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General Discussion

Mohammed Jammeh
Mohammed Jammeh
37,463 Points
Posted by Mohammed Jammeh
Mohammed Jammeh
37,463 Points

Is it worth having a university degree as a Web Developer?

Hello

I am currently a second year Web Design and Development student at university in the UK which means I've got a year before I complete my degree. However, I have constantly been thinking about dropping out recently and the only thing that keeps me holding on is that 1 year I've got left.

Personally, I feel like I'm my wasting my time and money. I literally feel like I don't learn anything in lectures. Since I started my course, I've been using Treehouse and StackOverflow to do most of my coursework. I enjoy the practical aspect of the course. I love having challenging projects which force me to get out of my comfort zone and learn new things which I can apply on a new project. This is how I learnt JS, jQuery, PHP, MySQL, etc.

However, half of the modules on my course are based on design which I have no passion for and exams on the programming modules which fully demotivates me too. Plus, I spend a lot of time doing boring things just to meet academic standards. When I think about all of this, I just think of leaving but my parents, lecturers, friends say the degree will come in handy, etc. I just don't see how. Deep down I know I am not lazy and I will make faster progress if I start to fully focus (teach myself) on the coding aspect which I am passionate about. I fear that my final uni grade might not reflect my skills and abilities due to the restrictions and meeting of academic standards.

I might be wrong but suggestions/advises will really be appreciated.

Thank you.

2 Answers

john larson
john larson
16,594 Points
john larson
john larson
16,594 Points

When I look at the available jobs for programming, it loos like all the usual sources want a degree.

jrs0801
jrs0801
259 Points

Let me repeat again

ALL job "requirements" are wish lists.

Mark Libario
Mark Libario
9,003 Points
Mark Libario
Mark Libario
9,003 Points

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you have a degree or anything. The tech industry is not the typical field where employers look for a "degree" that you finished this or that but more in a sense of can you do this or that. You can have a university degree and someone who doesn't but can do better than you will have more chances of getting hired.

Resumes alone on paper that shows you graduated at this school and have this degree wont cut it. But if you can show that even without a degree, you can do things and program things they need, they will hire you.