How important is a Bachelor degree for Web Development?

Question

Hey there SO,

I've posted this as a community wiki. I'm not sure if this is an appropriate question but the SO community has been a great help to me and I'm looking for a little direction in planning my career path.

I'm a designer who really enjoys Web Development. I have an associates degree in Graphic Design but I want to change my career to become a Web Developer. How important is a bachelors degree to a web development career? I'm buying books and learning as much as I can about C#, .NET, MVC, SQL, etc. I'm going to learn the technology whether I have a degree or not. But, I'm not sure whether simply knowing the technology is good enough to impress employers.

Is a bachelors degree required to be a successful web developer?

Answer 1

I've never seen any employer looking for a Bachelor's in Web Development. CS, sure. BIS, maybe. But a web development degree is probably a waste of money unless you're going to learn the stuff and aren't just after the piece of paper.

Answer 2

No. The thing a degree in CS (or MIS in some places) does is give you understanding of the underlying principles of the stuff you're working on, and hopefully teach you to think critically so you can do the things you haven't been taught directly. The technology will change out from under you every five-to-ten years, so understanding the basics is more important than having a piece of paper that says you were taught something at sometime.

Answer 3

I'd agree in the not required for having a career in web development, but a Bachelor's degree can be useful as many places will want people to have a degree. Thus, I would suggest considering finishing a Bachelor's degree as it can be useful to have one.

Answer 4

You don't have to have it.

But I believe it might be harder to get a job. This of course, depends on the jobs you are looking for. If you apply for a job where there are a lot of other applicants, you might fall away fast because you lack a degree in development and have no experience in it. The employer probably sort away those who don't have a degree or a wide experience.

Although, if you come as far as to an interview and can show that you have the knowledge, I don't think you will be treated much differently then the other applicants.

A university degree is great, but in the end it is the knowledge you have that matters. Once you get past the first wave in an application, all that matters SHOULD be what you know, and can sell yourself in such a way that the employer believe you.

Answer 5

Straightforward answer:

Yes, you'll probably want the degree --- or more precisely, without the degree, a lot of jobs you might want won't be available to you. On the other hand, an employer who wants a worthless piece of paper so badly that they won't even look at your ability might be an employer you want to avoid.

More personally:

All of us who so badly want to see the higher-education-as-vocational-certification scam die would love to have you skip the degree, learn everything you can, and be one more person who shows that skill is everything and degrees and certifications are worthless. This problem is forcing people to go broke to buy a degree they don't need, while destroying the institutions for people who do need a real education.

Bottom line:

You'd probably be better off with the degree.

Answer 6

First, I agree with the 'reality' sentiment already expressed: it is to your long-term benefit to have earned a baccalaureate degree. Period. What I have learned, and what I tell my students (I'm a math prof) is that's it's not important what you major in, it's important that you majored in something.

Second, while it seems logical that a degree in CS would be prerequisite for a career in Web Development, my experience suggests otherwise. In the last decade, more non-CS majors have turned into web developers than have CS majors. I could speculate on the reasons for this, but not here in this small space.

So I recommend that you continue your program of self-study in web technologies while you earn an undergraduate degree in something. The schooling will prepare you for a long life of learning, it will probably increase your earning potential, and it will show future employers that you can set and realize big goals for yourself.

Answer 7

Another thing to consider is your area of work you are looking to get into. For example, working for a public university sometimes requires that you have at least a bach degree. Doesn't have to be a specific degree, but you do need one for some jobs (most notably academic staff). It's not that the employers want it, but as a state mandate it is required. So, pay attention to where you are looking and that should guide you on what you need.

Answer 8

You probably will need a degree of some sorts in Computer Sciences to get easily get a job in Web Development however, I don't think you will need to do an entire Bachelors. A lot of universities are now offering shortened Bachelor programs (1.5 - 2 years as oppose to 3 - 4 years) for people who already hold a previous degree. Even if your local university does not offer a shortened program, you can generally speak with the faculty's program advisors and they will be able to write off unnecessary courses for you.

An alternative is to do a course based Masters (1.5 - 2 years). A good number of these Masters are now available to do through correspondence.

The name of the game here is to get a degree quickly and spend as little time and money at school.

Answer 9

for what you are studying, more MS based technologies, the companies that hire for them are likely to be larger, and the HR department will require a degree in CS.

if you go for more open source you have a better chance of making it with experience and knowledge, but its not a guarantee. HR departments are the first screen, and if they have a degree requirement there is not much you can do unless you know someone on the inside.

its not fair really, but its the way it is. CS implies that you can learn new technologies as they come up, knowing one language and one stack implies you bought some books and did the examples. just the way it is.

Answer 10

Yes and No

No: So long as you only learn the tools required to get the job done, having a CS degree is not required.

Yes: You may not even learn or study things that are directly related to web development. However what you will learn is how to learn, plus have a much bigger and deeper understanding of entire domain of CS.

Here is the difference:- taken from personal experience, names hidden to protect the innocent ;)

• Developer A (Veteran) - The Experienced Field veteran 20+ development under the hood
• Developer B (Graduate)- Fresh out of University, but with some freelancing projects here and there.

The graduate joins the veteran, initially he is inspired and highly respects the Veteran for his years of experience.

Initially the graduate does how the Veteran has designed things. The young grass hopper has much to learn, and makes the usual 'newbie' mistakes.

As time goes by however the graduate starts to have doubts, he starts to see things that are not right. But he can not undermine the Veteran's influence and authority and experience.

As more time goes by, the graduate starts to not only handle anything that is thrown he's way, buts starts to do it, faster, and with more stability. Everyone soon finds he's code is better maintainable and usually done in half the code of the veteran.

A little further down the line, the Veteran leaves. The graduate finds himself finally in a place to implement things he could not previously.

Projects that would have previously been only 'acceptable' now receive praise. The only concern raised by clients is "We was told this was not possible, how did you manage do it?"

Moral of the story:

You don't need a CS degree to be web developer, but having a CS degree might[1] just make you a better developer overall..

[1] some people are just naturally talented, degree or no degree.