11–20 of 480 posts
What a CS degree does, is teach you how to apply the infection. Some CS degrees are like innoculation against them and you come out with a degree, but no grasp of the fundamentals. Others, you learn so much you become a vector of the disease.
I'm learning to code at the moment (Python this summer after learning the basics.) I kept talking to developers online to find out about their backgrounds as I don't have a CS degree. I figured as I was already asking people how they learned to code I might as well write up some proper interviews and share them with other people. This way I can scratch my own itch and stay motivated as well as sharing motivation with…
It's inspiring to read about developers who are also informally educated. It brings a sense that people like us are more common than we think and that we're really not alone. They're also finding great success despite the prevailing wisdom that you can't make it without a degree. People like that are proof that you can.
I'm 39 years into a coding career with no CS degree. But as a compulsive auto-didact (probably a common syndrome among HN readers) it hasn't been a barrier. Self-learning is a continual, daily requirement for coders. If you can continue your education as needed for this job you probably also have the skills and interest to learn from scratch. I studied the same books and did the same exercises as my brother the CS ma…
I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
As a non CS degree developer I can’t really see anything that I’m missing because of not having the degree. I have a successful business, get hired for freelance jobs for a good salary, can build anything I want, ...
Would love to know what one would get out of having the degree versus self study.
I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
Your comment goes to the heart of the debate: does understanding what’s going on behind the scene of your tools help you become better at using them? I think for the vast majority of jobs it does not, but for a few it absolutely does.
I think its pretty well known that you can work as a successful developer without a CS degree. However , as someone who is currently working through a masters in CS (after working in software the last decade), I would say that CS courses (some, not all) provide invaluable foundation that would be difficult to obtain (of course you can self study CS). Sure — you don’t need to know how the OS works to write a web app t…
You can "peel back the layers of abstraction" without a CS degree, all it takes is time and (admittedly rare) dedication. Webservers, operating systems and books on theoretical CS are all out there, you just have to be interested.
They generally won't wrestle with the tough sections in a systemic fashion, the way you are forced to in a decent CS program.
For most people (even most professional developers) the only practical way to gain the equivalent knowledge you'd get with a CS degree, is by getting a CS degree.
I worked for years as a self taught professional developer before going back btw, and I've hired/interviewed many boot camp graduates, self taught programmers, and degree holders.
I'm learning to code at the moment (Python this summer after learning the basics.) I kept talking to developers online to find out about their backgrounds as I don't have a CS degree. I figured as I was already asking people how they learned to code I might as well write up some proper interviews and share them with other people. This way I can scratch my own itch and stay motivated as well as sharing motivation with…
Thanks for this. I began programming when I was 8 on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K from books I liberated from my Mom back in 1983. I grew up as the internet was just becoming a thing, communicating with other would be developers and hackers on IRC channels. I still haven't lost the bug. I'd like to say my CS degree studies were useful, but they were hopelessly inadequate and so constrained and tedious as to kill any fu…
I had a ZX Spectrum but unfortunately just used it to play Fantasy World Dizzy.
I'm 39 years into a coding career with no CS degree. But as a compulsive auto-didact (probably a common syndrome among HN readers) it hasn't been a barrier. Self-learning is a continual, daily requirement for coders. If you can continue your education as needed for this job you probably also have the skills and interest to learn from scratch. I studied the same books and did the same exercises as my brother the CS ma…