<story><title>Consider getting a “DIY” degree online instead of a traditional CS major</title><url>https://www.pashabitz.com/posts/undergrad-altenative/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kstrauser</author><text>I think the biggest disadvantage of a DIY degree is that there&amp;#x27;s no one requiring you to take classes that don&amp;#x27;t interest you. Thing is, when I was studying, I was grossly incorrect about 1) which classes I would come to enjoy, and 2) which subjects I would actually use every day at work. There were lots of things I studied only because someone was making me, but that I found to be incredibly fascinating or useful once I had learned a little about them.&lt;p&gt;That&amp;#x27;s the biggest thing I think someone would give up by not pursuing a traditional degree.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>throwawaygh</author><text>These articles are essentially an instance of the fallacy that all labor is equivalent.&lt;p&gt;If you are self-motivated and intelligent enough to learn the equivalent of a CS degree on your own, then the upper bound on your career trajectory is often significantly higher than &amp;quot;senior software engineer&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;So even if you can self-learn, the article is still bad advice. Better advice would be &amp;quot;if you can learn this on your own, maybe aim higher than code monkey jobs&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;Go ahead and major in CS because it&amp;#x27;ll be easy and enjoyable and a good fallback. But also pick up a second major in pre-med&amp;#x2F;pre-law&amp;#x2F;econ&amp;#x2F;finance&amp;#x2F;engineering&amp;#x2F;etc. Or get involved in research projects, etc.&lt;p&gt;So, yes, this is bad advice for weak students. But it&amp;#x27;s &lt;i&gt;also&lt;/i&gt; often bad advice for strong students, who should be aiming high.</text></comment>
<story><title>Consider getting a “DIY” degree online instead of a traditional CS major</title><url>https://www.pashabitz.com/posts/undergrad-altenative/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kstrauser</author><text>I think the biggest disadvantage of a DIY degree is that there&amp;#x27;s no one requiring you to take classes that don&amp;#x27;t interest you. Thing is, when I was studying, I was grossly incorrect about 1) which classes I would come to enjoy, and 2) which subjects I would actually use every day at work. There were lots of things I studied only because someone was making me, but that I found to be incredibly fascinating or useful once I had learned a little about them.&lt;p&gt;That&amp;#x27;s the biggest thing I think someone would give up by not pursuing a traditional degree.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ocdtrekkie</author><text>In my view, the two college topics everyone should take is Physics and Constitutional Law (or equivalent in another country). Both will literally radically change how you look at the world, and provide a foundational basis for conversation in nearly any field.</text></comment>