Re:Why 'worthless' humanities degrees may set you up for life
by chrisseaton on Sunday April 07, 2019 @11:17AM
(#19597289)
Yes most jobs don't care whatsoever what degree you did.
You can do a degree in history of art and then become a fighter jet pilot if you want.
Re:Why 'worthless' humanities degrees may set you up for life
by cowsandmilk on Sunday April 07, 2019 @11:19AM
(#19597309)
> often even then only if they want to work at a FAANG for that first job. Where people end up 5-10-15-20 years later in their career has little to do with their degree.
As someone who doesn't have a CS degree, I found that FAANG companies were much more willing to take a risk on someone without a degree getting their first job than many smaller companies.
Re:Why 'worthless' humanities degrees may set you up for life
by matwood on Sunday April 07, 2019 @11:26AM
(#19597360)
Great point. The only caveat I would point out is that a candidate has to pass what is effectively a test of what a typical undergrad in CS learns. A 20 year old could certainly study and do that on their own, but the typical self-taught person is not necessarily learning those quiz type questions.
My next boss had a degree in English. His thought was that no matter what he did with his life, communication was always at the center. He had founded 2 different tech companies before I met him, and he's now the CTO of a large company.
One of the smartest people I've ever personally worked with went to seminary (I'm not sure if he was an atheist before or after, but talk about fun conversations over a beer). He was preoccupied with finding meaning in life, and did things like math and CS with what seemed like his spare cycles.
The point is that a persons degree really only matters for their first job, and often even then only if they want to work at a FAANG for that first job. Where people end up 5-10-15-20 years later in their career has little to do with their degree.