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How valuable is a Computer Science degree?

T

Trevelyan

Diamond Member
Well I have about 1 year before I finish my Computer Science degree (w/ a math minor) and I was wondering everyone's thoughts on it.

Good degree w/ some security? Any thoughts on continuing education, or where to look for a job?

If you got a Comp Science degree, did you get a Master's too, or what did you do? And how did you find the job market?

Please, share your wisdom with me... 🙂
 
as a math major with c/s minor I've gotten better programming jobs than my counterparts with the major in cs /w math minor. Frankly nobody really cares about your degree in CS. it means nothing more than your a computer geek and what it will come down to is if you know the language and systems the companies you apply to will be working with.
With any degree the job afterwards is all about who you know. I have a cousin at Cisco, a buddy at Microsoft, and guys i've worked with in the educational software market. I got interviews because of them for fairly decent jobs, on my own (and occasionaly with unversities help) i got interviews for crap jobs.
 
while I wouldn't discount the value of the degree, in the long run it's your experience that counts. the degree says you SHOULD know how to apply sound programming theory and practices in a work envrionment. it's better than a certificate, but not as good as experience.
 
Dime a dozen....

Get some work experience now. You're going to need connections. The same is true for just about any degree but it's all about who you know, not what you know. You're probably only going to use a very small portion of your education anyways.
 
it depends on what kind of company you want to work for... some companies actually use the theoretical stuff you learn in CS (i would imagine places like R&D companies and compiler companies), but for the most part you gotta know the language that the company wants.

i went on to get my Master's in CS, mostly as a personal thing (i didn't feel like i got enough from my BS), i'm still not sure whether it's helped or not. it just depends on the level of the job and any experience you get along the way.

like Drakkon said, you also have to get lucky and know some people. i didn't know anyone when i was trying to break in, and it was tough... but now that i've met a few people, it's been a bit easier.

edit: grammar.
 
It's becoming more and more important in that the concepts you learn in CS are actually making their way to mainstream enterprise applications. Programming is becoming less about functional/script type stuff and more about the types of things you learn in CS. By having a degree, you will have an advantage in learning and using newer technologies.

Also, at the least it will let you in the door with some companies that require a college degree, and some even require a computer specific degree.

Furthermore, even without those considerations, a comp sci degree is one of those "resume builder" things. It's a lot more impressive than being A+ certified, MCSE, MCSD, etc.
 
First off, I think a computer science degree makes you very well rounded. You can do programming, infrastructure, administration, etc because you have a foundation that spans it all.

Unfortunately, not all employers are looking for a well rounded employee, they are just looking for a code monkey or someone from the Chubb institute to do Active Directory for them. Luckily, for me, I was hired by someone who was also a computer science person (rare in management ranks!!) so he understood that I had the foundation to be successful once I gained the experience. So that path is out there.

The shame of it all is when a good computer scientist is asked to do one task, say programming. A computer scientist can deliver solutions rather than just one piece.

 
I have 3 friends who graduated with a CS degree (from UW-Madison). One has a good job. One got a masters degree, and is leaving a good job to start his own company. The third is getting his PhD and will have no problem finding work. So in my experience, it's a good, solid degree.
 
Okay... so to sum up this far:

It's a good solid degree, that's a dime a dozen and basically means nothing. 😉

There are paths to success, but it depends on good connections and luck.

Experience is important.



Anyone have thoughts on a Master's degree to help my resume even more? Like business or something?
 
Originally posted by: Skiguy411
How does a CS degree compare with a CE or ECE degree?
Click to expand...

Yes, another good question.

I've heard that CE is more geared toward hardware, while CS is more geared toward software.

Anyone else want to chime in on this one?
 
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
while I wouldn't discount the value of the degree, in the long run it's your experience that counts. the degree says you SHOULD know how to apply sound programming theory and practices in a work envrionment. it's better than a certificate, but not as good as experience.
Click to expand...

 
Sure, it's a good degree to have. Though obviously the degree alone won't make you successful.
I graduated in CS, but left the field altogether.
 
CE & ECE are less programming oriented and more hardware oriented. It would make you well suited to work with proprietary hardware and integrated circuitry type stuff, which is a large industry too.
 
Those who say it is a dime a dozen I would guess do not have the degree. They are not a dime a dozen, and with my university many people drop as soon as they get to theoretical computer science because it is hard.

I have a job in the healthcare industry that I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for my degree. I have a B.S. (although I attend school part time to get my masters), am 25 years old, and make somewhere around $130K/year in a small town in Alaska (about 80K people in the borough.)

It is a solid degree and it teaches you analytical thinking skills. It is a waste of a degree to be a code monkey. That is NOT what comp sci is about. Learning a language and blindly applying it can be done by those in India.

With my CS degree I had to take a lot of math, a few EE courses, and even a few software engineering courses. I am well rounded and can get a job just about anywhere.
 
Most people that tell you any type of degree in science is bad/worthless fall into one of a few categories:

1) Are in a competing field, such as CE, EE, etc. You will always get people defending their own degree and stating it is hard to get and worth a lot and saying that other degrees are useless.

2) They do not have a degree and are jealous.
 
im graduating this month with majors in Computer Science and Math with gpa = 3.5. I had no trouble getting a lot of interviews, and i landed a job for around 65k/year in massachusetts. I know others in CE and CSE, companies tend to slot them in more low level hardware related roles, i'm glad i went CS instead of CSE.
 
Originally posted by: pinion9
Those who say it is a dime a dozen I would guess do not have the degree. They are not a dime a dozen, and with my university many people drop as soon as they get to theoretical computer science because it is hard.

I have a job in the healthcare industry that I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for my degree. I have a B.S. (although I attend school part time to get my masters), am 25 years old, and make somewhere around $130K/year in a small town in Alaska (about 80K people in the borough.)

It is a solid degree and it teaches you analytical thinking skills. It is a waste of a degree to be a code monkey. That is NOT what comp sci is about. Learning a language and blindly applying it can be done by those in India.

With my CS degree I had to take a lot of math, a few EE courses, and even a few software engineering courses. I am well rounded and can get a job just about anywhere.
Click to expand...


Most of the outsourcing stuff is done by Big software companies in India who employ people with Computer Science degree (albeit in India)
 
Originally posted by: pinion9
Those who say it is a dime a dozen I would guess do not have the degree. They are not a dime a dozen, and with my university many people drop as soon as they get to theoretical computer science because it is hard.

I have a job in the healthcare industry that I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for my degree. I have a B.S. (although I attend school part time to get my masters), am 25 years old, and make somewhere around $130K/year in a small town in Alaska (about 80K people in the borough.)

It is a solid degree and it teaches you analytical thinking skills. It is a waste of a degree to be a code monkey. That is NOT what comp sci is about. Learning a language and blindly applying it can be done by those in India.

With my CS degree I had to take a lot of math, a few EE courses, and even a few software engineering courses. I am well rounded and can get a job just about anywhere.
Click to expand...

:cookie:
 
Originally posted by: pinion9
Those who say it is a dime a dozen I would guess do not have the degree. They are not a dime a dozen, and with my university many people drop as soon as they get to theoretical computer science because it is hard.
Click to expand...

...or they just go to a technical school where CS majors are in fact a dime a dozen.

And what degree do you have?
Click to expand...

My play on words has obviously passed over your head.
 
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