Ask YC: Why the degree?

Re:Ask YC: Why the degree? by bigtoga on Saturday May 24, 2008 @08:26AM (#198737)

I don't have a degree either and I have to admit: when I was in my 20s, it bothered me too as I thought, "I might be missing out on something." Today though, running my own business, I see that it worked out perfectly. In my latest job posting (for a .NET/SQL dev), I wrote "A Computer Science degree is not required but helpful" because I don't equate degree to good code.

Joel Spolsky talks about this in his book and he prefers a degree or, if not a degree, evidence that the person had to go through some sort of highly selective process.

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Re:Ask YC: Why the degree? by matthewking on Saturday May 24, 2008 @08:55AM (#198744)

Thanks. I guess in that case it can be an indicator that the person has some kind of skill.

Although I do have friends that have managed to get a degree in computer science and they still can't code unless they're copying from a book.

Is Joel's book based on employing people straight out of education? because presumably people that hadn't gone the degree route would have 2-3 years commercial experience by the time people the same age finish their degrees.

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Re:Ask YC: Why the degree? by bigtoga on Saturday May 24, 2008 @10:31AM (#198782)

Here's the book: http://tinyurl.com/3kr99k

It deals a lot w/ hiring interns-to-become-full-timers.

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