Is getting a CS degree still worth it?

I'll give you the very concise answer to this.

Are you content with only working in Web dev ? Then no you don't need to have a degree.
Do you want to program real applications, drivers, operating systems, design computer networks, get hardware built, etc ? Then you need to go to college or be one of the single digit percent people who managed another way in.

Yeah, the amount of self study required to have the breadth of knowledge of a CS major is beyond 99% of people.

If you're of the one 1%, you wouldn't be asking whether a CS degree is worth it or not.

>Pros of CS Degree:
>- Knowledge about computers and how they work
Absolutely not, that's EE/CpE/ECE/CSE/EECS
>- Maths
Absolutely not. The math in the degree is a joke.
>- Some research in the field
Not for most majors.
>- Access to huge library and stuff to learn from it
Literally any degree gives you access to that.

And every American CS program is either shit or flaming shit.

Computer Science is a degree for mediocre developers.

This but unironically.
It's sad to see foreigners come here to study because they have been brainwashed into believing that "USA has the best universities in the world" where it couldn't be further from the truth.
If you want to get a degree, do NOT study in the US. It's simply not a worthwhile investment.

How many nobel prizes has your country won?

all those pros you can do without the degree, except possibly research

Agreed. While you will certainly learn of your program isn't meme tier and you aren't a brainlet, ultimately, the whole point of college is getting the degree. Period.
Nearly everything you can learn in college can also be learned on your own, and with the massive amount of resources available nowadays, it's easier than ever.

No. Not at all.
Spend those 4 years at home, learning and doing stuff by yourself.
You will save the money needed for college.
Actually read and work through books, and try to get a deep understanding.

377.

CS is a Meme, if you want a job do CE.

>Tens of thousands of dollars spent
>Huge load of debt upon graduation
>2 out of 4 years spent in "muh well-rounded education" studies
Only if you're an amerimutt.

>- Huge load of debt upon graduation
If you have to get in debt to obtain a degree, then you either don't need it or you're doing it wrong.

>5x as much
Just attending lectures is literally nothing. You may as well just watch some youtube videos at home. It's about doing your homework.

>Absolutely not, that's EE/CpE/ECE/CSE/EECS
If you think CS majors don't learn a lot of the stuff ECE majors learn then you went to a shit school.

Then, yes.

In my undergrad studies I took a design and architecture class that went from how a transistor works to building out a full-fledged modern MIPS CPU.

I went to a shitty, mostly online, state school, and have about $15,000 in student loan debt, but literally a month after graduating I got a $95,000/year job. If you get a CS degree it can pay for itself very quickly.

For many, many companies, not having a degree will mean you don't get past HR.

--
Because of the work I'm in now, I'm considering going for EE as a masters, but I think CS is a great option for an undergrad degree.

>mfw i live in scotland where university is free

Enjoy your debt guys

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If you look forward to compete with literally a billion pajeets and another billion chinks just to become a shitty code monkey, then sure.
Otherwise, if you want a decent job, you might wanna consider majoring in business, becoming a CPA and getting a job at the Big Four.

Depends. I have meet plenty of CS graduates who know jack shit. I guess they only managed to pass because they cheated off their friends in coursework and memorized for exams.

But without a CS degree you won't get past HR for most companies.

Mine was a worth it u guess. Tech jobs are well paid and easy.
Going back though I absolutely would not have chosen it however

>doesn’t mention networking possibilities

Literally the best reason to take on higher education

>But without a CS degree you won't get past HR for most companies.
This isn't true.

Why not?

Cons:
Crippling debt
Waste of 4 years you could spend on your own projects anyway

Pros:
1% easier to land the first job but completely irrelevant after that.

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>the maths are a joke
This meme is retarded more than others. While it is true some colleges only take up to like cal1, most schools have plenty of math, mine goes through cal3 and linear algebra, which to the average math major autist “is a joke” but is still 3x the math anyone outside of an Engineering or Math major is studying.

>But without a CS degree you won't get past HR for most companies
This has never been a problem for me, not even one time. Been working about 10 years now.

And clearly too stupid to understand that 10 years ago the tech field was an order of magnitude less competitive

I've been involved in hiring for half a dozen places I worked and never once has a degree been any consideration at all. We want demonstrable programming skills, not your ability to copy and paste some coursework.

>tfw live in england and gonna be in atleast £60k debt by the time im dome

Done*

>Cons of CS Degree:
>- Tens of thousands of dollars spent
CC -> transfer to cheap state uni is like 15-20k maximum, not even factoring in scholarships and money you'll be making from working during school
>- Huge load of debt upon graduation
debt is minimized if you follow the above, and it can be paid off in 1-2 years if you just live frugally for a small amount of time
>- 2 out of 4 years spent in "muh well-rounded education" studies
CS majors take like 20-25 credits max of GE's which is less than or equal to 1 year of studies, and most of it is shit like economics, natural sciences, and mandatory english writing classes, not Transgender Studies 101
>- Could have gotten all of that information I learned in class at the library anyways
you could have but unless you have insane willpower you will end up dropping it anyways, you don't get any credential for your efforts, and people won't take you seriously without some kind of degree unless you're in the top 1% of devs

I'm honestly so fucking sick of hearing people saying you should go to university for fucks sake. Student loans have already added 14bn to the national debt of the UK, and it ain't getting better. I'm fucking pissed because I also have to get a certification to go into cyber security, there's no other fucking way in >:((

Pros:
1. You get to go to college. College is an experience worth living. Life isn't just about making tons of money, but also having fun.
2. Connections.
3. You get exposed to a lot of subjects, you wouldn't normally research on your own.
Cons:
1. Some of the subjects are absolutely boring as fuck and completely irrelevant.
2. Even the core subjects, you don't really study them in depth. If you studied a programming language on your own for 4 years, you could have become a god in it. After college you don't really know shit, besides the basics. You can still study more in your free time though.
3. Huge waste of time. You need to actually spend a lot of time doing irrelevant essays and studying for irrelevant courses if you wanna get a decent grade. Time which could have been spent programming.
Conclusion: Is it worth it? It depends on you. You can definitely succeed without going and you can definitely succeed after going. If you go it's the easier, safer and more fun way. If you don't, it's kind of a higher risk higher reward thing. But really it depends on you, your character, your financial situation, your priorities etc.

>"free"
Enjoy using your degree to fund Mohammed's grooming gang.

Like it should be. But still, most employers won't spit in your direction without a degree.

If you are not looking to be a researcher then you should do something where you get practical experience, like a traineeship. It won't cost you and after 4 years you'll be in the same place that you would be with a college degree anyway.

I’m in £90,000 of student loan debt. Do you know when the bailiffs are coming? It’s a pie in the sky number m8 you never pay it back unless you get a very good job, that you wouldn’t have got without university anyway.

You can spit all the anecdotal evidence you want, fact of the matter is labor statistics support the idea of a degree opening up doors. Assuming someone can obtain one at no giant cost to themselves then it’d be ignorant to tell em it’s worthless. Cunt

Pro 1 is a Hollywood meme.
2 I can agree with, but it's not impossible to find connections without it.
3 applies only if you're unmotivated. With the current amount of resources available, there is really no excuse.

>80 out of 100 top universities are in the world are in the USA
>believing prestige doesn't matter

Euro trash please go, your unis are adult day cares

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Depending on what it is in IT you want to do and whatnot Certs are all you need. No mater even if the HR types tell you otherwise. The requirements for IT in general is way way over inflated.

For high up positions and your just starting out then yes a degree is required if you don't got any exp to go with it. For lower level certs are all you need. Anyone who tells you that an A+ or Network + is not qualified for a support or low end tech/network tech job is full of shit. The reason HR types over state the requirements is to make there own jobs easier.

Every stem degree even biology majors need to take calc 1 and 2. Most nonbrainlets take calc 3 anyway to just finish a sequence. Blowing your horn for taking calc 3 and linear algebra (less than what actual engineers take) shows how delusional you are

>eurotrash
Nigger I'm and I'm American.
Prestige really doesn't matter after you get your first job, not to mention that it often isn't even a relevant factor in the actual quality of the education you're gonna get (research output counts a lot more, that's the main reason, say, MIT, is at the top).
All those "rankings" are really only good to brag about going some top place and nothing else. A scam is still a scam.

Then sometimes you can just say fuck it all and land a job not in IT that is stress free and bullshit free as you can get while also providing a decent salary w/benefits and job security. Oh and doesn't require the whole college degree (and debt). shit. That's what I did. Now just 15 more yrs and I can retire at 50 w/full pension. Thanks to my workplace regs.

Higher education is signalling it's not about the actual courses.
High prestige universities send strong signals.
Going to MIT, Stanford, Ivy League etc has enormous benefits.

I’m not saying CS math is some incredible achievement, I’m saying 99% of college degrees are even more bullshit in terms of qualifications. No shit STEM majors are expected to do higher level math, but STEM does not make up the majority of any non-specialized university in the US, not by a fucking long shot.

If you want to web dev or it sys admin forever you don't need a degree.

It is true that all of it can be learned individually for free IF you are self motivated enough. Even then you'll be hampering yourself trying to get through HR which will filter out based on the lack of education.

College is a joke anymore. Go for 4 yrs (or more), get tossed out drowning in debt. Back in the 70's/80's/90's,etc it was worth it. Not many people had degrees. Now? Everyone has a degree in "something". So now HR types expect you to have a degree, there's no "oh good you got a degree" shock anymore. No point. Even those who have "general studies" degrees land high paying jobs in positions that don't fit the degree earned. Its more of a rubber stamp thing.

Where you go don't mean shit. Nor does how well you did. All that maters is that paper they give you after 4 yrs. Which after a while, lands in some dust covered box never seen again till your dead or you move.

Course the flip side of this is that due to high volume of degrees out there now you could always get a fake one along with a transcript. No one really checks them unless your trying to land some real high paying position. Like I said;everyone now it seems has a degree in "something"

Long as you show some competence in whatever it is your doing and don't shoot your mouth off you'll pass with flying colors. No one will bother checking once your in the door. For mid level or low level jobs you'll be fine. Don't try this with high up jobs; those get more attention by corporate bean counters,etc.

I'll graduate this summer with my associates in Cyber Security and wont have paid a dime.

>bragging about an associates
You can get that shit in high school

1. What? No it's not. I'm not even American and I don't even watch movies. College years = most fun years, is true for a lot of people.
2. Nothing is impossible, that's why I said college is just the easier path.
3. Most people are unmotivated when they are 18. Frankly speaking, you should be a bit unmotivated when you are 18 and open to new possibilities and experiences and college is a good place for that.
Btw like I said I'm not from the USA, so I didn't really take into account that college costs a fortune in the USA.
So yeah if you are American it's absolutely worthless to go to college and you are a complete sucker if you go, unless daddy is rich of course, so then by all means go and have fun.

>Is getting a CS degree still worth it?
yes if it's a top 5 school in the USA and you can leetcode

its different for everyone, for me it worked out like this

cons:
>debt
>time
>school administrators are assholes
>gen eds are a waste of time
>had trouble adjusting my first year, lots of stress and depression

pros:
>life long friends
>great social life
>study my favorite subject
>better programmer than self taughts / pajeets / non cs majors
>valuable degree
>swe at major tech company straight out of college making about 160k
>can pay of debt easily
>saving for retirement
>family proud of me

do not fall for the connections meme

unless your connections are rich as fuck and your last name ends in (((berg))) you do not have valuable connections. Otherwise, your ""connections"" will at best get you a shit job in IT or some gay shit with spreadsheets. Go to college

see

Of course it's better to graduate. What most people here don't understand is that going to college helps to develop your personality. It's not only a good financial investment for a human to get higher educaiton, but a personal.

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This. And even making connections while AT college is overrated as well. Not useless, but overrated.
In the end, the one and only point of college is getting the piece of paper. The rest is memes.

I never said prestige doesn't matter, I just pointed out the facts that I went to a shitty online school and now make $95k a year.

I'm going to get a 4 year cyber security degree. Will that look good on my McDonalds app?

Literally useless unless you also get a Master's in it, user.
udallas.edu/cob/academics/ms/cybersecurity/index.php

I'm doing a sys admin job with a top secret clearance in the air force. What kind of certs should I get for when I leave? I already have Sec+ and don't know what path to take. Should I get a CCNA at the least? Are cloud computing certs worth the investment?

I got an upperclassman in the anime club to refer me to a 200k job at Facebook.

>mine goes through cal3 and linear algebra
Yeah, joke level. Even chemistry majors do that much.

Sure, just be proactive in your free time. What is taught in class is nothing like the industry. Try to see if you can take core classes at a community college and transfer those credits, it'll be cheaper and easier.

You can learn it on your own sure, but breaking into a good job will be difficult (not impossible). Lots of companies are going to filter you out if you have no degree or some are going to give you a lower title/salary due to the lack of it. Though, after a year or three of experience somewhere halfway reasonable it won't matter much anymore.

Reminder that no matter what you're fucked.

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American universities are good except for CS which ALL of them suck.