7 ms·
I feel like my BA degree has been mostly wasted (because it is an "unknown quantity" that has not a lot of worth on its own) so I am willing to take 4 years in
by ccdev 9y ago
I feel like my BA degree has been mostly wasted (because it is an "unknown quantity" that has not a lot of worth on its own) so I am willing to take 4 years in CS since it's going so well for most people that did. Maybe I can even skip some general ed classes so I can graduate sooner. At least I will be able to understand some programming assignments much better. I think my biggest challenges will be in the math classes I missed (Calculus II and III, differential equations, etc.)
Being self-taught, I have started to feel trapped, hard to do anything outside of web development or mobile apps. My subpar network also limits that selection of jobs even more. Unlike most programmers that have gotten more experience, I did not earn the luxury of being picky with jobs. A lot of people also recommended that I get a CS degree if I want to work in something way outside the mainstream web jobs (my aerospace interest for example).
There's also the ironic advantage that new graduates have in the job market- they are held to less strict hiring standards by large companies, and generally speaking, their school experiences have more similarities. As someone that is mid-level, I felt a strangeness in some companies I apply to. That happens when a company holds all mid-level programmers to the same standards, even though the patterns of what mid-level programmers experienced (and the knowledge they missed) varies much more greatly than the patterns of new grads.
I see a return to college as a second chance in having a prosperous life where I like doing what I work and have less to worry about my company keeping me in good hands.