Ask HN: Is college/degree in CS really worth?

[mystik]

Time ago I left college and my studings in Computer Science for pursuing a startup I was working on. Unfortunately it didn't work out well and now I have the choice of going back to college and finish it, or to start working on something else.

I am quite confident that at the moment I have tons of experience and more knowledge of most of people that just graduated.

How much a degree in CS is really worth in our field? I personally don't feel the need for it, but how much could it make the difference during job interviews / the future?

[nols]

It really depends. I have a non-CS degree and it has helped me in my work, both the degree and knowledge I probably would not have gained if it weren't for my university forcing it. Your experience on a startup might garner interest from future employers more than a college degree.

Keep in mind though there is more to starting a successful start-up than programming though, there's also filling a need. And learning about subjects other than CS helps find a need to fill. You see tons of brilliant programmers looking to do a start-up but without an idea of what need to fill so they just create knock-offs of successful apps. Pinterest for specific groups, mobile rewards, ephemeral messaging, the recent rehash of delivery services, etc; think of something new instead of trying to just be better than the 5 other companies doing the same thing.

Your stint in college might give you a broader education than sitting in an office coding all day would, and that broader education might lead to better ideas for a future start-up, or lead to networking with someone who isn't a programmer but sees a need to fill.

[arisAlexis]

I say get the degree since you have already invested time in it without getting any outcome, it's only logical. Unless you only went for a semester and then dropped out.