[salahxanadu]

I'm going to buck the trend and say that going to a 2 or 4 year college gives you a lot more than just the skills to program. It gives you social connections. It teaches you to do things you don't want to do (electives at times). It gives a deeper knowledge of your field. It exposes you to seasoned experts (professors). It also helps you branch out and learn things you never thought that you'd have interest in. Oh and intramurals and relationships and friendships and shared events and more.

If you want to just work for the rest of your life, by all means, learn to program on specific thing and get a job to pay for something or live in the cube for the rest of your life.

I love programming and I love learning new things, but I value a lot more too.

[Kluny]

What about doing both? I've spent about 5 years in college, including 3 years of time-wasting on an economics/applied communications/English degree, then a 2 year diploma in Computer Systems Technology, which covered programming and hardware as well as other useful stuff such as technical writing and public speaking. I did co-ops and got my current job through the college job board. So I think I've had the full college experience. I also have on the job experience as a programmer. However, I want to learn more, get out of web development and into business software, learn some new programming languages. I do best in a classroom environment, but all the "hacker boot camps" and the like that I've seen seem much too basic for where I'm at right now. What route should I take?

[zampano]

In my experience (I'm an instructor at one of these schools), the vast majority of incoming students already have a 4-year degree in a different area. I think for many people who may already be at a point in their life where they are paying off student loan debt, starting a family, etc., going without a significant income for another 2- or 4-years would be completely out of the question whereas a 3-month program is something they may be able to weather.

[tomasz207]

I think this is a good option for those folks that have an unrelated 4-year degree and are looking for a change of scenery in their professional lives.