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Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

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Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#111

Post by yibg »

hayst4ck wrote: post #24

As someone who has interviewed candidates for a FANG company in the distant past I can't say that degrees matter, but I can say that people I interviewed with degrees generally did better. There's a hidden bias in that this is only people who got through recruiters and recruiters are their own filter. Strong referrals usually guaranteed a phone screens. I think previous experience at a major competitor in the same ti…

> Many of the best co-workers that I remember had physics degrees. In fact, it was so pronounced I personally consider a physics degree to be a top tier signal of programming ability, but that's my own personal prejudice.

In my experience those with math degrees too. Maybe the structured methods of analysis and problem solving.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#112

Post by epolanski »

WorkerBee28474 wrote: post #12

There's a story that goes: A man was tasked with hiring an employee. He got hundreds of resumes. His friend looks at the stack and asks him "how are you going to decide among all those?" The man grabs half the stack, throws it in the garbage and says "Simple, I don't hire unlucky people". Degrees matter when employers don't have the time and/or ability to make a reasonable decision for every candidate. They need ways…

> They need ways to eliminate chunks of the applications. Illogical ways of eliminating candidates are acceptable because they are better than having no way

And this is how Apple/Google end up rejecting candidates to work on open source libraries...despite the candidates being the very authors they are wed out as they haven't spent months preparing for the interview.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#113

Post by nottorp »

YZF wrote: post #79
platevoltage wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for your response. I'm not really interested in specific companies. I'm really NOT interested in FAANG type companies. I have however seen many listings where I was like "this fits my knowledge and interests perfectly other than the degree requirement" - While I'm interested in the paper, I absolutely love learning everything I can about computers. I'm super neurodivergent, and have trouble learning things…

I don't regret getting a degree fwiw. My degree was 100% focused on math and comp.sci. (not in North America where they force you to take other subjects). If you have 20 years of experience I wonder if there are options for you to have that recognized towards a degree or even to get accepted into a Masters program (where presumably you'd have to make up some required courses but still).

> If you have 20 years of experience I wonder if there are options for you to have that recognized towards a degree

Isn't what those scam "universities" do? Sell you a diploma based on your "life experience"?

Point being, a degree awarded like that may not have any value.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#114

Post by epolanski »

hayst4ck wrote: post #24

As someone who has interviewed candidates for a FANG company in the distant past I can't say that degrees matter, but I can say that people I interviewed with degrees generally did better. There's a hidden bias in that this is only people who got through recruiters and recruiters are their own filter. Strong referrals usually guaranteed a phone screens. I think previous experience at a major competitor in the same ti…

> but I can say that people I interviewed with degrees generally did better

I can also confirm that.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that people with a formal degree are on average better prepared to interviews.

But sadly, it has absolutely no correlation with work performance. Zero, none.

In fact, I can say that the overwhelming majority of non graduates did far better on the job: more motivated, stays longer, hungrier to learn and prove themselves.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#115

Post by StefanBatory »

caseyy wrote: post #59
hayst4ck wrote: post #24

As someone who has interviewed candidates for a FANG company in the distant past I can't say that degrees matter, but I can say that people I interviewed with degrees generally did better. There's a hidden bias in that this is only people who got through recruiters and recruiters are their own filter. Strong referrals usually guaranteed a phone screens. I think previous experience at a major competitor in the same ti…

> Many of the best co-workers that I remember had physics degrees. In fact, it was so pronounced I personally consider a physics degree to be a top tier signal of programming ability, but that's my own personal prejudice. Hah, I also noticed that. For some reason, ex-army programmers really excel in their junior years (or sometimes even just months), too. Do you think it's the attitude towards problem-solving?

"ex-army programmers really excel in their junior years"

My feeling is that they're just built different, military, especially in US will either teach you or make you disciplined (not something I'd say about my country, you'll learn how to get hazed and drink). If you have a task, well, you better solve it quick, no distractions.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#116

Post by citadel_melon »

If you live in SF, you can get a cheap degree from a California community college. It will be 10-50 dollars per semester. You can even transfer the last year of the degree to a UC if you care for a name-brand school, but I don’t think that would be necessary with work experience.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#117

Post by nvarsj »

RainyDayTmrw wrote: post #86
WorkerBee28474 wrote: post #12

There's a story that goes: A man was tasked with hiring an employee. He got hundreds of resumes. His friend looks at the stack and asks him "how are you going to decide among all those?" The man grabs half the stack, throws it in the garbage and says "Simple, I don't hire unlucky people". Degrees matter when employers don't have the time and/or ability to make a reasonable decision for every candidate. They need ways…

Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science (GA Tech OMSCS) is really good about letting you go as fast or as slow as you want. If you are sufficiently motivated (and life circumstances permitting, granted), it's very doable as a nights and weekends type of thing.

I did it over 5 years and it would consume all my free time during crunch periods. Definitely make sure your family is supportive - it’s like having a second part time job with occasional overtime.

Having said that - I believe many companies view OMSCS as a strong signal. It’s a difficult degree with high drop out rate.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#118

Post by Agentlien »

caseyy wrote: post #106
Agentlien wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a fellow game programmer from Sweden. My experience is a little different. I've worked in everything from indie to AAA and been part of recruitment on the AAA side. In my own experience, it is true that a portfolio really helps you stand out. Recruiters often ask for your GitHub profile or blog. However, I've found that recruiting really differs based on studio size. Indies tend to take what the can get, often fo…

That is true but do they discern based on degrees? I found that AAA studios will pick someone with game shipping experience and some good code examples on GitHub over someone with a university degree 9 times out of 10. The degree does matter a bit more in AAA, especially R&D roles. These studios actually have some R&D to do. But for other roles and other company sizes… does it truly matter in Sweden? I mean, wouldn’t…

Absolutely. But the kind of portfolio and experience that allows you to jump the queue is really hard to attain without first having been hired. So a degree really helps landing a good first job and getting that experience.

Keep in mind that in Sweden an education is not a financial burden. All universities are free and you get a state scholarship (plus very reasonable student loans if you wish).

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#119

Post by riehwvfbk »

hayst4ck wrote: post #76
murderfs wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many of the best co-workers that I remember had physics degrees. In fact, it was so pronounced I personally consider a physics degree to be a top tier signal of programming ability, but that's my own personal prejudice. You're basically just using it as a proxy for general intelligence, the _average_ physics major's IQ is around 130.

I don't know about that. I feel like if big tech moved away from IQ test like questions like the MS/FB of old then there was a reason.

And that reason was legal precedent: it's illegal to administer an IQ test as a condition of employment. So they administer a disguised IQ test in the form of Leetcode questions instead.

Re: Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?

#120

Post by [deleted] »

riehwvfbk wrote: post #119
hayst4ck wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about that. I feel like if big tech moved away from IQ test like questions like the MS/FB of old then there was a reason.

And that reason was legal precedent: it's illegal to administer an IQ test as a condition of employment. So they administer a disguised IQ test in the form of Leetcode questions instead.

[deleted]
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