While I have a CS degree from a good university, I think I see things differently than the author here. I think CS degrees are great overviews of the field and

While I have a CS degree from a good university, I think I see things differently than the author here. I think CS degrees are great overviews of the field and give you 4 years to practice programming basics without needing to worry about your job. You also might meet some smart classmates and learn from them too. However, I think the core issue that individuals run into is that the industry does not stop to train engineers in any kind of formal way. If you do not address this, then your skills will never adequately develop over time. This goes for CS degree holders too, they just might have some more confidence initially from the 4 years of marinating in the material. There are so many ways to develop your skills: - cs degree, sure - pair programming with people that have the skills you want - helping others with their problems - building personal tools - reading blogs, watching videos, and generally soaking up external opinions - taking projects slightly outside of your skill level - self-reflection and writing down the problems you have, then actively seeking help with each specific problem - learning to read error messages so you don't sit there slackjawed when red text shows up - learning to read documentation and scan for useful APIs - reading books, if that's a method that works for you - doing retreats like Recurse Center that push you - SRS practice with tools like Execute Program - paid courses with work edu budgets No one will really make you do these things though, so it is very sink or swim. You don't have to do all of these things, but you likely need to be on some kind of upward trajectory, particularly for the first solid chunk of your career. For me, this is mostly work I would do as part of the job, during 9-5 work hours.