Ask HN: Obtaining a degree vs. learning by doing in IT in 2020

8 points by atregir 5 years ago | 11 comments

I would like to know what your arguments are to obtaining a degree vs learning by doing in an IT related field, esp. in 2020?

I am a relatively experienced developer, have finished my bachelors and masters in Computer Sciences and have 5+ years of experience in the field and I am trying to make a decision whether I should go for another MSc. (in AI) or simply keep learning by doing.

I tend to lean towards earning a degree and I do find it useful (in terms of getting structured knowledge that you do not need to put together yourself, making connections, finding a group of people interested in the same thing as you are, having the official "paper" to be able to officially prove your skill and so on).

I realize some of these arguments stem from my own background, since I have always had to legally be able to prove I am qualified for each skill I have (language skills, technical skills etc) - not in obtaining a job offer itself, but in applying for the visas and such.

However, there are plenty of arguments against it and I can see some of them as well: curricula is indeed "prepared" for you, but it might be relatively "old" or rigid, time might be wasted - I could spend those hours working and getting paid for it, same skills might be learned easily online and then getting a job in the field and so on.

Help me, HN! What is your stance on the subject and why?

st1x7 5 years ago |

The title of your post is a bit misleading. You already have a bachelors and a masters in CS plus five years of experience. Doing another masters degree seems pointless. A second masters (in a field that's so closely related to your previous degree and your work) would almost look like a red flag on your CV.

sosilkj 5 years ago | |

i agree with above comment. there are fields where multiple masters might help, but not in tech.

degrees are for getting the HR recruiter person to like your resume enough that they pass it on to the hiring manager. period. that's it. 1 bachelors, 1 masters, you're done.

the only possible argument for another masters is if you plan to do it at at a place like MIT or Stanford, which is a strong signal on a resume.

edit: and/or, you likely plan to remove your first master's from your resume upon completion of the second (in which case you really value the education the second master's would give you). that said, i cannot speak to visa-related issues so my comments might not apply in such cases.

atregir 5 years ago | |

Hey, thanks for the reply :)

Sorry, should have written "an additional degree". The masters I hold is generic CS, meanwhile this one would be specifically AI related. There was no AI related subject on my first Msc.

mattbrewsbytes 5 years ago |

Learning by doing is more of the hacker ethos than getting degrees.

There are various cultures where more advanced titles and more acronyms after your name are sought after. There are some fields like health care, social work and law where those things are required. Software development is not one of those fields. Another degree might hurt you in the resume review phase where you get skipped for various reasons.

What is your goal? Do you want to work for employers that prioritize people with lots of degrees and do research? Do you want to work for companies that prioritize building things?

If you are really into AI and want to make a life's work of it, go for something like a Phd focused on AI. Maybe its the same time commitment as another Masters since you already have a Masters?

If you want to learn, make connections, then find people also interested in AI, there is the internet. You could find some open source projects that are related that you could collaborate with others.

brudgers 5 years ago |

If you want to get another degree, get another degree. What you value is what you value. It doesn't matter what might be a better choice for other people.

Particularly in the current state of affairs, you are in the best position to understand your career ambitions and the options to achieving them. Good luck.

CoffeePython 5 years ago |

In general for someone trying to get in the field I typically say get a degree IF it makes sense in your lifestyle.

New grad from high school and wants to get into CS. Get a degree if you can afford it.

Took a few years off of college, really interested in CS, can afford to go back to school (even if afford means loans and it is a public university). Get a degree.

Mid 20's with family and children, main breadwinner, can't afford to stop working. Think hard about the decision to go back to school. Explore other options.

In general, it just has to fit with your lifestyle.

In your particular case I'd highly suggest not going. You already have a bachelors and a masters. Plus 5 years experience. The barrier to entry to get into the sub-field you're interested in isn't credentials at this point.

justaguyhere 5 years ago |

Reasons to get a degree:

Immigration - degrees help a lot, if you are trying to get a work visa.

Resume filtration in big companies - many companies have policies that they will consider someone for a software development position, only if they have a degree. You probably do not want to work for such companies, at least not for long.

Learning theory - personally I find it easier to learn theory in a classroom from a teacher, with peers.

A lot depends on the school and the curriculum too. If your goal is for immigration, get any approved degree from any school and be done with it. If you truly want to learn, then it would make sense to look for tough courses from reputed universities.

Everyone's situation is unique. It is kinda hard to give a generic answer.

giantg2 5 years ago |

In my opinion, the only reason you need a degree is to pass the resume screen. Yes, they are helpful for learning the fundamental concepts which are necessary to perform the job, but you could learn those in other ways too. When it comes to IT, almost every job will require on the job learning regardless of your degrees due to the plethora of technologies that are in use today and even the variance in how they are deployed at each company. You would be better off taking coursera courses and working on an AI project to show experience in that field.

dreamworker 5 years ago |

Actually had that debate with a friend of mine who was tired of working as a full-stack web dev and found himself a new job in the field of machine learning after thinking of going back to uni for a phd. So everything is possible when you can code I guess!

Totally agree with @st1x7, you should be learning by doing at this point. There is enough material online to work with especially in the field of AI and machine learning and maybe you could also learn on the job like my friend.

All the best with your decision!

atregir 5 years ago | |

I am on the same spot, managed to find myself a job in Data Engineering from Software Engineering, but my end goal would be ML and I thought having the master's as a part time study would help getting there.

I am studying on Coursera meanwhile. Probably just finding another job directly into ML would also work, but I would need to start as a junior and I wouldn't really like that - salary wise.

Thanks for your reply and for the good wishes :)

dyeje 5 years ago |

If you want a second masters, go for it but it will have a neutral to negative impact on your career.