I'm an older guy and it looks like it's damn near impossible to go back to school for computer science while working to support my family
School after real life is not as easy as when all you have is school.
I was in computer field a long time and
it's never too late. Do you want to be a programmer, IT, internet security, hardware engineer, iPhone, etc?
The upside is that starting pay is better than most fields.
The clear downside is that unlike other degrees and/or certifications, it has an expiration date like a carton of milk. All fields have their downsides, like danger, burnout, etc. and all in computers realize you have to keep current in an ever fast moving field. You aren't done for good if you don't keep up, but it's hard to stay current and employable if you stay stagnant. After you get home, you don't rest like many others, but keep on learning and arming your resume. It's kind of tiring for some, exhilarating for others.
If you get a degree in microbiology, English, political science, women's studies, physics, mathematics, business, or accounting, things pretty much stay the same and a degree ten or twenty years ago is as relevant as one today. This has never been the case with computer science (and related fields) and that's why many get a second degree later on, and may also get a more long term degree like business or management just in case the newest batch of techies surpass you. The younger techies always have your shoulders to prop them up and even what some of what they're learning is already obsolete in the field.
Some love the fact that the field never stays put and you are not as likely to get bored. If you go out and get a degree and/or certifications and you don't like it, that's not all bad, either. It's always worth learning about technology in this day and age an almost any field you end up in will see your studies as a plus.
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I found a lot of crap and scam schools upon doing a Google search. Care to link? Wonder if they distinguish the degree as being any different than an in person degree
The first thing you want is a good education.
Actually even though I have two regionally accredited degrees, one of the best things I ever did was take classes from an unaccredited seminary school. They really only offered degrees that worked within a small circle of independent protestant churches (evangelical, fundamentalist, some Baptist, and a few mainline protestant churches in some areas), but the material was great. It was accredited by the department of education and those several major churches.
But if you want a degree/education that will work outside of a small closed system like the churches I mentioned for example, get a regionally accredited degree. Period.
If you are in California like me, you want this:
http://www.acswasc.org/
A national accreditation, such as US Department of Education, is only necessary for business purposes but does not speak to the quality of the school.
A field accreditation, such as the churches I mentioned or even a business association like the esteemed AACSB for business schools, has no pull with employers and may really only impress someone who wants to apply as an instructor in a school. You can have medical training and be accredited by the best organization in the field, but when it comes to education in the USA, it's all about one of the six regional accreditation regions for the HR person. They are the gatekeepers. University of Phoenix has that for their area so they are golden.
As a former HR person, this makes it easier. Take in resumes, interview people, make sure education, if there, is
regionally accredited.
Usually experience and education hold the most weight, and within education you give weight to if the school is accredited. If so, how good is that school within let's say regional Western Association of Schools and Colleges? Is it accredited like San Jose State which is average, yet still good in many ways? Or is it also the same region but something like Stanford University which is the best in the west?
But in real life you see everything. If you have two applicants with identical resumes and experience, the one with an unaccredited degree will still have more weight than an otherwise equal candidate without any education.
But if you have two accredited schools on two resumes, only then you can start comparing schools.
In order of importance for an HR person looking at education:
1) regionally accredited at top like Stanford, USC, similar
that trumps
2) regionally accredited in the middle of the field like San Jose State or Cal State LA
that trumps
3) unaccredited degree like a local business skills school or unaccredited religious college
that trumps
4) no education beyond high school
All that being said the number one factor on a resume is experience and if the applicant is extraordinary then no amount of education from other applicants will make a difference.
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No expertise in anything yet. Currently I work as a CNA and am looking for a career change and I enjoy programming a lot. I play with Python all the time and would like to keep learning more and turn it into something I can get paid doing. As I see from job postings and such, a Bach in comp sci is pretty much required for everything these days but I'm having a hard time figuring out how I'll be able to get one. I have to work to support my daughter at the same time
The good thing is that it's not high school. You don't have to finish a four year degree in four years.
Once you finish a college class, it's over and then tackle the next one. You don't lose credit.
Keep on that path and eventually you get the degree when you satisfy the path of classes and enough electives to reach your bachelor's requirement of somewhere between 120 and 130 semester units. At the time it seems to take long, but once you have one and are in the field working you will realize just how quickly school went by and be happy you finished.
In so many fields a degree won't make you earn more money in a lifetime than if you didn't go thus all the legitimate fuss about drowning in student loans, but in anything computer related, you are very likely to make more money right from the start. When you get that computer job, you will apparently be able to pay off loans quicker,
but in practice the higher earning graduate usually lives a higher lifestyle and takes just as long to get out of student debt. If you realize this, you won't feel as guilty.
And finally, with this whole post, a degree can make you feel more satisfied, even if just a little, but it won't make you happier. Happiness can be found many, many, many ways but education has never been one of them. I wish somebody told me this when I was still in high school. Enjoy your educational journey and realize what education is, but also what it isn't. Just like a cool new set of tires on your car, it may make you grip the road better but it won't do squat when it comes keeping rain off your windshield or making your car stereo sound better.