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Discussion on: Why Not Having a CS Degree is Awesome

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lpainton profile image
Lee Painton

A colleague of mine once commented on the difference between what he called theoretical knowledge and domain knowledge. To sum it up succinctly, theory is the "why" of a thing and domain is the "how." Some mastery of both are necessary to become a strong developer.

That being said, while a CS degree should indicate strong basis in theory, it often doesn't. Conversely, not having a degree doesn't indicate a lack of understanding of underlying principles. All it takes is a driving curiosity and a commitment to mastering the profession. Whether one attended a bootcamp or a CS program is irrelevant compared to their drive and thirst for learning.

For what it's worth, I have a Master's in CS and I neither know nor care about the history of binary.

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denvercoder profile image
Tim Myers

I know a developer in his 60s that has a masters in CS and during his entire degree program he didn’t write a single line of code. Why? Because the small college in Idaho couldn’t afford one.

An extreme example of course but my point is that you can haz CS degree and not know how to code but you can’t graduate from a Bootcamp and not know how to code a lil’ bit. 🥴

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Jon Strayer

Wouldn't that depend on the bootcamp? These are mostly for profit institutions. One way to increase the profit is to skimp on the training.