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28 is not “old” by any reasonable standard, I know many people that started studying at that age and that do fine. One thing I’d like you to consider is going

28 is not “old” by any reasonable standard, I know many people that started studying at that age and that do fine. One thing I’d like you to consider is going to Europe for your studies, e.g. to Germany, Switzerland or one of the Skandinavien countries. There are excellent technical universities there (e.g. TU Munich, TU Delf, ETH Zürich but also many others that are easier to get into). Most of them charge only nominal tuition (in Germany 100-300 € per year) so you will save a ton of money as compared to the US. Most of them also offer programs that are entirely in English so you don’t have to learn some weird language like German ;) (would be great if you want to of course). And it will give you experience of living abroad, which can be valuable as well. Since you said you were traveling I assume you have the freedom to go and live abroad for a while, so I’d say it’s a valuable experience and a good investment. Please be aware that a typical CS degree is not (much) about programming but a lot about math and abstractions. There are other degrees that focus specifically on software engineering and that might be a better fit for you from what you wrote.

ascar 8y ago
adding to that: A CS degree in Germany takes regularly three years not four. So you save one year. The time you save mostly comes from a faster ramp up in the beginning and less electives in the end compared to the US. Our Master degree programs take usually 2 years and are mostly electives and research. It's also very easy to work 20hours/week as a "working student", especially at TU Munich, because there is basically no mandatory attendance. More than 20 hours a week is not allowed due to student visa regulations, unless you get a work visa (more difficult without a degree and you need a job offer). > Is there a shortcut to get an accredited Master's degree without getting a Bachelor's degree? Some universities in Germany actually allow that with enough work experience and maybe a few courses as additional workload. I don't know more than that it's theoretically possible though.

ascar 8y ago

adding to that: A CS degree in Germany takes regularly three years not four. So you save one year. The time you save mostly comes from a faster ramp up in the beginning and less electives in the end compared to the US. Our Master degree programs take usually 2 years and are mostly electives and research. It's also very easy to work 20hours/week as a "working student", especially at TU Munich, because there is basically no mandatory attendance. More than 20 hours a week is not allowed due to student visa regulations, unless you get a work visa (more difficult without a degree and you need a job offer). > Is there a shortcut to get an accredited Master's degree without getting a Bachelor's degree? Some universities in Germany actually allow that with enough work experience and maybe a few courses as additional workload. I don't know more than that it's theoretically possible though.