Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Web developer type jobs, is a computer science degree needed?

51 replies

QuebecBagnet · 09/03/2022 10:39

DD’s boyfriend is in his first year of a computer science degree which he’s finding quite boring as he says he can already code, has taught himself lots of stuff before starting it. He’s also in the process of setting up his own business to do web site design/coding.

I think in an ideal world he’d have stayed doing the degree while seeing if he can get this company of his off the ground. I admire his ambition but also aware that a lot of companies might not succeed or be slow to take off.

His parents are getting divorced, his mum has moved in with a new bloke. His dad is selling the house and moving away (he lives at his dad’s at the minute and goes to the local uni). His dad has told him he needs to be totally financially independent in 12 months and won’t have anywhere to live and won’t get any money from his parents. They’re cutting him off. Because of his parent’s earnings he’s only entitled to the minimum student loan.

So he says he’ll leave his degree and get some sort of junior IT job, he’s adamant you don’t need a degree and it’s all about what you can actually do. But when we looked at some jobs on Indeed some said they needed a computer science degree. Others didn’t. So his plan is to get a junior job so he can support himself while hopefully his company takes off. If however his company doesn’t take off and he ends up working for others for ever will a lack of a degree hold him back?

I’m happy that he moves in here and I support him through the last 18 months of his degree and I’ve told him this. He says he doesn’t need a degree but I don’t know if he’s just being polite as he doesn’t want to be an imposition. I’m so angry with his parents that they’re putting him in this position.

OP posts:
PerkyBlinder · 04/03/2023 13:18

Whisktea · 09/03/2022 23:06

@ISeeTheLight

Web dev isn't just building websites though. DB is working on a project for a client - they do batteries for solar panels and charging systems for electric cars. He's basically working out the backend software, ie the algorithms and structures that decide when to store, how quickly to charge etc to get the most efficiency. That kind of thing won't be automated anytime soon.
It won't be something someone without a degree or any real world experience will be working on though or setting up their own business in!

we have an extremely gifted developer who works on these kinds of projects with us. We have very complicated problems to solve with logistics and batch control for pharmaceuticals integrating with a major tech company. He dropped out of his maths degree at a RG uni but had won maths prizes and was obviously bright but just hated uni. We took him on after he’d dropped out with no idea if it would work out but he seemed really promising and was a good fit for us and we’re so glad he found us and we found him.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page