All of you guys here are making awesome points but i think it also depends on your country with the policies that are in place. In Kenya for example most developers and IT enthusiasts compete while having degrees..the other factors now come in play in the strength of your resume; these could be may be cert courses like Certified Scrummaster et cetera. But to answer the question i dont think a college degree in CS determines how strong a certain developer is but in some ways it plays a role
I'm the CTO of international video agency Wooshii and I run an educational media brand called Skill Pathway. I also occasionally chat to people on my podcast, The Learning Developers Podcast.
You are absolutely right in that the pace at which different countries and even subcultures in countries are moving towards understanding that non-traditional routes are actually just as effective as traditional ones is completely different.
I would say, for instance, that companies in the US are currently far more likely to require and put weight on a degree than the UK.
The thing is though, the reason the UK is moving far more towards not requiring one, are the exact same reasons that all other countries are slowly, but surely following suit. Online courses, tutorials, coding bootcamps are a worldwide thing.
It's only a matter of months, or years before it becomes the norm in whatever country you're in that you can go to either university or go the online route - and the only thing that matters is the strength of the developer itself through their resume and what they can demonstrate at the interview stage.
Thanks for your perspective and context of how this is currently playing out in Kenya, it's really helpful to know.
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All of you guys here are making awesome points but i think it also depends on your country with the policies that are in place. In Kenya for example most developers and IT enthusiasts compete while having degrees..the other factors now come in play in the strength of your resume; these could be may be cert courses like Certified Scrummaster et cetera. But to answer the question i dont think a college degree in CS determines how strong a certain developer is but in some ways it plays a role
You are absolutely right in that the pace at which different countries and even subcultures in countries are moving towards understanding that non-traditional routes are actually just as effective as traditional ones is completely different.
I would say, for instance, that companies in the US are currently far more likely to require and put weight on a degree than the UK.
The thing is though, the reason the UK is moving far more towards not requiring one, are the exact same reasons that all other countries are slowly, but surely following suit. Online courses, tutorials, coding bootcamps are a worldwide thing.
It's only a matter of months, or years before it becomes the norm in whatever country you're in that you can go to either university or go the online route - and the only thing that matters is the strength of the developer itself through their resume and what they can demonstrate at the interview stage.
Thanks for your perspective and context of how this is currently playing out in Kenya, it's really helpful to know.