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Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

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Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#11

Post by ISloop »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #5

I don't care if you even have a degree. Your interview may not even involve schoolwork, unless you bring up a project. We're hiring at our startup, Sococo. Check it out, now or when you graduate.

Thanks for the feedback. Although I'm not experienced enough in programming to be valuable anywhere, I will definitely look into your startup when I significantly improve my skills.

I have another question. I see you're located in Mountain View. I'm assuming you receive a lot of applications from top tier universities such as Stanford and Berkeley. Is the degree still not that important?

Assuming you get two applicants of equal ability, one is from a top tier college and the other from...let's say a CSU college. Would you be biased towards the more elite applicant?

Sorry if these questions are silly. I'm really interested in the recruiter's perspective though.

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#12

Post by ISloop »

brudgers wrote: post #3

You can always take the math and physics at UC after you are admitted. Universities tend to be pretty flexible about such things. You could also take them at a community college or other institution over a summer after you are admitted. The first big thing is to get your associates and get to the university. Good luck.

Thanks. Unfortunately admissions are extremely competitive, and I hear only the people with high GPA + all finished pre-reqs get in. I figure if I get accepted somewhere, I'd rather focus on the CS/programming material than finishing classes that are irrelevant to my major.

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#13

Post by ISloop »

20120406 wrote: post #4

I have a ba in computer science from cornell and it hasn't been a problem. Initially wanted to be a philosophy major.

So did your curriculum involve a decent amount of liberal arts classes mixed with CS classes? Do you think your understanding of computer science is as solid as the people who did the B.S. program?

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#14

Post by tsuyoshi »

Some employers say they want a BS. But it usually just means they didn't consider that CS BA degrees exist. Hardly any employers ever actually verify you have a degree at all. Usually the ones that split hairs over this stuff are places you don't want to work at, because it boils down to: this hypothetical employer cares whether you took another two classes.

Case in point: when I applied to grad school it did seem to be a big deal that I have a BA and not a BS. I took this (among other things) as a sign I didn't actually want to go to that school...

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#15

Post by jimmahoney »

My experience from other science fields suggests that the difference between a BA and a BS may be as much about the school as the academic program. I went to MIT, which gives BS for music and other humanities. My wife went to Middlebury, which gave her a BA in chemistry, as they do in all the sciences.

A bachelor's degree - BA or BS - is more about your particular courses and program of study than anything about the letters.

I'm still in academia - at a liberal arts college, marlboro.edu - and don't have much experience with what employers want. But my CS students - most with BA's - seem to be doing fine.

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#16

Post by brudgers »

ISloop wrote: post #12
brudgers wrote: post #3

You can always take the math and physics at UC after you are admitted. Universities tend to be pretty flexible about such things. You could also take them at a community college or other institution over a summer after you are admitted. The first big thing is to get your associates and get to the university. Good luck.

Thanks. Unfortunately admissions are extremely competitive, and I hear only the people with high GPA + all finished pre-reqs get in. I figure if I get accepted somewhere, I'd rather focus on the CS/programming material than finishing classes that are irrelevant to my major.

What I am suggesting is that it is not likely to be particularly difficult to get faculty support to switch from a BA to a BS once you are in the department.

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#17

Post by JoeAltmaier »

ISloop wrote: post #11
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #5

I don't care if you even have a degree. Your interview may not even involve schoolwork, unless you bring up a project. We're hiring at our startup, Sococo. Check it out, now or when you graduate.

Thanks for the feedback. Although I'm not experienced enough in programming to be valuable anywhere, I will definitely look into your startup when I significantly improve my skills. I have another question. I see you're located in Mountain View. I'm assuming you receive a lot of applications from top tier universities such as Stanford and Berkeley. Is the degree still not that important? Assuming you get two applican…

All of our applications are from references or cold calls. We don't filter anything, at least as far as I know.

I'm from a state U. Our chief Architect completed his degree decades after leaving college. Our VP of Eng. has no degree. Humility aside, all are top-knotch professionals with years of experience.

Of course we also have PhD's and Stanford graduates. Because they rock. But other people rock too.

We'v hired unknown people based on personal references, and we have a great team. Enthusiasm, smarts, a willingness to jump into a chaotic environment and swim like mad to stay afloat are all more important than technical credits.

Re: Ask HN: Do employers care whether my Computer Science degree is a B.A. or B.S?

#19

Post by jshintaku »

I maybe wrong but I believe it depends on what you want to do with your degree. If you want to do video game programming I would think that the core physics coursework would be a definite prerequisite. I'm pretty sure more hardware related firms might also look into your science coursework as well. This will probably be less important if you want to pursue web programming or something more high level.
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