Degree Apprenticeship vs Computer Science from Top 20

mid_gen said:
Do you get a batchelor's degree from the apprenticeship? If the answer is yes then it's a total no-brainer....do the apprentriceship.

You can do most of the critical computer science modules for free on Coursera from the likes of Stanford/MIT etc so you can fill in the academic gaps.

If you don't get a proper batchelor's from the apprenticeship, it's a bit more tricky. Having a degree does open doors (most importantly in my experience, requirements for working visas abroad).
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This is very good advice. I didn't do a degree and the only thing that bothers me is that certain visas can be difficult without one.

I've been in the internet industry for 12 years and I've found that people that will succeed will succeed regardless of their educational background. I know lots of exceptional people that have degrees and lots that don't. It really comes down to how smart they are and the kind of attitude they have.

I would worry less about whether employers would "accept" coursera modules and worry more about the things you need to understand for your job. When you are sitting in an interview being grilled by top engineers the only thing that matters is how well you can answer their questions. Very few companies are going to give you a software engineering role based on your solely degree.
 
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There is no right or wrong way, no certain path is 'best' for everyone. Life doesn't work like that for a lot of people.

You can have all the grades and yet be utter **** in the workplace.

Be smart and work hard at whatever you do and things will work out.

A degree can be very useful if you apply yourself and it's something that should be seen as a bit more than a piece of paper that will allow you to get a job.

There are all sorts of successful people in the world!
 
Something else to consider, I work for a software high-tech startup and have just finished interviewing a candidate we will probably hire. If so that will make 4 physicists,2 mathematicians, a C.S. BSc. and myself with a PhD in A.I. & robotics. 3 of us a PhD and the rest an M.Sc apart form one with a BSc.

You need to think about what you want to do in the future, what kind of software problem interest you, what companies do you want o work for etc. Do you want to make a smartphone app, a backend to some eCommerce website or play with big data and employ the latest state of the art machine learning etc.

Software is a very broad spectrum and depending now hat you want to do should influence where and what you study.
 
Trojan Horse said:
Having said that, as I have no idea, going to Uni is a clear cut way to solve that problem for me.
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University helps build a foundation of knowledge, it is up to you to build it on it by doing side projects and so forth.

Since I started my work placement in June I have realised that I made a mistake in going to university but your just going to have to see how it goes for you.

All the best to you, uni has been a fantastic experience for me outside of the education part which hasn't been what I expected and subsequently I have fallen out of love with. Although, in my final year I get to choose my modules so I can pick something I will have interest in.
 
Also going to +1 the university routes, and you don't even need to do the grad schemes/big banks/high stress jobs to get the high paying jobs in SE nowadays.

2 and a half years of working with my CS degree and I'm in the 50s working 10 till 5.30/6
 
the_chicco said:
Experience > Degree in almost all areas of IT
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It is not a choice though, you can have both, and in fact getting a degree will get you better experience quicker on average.

Without a degree many doors will be shut, at both ends of your career. Don't forgot as you get more senior things like having a degree can become a requirement!
 
the_chicco said:
Experience > Degree in almost all areas of IT
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Except that nowadays:-

Code: 
$job = "n"

if ($degree == "") {
  $experience = "";
} else {
  $job = "y";
  while ($job = "y"){
    $experience++;
  }
}
 
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