what was learnt; however, the confidence, discipline, concepts and experience gained during the three years of the degree - apart from just being fun anyway - were invaluable. Yes, the certificate itself was essential, because many job applications require it; but I was without a doubt able to use the experience, if not the actual knowledge, in my career.

 

[CamiKaze]

Makes no difference. Once you have some experience then the value of any degree is reduced to simply assisting in getting an interview.

The only value of a Comp Sci/Eng or whatever degree these days, is it makes it easier for you to join a grad program. After that you're on your own, same as everyone else...

+1

 

[DJTazzz]

Yes, I think so. It arms you with the key knowledge of computer science and certainly will open far more doors for you than not having it.

 

[KatMan-BLAZE]

Is it worth it to do a computer science or related degree to land a job in IT?

YES, In this day and age I think it is. It looks appealing on your CV for the people hiring, meaning it gets you in. But make no mistake, it holds no weight in terms of skill or experience.

 

[hanie]

I dare say that it should be worth it to be qualified as high as possible in any profession.

 

[thapedict]

No. It will look good on your resume but that's all its good for. You might study something and by the end of your course you find out that that technology is now obsolete because in the world of IT, things are forever changing. It won't make you a better programmer or systems administrator as compared to someone with more experience

 

[cguy]

No. It will look good on your resume but that's all its good for. You might study something and by the end of your course you find out that that technology is now obsolete because in the world of IT, things are forever changing. It won't make you a better programmer or systems administrator as compared to someone with more experience

The purpose of a CS degree isn't to teach "technology". The contents of my degree 20+ years ago is still relevant today.

It won't necessarily make you a better programmer than someone with experience and no CS degree, but evetually you will have a degree, and experience - on average, a person with both will outperform a person with one.

Also, if you do a CS degree to become a systems administrator, you're likely doing something wrong.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Agreed - I've always maintained that the very purpose of a degree is to teach those topics/concepts that can't be picked up easily by reading a book, or on the job.

I agree, but what about those older geezers (like myself) that completed our degrees 10+ years ago? Seeing as IT is an ever-evolving field no degree will future proof you. In some cases the landscape has changed from starting to finishing a degree...

 

[cguy]

I agree, but what about those older geezers (like myself) that completed our degrees 10+ years ago? Seeing as IT is an ever-evolving field no degree will future proof you. In some cases the landscape has changed from starting to finishing a degree...

The technology used can certainly change. Hell, when I started my degree Java hadn't even been released to the public, but by the time I finished it was making news.

The thing is though that learning any new language was easy. As part of my degree, I had covered Scheme/Lisp, C/C++, x86 Assembler, MIPS Assembler and SQL in depth, and also completed sample projects in Prolog, Pascal, Python, and SmallTalk from a comparative languages module (to gain familiarity with other language paradigms). I had studied parsers, formal language theory and automata, and I had written a C compiler. Thinking of languages in terms of imperative, declarative, functional, OO, etc., understanding how their compiler and/or interpreter are likely implemented, and having experience in some of these tends to relegate the differences between languages of similar classes to a few nuances and syntactic sugar.

The coursework that I did for my undergraduate CS degree (starting 20+ years ago): language theory, algorithms, algorithmic complexity, compilers, operating systems, computer architecture, boolean algebra, formal software engineering, databases/relational algebra, networks/signal-processing, graphics, etc., are all perfectly valid today.

Also, CS only made up about one-third of my degree. Yes, only 3 out of 9 courses. In addition to CS, topics I studied included advanced calculus, differential and partial differential equations, formal logic, linear algebra, statistics, discrete maths, Fourier-analysis, real-analysis, abstract algebra, topology, optimization and graph theory to name a few offhand. This is all pretty much the same as it was 20+ years ago, and is just as relevant.

So yes, technology changes fast, but the fundamentals do not. Having a good understanding of the fundamentals, allows one to adapt to these changes quicker, and to become more effective in general.

 

[noxibox]

Yes and no. No if one specialises in a field like network(CCNA), programming(MCPD), etc and yes if you are looking into managerial positions

Definitely not required for managerial positions.

For me, I'd say it was definitely worth it. I think the value-add, especially with the maths and logic related subjects, is that it teaches you how to think like a programmer. How to program (design and problem-solve) is more important than knowing how to code.

Does it teach you how to think like a programmer or are people attracted to the field because they think like programmers? You can get designing and problem solving from a variety of degrees.

The other thing is, while I'm a great advocate of self-teaching, the advantage of studying is that it tends to cover the basics, because sometimes when you're self-learning, you don't know what you've skipped. I personally didn't study to get a job, there's a business I've opened that required me to be proficient at programming and solving programming-related problems. I went the self-taught route for years before studying and the difference in progress is incomparable.

I learned more in my first year of working, in regard to designing and solving proper problems, than I did in four years of studying. On top of that I've probably only ever needed a tiny percentage of the theory I learned. There are jobs where that theory is much more important, but I've found those jobs to constitute a very small percentage of the work available in the real world. The other problem is that unless you go into one of those niche jobs, and stay in the niches, you'll forget all that theory and then have to restudy it should you one day require it. So in my opinion while there is inherent value in studying I think it should be done for its own sake, not because it may or may not have some utilitarian employment value one day.

 

[cguy]

Does it teach you how to think like a programmer or are people attracted to the field because they think like programmers? You can get designing and problem solving from a variety of degrees.

My take is that it taught me to be a better programmer - I already had been programming for quite a while before my degree, but didn't really have a formal perspective of the material. My degree helped clarify and formalize many things that I had intuition for, but was uncertain about, and also pushed me outside of my comfort zone. It also gave me the mathematical background needed for a career in scientific programming.

I learned more in my first year of working, in regard to designing and solving proper problems, than I did in four years of studying. On top of that I've probably only ever needed a tiny percentage of the theory I learned. There are jobs where that theory is much more important, but I've found those jobs to constitute a very small percentage of the work available in the real world. The other problem is that unless you go into one of those niche jobs, and stay in the niches, you'll forget all that theory and then have to restudy it should you one day require it. So in my opinion while there is inherent value in studying I think it should be done for its own sake, not because it may or may not have some utilitarian employment value one day.

While I certainly agree that most jobs do not require these skills, and that the skills can atrophy if not used, I would argue that these niche jobs are exactly why one should study a CS degree - there may be more generic jobs that don't require this skill set, but there are also far more suitable applicants for such jobs. I can't say that I'm really in touch with the job market in SA that much, but in the UK and USA at least, those with CS degrees (and ideally, with maths/stats/app.maths/physics double majors, Masters, PhD's, etc. - the higher the better) benefit hugely from the high demand for such skills, and low supply.

 

[Cliwo.com]

Yes , with Computers soon gonna take over .

 

[ThinkCentre]

Definitely worth while! It gives you a way to think in the correct way!