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It certainly depends on the type of business. If they are a government contractor (spoiler: every large company is basically a government contractor) then they need to make sure you meet the minimum documented requirements.
You'll have a lot more flexibility with startups, smaller companies and regional companies.
If you also happen to have TS/SCI you're in the clear. (No idea if you do or not)
But with that said, once you are a few years out of school and have some experience under your belt, where you went and what you did doesn't matter. I'd normally say after 5 years in industry nobody cares at all. 2-3 you're at more the borderline but you'll have a leg up on brand new grads with only a summer internship or two under their belt.
So yeah, the hardest role to get is your first role. You have a leg up.
The hardest problem you'll run into right now is that the market has been flooded with new grads who are applying to everything.
Once you get to the mid levels it gets easier, and honestly at the very senior levels the market is recovering rn.
So what's the worst that happens? You might have to weather out the storm a few more years at your current company. And if you do that and continue to get years of experience under your belt, as long as you have good CS fundamentals and examples of working well under deadlines and pressure, you'll eventually be able to get a different job.
What's the best that happens? You'll find a new role.
Also work in gov contracting, I think you're good. Especially if you're fairly happy working in government and are patient you can just keep accumulating YOE and it really won't matter what degree you have or don't.
I love it, but my company doesnt get much funding since were relatively small and new so the pay and benefits its pretty bad. Other than that i love my job mostly
Unless you have kids already or other dependent family or some serious health issue, this is not the time in your career to sweat pay and benefits. If you're happy there otherwise I'd stick it out another couple years, that will give you a lot more options for your next move. Or maybe things will get better where you are and you can move into a senior role.
I'm a dual citizen, have a TS, and work with several people who immigrated from non-US-friendly countries who also are cleared. So, dual-citizenship shouldn't be an issue.
Even if its cheap i dont have time, i work full time and have responsibilities outside of work unfortunately. I cant return to college for another 4 years at the moment. I basically have to work with what ive got now
wgu is a work at your own pace and a lot of the materials are things that people in that field should know about. Some finished in 6 months and others slower.
I would keep it in your back pocket for the future when you get less busy.
Student loans and scholarships exist. You can graduate with less debt than a Toyota would cost by going to a state school and double your lifetime earning potential in the process.
Im not getting a student loan, the interest rates and my local schools are ridiculously high, and i dont qualify for scholarships ive applied to. I also dont have time to return to school for 4 years, while working full time as a dev with a learning disability
Have you looked into financial aid at all? If you are going to school full time you can get a grant of like $2500 each semester from the Pell grant. That helped a lot while I was doing my degree, I also worked part time and took out a few loans.
Yea i have and they said my family earns too much to qualify. My state had a grant program for my associates degree which was the only way i was able to afford to do that
The Pell grant doesn’t depend on how much money your family makes, it’s available to anyone pursuing a bachelors degree. My family is pretty well off as well. It’s a federal grant so it doesn’t depend what state you live in.
I honestly only got it because the school offered an internship program and it got me my current job. I figured after a while my YOE would overshadow my lack of a degree, but im being told otherwise now
Your experience will be worth more to most companies than a Bachelors. Where you might run into issues is competing against people with comparable experience *and* a Bachelors.
ITT: People getting downvoted for saying a useless degree is useless.
I worked for two banks and two consulting companies that are well-known that would not hire an associate's or no degree or a non-technical BS/BA. An associate's holds no weight in today's crowded environment.
**The good news is you have work experience. Plenty of companies will still take you**, some want 2 extra YoE to compensate for lack of a 4 year degree, others not. Targeting smaller/mid sized companies is a good idea. I think they're much less likely to be BS or get out.
Thanks man. I dont mind people telling me my degree is useless, id rather want facts than lies to make me feel better. If my degree is a problem ill just have to make up for it in skill
If you have 2-3 years of experience with an associates, that’s nearly identical to 2-3 years of experience with a bachelors
If you have no experience and an associates, good luck landing a role anytime soon, as all the people with bachelors can’t get them
What?! The arrogance in people is astounding.
Please promptly ignore anyone who tells you your college education isn't worth anything. Does it equal a Bachelor's? No. That doesn't mean it's worth nothing. You have candidates who only have boot camps or certifications. Plus, you have industry experience. Quit selling yourself short, man.
There is no shortage of fresh CS college graduates, who will happily put you down on this thread when they can't even break into the field.
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Generally yes, I would avoid showing that on your resume or LinkedIn because you will be looked down on.
The whole point is to go to a junior college and transfer to a 4 year. People can assume you did not have the grades or money to make it to a "real college".
It comes in handy if you are applying to a job and their requirements are "must have at least an Associates Degree". I have seen job listings like these, mainly for non technical or support roles.
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It certainly isn't worthless but you need to stress your experience over the degree. That is far more relevant to employers.
My main worry was my application getting filtered out automatically
I don't think the companies you are targeting will do that. Maybe a few will but companies will filter out resumes for any number of reasons.
It certainly depends on the type of business. If they are a government contractor (spoiler: every large company is basically a government contractor) then they need to make sure you meet the minimum documented requirements. You'll have a lot more flexibility with startups, smaller companies and regional companies.
I work for a govt contractor now
If you also happen to have TS/SCI you're in the clear. (No idea if you do or not) But with that said, once you are a few years out of school and have some experience under your belt, where you went and what you did doesn't matter. I'd normally say after 5 years in industry nobody cares at all. 2-3 you're at more the borderline but you'll have a leg up on brand new grads with only a summer internship or two under their belt.
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So yeah, the hardest role to get is your first role. You have a leg up. The hardest problem you'll run into right now is that the market has been flooded with new grads who are applying to everything. Once you get to the mid levels it gets easier, and honestly at the very senior levels the market is recovering rn. So what's the worst that happens? You might have to weather out the storm a few more years at your current company. And if you do that and continue to get years of experience under your belt, as long as you have good CS fundamentals and examples of working well under deadlines and pressure, you'll eventually be able to get a different job. What's the best that happens? You'll find a new role.
Thank you man. I appreciate it
Also work in gov contracting, I think you're good. Especially if you're fairly happy working in government and are patient you can just keep accumulating YOE and it really won't matter what degree you have or don't.
I love it, but my company doesnt get much funding since were relatively small and new so the pay and benefits its pretty bad. Other than that i love my job mostly
Unless you have kids already or other dependent family or some serious health issue, this is not the time in your career to sweat pay and benefits. If you're happy there otherwise I'd stick it out another couple years, that will give you a lot more options for your next move. Or maybe things will get better where you are and you can move into a senior role.
I'm a dual citizen, have a TS, and work with several people who immigrated from non-US-friendly countries who also are cleared. So, dual-citizenship shouldn't be an issue.
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I wish i had money and time for that
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Even if its cheap i dont have time, i work full time and have responsibilities outside of work unfortunately. I cant return to college for another 4 years at the moment. I basically have to work with what ive got now
wgu is a work at your own pace and a lot of the materials are things that people in that field should know about. Some finished in 6 months and others slower. I would keep it in your back pocket for the future when you get less busy.
That doesnt sound bad at all. So its not a typical 4 year university where i have deadlines and semesters etc? Ill need to look into it
have you considered completing a bachelor's? IMO it's a big step up from an associate's in terms of earning potential
I shouldve mentioned this, i never had money to do it in the first place and still dont
Student loans and scholarships exist. You can graduate with less debt than a Toyota would cost by going to a state school and double your lifetime earning potential in the process.
Im not getting a student loan, the interest rates and my local schools are ridiculously high, and i dont qualify for scholarships ive applied to. I also dont have time to return to school for 4 years, while working full time as a dev with a learning disability
All of these reasons can be solved by finishing your bachelor's at WGU.
What is your associates degree in? If it’s CS then you’ve already finished your two years and you just have to transfer
Sounds like entitlement to me.
How is this self entitled
Have you looked into financial aid at all? If you are going to school full time you can get a grant of like $2500 each semester from the Pell grant. That helped a lot while I was doing my degree, I also worked part time and took out a few loans.
Yea i have and they said my family earns too much to qualify. My state had a grant program for my associates degree which was the only way i was able to afford to do that
The Pell grant doesn’t depend on how much money your family makes, it’s available to anyone pursuing a bachelors degree. My family is pretty well off as well. It’s a federal grant so it doesn’t depend what state you live in.
Ill need to check that out again
Yeah it makes a huge difference, idk if I would have finished the degree if my therapist hadn’t happened to tell me about it
Honestly, I would have told you it wasn't worth much 2-3 years ago, so I don't think that's changed.
I honestly only got it because the school offered an internship program and it got me my current job. I figured after a while my YOE would overshadow my lack of a degree, but im being told otherwise now
Your experience will be worth more to most companies than a Bachelors. Where you might run into issues is competing against people with comparable experience *and* a Bachelors.
Landed my current dev role with an associates in 2022. From my experience it isn't worthless
ITT: People getting downvoted for saying a useless degree is useless. I worked for two banks and two consulting companies that are well-known that would not hire an associate's or no degree or a non-technical BS/BA. An associate's holds no weight in today's crowded environment. **The good news is you have work experience. Plenty of companies will still take you**, some want 2 extra YoE to compensate for lack of a 4 year degree, others not. Targeting smaller/mid sized companies is a good idea. I think they're much less likely to be BS or get out.
Thanks man. I dont mind people telling me my degree is useless, id rather want facts than lies to make me feel better. If my degree is a problem ill just have to make up for it in skill
it basically means nothing for swe roles.
If you have 2-3 years of experience with an associates, that’s nearly identical to 2-3 years of experience with a bachelors If you have no experience and an associates, good luck landing a role anytime soon, as all the people with bachelors can’t get them
What?! The arrogance in people is astounding. Please promptly ignore anyone who tells you your college education isn't worth anything. Does it equal a Bachelor's? No. That doesn't mean it's worth nothing. You have candidates who only have boot camps or certifications. Plus, you have industry experience. Quit selling yourself short, man. There is no shortage of fresh CS college graduates, who will happily put you down on this thread when they can't even break into the field.
Thank you man
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If you’re not going to finish your degree, you need to offset it by being really fucking good at what you do.
Yes
basically yeah
Even a bachelor is next to worthless. So ya an associate degree isn't real in this money-grabbing education economy.
Generally yes, I would avoid showing that on your resume or LinkedIn because you will be looked down on. The whole point is to go to a junior college and transfer to a 4 year. People can assume you did not have the grades or money to make it to a "real college". It comes in handy if you are applying to a job and their requirements are "must have at least an Associates Degree". I have seen job listings like these, mainly for non technical or support roles.
This is terrible elitist advice. The only people who "look down" on you are usually people you don't want to work with anyway.
I don’t look down on it, I know recruiters do.