[frostmatthew]

> finding suitable internships and experience in such little time

While I was in school I worked at a smallish-but-growing startup in tech support. I used what I was learning in school to write a couple apps that made our department's work a little easier...this was as good as any internship as when I was going through my first [dev] job search most interviewers were far more interested in discussing that than anything I did in school.

> condensing four years of C.S. courses into two

That depends on your situation...I was fortunate to have enough credits transfer that I was able to knock out the remaining in ~2 years

> as this would cost like $20,000 in tuition alone

I'm still a very junior engineer (~3 years) and make more than triple what I averaged in my previous career - I wouldn't worry too much about $20K. If you're really worried about money you may want to look at WGU[1] (where I went) which is pretty cost-effective.

[1] http://www.wgu.edu/

[Auflauf]

Thanks for the reply and recommendation! An advantage I do have is that I do live in a college town. Unfortunately it has a population of 40,000 so startups are rare and I'd likely end up working at the university's tech support which isn't so bad. I'm confident I could make something happen as we both know that going back to school after a first degree usually means a huge shift in dedication in comparison to the first time.

I'm just having difficulties deciding whether going to school for two years outweighs teaching myself and eventually taking a bootcamp.

If you wouldn't mind... What do you think?

[frostmatthew]

> I'm just having difficulties deciding whether going to school for two years outweighs teaching myself and eventually taking a bootcamp.

I've read mixed things on bootcamps, but have definitely heard some have fairly high hire rates - it was something I considered but my personality usually favors a potentially harder/longer path with a higher chance of success rather than the quick/easy route. If you feel comfortable/confident in a bootcamp go for it.

[Auflauf]

Also! How much did your degree help you to be where you are now?

[frostmatthew]

> Also! How much did your degree help you to be where you are now?

The degree is useful for getting past HR - most of the people that actually matter in a hiring decision (engineers/managers) don't care. Which isn't to suggest a degree is worthless - you [hopefully] learn what you'll need to know to make a positive impression on the people that matter...but it's entirely possible to do that without a degree (it'll probably just be a little harder to score interviews).

In my first search (as I approached graduation) interviewers barely asked about anything directly related to what I did in school (they were far more interested in side projects I did in my own time and the stuff I created that I mentioned above) - in my second/most-recent search it never came up at all, it was all about what I did at my then-current job and [more recent] side projects.

[Auflauf]

Thanks for the enlightenment.

I'm trying to rationalize quitting my part-time non-tech job at the post office but perhaps college ain't the hottest option.

Congratulations on following through and biting the bullet to make your life better through programming.

Projects, ho!