02-26-2020, 06:27 PM
(02-26-2020, 05:15 PM)dashfox Wrote: Curious as to what your thoughts are on a homeschooled high schooler using TESU/Study dot com to earn his Bachelor's in CS (age 19) while doing high school. Is a Computer Science degree from TESU not as appealing as say one from Virginia Tech?
You can ask this same question about any degree. It comes down to name recognition. A degree from a prestigious school will always open more doors than a degree from a lesser-known school if you're a new grad. If you want to talk CS degrees specifically, it depends more on where you're trying to get a job.
- If you're looking to become a software developer, a degree isn't required at all, but if you do have one, it is always best if your degree comes from a school with a top-ranked CS program.
- If you're looking for a job that is more science-, research-, or engineering-based, then you'll need a CS degree and it will probably need to come from a top program (probably with ABET programmatic certification) to have the best chance of getting past the initial screens.
- This all assumes you're looking at junior roles since senior roles are more about proving competency and suitability through past work.
Once you start looking at more senior roles, your past experience and accomplishments become far more important than where you went to school. Having a strong professional portfolio (a GitHub repo for example) trumps education every time. This is also why people without CS degrees often find it easier to find work in software development since they took the time they could have been earning a degree to create apps that can be used in their portfolio to demonstrate what they have done and suggest what they have the potential of doing for their next employer.
That's my $0.02 as a long-time software engineer and hiring manager anyway.
Working on: Debating whether I want to pursue a doctoral program or maybe another master's degree in 2022-23
Complete:
MBA (IT Management), 2019, Western Governors University
BSBA (Computer Information Systems), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ASNSM (Computer Science), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ScholarMatch College & Career Coach
WGU Ambassador
Complete:
MBA (IT Management), 2019, Western Governors University
BSBA (Computer Information Systems), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ASNSM (Computer Science), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ScholarMatch College & Career Coach
WGU Ambassador