I am a 29 year old with about 10 years of development experience under my belt. I have what most would consider to be a senior level job that pays well for someone who is self taught and never attended college or university.

Recently I have had the urge to obtain a formal education. I don't really have any need or reason to, but the urge is still there.

I know there are a ton of respectable and very talented devs without diplomas. Any of you ever regret not perusing a degree? Would you see any benefit it pursing one late in your career?

Papers are good man, if everything goes to shit at least you will be able to wipe your self with it ;)

After re-reading my post it's obvious I should at least take an English class 😂

10 years to experience under your belt? Do you develop with your Dick?

What country are you in ?

@postitnoteninja US

What languages do you know ?

@isaiahbaca you have made your own way in the world. Walking the path of others is not a form of insurance.

Be careful about "diversification" - plenty of obituaries start this way.

I felt the same. I had about 4 or 5 years experience under my belt and my degree was not in a computer science field (it was electronic engineering) and I started getting an itch to go and do a master's in computer science. I approached the company and they agreed to pay for it because they were a) nice and b) saw it as training as Master's degrees in Ireland are not crazy expensive like the US. I did it over 2 years part time on top of work. It was difficult but I felt it was totally worth it from a personal level and I learned a hell of a lot because the modules covered were very relevant to me. I felt I was missing foundations and the masters definitely filled them in.

You will need that education if you want to go to the next level. It will distinguish you from others when you get to work at companies where they do software ENGINEERING. Yes, saying it out loud because there's a huge difference in developing software or engineering it. The latter does require a very particular set of skills which you will obtain through a solid education. You will see it make you stand out from the crowd in the future.

@Linux I create with my dick ;)

I have worked with both degree and non-degree holding devs... one thing i have noticed, degree holding devs tend to be smart but lazier. Non-degree holding devs i find have more passion to learn and actually program. That being said i did a late degree after 10 years of dev work... I have learnt more in the last few years pushing myself to learn something new daily outside of work (reading blogs, learning new languages, trying things out of my field etc)

On a serious note - I have regrets, but on the same time most people I know with degrees aint very good, despite good grades. They've just learnt the one way of solving a problem, which considering how fast our world moves these days isn't a good thing. My boss had a degree, and he knew most of what he would "learn" in class prior to starting, prompting him to skip his Java classes to get his motorcycle license (got an A in Java).

Don't get me wrong - education is good, but in this field experience is more important imo.

E.g algorithms is something you rarely learn in the youtube vid of that l33t hax0r react dev.

Stay in school kids.

This comment is hilariously bad in structure, my symphaties to everyone who reads all of it. <3

You study for yourself, not a job. I studied physics, did some research in particle physics, applied math and medical imaging. Now I am senior dev in automated driving. My studies did not help with programming, but with modeling, abstractions and problem solving. Hell, I apply physics and the scientific method to my social everyday life. Math is great, learn some at university and get to know some inspiring people. Its a great time and worth the effort, don't study in the US, come to germany for that! The US education system is a abomination. Perverted by greed.

Hey man, serious answer here. I'd recommend you look at a masters of engineering/Science in software engineering. They are relatively sort (2 years or so). They have different names depending on the institution. But they like to admit people with professional experience and not necessarily a bachelors degrees. They don't care much about pure math and the deeper side of CS like computer science degrees do. These degrees are a bit harder to find so good luck. :)

@stuqshwk yeah you are so right, it really helps in modelling and abstractions. I used to hate math because I sucked at it but in university I had no choice and just doing math ( I especially like logic) really helps to train your abstraction ability.

I think I have a relatively unique point of view on this. I spent 7 years in college getting a masters degree while my sister (who is 3 years my senior) spent the time working. Today she makes 40% more than I do, but I'm the junior engineer and have 6 figures of debt to show for it.

If you go to college, don't do it for the money. If I knew then what I know now (that unless you're targeting a specialty field it's *just* paper) I probably wouldn't even be a software engineer today.

What interessts you?
And how about studying abroad?