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Thread: I've got a question for you guys about college...

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    Default I've got a question for you guys about college...

    Ok, here's the situation.

    I'm almost 37 years old, I've been in IT for almost 15 years, and I started back to school in 2012. I'm taking two classes at a time, essentially starting from zero. I took a few courses at a Junior College way back about 18 years ago, and not all of the credits transferred.

    Anyway, right now I'm working toward a CS degree. However, my academic adviser told me that I have a couple of other options as well.

    I can double major, which would be CS with Math, or I could dual degree.

    The double major would require 4 extra math classes (I believe), and my degree would officially be "Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics". It would be one degree.

    I could get a dual degree, which would require I think 6 or 8 additional math classes. But that would provide me with two degrees:

    Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
    Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

    Or, I can just stick with the regular CompSci degree, and end up with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

    Ultimately, I would like to pursue a Masters degree, but with taking two classes at a time, it's going to take me at least 5 years to finish my undergrad, and that's if I take all three semesters a year.

    So I'd like to get some input on this. I know there are a lot of professionals in here. What do you guys think? Is the double major/dual degree worth it if I'm going to get a Masters? Is it worth it if I'm not? How much (and at what point) does my experience start to override my lack of a degree?


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    Default Re: I've got a question for you guys about college...

    I personally haven't seen many programming jobs which care about a BS in Math (unless you want to work for Mathematica or NASA or something). Others might say otherwise.
    Consider it this way: your degrees will get you an interview, but your experience will seal the deal. At the end of the day, an employer wants to know what you've done recently.

    Are you pursuing a job as a java developer? If so: do you have any professional java experience in the past 3 years? Java employers want recent java experience. If no: consider getting a java certificate from oracle on top of your masters. The java certificate is really only needed if you want to compensate for recent gaps in professional experience. It shows an employer that you have a base-level understanding of the current java framework, but that's about it. Recent professional experience means about a million times more than that java certificate.
    More so, if you are pursuing java: learn the Android api. It will greatly improve your job prospects since most software companies have some sort of investment in mobile development these days. I saw a company in Atlanta hiring java Android developers for over $100k last month. It is a skill worth learning.
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    Default Re: I've got a question for you guys about college...

    It also depend on the country in which you search for a job.
    For instance in Denmark if you have two degrees people think what a wast of time or dude didn't he know what he wanted.

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