I’m looking to get back to school and get my bachelor’s in computer science. Been looking at online schools, since I have to work a full-time, days and nights job.
My question is: with the current tech employment climate, does a degree from a nationally accredited online university carry a weight worthy of it’s investment? If so, would it carry the same salary-pull as a paper from a brick-and-mortar?
I have current bachelor’s in business science [management] and exercise science, which when combined give me the power to work retail. Really need out of sales.
There’s always an opportunity for you if you like and are good at what you do.
I design/write enterprise GIS software for the energy/utility sector. My degrees are in Geology.
I have a colleague who is well respected in the company and by our customers, has in depth knowledge of the electric utilities (business and technical) and is one hell of a software engineer.
He doesn’t have a degree.
I would say just the fact that you have a degree is at minimum, a step in the door somewhere. “Place of degree” is, IMO, becoming less important (that’s not to say a BS in CS from MIT or Stanford etc. isn’t huge).
If you carry in-depth business knowledge of whatever sector you’re thinking of programming in, your value will be much higher than if you’re “just a programmer”.
Architects and systems analysts (ie people who can effectively gather requirements, specs, and design) are as in demand as ever, at least from what I can gather from all my contacts in the field (read: global).
I think SteelyD dropped the most relevant info on you, Vash.
I’m in Silicon Valley and a few of my friends that have well paying software engineering jobs did not study CS in college. At all.
They are self-taught.
What’s most important is that you make an impact somewhere or be prepared to show off a decent portfolio of your work.
I am not really a database guy - but as far as software is concerned, that is the direction I’d head in if I could choose a path - but I did design a DVD rental system in a programming class that used a database. That’s about the only thing I can show off at the moment, but at least it is something.