Is a Computer Science Degree Worth Getting Anymore?

snydeq writes "Self-taught technologists are almost always better hires than those with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a huge student loan, writes Andrew Oliver. 'A recruiter recently asked me why employers are so picky. I explained that of the people who earned a computer science degree, most don't know any theory and can't code. Instead, they succeed at putting things on their resume that match keywords. Plus, companies don't consider it their responsibility to provide training or mentoring. In fairness, that's because the scarcity of talent has created a mercenary culture: "Now that my employer paid me to learn a new skill, let me check to see if there's an ad for it on Dice or Craigslist with a higher rate of pay." When searching for talent, I've stopped relying on computer science degrees as an indicator of anything except a general interest in the field. Most schools suck at teaching theory and aren't great at Java instruction, either. Granted, they're not much better with any other language, but most of them teach Java.'"

Comments

Look in the mirror, Andy

[Orp]

Andrew C. Oliver is a professional cat herder who moonlights as a software consultant. He started programming when he was 8 and cut his teeth on GW Basic, BASICA, and dBase III+. He is most known for founding the POI project, which is now hosted at Apache. He also was one of the early developers at JBoss before it merged with Red Hat. He is a former board member and current helper at the Open Source Initiative. He is president and founder of Open Software Integrators, a professional services firm with offices in Durham, N.C., and Chicago, Ill.

And he has a degree in computer science.

Re:I'll take getting a job Alex

[symbolset]

These days a BA in Computer Science qualifies you to install Windows and Office. Over, and over, and over. And to render helpdesk assistance to the person who can't press F8 because his crumbs destroyed that function of his keyboard. Do you want to make that your career? Do you want to be the guy who really has to ask "is it plugged in?" not because it's in his script or because he wants to, but because that really usually is the answer to the problem? To clean PCs of malware? That's what's in store for you with a BA in CS.

Get a degree in business, or better yet band together with your potential schoolmates and develop a killer Android app. Then you can skip the whole college thing. They teach programming in elementary school now, but in college they still teach how to use Office applications.