It seems to be a recurring discussion on whether it’s worth it to get a degree in computer science. Obviously, the only correct answer is “it depends,” but let me share my perspective.
Note that I’m trying to answer this question from the perspective of a fresh high-school grad, wondering if they should go to university or not. Things like “should I get master’s degree, or just settle for bachelor” is a completely different matter.
My background
I’ve studied in Poland. First I completed my bachelor’s degree in my hometown of Gliwice, then I moved to Kraków for my master’s. Both were full-time programs.
It’s been some time since I’ve graduated, so things might have changed since then. Also, universities vary a lot between each other, so “your mileage may vary.”
First - why degree might be a bad idea for you
I once met a guy who was very passionate about bikes and wanted to open his own online shop with bikes and parts. He was fresh after high school, so he decided to enroll in a computer science program to learn how to do that. As you may have guessed, it didn’t work out (the degree, the online shop eventually turned out great!).
In my experience, you won’t learn HTML, React or Ruby on Rails at the university. If that’s your only goal, I would advise against enrolling. After all, it’s not like civil engineering — you don’t need a license to code. Curriculums are often not catching up with the industry anyway.
In my case, my programming skills really elevated after I started my first job. The sole fact that you sit beside someone who knows an answer for 90 % of problems you are about to encounter is a huge boost.
Why it’s worth it #1 - fundamentals
If you are not going to learn programming at the university, then what’s the point? In my perspective, it’s similar to high-school: it’s meant to provide you with a general foundation, which you can build upon later.
Understanding how a processor works, what exactly is an operating system, what’s the difference between sorting algorithms, you may not use all of that knowledge afterward in the field. But like with driving a car — you don’t need to go under the hood to get to the shopping mall, but if you don’t know how a car works, you may end up with a burnt clutch.
I’m not saying that all courses were great and eye-opening, but having in mind those few that were helpful, I still believe it was worth it. Also, you never know when the knowledge you thought was irrelevant might turn out to be useful! In my case, the course in algorithms really helped me when I was preparing for a Big Tech interview. Doing LeetCode exercises felt more like a refresher rather than learning completely from scratch.
Why it’s worth it #2 - building a network and finding a first job
When you go to the university for a full-time program, you can get to know a portion of 100–150 people who will graduate and later work in the industry. That’s a great step to start your professional network!
What’s more - it’s not just students! Back in my days, it was very common for the university staff to work in the industry or even have their own companies.
Another thing that I loved about the university was student organizations. I was part of one which organized regular meetings conducted by folks already having professional experience and sharing it with us. Not to mention, it was super easy to be referred to a job if you did some extra effort.
I speak a lot about finding a first job, but I believe this is a crucial part. In our industry, making a first step and finding your first job to gain experience is the most challenging step. There are a lot of people who want to start, and companies tend to be very selective with entry-level candidates. Once you are past that and have some actual professional experience, recruiters start reaching out, and you are the one who browses the offers.
Why it’s worth it #3 - memories
Another reason is that 5 years of university is a great time to do crazy stuff. From my experience, I can mention taking part in a hitchhiking race to the other side of Europe or canoeing through a river on a week-long trip, while sleeping in tents. It’s not like you can’t do it afterward, but university time is a perfect balance of being in the proper age and being surrounded by a group of other folks willing to do the same crazy stuff with you.
And let’s not forget the Erasmus and Erasmus Plus programs. I personally haven’t taken part in any, but I know people who did and for them, it was a great opportunity to live abroad for a specific amount of time.
Why it’s worth it #4 - the edge
I still remember a joke where a programmer said that unemployment was the worst 5 minutes of their life.
For a long time, an unemployed programmer felt as rare as a unicorn. However, recently things have changed and every now and then I see more stories of even experienced people struggling for weeks to find a job. Luckily, I wasn’t affected, but I’ve still noticed the downturn by not receiving as many cold-calls from recruiters as I used to.
If a company has a lot of candidates, they have to be more picky when it comes to selecting those who they would invite for an interview. In such a situation, it’s worth having any edge that you can get at your disposal, and a CS degree often helps to get you past a first sieve.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed, it’s not like all of those things are crucial - you can easily live without them. But they help. So if you are fresh after high school, wondering whether you should go to the university to get a CS degree - I recommend it.
Once again, my perspective is of someone who studied in Poland, about 10 years ago. I’m really curious how things have changed, or what does it look like in other countries — please let me know!