Thread: College degree

As someone who is currently in their 2nd year of college, and a paid software developer at the same time, I'll say a few things: IMO, it is worth going to any college simply due to the people you'll meet (I happen to be lucky enough to go to one of the most culturally diverse campus' in the entire US.) I didn't get my [ridiculously super-duper awesomely sweet] job as a programmer right now with a degree, I got it because I had the skills and I had a friend who gave me a good reference!

And yes, I mean this in the "life lesson" sort of way - more often than not I've gotten places I wouldn't otherwise have, not with a piece of paper, but with someone helping me out or backing me up. Networking with people is a crucially important skill, especially if you are aiming for a career in a field like software development, but it still goes beyond that for almost any real-world situation. For this, you may want to move out of home and move into dorms, but that doesn't mean you couldn't otherwise achieve this if you don't. However you go about it, I happen to think this is the #1 best reason to go to a college. You'll get to network with a lot of people and learn a whole bunch! Social interaction, WHOOO!!!

I wanted to originally go because I wanted a degree that would make me lots of money and that was my #1 reason, but I eventually came to the conclusion that is unnecessarily equating money with happiness, and there were other reasons I'm here. And there are: I have plenty of opportunities to think about myself, what I want, and how I can do it. It's not all about the post-game procedure, some of it is about now.

If you're only in your senior year, I wouldn't worry too much about it honestly. All state-schools have the exact same accreditation process regardless of where you are. The degree you get in the end may impress some managers because of the name on it came from, but they're all the same piece of paper, and more importantly you want to think about what kind of atmosphere you're going to be in. You're in your senior year of HS, right? Your high school will probably give you excused absences if you tell them you're going to tour a college. Go to a couple of them and look around at the people, places and think about what's there. Go into some random classroom and sit through a lecture. Think not only about what college but what environment you think will give you the most opportunities. Talk to their CS departments etc about what programs they have open, what companies they might be partners with, what research they have going on, etc.. You don't need to go to MIT in order to have really good opportunities or experiences, trust me (I met an MS rep. through a seminar, and they really wanted me for an internship in the Core Windows Team last year, but I had to keep my grades up over the summer so it wasn't possible. )

Choosing the right college is important, but don't let dollar signs get in your eyes because you want to go somewhere extremely prestigious and try and make top-dollar straight out of your degree. That happened to a few of my friends; they didn't want to go where we are now, but they came to understand the name isn't of significant difference. They wanted to make lots of money with business-y majors, and are changing because they really don't want any of that stuff, because it's boring and uninteresting.

It kind of sounds like now I'm only spouting hippie nonsense or something, but I thought I would try and spread some wisdom from somebody who is both a college student and now a full-time worker, but still young like yourself. This post is totally void of anything to do with getting a job as a developer, it is more general advice in the "life lesson" sort of way. On that note, I can only tell you to have skills. tl;dr: don't be persuaded or worried by $$$$ right now, you're too young for it. Do yourself justice and pick the place you think you have the most opportunities open to you, not some place you think is 'just better' or somewhere that everybody you know happens to think highly of. Don't let those opportunities get past you, either. If you want it, whether it be an internship or job, you're going to need the skills and dedication to get it. You're also going to want people helping you get there, trust me. I don't think any degree will help you any more than those two things possibly could in the long run.

Most colleges do not allow you to transfer even half of your credits from another college regardless of the grade you received.

Virginia (the state government that is) has set up some sort of agreement between the public universities and community colleges. I can take my first two years at a local community college and they are guaranteed by the government to transfer (100%).


I feel like having an on-campus experience would be great. While many of my friends are very smart, I don't know anybody who has an interest in CS as I do. I think meeting new friends who have such interests would be a great experience. When I took classes at my local community college, it seemed like I was surrounded by idiots. In my intro to CS class everyone was 21+, except for me. I was the only person passing the class (with a 101), so they offered me booz to do their work. I eventually reached a compromise that I would tutor in exchange for money (they didn't seem to want to learn). I'm really not sure that I want to have to attend classes with people who can't even (or don't want to) pass the simplest of courses.

I'm also looking forward to undergraduate research projects and need to investigate what types of programs different colleges offer.
Mad_guy, thanks for your post as it was real helpful. I think I will see if I can't travel upstate, to one or two of the colleges, so I can see what they're like.
Also, it's nice to know you can get employed while still at the university. I can't wait until I can stop working at grocery stores && restaurants to get a real job.


Thanks to everybody for their time and effort,


cs_student

So you want to be an engineer?

I definitely suggest going to a 4-year university from the get-go if you can get in to one. Even with the guarantees you can receive from the Virginia state government (that's quite nice of them to do actually), I think the experience of a 4-year university is simply better and you grow more. Of course 2-year community colleges are still excellent institutions, but if you have the chance to go to a 4-year university, do it.

Finances aren't always the easiest thing. If it comes down to finances, be smart about it. Look into the options of working while at school. Most universities have several student programming positions, and TA jobs are plentiful. Are your parents willing to help out in some of your college education expenses? If you really can't find the money, then of course going to a community college first will work, but I think the 4-year university experience is invaluable.

Originally Posted by cs_student

When I took classes at my local community college, it seemed like I was surrounded by idiots. In my intro to CS class everyone was 21+, except for me. I was the only person passing the class (with a 101), so they offered me booz to do their work. I eventually reached a compromise that I would tutor in exchange for money (they didn't seem to want to learn). I'm really not sure that I want to have to attend classes with people who can't even (or don't want to) pass the simplest of courses.

I think you'll be seeing a lot more of that no matter where you go. I was always the designated tutor in all my classes. Group projects are even worse, since you'll probably be the one doing most of the work, unless you hit the jackpot and actually get some other smart people in your group.

Originally Posted by sean

Though from most studies I've seen - that takes the majority of your life. I've personally seen several people pay for PhD's on loans, and even though they left school making six figures, they're going to be in debt for at least the next 20 years.

The trick is to get the University to pay for your PhD :-)