It's certainly a positive signal vs. not having a degree, in that the probability that they understand the topics that a CS degree covers is higher. Of course i

It's certainly a positive signal vs. not having a degree, in that the probability that they understand the topics that a CS degree covers is higher. Of course it's not a guarantee that they understand that content, and people without CS degrees can also teach themselves using books, online lectures, etc. And of course it's a young field, so more experienced people without degrees may have invented some of the contents of those books. A masters degree is probably a negative signal though unless they did something completely unrelated like music for undergrad, in which case it's similar to a BS.