#college advice
torn python
went through comp. sci. with focus on cyber sec.
How personally motivated are they?
is comp sci something they've already been doing in HS, or is this going to be their first jump into it?
grim gyro
They have taken a year of java, a year of web development, and this last year was AP comp sci. I think they are pretty motivated.
Nearly very assignment has been an A grade
torn python
since they already have the foundation, then the online shouldn't be an issue from that standpoint.
Would more come down to their personality (how introvert/extrovert ect. that they are), on how well they'd do/handle it. Something to be said for getting together in person in work groups on stuff.
that being said, the degree for comp sci. is barely worth anything. More of just a leg in a door.
If they're unsure about doing the online this year, then waiting a year and just doing personal learning and coding challenges online, joining some groups there would be very valuable.
Depending on how outgoing/self driven, can also put themselves out there for beginner positions/small projects to get some experience there.
The college, if part of different cyber security programs, would give them an entry way into some internships easier than from outside, and their organizing of internship fairs taking that load off themselves
(not dismissing college altogether, just that for Comp Sci/SE/CE that there are many great, cheaper and/or better, routes to the knowledge and end goals)
I went in without having ever had any exposure to coding, and honestly after the first year I could have grabbed an internship and left and been further along in my career now (friend did this and is still ahead of me, and without college debt/costs 😛 ), so it is something to think about.
College did allow me to bounce around several areas of possible interest inside Comp. Sci and without, which helped me firmly cross off sections of the field that were not for me, and give me insight into some that I hadn't considered.
if I had been more self directed at the time and had the mindset I could have taken off after that in further studies without the college, but I wasn't really of that mindset back then.
if you have an entrepreneurial spirit as a Comp Sci./Software Engineer you can go outside the traditional routes and excel far better and far faster than inside them.
And once you've got that first gig and get a year of experience under your belt, the degree is about worthless. Sometimes it might allow you to "add 2yrs experience if you have a bachelors, or 3-4 if you have a masters", but those are few, and depending on the area of employment they go into those numbers don't usually help push into the next pay bracket.
the degree is a "you can learn, and persevere" measurement at a glance, but the experience that they get in their first year or so of work will be more valuable than the learning from college.
The exception to this is some companies might 'require' a degree to entertain a resume, just to thin out applicants, but a lot (and a significantly growing number from back when I started a decade ago) will still bring you in or send you a test to do to get an in person rather than relying on just the resume
(sorry if that ended up being rambly. If you have more directed questions I am around to answer/chat)