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Reads like "travel and find meaning to my life" version 2.0. You're currently doing something you dislike. You want to stop, go take a bunch of years out study

Reads like "travel and find meaning to my life" version 2.0. You're currently doing something you dislike. You want to stop, go take a bunch of years out studying (something you previously hated), only to return almost exactly to where you started. The implied expectation being that you'll be happier when you get there... See I don't get it. You're already employerable, a degree won't move the needle too much, just give you a debt boat-anchor meaning you'll less flexible going forward and less able to find the thing that makes you happy. In general I think CS degrees are great. But in your case it seems needless and like you're repeating recent mistakes, like you want to check out for another few years while you discover yourself. I'd strongly recommend you think extremely carefully before you indebted yourself to student loans. If this plain fails, you're stuck in those jobs you hate for tens of years while you pay it off.

miguelrochefort 8y ago
> Reads like "travel and find meaning to my life" version 2.0. I don't expect to learn anything from that CS degree, or find meaning to my life. I would do it exclusively for the piece of paper. I would likely do it online, do the bare minimum work, and not network with other students/teachers at all. > See I don't get it. You're already employerable, a degree won't move the needle too much, just give you a debt boat-anchor meaning you'll less flexible going forward and less able to find the thing that makes you happy. I'm employable, but I don't get to be picky in what I work on. A lot of doors are (I think, I could be wrong) closed to me because of my lack of degree. There are not jobs I ever thought I would want (banking, government, management), but I can already feel that I might seek these things when I get older with a family and kids and a need for security. > I'd strongly recommend you think extremely carefully before you indebted yourself to student loans. If this plain fails, you're stuck in those jobs you hate for tens of years while you pay it off. What if I could get a degree in 3 years for $10,000? Would your advice still stand? This might actually be a possibility.
- Someone1234 8y ago
  > What if I could get a degree in 3 years for $10,000? Would your advice still stand? This might actually be a possibility. I suppose it makes the boat anchor smaller. I'm not really sure how you'd get a degree for $10K though.
  - jki275 8y ago
    I haven't paid any attention to BS degrees in a lot of years, but GA Tech offers their MSCS online for about 7k.
    - Jtsummers 8y ago
      That’s $7k for 30 credit hours. A bachelors is on the order of 120-140 for CS. Even at the same $/hr rate, you’d be paying 4x the cost ($28k+).
      - jki275 8y ago
        That's a fair point. Generally grad credits are 2-4 times more than undergrad, though GA Tech is not adhering to that model.
  - ascar 8y ago
    Go abroad. Universities in some countries are free and education is on the same level. Maybe even better, because going abroad usually influences you in a positive way.
- spdebbarma 8y ago
  Look into University of London's degree[0] in CS. They allow you to take it from anywhere in the world. [0] https://london.ac.uk/courses/computer-science https://london.ac.uk/courses/computer-science
zapperdapper 8y ago
Completely agree. My very real experience is a lack of a degree won't hold you back, a lack of passion will. It definitely sounds like there's a deeper issue in play here...
- vldx 8y ago
  I think I understand the sentiment here, but I don’t think it applies well to OP’s specific case. He mentions that he is considering the idea moving to the states. The bureaucratic machine doesn’t care about your passion. I’m from EU country and the wizard form on Canada’s immigration site ends abruptly after the step concerning my formal education.

miguelrochefort 8y ago

> Reads like "travel and find meaning to my life" version 2.0. I don't expect to learn anything from that CS degree, or find meaning to my life. I would do it exclusively for the piece of paper. I would likely do it online, do the bare minimum work, and not network with other students/teachers at all. > See I don't get it. You're already employerable, a degree won't move the needle too much, just give you a debt boat-anchor meaning you'll less flexible going forward and less able to find the thing that makes you happy. I'm employable, but I don't get to be picky in what I work on. A lot of doors are (I think, I could be wrong) closed to me because of my lack of degree. There are not jobs I ever thought I would want (banking, government, management), but I can already feel that I might seek these things when I get older with a family and kids and a need for security. > I'd strongly recommend you think extremely carefully before you indebted yourself to student loans. If this plain fails, you're stuck in those jobs you hate for tens of years while you pay it off. What if I could get a degree in 3 years for $10,000? Would your advice still stand? This might actually be a possibility.

Someone1234 8y ago
> What if I could get a degree in 3 years for $10,000? Would your advice still stand? This might actually be a possibility. I suppose it makes the boat anchor smaller. I'm not really sure how you'd get a degree for $10K though.
- jki275 8y ago
  I haven't paid any attention to BS degrees in a lot of years, but GA Tech offers their MSCS online for about 7k.
  - Jtsummers 8y ago
    That’s $7k for 30 credit hours. A bachelors is on the order of 120-140 for CS. Even at the same $/hr rate, you’d be paying 4x the cost ($28k+).
    - jki275 8y ago
      That's a fair point. Generally grad credits are 2-4 times more than undergrad, though GA Tech is not adhering to that model.
- ascar 8y ago
  Go abroad. Universities in some countries are free and education is on the same level. Maybe even better, because going abroad usually influences you in a positive way.
spdebbarma 8y ago
Look into University of London's degree[0] in CS. They allow you to take it from anywhere in the world. [0] https://london.ac.uk/courses/computer-science https://london.ac.uk/courses/computer-science

zapperdapper 8y ago

Completely agree. My very real experience is a lack of a degree won't hold you back, a lack of passion will. It definitely sounds like there's a deeper issue in play here...

vldx 8y ago
I think I understand the sentiment here, but I don’t think it applies well to OP’s specific case. He mentions that he is considering the idea moving to the states. The bureaucratic machine doesn’t care about your passion. I’m from EU country and the wizard form on Canada’s immigration site ends abruptly after the step concerning my formal education.