Is Computer Science Degree Necessary for Web Development?
From time to time I'm getting questions from people: "Do I need to spend time and go to university?" or "Is it really needed to have a computer science degree to become a developer?". This is why in this post I want to clarify it once and forever.
So first of all I want to say that the answer here is not a simple yes or no. In interviews people will ask only for your real skills and your real working experience. They won't ask for your university degree and obviously they are not interested what I've learned there.
So skill here is a priority. Nobody cares what you've studied at school or university if you have enough experience. Maybe you already worked in several companies in the same position doing exactly the stuff that they need. So university is not the only place where you could obtain your knowledge.
Maybe you started as a junior developer and now you have enough experience for normal developer's position. Or maybe you did enough personal projects so you understand your framework or technology that is required for this position is working and then you are good enough for this role.
Better job
So here are my 2 important points why computer science degree is necessary for you. It may happen that inside a really good vacancy you see a point that computer science degree is mandatory. It happens not the often but some really good positions might have it.
Relocation
The second point is important for you if you want to relocate to some other country in the future. If you don't have a computer science degree it is really difficult to get a working visa and relocate to other country even if you have lots of experience. Which means it will give you more flexibility in the future if you plan relocation.
But I see a lot of people quitting university because it was not their decision to start it. And it is extremely important. You must understand why it is really valuable for you to get computer science degree. In other case it won't work for you and you won't make it until the end.
Is self-taught developer better?
And here are some points why I think that self-taught developer is better than a person who studied computer science in university. In university you normally have 2 things: you have your learning path (which was decided for you) and secondly you have a strict learning schedule. Which actually means you are not controlling it, you simply go there and do what you need to. It might be good for some people but it's not what you will do after university.
Actually you will be a life learner. This is why it is extremely important to be a self-taught developer. Even when you learn something in university you must additionally learn things on your own. Because the whole life you will learn new technologies and you really must do it efficiently and fast.
And from my experience people who were self-taught developers normally have better and deeper knowledge than people who came straight from university.
Money
Another huge point against university is money. To attend university in a lot of countries you must pay quite a lot of money. It's not like this in all countries but if you need to pay 50k or 100k just to finish university maybe it's not the best idea. You can just become a self-taught developer, learn everything online and get a job. In 90% of the cases you can learn and work without a computer science degree if you are a good developer.
Conclusion
I still think that computer science degree is important. And if you want to obtain some degree in university then I can highly recommend you computer science because it will be beneficial for you in your future life.
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