I am a self-taught programmer. I enrolled into computer science to get my MSc (at the normal age). During my education I continued to learn stuff which wasn't taught at the university. After I finished I continued to do so, and I'm still learning by myself.
One thing I observed, especially in the first few years at the university is how little people were interested in the craft. Some enrolled simply because there were big bucks to be made (or so they thought). This was in 1999 when business was booming with Y2K.
The best thing about computer science, software development, programming, ... is that you can do it easily at home without the authorities getting making an issue out of it.
To me a formal education does not mean a lot. Certifications and bootcamps are pretty much worthless.
The thing that is worth a lot is how invested people are in the field. People who are self-taught, and continue to do so, are invested. Nobody is forcing them.
Self taught here, people told me nobody would give me a job without a degree so I enrolled in college and to me the classes were a joke because I already had learned a lot on my own.
As you said people invest in their crafts in all fields, some more than others that's what makes a great software developer.
Not knocking on CS graduates, if I could go back and do it again I'd go to college instead of the Navy but of course I wouldn't have the knowledge of today lol.
To add I really don't think most college students know what they want to do at that age and that's the reason why they are not invested, at least most anyways.
I'm finding similar while studying in a bootcamp. While I'm patching a few gaps in my knowledge due to being self taught, the course content is incredibly slow and very basic. I find the questions I ask seem to annoy the other students due to them being very technical.
Foot in the door though? Check. Have a job lined up for when the course finishes - certainly something that wouldn't have come around if not for the formal education.
people told me nobody would give me a job without a degree
This is the main reason to get a degree, to get a foot in the door when you apply for a job. HR would simply filter you from the stack of resumes, even if you were an expert in the field.
The other thing you (should) learn from a degree is problem solving skills but also some academic principles. These are difficult to pick up when self-taught, as you would probably skip the materials which discuss these. I say "should" as these subjects do not always get the attention they need, especially not in the non-academic programs.
For me it was a different experience. I already had problem solving skills when learning programming. I also had technical training from the Navy that paid good money. So there wasn't much motivation to force me to get a degree.
I learned programming out of pure fun for years, and my current employer took a look at my github and other interesting things I've programmed without anyone asking me. And now been offered a job as Software QA. Surely it would have been easier with a degree, and I understand that. I still want to get my degree since I still have veteran benefits hopefully with this stable schedule I now can.
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I am a self-taught programmer. I enrolled into computer science to get my MSc (at the normal age). During my education I continued to learn stuff which wasn't taught at the university. After I finished I continued to do so, and I'm still learning by myself.
One thing I observed, especially in the first few years at the university is how little people were interested in the craft. Some enrolled simply because there were big bucks to be made (or so they thought). This was in 1999 when business was booming with Y2K.
The best thing about computer science, software development, programming, ... is that you can do it easily at home without the authorities getting making an issue out of it.
To me a formal education does not mean a lot. Certifications and bootcamps are pretty much worthless.
The thing that is worth a lot is how invested people are in the field. People who are self-taught, and continue to do so, are invested. Nobody is forcing them.
Self taught here, people told me nobody would give me a job without a degree so I enrolled in college and to me the classes were a joke because I already had learned a lot on my own.
As you said people invest in their crafts in all fields, some more than others that's what makes a great software developer.
Not knocking on CS graduates, if I could go back and do it again I'd go to college instead of the Navy but of course I wouldn't have the knowledge of today lol.
To add I really don't think most college students know what they want to do at that age and that's the reason why they are not invested, at least most anyways.
I'm finding similar while studying in a bootcamp. While I'm patching a few gaps in my knowledge due to being self taught, the course content is incredibly slow and very basic. I find the questions I ask seem to annoy the other students due to them being very technical.
Foot in the door though? Check. Have a job lined up for when the course finishes - certainly something that wouldn't have come around if not for the formal education.
This is the main reason to get a degree, to get a foot in the door when you apply for a job. HR would simply filter you from the stack of resumes, even if you were an expert in the field.
The other thing you (should) learn from a degree is problem solving skills but also some academic principles. These are difficult to pick up when self-taught, as you would probably skip the materials which discuss these. I say "should" as these subjects do not always get the attention they need, especially not in the non-academic programs.
For me it was a different experience. I already had problem solving skills when learning programming. I also had technical training from the Navy that paid good money. So there wasn't much motivation to force me to get a degree.
I learned programming out of pure fun for years, and my current employer took a look at my github and other interesting things I've programmed without anyone asking me. And now been offered a job as Software QA. Surely it would have been easier with a degree, and I understand that. I still want to get my degree since I still have veteran benefits hopefully with this stable schedule I now can.