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The computer science degree isn’t dead

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Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#261

Post by camdenreslink »

asdff wrote: post #218
camdenreslink wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a PhD is almost never worth the foregone wages if your goal is to be in private industry. For sure, people should get one if they are interested in research, or specific jobs that are only available to people with PhDs. But otherwise it isn't something to get into half-hearted.

This is only true when you compare the PhD field degree to something like finance where you can make real money at 23 years old. If the alternative is a bs for a path where most people end up going PhD, you will be working for like $20/hr most your life. You will probably be breaking even with what the PhD stipend would have been anyhow and you aren't getting any healthcare benefits.

It's true for computer science and any STEM discipline. Even if the PhD eventually does account for increased wages (it often doesn't), you usually have to work decades at that higher rate to make up the foregone wages.

I would only ever get a PhD due to intrinsic interest, or if it unlocks a specific type of job I want that would be unavailable without it. It's a bad investment to get a PhD to get higher wages (in America, I don't know the labor market in other countries).

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#262

Post by Madmallard »

tayo42 wrote: post #225
Madmallard wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who got a Comp Sci degree from a good school and who worked at FAANG right out of school, it seems like this is all that matters to companies looking to hire me.

You still need to leet code and memorize the system design script lol

doing game dev as a hobby sorta make this stuff come naturally

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#263

Post by jongjong »

thr0w wrote: post #142
jongjong wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes 100%. I was born upper middle class. I have a BIT from a global top 50 University. I understood this after working in cryptocurrency sector in Germany. After I left Australia and moved to Europe, I realized after some time that 'the matrix' had demoted me into a lower social class. I had to work harder for less money and had access to fewer opportunities. Then I joined the crypto sector and the people there seeme…

> Nowadays carriages are split between 'normal' and 'quiet'... And the number of quiet carriages seems to have increased over time... It's like there are forces in society which try to prevent people with different experiences from sharing their experiences. In the USA at least, people in the normal cars aren't "sharing their experiences". They're playing garbage music from their iPhone speakers (technically not allo…

Yes you're right. The decreasing desire to socialize is somewhat leading the change and likely driving the increase in quiet carriages. It's a feedback cycle, like a lot of things. Smartphones are probably upstream of that trend but also a feedback cycle. Smartphone reduces need for interaction, lack of interaction erodes social skills which lead users to spend more time on their phones.

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#264

Post by deterministic »

anal_reactor wrote: post #33
ehnto wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To a much smaller extent due to where I live, I noticed this too. From merely the fact that I had a (local economy relative) high paying software job and that I could "make stuff happen" for people with capital or people in the "boys club", I was introduced to an entirely different layer of the city I had no idea about. I noticed how effortlessly the signals transfer and how it all feels very meritocratic, you don't…

Honestly I do the reverse of that. I dress like shit and when introducing myself I specifically use the word "immigrant" rather than "expat" because signalling high social position attracts people who want something from me but don't offer anything in return.

> people who want something from me but don't offer anything in return

I see that as an opportunity to negotiate something in return from them. And if they refuse I simply move on.

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#265

Post by shagie »

Suppafly wrote: post #259
Schlagbohrer wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad you pointed this out because I think the difference is due to philosophy grads being ready and willing to enter the workforce as a welder or an au pair or a restaurant manager, whereas a CS grad is gonna hold out for a CS job. Source: all the B.A. Philosophy grads I know who entered basically any job they could get, often including the trades, and knew during their degree that that would be their path. But w…

Isn't a philosophy also a popular pre-law degree? A lot of these sorts of articles neglect to account for the actual reality of how these degrees are used.

If you are referring to underemployment...

https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:...

    What is your definition of underemployment?

    The definition of underemployment is based on the kinds of jobs held by college graduates. A college graduate working in a job that typically does not require a college degree is considered underemployed. This analysis uses survey data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Education and Training Questionnaire to help determine whether a bachelor’s degree is required to perform a job. The articles cited above describe the approach in detail.
47.1% of people with a philosophy degree are working in a job that does not require any college degree.

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#266

Post by asdff »

camdenreslink wrote: post #261
asdff wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is only true when you compare the PhD field degree to something like finance where you can make real money at 23 years old. If the alternative is a bs for a path where most people end up going PhD, you will be working for like $20/hr most your life. You will probably be breaking even with what the PhD stipend would have been anyhow and you aren't getting any healthcare benefits.

It's true for computer science and any STEM discipline. Even if the PhD eventually does account for increased wages (it often doesn't), you usually have to work decades at that higher rate to make up the foregone wages. I would only ever get a PhD due to intrinsic interest, or if it unlocks a specific type of job I want that would be unavailable without it. It's a bad investment to get a PhD to get higher wages (in A…

Not true in life science at least.

Re: The computer science degree isn’t dead

#267

Post by Suppafly »

shagie wrote: post #265
Suppafly wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't a philosophy also a popular pre-law degree? A lot of these sorts of articles neglect to account for the actual reality of how these degrees are used.

If you are referring to underemployment... https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:... What is your definition of underemployment? The definition of underemployment is based on the kinds of jobs held by college graduates. A college graduate working in a job that typically does not require a college degree is considered underemployed. This analysis uses survey data from the U.S. Department of Labor…

>47.1% of people with a philosophy degree are working in a job that does not require any college degree.

Theoretically. I know tons of jobs that claim to not require a degree, but actually won't hire anyone without a degree.

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