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0 pointsirishcoffee11y ago0 comments

Was the degree listed as a requirement on the job posting?

HN very much likes to poo-poo the value of a CS degree. There is value in it. It proves you can master a variety of topics in 16 weeks, 8 times. (Or part-time while working/spouse/parent/whatever) It proves you can follow through with something over the course of years. It proves you can either work your way through college, are financially mature enough to take out and manage loans, or privileged enough to not need to worry about money.

All these things say a lot about a person.

I worked through college. Took me 7 years. I was a whiz-bang programmer before I started. I did it for the opportunities it would afford me down the road. I did it to prove to myself I could. College isn't always about the piece of paper. I didn't walk for graduation. My diploma is still in the envelope they mailed it in over a decade ago. I'm not proud of graduating, I'm proud I could persevere.

There is value in having a degree. There is a lot of value in having a technical degree. It isn't always about 'having' the degree, its about what it represents.

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3 comments · 2 top-level

jurassic11y ago· 1 in thread

I have a degree in a technical field. And a master's degree, too. Both from good schools. But neither are in CS.

Was it listed as required? I don't know. Lots of jobs put that down, but usually they don't really mean it. It's just another part of the unicorn job description. The same people who want 10 years of experience in a 5 year old technology are the ones who put down CS degree requirements for every software development job.

But, actually, my beef isn't with the requirements. I know there ARE jobs where I'd be out of my depth because I haven't had the formal training and that education has value. I take issue with the fact that they let me get through the whole process before applying the degree filter. If you're going to filter on easily measured boolean signals like the presence or absence of a CS degree, you should do it at the beginning of the process and save everyone a lot of time.

irishcoffeeOP11y ago

That is a very fair point. I did not consider the timing when responding. I agree with you, if they actually cared, they would have said something at the beginning, not the end.

nerfhammer11y ago

Whether or not there's value in it, why waste everyone's time if the candidate never had a chance without it?

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