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Most computer science programs will focus on the elements of programming, information technology, and computer engineering. Programming is the art of speaking to a computer. Programmers are needed in nearly every industry ranging from game development to big-time finance firms. Information technology is based on managing networks and the flow of information. There are separate degrees for IT, but CS majors typically need to know at least a base understanding of IT. Computer engineering is learning how to design and maintain the hardware the keeps computer system working.
Additionally, computer science degrees offer a great deal of flexibility, meaning that students in these programs can take coursework that will allow them to work in their careers of choice. While many of the courses will be the same across different computer science degree programs, there are some classes in each degree program that will be more job-specific.
Students entering these programs should inquire about how program graduates are using their degrees. The answers to this question will help students to decide on the computer science degree program that’s right for their career and life goals.
Pros and Cons of Getting a Computer Science Degree
Computer science is a very broad and easily applicable field, so CS graduates have a great job market to look forward to when graduating. In addition to the flexibility of the degree, there’s a high demand for skilled computer science majors, and the computer science salary can be very high for even entry-level positions. On the other hand, a CS degree can be very difficult and many end up dropping out because of this. It is advised that only those interested in the science itself, not just the money, pursue a degree in computer science.
While it is true that many of the pros and cons that mark the computer science bachelor’s degree program can also be present in a master-level program, the pros far outweigh the cons.
The truth is many people have bachelor’s degrees today, and while these degrees still have value, an advanced degree can give a job seeker an edge. According to Career Builder, almost 40% of employers now want employees who have advanced degrees. What’s more, people who hold advanced degrees can earn as much as $30,000 more a year than those who don’t have a master’s degree. For those who specifically hold an MS in Computer Science, this could translate into salaries as high as $116,000 a year or more. For many in the field, the salary prospects are even higher than that, with some making almost $150,000 a year.
An article on the Northeastern University website points out that a Master of Science in Computer Science gives degree holders more career options. Many master’s degrees in CS today provide students with experiential learning. These degree programs give students real-world problems to solve. The advantage of this type of program is that students are ready to hit the ground running once they complete their programs. They’re already accustomed to solving difficult computer science problems in the classroom. Therefore, it’s easier for them to solve them on the job.
Additionally, an advanced degree comes with more job stability overall. Many people seek out computer science bachelor’s or master’s degree because they believe that if they lose their job, they’ll easily find another one. This reasoning is sound. It is predicted that there will be an increase of over a half-million computer and information technology jobs by the year 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Top Computer Science Schools
U.S. News & World Report currently rates Carnegie Mellon University as the top-rated CS degree. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also one of the most prestigious technology schools for a reason; their CS program has consistently been applauded as one of the best in the country. Companies like Google and Microsoft regularly hire MIT graduates. The University of Florida Gainesville, is one of the best online schools. It’s completely accredited and offers competitive pricing as well as flexible times. For those looking for a CS degree while working or taking care of a family, other highly-rated online programs are offered at City University of Seattle, Pace University (New York), and Saint Leo University to name just a few.
For students who are weighing the pros and cons of a computer science degree, the success of these graduates speaks volumes. But what about the student who may not have access to one of the top schools for reasons, like current work or family obligations? Is it still worth it to pursue a degree in computer science even if it’s at a lesser-known university? According to a CNBC article, it is. The article points out that the job of the application software developer remains difficult to fill for many businesses in 2020. Those who have the skills to do this job are very likely to land the job, and at the end of the day, the value of education often boils down to what the student is willing to put into it. No matter how a person looks at it, getting a CS degree offers real advantages to the people who hold them.
Popular Computer Science Degree Jobs
Web Developer
A web developer creates and maintains websites. The responsibilities can range from creating simple websites for restaurants to full-blown web applications for startups. The median salary for a web developer is $73,760, according to the BLS. Job prospects for these professionals are expected to rise by 13% through the year 2028. This has largely to do with the fact that no modern business can get by without having a presence on the web. However, this simplifies things a bit. The reality is that most businesses need more complex websites, with functions like shopping carts, reply forms, and animation- and video-hosting capabilities. Those who hold computer science degrees are in the position to become web developers and to create those complex websites.
Web developer job titles these days include UX/ UI designer, front- and back-end developer, and software developer. The best-prepared web developers learn skills like JavaScript, HTML5, Java, SQL, CSS, and web application development in their university classes. People who possess these skills can parlay them into a solid career with an even more solid income.
Finance Programmer
A finance programmer deals with the constantly changing world of bank transactions. They deal with the programs and codes that manage the millions of dollars a bank may process in a day. Being a programmer for a finance firm can be a stressful job, but the pay is the reward. An average salary for a finance programmer is $89,920 (BLS).
Additionally, with the advances in digital currency, programmers who work in the financial industry will be on the cutting edge of the global economy. Called FinTech, financial technologies are used to create cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Whereas FinTech once really only applied to trading or banking, it is now used in just about every sector there is, according to Investopedia.
Game Developer
Game developers create games that fuel the ever-growing game industry. Whether it’s for mobile game apps or console gaming, there is a huge demand for qualified game programmers. This field is difficult, with knowledge of complex math a necessity.
It’s also necessary for the modern game developer to work closely with the game designer. In some settings, there is no differentiation between the designer and the developer. As such, it’s useful to cover what each of these game professionals might contribute to the creation of a game. Many times, the degree programs associated with these jobs have coursework that overlaps. As such, it’s helpful to provide an overview of some of the classes game designers and game developers might take.
Possible classes include Introduction to Programming, Scripting for Designers, 3D Modeling and Animation, Interactive Animation, Digital Game Development, Information Technology, and Digital Games, Game Mechanics, Game Systems Integration, Software Development, and Artificial Intelligence.
An article on the Seattle PI website additionally points out that many of the classes in these degree programs are focused on subjects that lie outside the realm of design and development. For example, when game developer students are asked to take classes in subjects like English literature, character archetypes, and storytelling, it is with the understanding that the technical side of video gaming is nothing without a story.
IT Manager
In some respects, the IT manager is both a computer science specialist and computer systems generalist. This person helps an organization upgrade its computer systems. He or she also meets with vendors and works to protect the office system’s computer network from malware and hackers.
Technical skills aside, the IT manager spends much of the day meeting with various company bosses and other key people. This IT worker has both hard and soft skills, which translates into a big salary. The median salary for the IT manager is just over $82,000 a year (BLS).
Information Security Analyst
Anyone who has ever had to deal with a computer virus or malware probably has a healthy respect for the people who create the remedies for these and other related issues. The person who does this job deals with cybersecurity threats, computer bugs, and all manner of computer maladies.
Given how much of people’s personal information is online these days and how many cyberattacks take place, the importance of this STEM job cannot be overstated. As it stands, the demand for information security analysts is expected to grow by nearly 32 percent by the year 2028.
Many people who hold this job go the computer science degree route, though there are now degree programs that are geared specifically for cybersecurity. It’s also possible for ISAs to get job-related certifications that further the training they get in their degree programs.
In terms of upward mobility, those who work in this field have a higher than average chance of moving up in their careers. On the low-end of the pay scale, information security analysts make almost $58,000 a year. On the high-end, they bring home almost $160,000 a year. Median-range salary is nearly $100,000 per year.
Is a computer science degree worth it? These careers and the accompanying salaries on this list certainly make it seem that way.
Job Satisfaction
Salary and degrees don’t mean much to people who hate their jobs. Even the highest-paid job becomes drudgery if the job comes with a lot of stress and pain.
Fortunately for those who pursue careers in computer science, particularly those who work in programming, job satisfaction is high. That’s one reason why US News and World Report ranks computer programmer as tenth on its Best Technology Jobs list. Additionally, many of the jobs on US News’ Best Tech Jobs list promote job satisfaction, as well as provide a comfortable living for those who hold the job. Also on the list are software developers, web developers, and IT managers.
Finally, many people who work in computer science enjoy working at careers in the field into their 60s. They love their careers, so they stay in them for a long time.
So: Is a Computer Science Degree Worth it?
While there are many pros and cons of a computer science degree, the pros far outweigh the cons, particularly for those who are willing to get an advanced degree in computer science. Getting a CS degree is notoriously difficult, but for those who manage to stick it out throughout the course of the program, there are many good things to look forward to. There’s prestige for being able to stick it out through a tough degree, a job market that’s actively searching for CS majors, and competitive pay even for entry-level positions.
Additionally, many people who have computer science degrees go on to satisfying careers with long-term career prospects. The work is interesting and varied. Computer scientists work in diverse fields, like information security, video game development, and IT management. In this respect, a degree in computer science is in some ways a good general degree. What this means is that holders of this degree can move into almost any field. The degree allows them to tailor their studies toward the industries they’re most interested in working in once they graduate.
So, is this degree track worth it? Given the income and the satisfaction that usually results from having a computer science degree, it’s probably safe to say, most definitely, it’s worth it.
In August 2018, I enrolled in college to get my computer science degree. However, I wasn’t your typical CS student. First off, I was almost 30 and already had a college degree from nine years earlier. Secondly, I was already a professional software developer with a full-time job.
The vast majority of the other students in my classes were looking either to break into the technology field or to leverage the degree for a better job. But I wasn’t trying to do either of those. So why did I even go back to school if I was already a software engineer? That’s a question I heard a lot. And rightfully so. It seems like a waste of time and money. Or at least it did to the people I told.
There were a number of reasons I chose to get a CS degree, such as improving my computer science and algorithm fundamentals — those areas aren’t my strongest. But there was one primary reason that motivated me to go back to school: to see what all the hype was about.
You see, I’ve written about my journey into tech as a self-taught developer a couple of times. I’ve heard people claim that a CS degree is the only way to become a real software engineer. While those people are in the minority, they were loud enough to make me scratch my head and wonder if they knew something that I didn’t.
Despite the rise of free or cheap online resources, was it still worth forking over an arm and a leg for a college degree? Was it still the best way to become a software engineer?
Fortunately, I was in a position to answer that question myself. I had an employer that offered reimbursement for college courses, and I found a university with an online CS program that I could do part-time outside of work hours. So I decided to conduct an experiment. I would earn my CS degree and finally see for myself if it is really worth it.
But what does being “worth it” mean? Everyone has their own definition. For my experiment, I decided a CS degree would be worth it if it both offered more job opportunities and would have prepared me for my job better than my self-taught route did.
Fast forward one and a half years to April 2020, and my experiment has concluded. I am now a computer science graduate with the diploma to prove it.
As for the results of my experiment? That’s what the rest of this article will be focused on.
As a side note: Take all of this with a grain of salt. This experiment was meant for entertainment rather than as peer-reviewed analysis, and my findings pertain only to myself. I hope my experience offers some enlightenment, though.
A Degree Still Matters (to Some People)
One of the parameters of my experiment was to determine whether having a degree would result in job opportunities. It didn’t take long to find the answer.
When I first enrolled in the CS program, one of the first things I did was I updated my website, resume, and LinkedIn. Hey, I was excited and wanted everyone to know about it. I’m allowed to be a bit vain from time to time.
Within a couple of weeks of updating my LinkedIn, there was a noticeable uptick in InMails from recruiters. Not only that, they outright referenced my degree in their messages.
But that itself wasn’t very convincing. So to test whether recruiters would notice the CS degree, I re-uploaded my resume to Hired. I had created a Hired profile six months earlier, though the results had been pretty dismal. I was curious to see if I would fare better this time around.
I did. By a lot.
Six months prior, I had only gotten a couple of hits, all of which tried to negotiate me down from the salary I was seeking. With the updated resume, I got eight hits within a couple of days, all of which accepted my suggested salary (which I had increased).
Now, I doubt the new section on my resume stating “computer science degree (2020)” was to thank for all of this newfound interest. I did have six months more work experience, after all. But I do think it played some role, as many job listings these days have a line saying “computer science degree (or related experience).” My degree made for a nice tick in that checkbox.
I can’t say I was surprised by the new attention. A CS degree can signify to recruiters and hiring managers that you have been vetted by an accredited institution and have a basic understanding of software engineering that they have come to expect for entry-level engineers.
A self-taught engineer, on the other hand, is a wildcard. Since they don’t have prior experience, it’s difficult to know if they are ready for a job without diving into their portfolio. But most recruiters don’t know how to do that or don’t have the time.
It’s worth pointing out that not every recruiter or hiring manager will care about a computer science degree. I got a job without one and many companies are eliminating the degree requirement from their job listings. However, from what I’ve seen, having one is definitely a boon to your resume, especially early in your career.
A Degree Is Not Job Training
The second portion of my experiment was to assess whether a CS degree would’ve prepared me for my job better than my self-education did. I thought this would be a close call.
I grew up in Seattle, home to Microsoft, Amazon, and one of the most prestigious computer science programs at the University of Washington. Every software engineer I knew had a CS degree and most companies wouldn’t hire anyone without one. I grew up thinking that a CS degree, and college in general, was the best training to get a job.
However, going through college twice now has made me realize that this couldn’t be further from the truth. A computer science degree is not job training. The curriculum is broad, shallow, and covers a wide array of subjects.
Speaking from experience, I took courses covering calculus, discrete math, operating systems, computer architecture, data structures and algorithms, network security, project management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and much more. Not only that, but I learned about three different programming languages over the span of a year and a half.
While all of those subjects are important to learn about over the course of a software engineer career, it’s a lot upfront. It’s tough to master a specific skill or language when the course material jumps from subject to subject every month or so.
And mastery is important because employers want expertise. They want people who can perform well and provide value in a given role as soon as possible, be it back-end, front-end, data science, etc. If you’re a candidate who is kind of knowledgeable in several different skills and languages, you’re more likely to be passed over for someone with a more focused proficiency.
Let me be clear. I’m not saying college is bad. College was designed as a gateway to higher learning and is fantastic at propelling prospective students into careers in research and academia.
However, too many people confuse a degree for direct job training. For someone who wants a job in web development and isn’t interested in learning how Linux avoids POSIX thread deadlocking, a computer science degree isn’t what they’re looking for.
In the past, a CS degree was enough to get a job, but times are changing. The job market gets more and more competitive every year, and employers’ standards for entry-level engineers keep growing higher.
From what I’ve seen, the computer science curriculum itself is not enough to prepare students for jobs. Oftentimes, they have to supplement their learning with side-projects, open source, and, if they’re lucky, internships. And the students who don’t, fall behind.
This explains why more and more CS students are attending coding boot camps and why more and more new graduates are emailing me for help finding a job.
So Was It Worth It?
Based on the criteria of my experiment, the answer to whether my CS degree was worth it is: kind of.
I have more recruiters popping into my inbox than I did before I got my shiny diploma. However, in regards to whether it would’ve trained me for my job better than my self-teaching did, the answer is resounding no.
There were certainly courses that were relevant to my day-to-day work, but even more that weren’t. And when it comes to moving into a new career, whether it’s your first career or your fifth, any time spent learning information you won’t use is an opportunity cost.
However, that’s not to say that my CS degree was worthless. In terms of supplemental education on top of my self-taught background, it was perfect. It expanded my knowledge of the computer science field and solidified my fundamentals. For example, while I don’t directly use cgroups and namespaces in my job, I do use container systems like Docker. Learning how an operating system uses cgroups and namespaces taught me a lot about how containers operate under the hood.
Despite all the articles titled “Self-Taught vs. CS Degree” and “How I Got a Job Without a CS Degree,” it doesn’t have to be one or the other. After all, there are gaps in both approaches. It’s all about finding balance.
For those of you studying for your computer science degree, make sure to hone your programming skills with side projects. And for you self-taught developers, take time to learn the computer science fundamentals. You don’t need to earn a degree as I did; you can simply teach yourself CS.
But this article isn’t to offer career advice. In fact, take everyone’s opinion on education with a hefty level of skepticism. While I have my own preferences, that doesn’t mean they’ll work for you. It’s all about trade-offs and finding the ones that work for you.
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