Does it make sense to pay for a 4 year college degree to learn to code?

David Kamwana
8 replies
I'm not sure it makes sense anymore.

Replies

Stefan Morris
I think if you are looking to get an "engineer" designation, then it absolute matters. Otherwise, it depends on how you prefer to learn and how valuable do you think the accreditation is.
Su Kaygun Sayran
Depends on the person imho. I absolutely agree that it doesn't matter. But only if the person we're talking about is passionate about learning to code or has the necessary resources to do so.
David Kamwana
@su_kaygun_sayran2 Thanks, I suppose I need to understand what I come out with compared to a 3-month boot camp.
GamerSeo
In our opinion, it is best to work and gain experience on an ongoing basis.
David Kamwana
@gamerseo I get that but it is usually quite difficult to get job without the training...unless you're working on your own project.
Kesava Mandiga
Comes down to why. If you want to learn to code so you can build something, you don't need a degree at all. Start with freecodecamp.org or something similar and work your way up. But if you want to be employed as a software engineer, a college degree might be useful. I say "might be" because what I consider great companies to work for care more about your attitude, skills, and accomplishments (personal projects are fine, too) over academics. Plus, you can invest those 4 years into learning at your own pace and become a terrific coder. Hope this is useful. 🖖 Confession: I've tried and given up too many times, but I keep coming back. Did end up making a useful Chrome extension in the process, so it wasn't exactly a waste of time. I've got so much more to learn though.
David Kamwana
@k3sava Thanks so much for that feedback! Hard to imagine any amount of learning is a waist of time.