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by gcatalfamo 1682 days ago
You don't pay 45k for the teaching, but for the diploma's pedigree and the network you build while you're there.

I don't believe this is right, but it is how it is.

2 comments

1. Degrees open a lot of doors.

2. You build a network when you are meeting people.

Door-opening and networking are the only two advantages of a college degree that cannot be gained from a different place with a high RoI (in terms of money, effort, and time).

It also affords you 4 years to learn at your own pace.

Proper theory can be learned through books and MIT-OCW. Proper skill can be gained from YouTube tutorials and personal peojects.

Schools like Stanford, UC-Berkeley are another story, though.

You can also build a good network working on open source software, committing to GitHub and talking to people at meetups.

CS is really unique and wonderful in this aspect as the “means of production” are available to anyone, anywhere.

So why do we need to gatekeep this knowledge for $45k or whatever bc this is…illogical and a barrier to upward mobility for many.

IMO access to a good paying developer career should not be constrained by ability to pay/geographical location/familial status. It’s just there you gotta do the work though.

If you really want a degree there’s WGU in the US or open university in uk/eu.

This is true, but I also learned tons of subjects that I may not use for my job, but I appreciate and wouldn't have had the motivation to learn on my own. I don't know what dollar value I would assign that.