Do I Need a College Degree?

Many large companies will list a B.S. or similar 4-year degree in Computer Science or a related field as a job prerequisite. No CS degree and you don’t get to play, for better or worse.

At smaller companies the requirements are often not nearly as strict. I’ve seen startups with senior employees (even executives) who never even completed college – and I’m not just talking about Microsoft, either. And in fact not too long ago I hired a fellow who did not have a college degree (but was working on it part time).

As to whether college is worth it for the personal edification – well, I can’t really answer that. It’s true that in many ways you can learn more on the job than in school; however, pursuing the right kind of college education will teach you the fundamentals of computer science that are all too easy to gloss over if you are self taught.

So if you are weighing whether you should head off to college after high school, or return to school after some time off, or just stay in school and finish up that degree, I would heartily recommend it. It opens up more doors for you, and if you don’t do it now you might regret it later in life. And as you get older it becomes exponentially less likely that you’ll actually go back and finish up a degree.

So my bottom line? If you have a chance to get or complete a bachelor’s degree, do so if at all possible. It may open many doors for you that might otherwise be closed, and you’ll also make yourself proud.