Is a computer science degree worth it or should I self-teach?

A degree buys credentials, structure, fundamentals and a network. Self-teaching buys speed and money saved. Both produce employed developers; the right choice depends on your circumstances and how you learn, not on which is objectively better. **What a CS degree genuinely provides:** 1. **Fundamentals you'd probably skip.** Algorithms, computer architecture, operating systems, networks, theory. Most self-taught developers have gaps here, and while the gaps rarely block day-one productivity, they matter for harder problems and for interviews at competitive companies. 2. **Credential access.** Some employers, some countries, and most work-visa processes filter on degrees. This is the least intellectually satisfying reason and often the most practically important one — if you might work abroad, check the visa rules for your target country before dismissing it. 3. **Structure and forced completion.** Deadlines and consequences get people through material they'd otherwise abandon. 4. **Network.** Classmates who become colleagues and referrals, plus campus recruiting — which is a genuinely privileged hiring channel that self-taught people can't access. 5. **Time to be bad at things** without financial pressure. **What self-teaching provides:** - Speed — job-ready in 12-18 months rather than four years. - No debt. - Learning exactly what's currently in demand, rather than a curriculum written years ago. - Proof of self-direction, which employers do value. **The honest weaknesses of each**: degrees can be theory-heavy and outdated, and graduating doesn't make you employable on its own — plenty of graduates can't build anything and struggle. Self-teaching has a high dropout rate, produces knowledge gaps, and makes the first job substantially harder to get. **How to decide:** - If you're 18 with the means and no strong pull elsewhere: the degree is usually worth it, mainly for optionality and the recruiting channel. - If you're changing careers at 30 with financial obligations: self-teaching or a focused programme is usually the better trade. - If you might work internationally: weight the credential heavily. - If you know you struggle with self-direction: the structure is worth paying for. **The combination most people miss**: a degree plus real projects and internships beats either alone. The graduates who struggle are those who did only coursework. Whichever path, the thing that gets you hired is demonstrable ability — the degree opens doors, the projects prove you can walk through them.