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As a college student, I'm always torn about whether or not it is worth it to get my CS degree. Sometimes, my classes seem really useless, but at other times, I

by rjvir 14y ago

As a college student, I'm always torn about whether or not it is worth it to get my CS degree. Sometimes, my classes seem really useless, but at other times, I feel like I'm learning a lot socially at college.

stephengillie 14y ago
I felt the same way during my business undergrad -- everything I was learning, from CAPM to Deming's management ideas to queue theory and operations management, has a wiki page and at least a dozen very good blog posts. Essentially all we're paying for is someone with domain experience to tell us what's relevant to learn, and help us learn it. How expensive is college if we take away tuition? Is a college really more than just an employment agency for professors, an agency that provides its own classrooms and spaces?
- rjvir 14y ago
  ~10k/year in housing
  - chii 14y ago
    but you'd have to pay that whether you did college or not - unless you are saying you can live on the streets if you decide to not to go to college?
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
bobcattr 14y ago
It all depends on how good of a HS education you got. It also depends on the fun and relationships you are having outside of your school work. For me that was the best part
rogerchucker 14y ago
Unless you have a revolutionary and marketable idea and are 110% confident about executing it with the utmost discipline that will guarantee something that you can call "success", please stay in school. Sorry if my tone is dick-ish - I'm just sick and tired of these debates about the value of college.
- gailees 14y ago
  You'll never have that level idea unless you make it happen, and staying in school is not the way to do that.
  - jamesaguilar 14y ago
    Which is why most successful startup founders are college dropouts. Wait. (Btw, if you are being sarcastic and referring ironically to the last line of the counterpoint, my apologies for misreading you.) I would be interested to know whether there are any cohort studies on dropout success. I know overall dropouts tend to make much less money and perform much worse on many other metrics. However, that may simply be because the weak drop out. But overall, I guess it is an unsafe bet. If you can't seem to pursue your passion with a few hours of classwork a day in your way, you're going to have a hell of a time doing it while also working ten hour shifts as a waiter because you couldn't get a more lucrative, easier job thanks to your lack of higher education. College is easy. If you can't pursue your passions while also doing college, you're gonna have a problem either way.
    - jckt 14y ago
      I believe most drop-outs didn't drop out because they wanted to - ie family problems, lack of funding, etc. That's probably why the statistics favour the students.
  - Osmium 14y ago
    I'm sorry, but I don't follow that logic. It might be true for some people, but probably not for most of them. It's easy to forget that the great tech success stories, the drop-outs, were in the right place at the right time (read: major city or centre of technology). For most people, growing up in ordinary towns, going to college is a way to meet new types of people and ideas that you would never have been exposed to before. It's absolutely the place to find inspiration. That doesn't mean it works for everyone, but don't be so quick to dismiss it without some good justifications.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
gailees 14y ago
Regardless, you can just audit classes without paying tuition and all you miss out on is a grade and a piece of paper, called a degree.
jamesaguilar 14y ago
At least 95% of the time, you'll be better served by finishing the degree. It's a low-risk high-reward choice. Unless you have a huge appetite for risk, I don't see the upside in dropping out. Work on your startup while you're in school, it's not like homework should be taking up a significant portion of your time (if you're really good enough to be dropping out anyway).
jupiterjaz 14y ago
If you can afford it then do it. Those social lessons you are learning are no doubt invaluable. The issue is that for a lot of people it's just not affordable. And it's getting less so every year. If you're well-to-do and have the money then have fun and enjoy yourself.

by rjvir 14y ago

stephengillie 14y ago

I felt the same way during my business undergrad -- everything I was learning, from CAPM to Deming's management ideas to queue theory and operations management, has a wiki page and at least a dozen very good blog posts. Essentially all we're paying for is someone with domain experience to tell us what's relevant to learn, and help us learn it. How expensive is college if we take away tuition? Is a college really more than just an employment agency for professors, an agency that provides its own classrooms and spaces?

rjvir 14y ago
~10k/year in housing
- chii 14y ago
  but you'd have to pay that whether you did college or not - unless you are saying you can live on the streets if you decide to not to go to college?

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

bobcattr 14y ago

It all depends on how good of a HS education you got. It also depends on the fun and relationships you are having outside of your school work. For me that was the best part

rogerchucker 14y ago

Unless you have a revolutionary and marketable idea and are 110% confident about executing it with the utmost discipline that will guarantee something that you can call "success", please stay in school. Sorry if my tone is dick-ish - I'm just sick and tired of these debates about the value of college.

gailees 14y ago
You'll never have that level idea unless you make it happen, and staying in school is not the way to do that.
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  Which is why most successful startup founders are college dropouts. Wait. (Btw, if you are being sarcastic and referring ironically to the last line of the counterpoint, my apologies for misreading you.) I would be interested to know whether there are any cohort studies on dropout success. I know overall dropouts tend to make much less money and perform much worse on many other metrics. However, that may simply be because the weak drop out. But overall, I guess it is an unsafe bet. If you can't seem to pursue your passion with a few hours of classwork a day in your way, you're going to have a hell of a time doing it while also working ten hour shifts as a waiter because you couldn't get a more lucrative, easier job thanks to your lack of higher education. College is easy. If you can't pursue your passions while also doing college, you're gonna have a problem either way.
  - jckt 14y ago
    I believe most drop-outs didn't drop out because they wanted to - ie family problems, lack of funding, etc. That's probably why the statistics favour the students.
- Osmium 14y ago
  I'm sorry, but I don't follow that logic. It might be true for some people, but probably not for most of them. It's easy to forget that the great tech success stories, the drop-outs, were in the right place at the right time (read: major city or centre of technology). For most people, growing up in ordinary towns, going to college is a way to meet new types of people and ideas that you would never have been exposed to before. It's absolutely the place to find inspiration. That doesn't mean it works for everyone, but don't be so quick to dismiss it without some good justifications.
drivebyacct2 14y ago

gailees 14y ago

Regardless, you can just audit classes without paying tuition and all you miss out on is a grade and a piece of paper, called a degree.

jamesaguilar 14y ago

At least 95% of the time, you'll be better served by finishing the degree. It's a low-risk high-reward choice. Unless you have a huge appetite for risk, I don't see the upside in dropping out. Work on your startup while you're in school, it's not like homework should be taking up a significant portion of your time (if you're really good enough to be dropping out anyway).

jupiterjaz 14y ago

If you can afford it then do it. Those social lessons you are learning are no doubt invaluable. The issue is that for a lot of people it's just not affordable. And it's getting less so every year. If you're well-to-do and have the money then have fun and enjoy yourself.