I was a self taught programmer for close to a decade before going back for a degree and I’ve been working for almost a decade since finishing. Unlike self teac

I was a self taught programmer for close to a decade before going back for a degree and I’ve been working for almost a decade since finishing. Unlike self teaching, a degree forces you to learn the boring bits as well as the interesting stuff. When I was self taught, I’d flitter around and pick up fun pieces here and there, but with no real focus. Some people are disciplined enough to teach themselves the equivalent of a 4 year CS degree. Most are not. And there are people I’ve worked with, without degrees who are far better programmers than I am. But they still tended to have some gaps. I’m fairly certain they’d be even better with a degree.