i currently have associate's degrees in both computer science and math, and i'm wondering if it would be reasonable to try to look for a job now instead of finishing my bachelor's. all my time working on the CS degree so far feels like a huge waste, i've learned barely anything useful, and i think the format is often just incompatible with how i learn.
do i really have to spend more money and time to finish the degree, or is there another way to show my ability and get interviews? i'm confident that i have decent base level skills, but it's not helpful if everyone immediately trashes my desolate resume. do i need to focus on a specific area? i don't want to limit my chances.
thanks in advance for any tips you have.
#reasonable to look for a job with only AS?
night cargo
sharp wyvern
you could look for an internship
night cargo
can i look for an internship without actively working on my degree?
sharp wyvern
no you have to be attending university
night cargo
and i feel like i'm in the same situation there too, where i don't have something to show so that i stand out from other people
sharp wyvern
how will that improve by quitting university?
night cargo
it won't
i'm under no illusions there
but will it improve enough by finishing university?
it costs quite a lot of time and money
sharp wyvern
idk what your curriculum is but if they force you to submit projects to graduate then ya that will help. You could also use the skills to build projects on the side
half bison
If your education section looks weak (i.e. no bachelor's, low GPA) your other areas need to be very strong
night cargo
my GPA is pretty good i think but not sure if that matters without a bachelor's
and yeah, i figured that i would have to make up for it with other things, i'm just not sure what those would be exactly
i can't get job experience without getting a job first
feels a bit cyclical
sharp wyvern
you need to put 100% of your time into building projects and learning leetcode to improve your resume then
half bison
Contributing to open source projects may help if you are capable as well
night cargo
that makes sense
i'm not really sure what types of projects i should be working on
i just feel a bit lost here
what direction should i go in with projects to appeal to the most employers
i really just want to maximize my chances of getting my foot in the door
since it seems much easier to move around after you already have solid experience
sharp wyvern
i think internships while your in university are the easiest way in
you could attend an online university if you want to save money
night cargo
hmm that's a possibility i guess
i'm not sure where would let me transfer and pick up where i left off without too much pain though
sharp wyvern
you can look at WGU, SNHU, CSU, Florida state, Oregon state, all have online bachelor CS programs. If you email them they will probably tell you what they accept and what they don't.
sharp wyvern
then you could attend internships and still be "in" university for a lot cheaper (WGU is like 4k for 6 months)
night cargo
that does sound nice
sharp wyvern
im doing it lol that's why i know so much. They are very liberal with transfers and im using a lot of online platforms to get my degree done in about 1.5 years. I'm 7 months in with 63 credits rn.
night cargo
oh wow that's very nice
i definitely need to look into that
how did you make sure that you got an internship though
sharp wyvern
i was already a web developer before i started university from past experience I self-taught. Just decided to go back and get the degree cause im 19 and i'd benefit from it so I can get somewhere better later on.
night cargo
hm i see
sharp wyvern
internship wise it should be the same. I know other people said they got one.
When you get your degree I don't think anyone will ever even know you did it online. It just says your university and degree, and since they all have in person universities employers won't even notice probably. I've also never read of them discriminating against online degrees so it should be equal.
night cargo
that makes sense yeah
well i'll look around and see if anything will accept most of my credits
sharp wyvern
ok cool
night cargo
thanks for your advice