Do I Need A Computer Science Degree To Get A Job In Tech?

Hi Tony,

I really appreciate this because you're absolutely right to feel skeptical when any company posts a post that appears to directly benefit their own pockets. Let me make a couple of things clear though.

First of all, I'm Matt, I'm the founder of this bootcamp and I am the sole source and opinion of all of these claims. I have been coding / designing for 15 years, and I alone (let alone some of the other people on our team who have been hiring managers for many years) have interviewed 100s of people across 2 different web agencies, and in the embedded team I'm currently working for.

Me and the others here are absolutely sick of seeing people accrue tons of student debt and come out of university with little to show for it, because they think (rightfully so) that spending that kind of money would give them the correct guidance that makes them hireable out of the gate. But the reality is far from the case - as I have witnessed first-hand.

This isn't to say you won't be hire-able, because as the article says, you need to just embody certain principles, but I have personally interviewed dozens upon dozens of CS graduates and not hired a single one - nothing to do with their degree, more to do with the failings of the university curriculum and setting them up for the real world, not an academic view of what computer science is.

This isn't to say that university and CS isn't for everybody - there are edge cases and such, but it doesn't take statistics to understand that 6 focused months following Udemy courses and building a portfolio, or a 1 year internship can teach you more efficiently and effectively than a 4 year university course. My hires and many other people commenting here are direct proof of this.

If you disagree or don't believe me, I completely understand it, but over the next few years, the truth will play out for what it is. If I'm proven wrong, I will hold my hands up, but nothing points to that currently so I want to help people see it for what it is.

Also, this article is in no way an advertisement for our bootcamp. It would be terrible timing as we are no-where near releasing any paid content, and views / engagement very quickly fall off after the first couple of days. Our intent is only to help. I want to make it very clear that the opinions here, and if you read into it properly, are no way biased towards bootcamps - I just love helping people. I started this because I was frustrated with people spending unnecessary money at university, if you spent money on our bootcamp before trying for months to learn for free with the resources available, we would be just as bad.

That's exactly why our next article lays out the A-Z blueprint for becoming a paid web developer for absolutely free. I fully understand 99.99% of people can't afford and won't pay for our bootcamp down the line, but I am happy to give those every resource possible to enable them to learn the correct way and feel confident they could one day get hired.

I hope you understand the point here - if you look at our instagram, blog posts, etc VS all the other bootcamp companies, you'll notice we're actually just trying to help rather than show off our sessions etc. I'd rather you go away with some helpful information that feel excited about a glamorized bootcamp, because for us, we don't like the idea of that. It's just as bad as thinking your diploma is the be all and end all to get you that job.

Let me know your thoughts on this. I know it's a packed answer but I really feel it needs a proper explanation.

Word ✌️

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

You articulate that point very well and we're super passionate on this subject - the amazing thing about blog posts, which is simultaneously the problem with them, is that we're able to reach thousands of people with helpful content, but because of how generic it is, we can't provide enough context for people's specific situations.

That's where the comments section is amazing. In your world, the things stated in this blog post may actually be completely impractical - and if you comment and let us know that, we'll actually take the time to understand the context and see how we can help. That's why we take the time to respond to every single content.

Also - we're putting out just tons of free content to answer the real question, as you say "To get B, what do I need?". E.g. our interview tips, application tips, the right mindset to sticking to projects and the sheer amount of content we'll be putting out over the coming years.

And to provide even more context, we're in the process of setting up a live Q&A every Thursday for an hour and a half where we literally sit down and answer very contextual questions for viewers and callers, absolutely free, so we can get into the details of things. Because context is the most important thing. We live by this, and we're only just starting to have conversations that allow us to act on this.

There is no right. There is only right for you.

You know, as much as this article might seem to paint a black and white picture, that's not our intention whatsoever - context is super important.

You may thrive in an academic setting, where lectures and the large-scale teamwork really give you a lot of momentum and energy. That might just be right for you.

What we're trying to say is, it doesn't matter how you learn (for people in most countries and places) - and more and more hiring managers are beginning to realize this. It's just about having hirable qualities - because 100% you can learn the same skills without the degree now. And you can do it at your pace, which may be quicker than university lecturers are able to keep up with.

I'd also suggest looking into the sort of jobs you will be transitioning into, and finding online courses surrounding those jobs and just checking them out, testing the waters and try be real honest in comparing that with your CS curriculum. You might find that your curriculum is extremely outdated - or maybe it's not! It can't hurt to try.

Thanks for your perspective - we appreciate it.

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.

Right on dude! Living proof indeed. And there are literally hundreds of thousands of examples. Our entire team is one - and a lot of us started 8, 9, 10 years ago when not having a degree in a programming job was far more stigmatized than it is today.

There are really only a few edge cases nowadays where you actually require a degree.

Thanks for the real story - I hope others find inspiration from it. 🙏

Hi Nina, thanks so much for the question!

This is a very real struggle that a lot of developers have, and it's due to the false belief that companies only view time at a real job as real world, practical experience.

This couldn't be further from the truth - all you need to do is have 2 or 3 projects on your GitHub profile that aren't tutorials youve followed, but actual applications which are built from your own ideas.

This can be anything - and it's even better if it's something you enjoy. For example, if you love dogs, make a small-scale social network for dogs. It sounds funny but it demonstrates practical experience. If you are passionate about peanut butter, make a peanut butter comparison site.

I kid you not, I have hired multiple people based on their portfolios who have never had a job or even freelance contract, but have built really obscure websites for friends or family that forced them out of the "tutorial box" and into the "self-made" box.

I really hope this helps - and I'm happy to hop on a free call if you want a more in-depth chat based on the exact things you're trying to achieve. We have nothing to sell, we would just love to help you on the right path if you still feel lost ✌️ and these are the sorts of conversations that inspire our content. Thanks!