A Computer Science Degree is (Mostly) A BAD Decision 

While getting a CS or engineering degree doesn't guarantee you a job, a degree from a well-known university will open more doors for you than a bootcamp or being self-taught. There is, for sure, a difference between you will learn in school vs what you do on the job. However, I think it's definitely worth thinking about survivorship bias. The people who are self-taught or did bootcamps and are successful are the ones you'll see posting on the internet, you rarely see anyone posting who didn't find success - just something to think about. Overall, interesting points!

At 28, I did community college for two years, did very well, get a scholarship to a four-year university. Since I had already been coding professionally for 10 years, I chose Electrical Engineering instead of CS. I managed to complete the degree while working full time, and the (partial, but generous) scholarship kept my total cost to about $20k at a well-known and respected private university. I established relationships with my professors that led to a master's degree that was 100% covered by research grants. My path certainly isn't for everyone, but, in my case, it was totally worth it. Now that I'm middle-aged, the degrees have opened up a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't otherwise have had. The extra math in EE vs CS has really come in handy.

It may be possible to learn the skills you need without a degree, but it is going to be a hell of a lot harder to convince employers that. Places may say you don't need a degree, but it is a recognised standard that everyone understands. It is also pretty much required if you ever want to work abroad. The other advantages of higher education are the access to staff and peers it provides - it is much harder doing it on your own without that support network. University friends also tend to be people you keep in touch with for life - as you self selected the same interests. The main thing it gives you is time to learn these skills - sure you can take a sabbatical, but it is totally up to you to fund and motivate yourself. Complete self study may be (debatably) monetarily cheaper, but in many ways it is the harder option - that won't necessarily be appreciated by employers.

This is why I am grateful to live in Europe as all of what you talk about is very much an American problem. Getting good higher education here is essentially free and the networking advantages you get through the university system is well worth it. I do find it kinda insane how much it costs in America.

Getting a degree in Computer Science, Engineering or IT related fields is definitely NOT A BAD decision. Besides, a CS degree is not equivalent to knowing programing.

Good luck getting hired in 2023 without a degree.

Telling people to not pursue higher education in this economy is such bad advice.

Online accelerates universities, notably WGU, is in my opinion the best budget option for a degree. I got my Cloud Computing bach in 2 semesters and only 9k debt that I already paid off, and my friend got his CS degree in 4. We're both making six figures so it speaks for itself.

as someone who had 2 years of experience before joining university, data structures and algorithms are very hard to learn on your own.

Thank you for this - I’ve been struggling with what I should do 1. Because I work full time and my current job requires a lot of time so I am able to keep a roof over my head and all other responsibilities I have to give attention to. I’m starting with khan academy and code academy to get my feet wet (because I’m a newbie) and find it extremely difficult to make time to go to school. I’m at a loss because 50% of people say it’s better to acquire a cs degree and the other 50% say I don’t need it just put it the work to self teach and give yourself time etc etc .. I’ll accept that it may take me longer or I’d have to prove myself more without a cs degree but I just want to make sure it’s not mandatory if I don’t. I find degrees extremely valuable and I look up to those who do have a cs degree however If I’m being true to myself and this is my own individual circumstance . I don’t find it feasible. Mostly for sanity reasons and not wanting so much debt. I’m not trying to land a cs job immediately right after I learn one language and call myself a software engineer. I understand it’ll require time and knowledge but I guess my question is with that understanding I just want to make sure that in the future I’ll be able to get a good career out of it lol

I really don't think it takes 1 year. It takes 2-3 years of practice 40+ hours a week to get a job. I spent 3 years an average of 10 hours a day 6 days a week self teaching before I felt comfortable enough to start interviewing.

I have a little over 3 years professional experience as a self-taught mobile dev and have been stuck on whether or not I should get a degree. Reason being, I've only worked for start-ups and I have a goal of working for a Fortune 500, but I feel my resume gets filtered out or something without that Comp Sci BA. But you are right, it's not worth going into so much debt, I think I do need to get better at networking.

It depends on where you live. Online people are saying don’t go to college but look at most job searches & they want people with a degree. If you work for yourself you don’t need a degree but then you need capital to start a business. And success doesn’t happen overnight.

TBH go to community college first, college allows you to network and meet peers and socialize while learning, also having a degree is better than not having one, and it generally takes 4 years which is really not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. I am going to a community college for the basics for CS and it is really not that expensive compared to going to a well known 4 year university that most people go to for the name of it, also I know plenty of people that regret not going to college because it is a good place to make friends and meet people on similar journeys, tbh studying on my own SUCKED because the only communities are primarily online and discord which isnt that much fun tbh

bro why do people say a degree is 216k public state schools are like 15-18k a year but i think colleges biggest downfall is the useless classes you have to take you already took in highschool such as humanities and english etc

I love watching your vides, currently self teaching myself Python, can't agree more, but this verifies a lot for me.

Agree with a lot of what you're saying but this was my experience... I graduated college with a non-CS engineering degree but quickly decided I'd made a mistake and would rather be a Software Developer. ...so, I jumped ship, "learned to code" (although I already knew a lot) and luckily found a company to give me an opportunity. I absolutely considered myself self-taught at that point and I was very successful for the first few years. ...but after a while I realized I just seemed to be missing some things that really-good CS grads knew. So, I went back to school for a Masters. Fortunately, by that point, I could MAKE MY EMPLOYER PAY FOR IT. Anyway, I discovered the things I was missing were basically the boring, but important, crap nobody wants to learn on their own without being forced to. Are you really gonna take the time to learn the difference between an O(n log n) algorithm and an 0(n^2) algorithm on your own? Probably not. But knowing that stuff takes you to the next level....if that's what you're after.

Are you serious man!! Computer science is not about learning code that would makes it worthless as you mentioned but it is about solving problem with math the way computers work. Computer science prepares you to write good programs and analyse it. "It is a science not just coding". And by the it's hardly to get a job with no degree because all the HR systems automatically checks if you meet the requirements or not and all companies requring a bachelor degree as a minimum qualification. Also with the AI in hand so it's hard to get a job even as a freelance.

Thank you for sharing these insights. Im 40 and been wanting to go for a career change into tech from construction. College is the natural path to go. This helps give some perspective.

love your videos you are the light for the people for their futures. Amazing.

I started my data science degree 4 weeks ago after self learning to code by myself for 14 months. Im so happy i did, im only in my 4th week at university and we're already discussing things like databases and sql, before i decided to go to university i heard negative thing's like self learning is better (which it may be i agree) they dont teach you relevant things etc, i can confirm that is a lie. Yes i self taught myself to code in python and that was a great ultimate boost to start uni, ive basically started my first class as one of the top students (only after 4 weeks) so i think a mix of the 2 is vital, im 37 and plan on being a junior data scientist within a year. Just do it guys, save stress of being rejected just because u dont have a degree. Plus i only paid £20,000 for my 3 year data science degree here in London and the government paid for it via the student finance loan. University is very structured allowing you to feel your doing each step perfectly, but im also doing a data science bootcamp alongside it so ill always be ahead of whatever university throw at me. Be smart 🤓

Aside from my one CS cert I got for free just by going to a trade school that was offering free enrollment before age 20 I'd say that college is a huge waste of time when you realize that a majority of the classes aren't even really necessary for programming, they're just huge time sinks, and you can learn just as much if not more theory for CS online for free now, and with technology rapidly expanding with things like AI by the time you get done with college you'd still be behind because most colleges maybe only teach you about AI before 2022 and possibly touch on chatGPT where its easier than ever to learn from home even without the latest GPU processors. This is also coming from someone who only recently got back into programming after dropping out of community college and taking an almost 6 year hiatus.

University of central Florida charges 6k per year tuition, so I'm tempted to go because teaching myself hasn't turned out well. This mightve been true for some extremely motivated people in the past, but there's too much competition now

You definitely have less options without cs degree since some jobs just put it as general requirement Otherwise it’s same as all. If you good and you know what you doing and can show/prove it , you will be good

People who say that getting a cs degree makes you rich quotes the people from 10 years ago working for 2 hours a day to get 100k a year. supply is going to rise so this is unrealistic

Fortunately, I have the advantage of parents who covered a significant portion of my educational expenses. Originally, I was pursuing Computer Science, but I found the coding and math too tough, so I switched my major to Information Systems instead.

A degree will be valuable forever specially if its a respected university

Im starting college next year and luckily I will have my tuition entirely paid for by scholarships and theres a high chance i will receive federal aid for housing and other costs due to my financial situation. It pays to excel in high school and my advice to others is if you plan to pursue the degree, opt for a public state school because they are far cheaper and will usually give you just as good of an education from what ive heard/seen

I've been hearing the software field is extremely hard to find a job at now days and people can't even get an interview after thousands of applications. Maybe I'll just get my CDL license and drive trucks which is more physically challenging but the fastest way to start earning close to a 6 figure salary.

This is not good advice Travis. While a degree isn't 100% necessary, it certainly opens up doors compared to not having the degree. Another factor is that a degree at an institution provides you both the resources AND the incentive to learn the skill of programming. The external pressures to do well in a program that you or your parents are paying for FORCES you to learn. You have no excuses. Depending on the institution, it is arguably the best environment to learn this skill.

I am staying in college since my financial aid is completely able to cover my college costs. I also would like to have a guided path towards being knowledgeable in computer science. I am self teaching myself other things like Blender and Unreal since my dream job would be an animator or game developer. If those things do not work out, I would have a computer science degree to fall back on.

can you please comment what is the real story regarding being able to work remotely? How prevalent is it? Are there particular companies, subject matter, and technologies that are more allowed? If someone's sole objective is working remotely is that easy, medium difficult or more difficult? Or anything else you think is important to mention. thanks

A college diploma/degree is part of the country’s immigration business. The only thing considered lucky for me is that I previously didn’t get involved in IT, so possessing dual backgrounds and a chance of immigration after graduation is just acceptable 😢

>> Teach yourself to code and be amazing developer Uhm, yeah, no. As per my experience (15 years in the industry) - self-taught developer who is also amazing is exception, not the rule. Most self-taught developers are not very good on average and don't make nearly as much as people with CS background

I enrolled in the Air National Guard/Air Force program which provided me access to the GI Bill, funding my college tuition. Through this program, I now have lifelong benefits including VA home loans, free medical treatment at VA hospitals, $5 prescription drugs, free eye glasses every 12 months, and many more benefits. The initial training requirement was manageable - 8 weeks of basic training and about 4 months of technical school. After that, the only obligations are working one weekend per month and two weeks per year. The Air Force, Air National Guard, and Space Force offer the most valuable job experience for transitioning into the civilian workforce later. The skills and training in these branches provide excellent alignment with in-demand jobs outside the military. Focusing your military service in one of those areas will set you up well for a smooth shift into related civilian careers.

It all depends on what you want a CS degree for. If you just want a job "coding" because it pays well, then no, don't go through a CS degree. Couple of bootcamps in your target field (nowadays web development or mobile development) and you are set. Of course you need to build a network to find a job but that will come with your bootcamp experience. If you want to be more competent to be able to expand your possibilities and work in more specialized fields, like operating systems, embedded software, databases, AI, etc., or want to do research, then a CS degree is kind of a must have. Travis has other video describing how it took him more work to understand certain things because he did not know certain concepts that are taught in CS, but not in bootcamps. Self-taught developers, or self-taught anything, just don't know what they don't know, and it may come back to bite them, not fatally, but sometimes painfully. Personally, some of the best developers I know don't have formal training (one is a former anthropologist!) but are passionate about coding and learning, and some CS graduates make me doubt their degree is authentic. In the end it all goes down to how passionate are you about developing software and learning.

the primary thing I'm worried about, is which websites provide decent to good courses that - as long as I put in the proper amount of effort - I could be considered to be competent at; whether that's for job interviews, or even for hobbyist skills. for instance, I've been using the Win32 API w/C++ to 'hack' a game executable recently. I've gotten to the point where I have the game being remotely controlled by this program, with a display using the Console API built into the Win32 API. I think that can at least be considered bordering between a beginning and intermediate student level, wouldn't it? I am serious about learning, but I do kivetch at the thought that I will invest all my time - and some of my money - on courses that will not be worth the investment.

I did this. I have an AS degree in Science. I got a Software Engineer Apprenticeship at IBM. 2+ years later I'm being laid off. I'm being rejected from every job, completely ghosted. I wish I had the confidence to apply during the pandemic I would be a Senior level dev by now and much harder to lay off. Now I won't be employed probably for 2 more years and will need to start my career over.

It's not the 2010s anymore my dude. You're not getting in learning html css and js.

Problem with Zero To Mastery is for some courses they don’t always keep their courses up to date….

Before I even get 30 seconds in my comment has to be that I'm almost certain you will not bring up the fact that OVER 90% of the CS workforce have a BS degree at the least. So before I watch anymore of this or anyone else watches this just remember folks the most surefire way to get into tech is to get that CS degree because again: OVER 90% of the CS workforce has a BS degree at the least!!!!!

The mental damage that the computer science degree has on many students is rarely talked about. It messed up most of my classmates. I don't know if I'm okay either. Took me 5 years to gather the courage to go back for the certificate.

Think this is also true for roles that utilize computer science, but also are more slanted towards hardware? Like embedded systems, PLC programming, robotics, etc.?

Thanks, bro! You saved me.

Hi Travis, I have started to complete my PG MCA from here in India after 5 years of It Exp. It is costly .But i though it would be good idea to complete it since i was not able to complete it earlier. I finding myself having again kind of a revision of everythgin from Java to c_++ to DSA to Project Management in the first Sem.I am juggling that with my Job since i cant leave it. I wanted to ask do you think it would be useful as a SW in 2 years from now. Since IT jobs are basically in a crash phase right now and might be same in the future with the advent of AI with AI taking care of production support based on pre identified circumsatnces or code review/betterment? In 2 years i can see MLOPS and AI based development gaining a lot of traction in that case how do you think our education system for S/W engineers should adapt?

Careers aside, it’s a good thing for a society to have higher education readily available for all. It’s a shame that the costs of college have gotten to be so ridiculous.

Heyyy love your content Do you think as an immigrant ,non native English speaker..with no experience in tech but willing to learn,which field should I choose to land a job fast, AWS or QA testing ?? Thank you

You can go to a state school for a discount, and if your parents are poor you can get government financial aid on top of that (check for your state). If they are rich maybe they saved the money for you

I'm an upcoming freshman for com sci, well good enough I got into a collage that offers the course for free. Whats bothering me is that I can be really bad at maths, is it really that hard? if so how can I learn and improve?

Haha people trashing a comp sci degree have a big problem, it takes 3 to 4yrs to Get a decent tech job..for self taught. it takes 4yrs to complete a degree,nowadays CS graduates finish uni with great portfolios too as they know importance of side projects, goodluck with your bootcamp or self taught journey in 2023 and beyond. Travis here got into tech probably when knowing basic JavaScript or comptia aplus was hot cake, he's old and experienced,its called the curse Of Knowledge.

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😅 You're hilarious lol Honestly, I would say I agree with you. More people need to watch this. And this is just como dice 'the tip of iceberg'. I wish you would make a 'Part 2' where you integrate price of books, the 2-3 hours interview tests, and the burnouts at work, lmao. Unless you got it like that (moolah-wise), Bad Idea. Also think this can be applied for most other degrees. 🤣😂 none silly like 'Interior Design' 🤣😂🤣😂

But HR will automatically disregard your application if you have no degree

No one is going to look through 1,000 resumes. The first filter we use in hiring and getting it down to about 50 resumes is a CS degree. It's not personal it's just practical and save time.

I honestly didn’t go into college with a very practical mindset and wasn’t on the “become a developer” grind. I just loved math and computers and wanted to learn above anything else.

Your information that in the country of Nepal or India a college degree is necessary for any kind of decent job applies to the Philippines also. Over there you can’t even be a McDonalds cashier without a college degree.

I am getting my computer science degree, and I say it really varies person to person and their is no one size fits all solution for everyone. I got first 2 years free at community college and transfered to a state college with an easy to get scholarship that took off half the tuition. I never even stepped foot in debt. It is a good idea, just don't be dumb and work hard.

you need knowledge/training, experience and projects. If you can manage those with the help of Pluralsight,Coursera etc than why to waste 4 years ? I just realized that i want to specialize in Cyber Security and I can do it all online. I dont have time for a uni. It is amazing that now you can do it!

I want to learn have a career perhaps a business but debating computer science, engineering degrees and ai. To either be part of the growth or be the one to lead.

but travis im from srilanka and univercity and almost all education is free here . sooooooooo , should i go for a computer science degree ? im 17 btw and im have about 15 months of exp in javascript and a lil bit in python

This is nonsense bias 😅 I could say the same regarding every other major… I’m sorry, but as the tech industry advances we will see less of self-taught “engineers”.

Terrible advice. The network you get from self-taught and bootcamps are non-existent. There's no reason for people to want to associate with you. You go to a university for the credential, and the pipeline it leads you to have where companies will even CONSIDER you for an internship. With how difficult the market is, for people who aren't extremely talented, bootcamps and self-taught are non-options. if you believe you have the aptitude for it, and you are going to a top university whose alums end up going to top companies, it is the best way for you to get onto the potentially best career path in the world. There is always the chance it won't work out like the video poster said. But if you believe you have the aptitude and the financial incentives are there... go for it.

Hi Travis, is the online CS degree with zero to mastery worthwhile?

So what you’re saying is I should get over my youngest turning down a full ride scholarship to Duquesne because he got a job at a robotics company making $60K when he was only 19? Fiiiine. Still, I do think maybe he’s missing out on some essential life experience that I really enjoyed by going to college.

I've literally seen job postings say "NO BOOT CAMPS". Yeah, I'm burning money on a Data Science/AI degree. But it's technically a CS degree as far as employers are concerned. Good thing I'm doing a startup.

Most of the points you mention here can be applied to not just Computer Science, but most other trades too except medicine and some of the other engineering disciplines like Civil or Mechanical Engineering. e.g. a Business degree? why not take that money and start a few small businesses and learn from any that fail? a degree some language? just go live in that location? The bigger question is, except for medicine etc ... is college even necessary?

Paradigms change, life moves forward, and entropy makes stagnation not possible long-term, BUT... there's a real conundrum here, which is: university CS/CE Departments are the *"ecosystems"* or *"incubators"* which spawn both the core-knowledge (incl. programming languages and computer architectures) AND the textbooks you need to self-study. IOW, you can buy only used cars all your life, but if *someone else* doesn't consistently buy NEW cars, then pretty soon the factories shut down, and NObody has ANY cars. Analogy is always suspect, but you get the idea, i.e. HOW do we sustain The Golden Goose if no one feeds the goose? #ConceptOfLABoratories Open Secret: the real "backbone" servers of The -DARPAnet- Internet are run by high-IQ low-paid Grad Students at unis around the world, but mostly in the USA and Canada... 😉

Ideally, universities should be for getting an education... not for getting job training. People treat higher education as the next stepping stone to their desired career when really it should be an enriching experience that builds your understanding of the world. I understand this is about practical career decision-making, but education is so much more than learning about how to perform a task... it's learning about what challenges the world faces and how your skills can address those challenges. The fact that people in the United States can't value education beyond what it can earn them in dollars is pretty much why democracy is crumbling around us. People don't understand history, culture, art, music, or anything else that makes us human because they are ONLY focused on accumulating wealth and consuming shit they don't need.

I had no choice to opt out of college because I didn't see myself doing otherwise!

I got ze 4-year sheepskin, back when it was affordable, but... I'm good with any trend that puts downward pressure on the *absurd and baseless hyper-inflation* in college tuition! Well, it's not totally baseless, like ALL inflation, it comes back to Fed.Gov pumping money into a sector (Student Loans, WIOA, etc). NOTHING has gone up in price since 1990 like college tuition! NONE of the core costs (labs, computers, faculty salaries, electricity, etc.) have risen nearly as much. #NotSustainable #StopTheMadness

It cost an average of $32000 not $100000 for a 4 year CS degree in Australia, one doesn't have to be in debt to do it, I work full-time to pay it off during the day and study at night, It's a lot of work but it's doable, Now the reason why I opt for this route - a CS degree gives me a solid foundation where I can pivot to any field of IT I want, Software Development, Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, Cloud Computing, Platform Engineering, DevOps Engineering, Machine Learning, Data Science the list goes on, but if someone who wants to go for Software Development specifically, one doesn't need to go to University.

you got to 45, what about 58? Is it too late?

5:40 Indecision - I think this is the main issue with degrees (in any field), even if it isn't the degree's fault. You don't really have the time to think what you really want.

I'm taking CS and I think i definitely wouldn't know where to start if I hadn't. To each their own, it's a big decision.

Thanks for reducing our competition

Not really relevant in Sweden where u get money for studying. It doesn't cost anything and you get study allowance to be able to pay rent and food. A smaller part, like $400/month, u actually GET and you the rest, approx. $1200, is a loan with very low interest. Those random courses you mentioned wouldn't be part of CS-programs. Usually a program is very well thought through with things building on top of each other. However, I agree that CS is something that can be self-taught very well and you can focus on exactly what u wanna learn. I personally find it much easier with motivation when I study something simply 'cause I want to, rather than have to. Ofc, u choose the Uni-program, but u can still feel like u "have to" study those courses, despite choosing the program.

In France 🇫🇷 it remains very affordable to study computer science

1st, there's something to be said for the networking opportunities that attending a university will get you. Yeah you can learn all you want on your own, but it doesn't how much you learn if you don't have any connections. 2nd, It's not that easy to stay that motivated and pick out things you don't know to teach yourself. You don't know what you don't know, so how can you expect to accurately find information that you don't even know exists? University exposes you to a lot of things that you wouldn't find otherwise. The social and networking aspects of a degree are what makes the degree valuable, not just the skills you might learn by obtaining it.

Unfortunately i already got a CS degree and no job. What else can i do with this worthless degree?

1 year of self-study does not equate to the 5 or more years of experience often required to subvert a college degree requirement in the industry. I have a 4-year degree in IT and even then, it's hard to transition to Computer Science because of the training and education I haven't had. I agree with Forbes, at least with a degree you don't have to sacrifice 4 years of your life being miserable, working for a crap company that will often under pay you well beyond what would have been made had you been at an employer that's willing to pay more for an educated applicant.

Yeah, dunno about that one chief. Defo worth it if you want to go into tech, all my friends who studied comp sci are far ahead. Physics degree can get you far as well, with more options perhaps.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. The only degrees that I feel that people should take are accelerated ones like from WGU that include certifications, otherwise, it might be a waste of time...I also feel your timeframe is also believable. A lot of people on social media will tell people they can get a web dev / IT job in like 3 months...which is doable but highly unlikely...it is more reasonable to stretch it out to a year.

@travismedia I have a question What if where I live college is free should I do it or learn everything and then get a different degree as a backup plan

Great video Travis. I want to recommend you get in touch with my friends Ryan and Hannah over on the Degree Free podcast. I hope your story will continue to be an inspiration for many to forgo the heavy pricetag of college.

20 years in IT with certs and get denied for job interviews because I don't have a degree. Starting back to school in a month.

Your principle is absolute right but changing trend demonds leadership and self-confidence 👍👍👍👍👍

I have a question from you , BBA or computer science ?

I like reading all these comments which appear to have not listened/watched the first part of Travis's video. This is not an absolute recommendation, he even gives explicit reasons as to why this video may not be right for the various person. Navigating the nuances of internet can be tough, but come on....don't come on here and give your tiny/boundaries scenario unique to you. Relax.

Yes, it is, right until you have to solve a real problem and then you are completely lost without it. ;-)

The degree I did (not computer science) taught us how to think, how to problem solve. Not going to get that on an online course. You seem to just be making the argument that computer science is not actually worthy of being taught as a degree? If that is true, I wonder if this is why it may get replaced by AI? Or perhaps the guys who learn it all online will be the ones easily replaced?

I maybe could've gotten into a trade school but I really don't know or can't pick a trade I'm interested in tbh 🤦🏾‍♂

It’s kind of misleading to look at college prices without looking at the rate of return on that cost. Average lifetime earnings with any STEM college degree are far higher than high school only, which will far outweigh that 200k. Stats and numbers are so easy to spin if done sloppily (mine in this comment are sloppy too!)

What is this video. Normally I appreciate the videos you put out into the space as you talka bout interesting topics a lot of tech influencers don't talk about, but this video is just full of dangerous assumptions. The average cost of a college tuition is 36 thousand dollars as you pointed out with a standard year of an in state tuition, assuming someoen isn't being savvy with going to a community college. Most people are not going to out of state schools, and the perception that people are averaging 100k student loans simply isn't true and mostly being propagated by people who made the active decision to go to a college they could not afford. Assuming you find a job in the industry within a year after graduating at 80k starting price, you already above the median income price most people make in the industry, which very easily can increase to 100k through job hopping and promotions within 10 years. If you paid the standard repayment plan for a 36k loan, the amount of interest you would pay would be around 10 thousand dollars, not double the cost of the loan, because as you pay the loan off you are not just paying off the interest of the loan but also the principle. If you put more down on the loan (which a person with 100k absolutely can do), then the amount on that loan lowers even more. The cost of living and books are things that you have to pay while going to the college, which all should be factors people should consider when choosing which college to go to. It does suck to have low wages while trying to go to college, but this would be a problem for someone that is also going to self taught route as well, and as you stated for self taught developers, you don't go to college for your current cost of living but for your potential earnings after receiving your degree. Information is available on the internet to consume, but it is vastly more difficult to learn the necessary information online than it is through college.There are videos online that simply do not have a good grasp of the reaility of what you should learn as a self taught developer. Javascript and Python are not the vast majority of software engineering jobs, as most jobs use Java or C#. There is also information that simply isn't going to be on people's radar to learn going the self taught route, which may take them years well into their career to learn if they actually choose to go that route that may hurt their potential in the long term. Especially in 2023, the one thing that should be taken away from this year is that the overwhelming majority of people trying to go this route will not make it, even when they do everything right. College degrees are the default filter most places use to be able to screen candidates, especially now since the industry is oversaturated at the junior level. I'm not against peopel going self taught or a bootcamp route as I believe they are a great alternative in some cases where college simply doesn't make sense to pursue, however the reasons in this video are not the reasons I would argue someone not to get a degree. It is literally the path of least resistance in this industry.

100% worth getting a cs degree. You aren’t going to be screwed if you don’t have one, but in the grand scheme of things if you want a high paying job and or want an easy growth path. That BA in CS will be a great aid. Then add certifications etc? You will literally look top tier. You can argue you’ll have debt lol, but ok getting a $70k job for years before upgrading vs even from my university $100k out the door and $200k+ after 10 years is easily worth it in my book even my dad is an example. You don’t NEED a degree to get a job, but you’d be foolish if you can’t see the extra doors it opens and the fact that it’ll always be easy to hire you in worst case scenarios vs a self taught person.

What’s wrong with an interior design degree lol?

i got the information i wanted at 1:56. 7 minutes saved. thanks

if forbs is saying saying being self taught is a bad idea... well recently ive come to realize if forbe is saying don't do something, then you should definitely at least consider doing it.

Well I just graduated May 2023 with Computer Science and Engineering degree…

Ok, i will buy your course 😅

I didn't know about those META Courses on Coursera

He is correct you don’t need it. All you need is experience. No one cares about your showy degree. Wise experience is what matters.