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Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

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Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#11

Post by chorkpop »

angarg12 wrote: post #10

I got a Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Computer Science, with a total of 11 years of education. It's the biggest waste of time of my entire life. As I progress in my professional career I'm more convinced that pretty much everything in tech is on-the-job learning, and universities are little more than a social club. Nowadays you can learn everything you do at university and far more online and for free. Universities (e…

Unfortunately a degree required if you don't want your resume immediately filtered.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#12

Post by scrame »

dominotw wrote: post #8
doezi wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So… obligatory not in HR and also not a manager. But I’ve helped hire a couple engineers over the last 5ish years. Seems that HR at my companies filter for college degrees, and basically require 2 - 4 more years of experience (sans degree) or pedigree at their last couple companies. Maybe this depends more on the size of the company, but, for Kinda sucks that the first barrier to interviewing at most companies is HR,…

Lying seems to be the only way to get a job these days

True, because lying is the currency that HR and Recruiting traffics in.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#13

Post by none2585 »

angarg12 wrote: post #10

I got a Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Computer Science, with a total of 11 years of education. It's the biggest waste of time of my entire life. As I progress in my professional career I'm more convinced that pretty much everything in tech is on-the-job learning, and universities are little more than a social club. Nowadays you can learn everything you do at university and far more online and for free. Universities (e…

I think the biggest thing is most software "engineering" jobs are in no way engineering and are closer to a trade like being a mechanic or (imo) a doctor.

It's fairly rote - you need good judgement and to stay current in latest state of the art but generally speaking you're not researching (nor should you be) cutting edge algorithms or anything.

Add a new button, add some parameters to this analytics call, implement dark mode. These are the things that everyone is doing at their six-figure tech jobs.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#15

Post by lvl155 »

angarg12 wrote: post #10

I got a Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Computer Science, with a total of 11 years of education. It's the biggest waste of time of my entire life. As I progress in my professional career I'm more convinced that pretty much everything in tech is on-the-job learning, and universities are little more than a social club. Nowadays you can learn everything you do at university and far more online and for free. Universities (e…

To be fair, you do research at school.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#18

Post by alephnerd »

DenisM wrote: post #3

How do employers perceive such diploma? I would try to find out before spending time or money. Did you?

I've hired non-trad candidates. We'd treat them as any other hiring candidate.

OP would just put "BSc Computer Science from Goldsmiths, University of London" on his resume and LinkedIn.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#19

Post by annzabelle »

angarg12 wrote: post #10

I got a Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Computer Science, with a total of 11 years of education. It's the biggest waste of time of my entire life. As I progress in my professional career I'm more convinced that pretty much everything in tech is on-the-job learning, and universities are little more than a social club. Nowadays you can learn everything you do at university and far more online and for free. Universities (e…

I got a math degree with mostly pure math courses, and did a few CS and data analytics courses on the side. I used to feel a little behind that I didn't do a proper CS degree, but I found math to be a lot more fun and less time consuming.

After a few years in the workplace I don't feel behind at all, and I'm grateful that I have more potential back up plans and won't be just another unemployed CS major if there's a real contraction in the job market. I've been considering pivoting to being an actuary, or possibly teaching high school.

Re: Completing a computer science degree on Coursera

#20

Post by alephnerd »

angarg12 wrote: post #10

I got a Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Computer Science, with a total of 11 years of education. It's the biggest waste of time of my entire life. As I progress in my professional career I'm more convinced that pretty much everything in tech is on-the-job learning, and universities are little more than a social club. Nowadays you can learn everything you do at university and far more online and for free. Universities (e…

> Nowadays I wouldn't recommend anyone to get a tech degree in a university unless it's a world class one

This is horrible advice. Hiring is a zero sum game, and a college education is treated as a table stakes requirement which won't change.

When trying to get hired, you are competing against other candidates, and if a tiebreaker is needed, the less risky option will always be hired.

Additionally, where you get your degree doesn't matter too much, but getting one is critical. It can be a BSCS from WGU for all that matters, but getting one is important. Also, bootcamps are useless now. Don't waste money on them.

The only exceptions remain veterans from the armed services assuming they were trained in the right MOS.

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