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What is more important in the web design field? I am currently a college student (freshman) but i also have a full time job as a web developer for an internet start up. this start up is going to be huge. i cant say what it is due to NDA restrictions but we already have tons of investors and many many “professional” (paying) members lined up. i am one of three developers for the company and i am basically the lead because of my knowledge and experience. Now what i hate about college is im taking stupid classes that will never relate to anything i will ever do in my life and paying out the ass for it.

So for the professional developers out there, what is more important. A degree or experience in the Web Development Field? I can see both sides and i am noticing a lot of job posting ask for a BS in Computer Science or Equivalent but i also am seeing next to that “or Relevant Experience”. So it makes me feel like im wasting a huge amount of time and money on something that i may not use.

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

Are you asking our advise whether you should quit college or not?

no im asking people who have the degree in web development if they think it was worth it and the people who dont if they wish they would have. i do plan to go to college. im just not sure if i wanna do the normal 4 year program. i was thinking about just a 2 year program that is just on web development. and then if wanted to continue on to a BS i could…

Do schools offer degrees in Web Development?  When I was in college they certainly did not.  In any case, experience is the thing employers will weigh most heavily.  That being said, unless you are a wunderkind with a proven track record, the fact that you don’t have a college degree will reflect poorly, especially if you a seeking employment at large corporation or advertising agency.  A college education is about more than your major.  I won’t tell you to stay in college, but I won’t tell you to leave either.  That is a decision you will have to make on you own.  That being said, if I were you, I would continue my education in CS and take as many business courses as possible.

Banking your future on a startup business is a very risky prospect, and I highly suggest against it given the historical failure rate and the current economic conditions.  I know you said you had ‘tons’ of investors (really?), but in this economy they will pull out if you have an unsustainable burn rate and returns seem unlikely in the near future.  Also, you didn’t mention it explicitly so I have to ask… do you have equity in the company or are you just a paid employee?

I think it depends on your situation.  In the startup world, time to market is important.  Part of being a success is releasing your product at the right time and when the market needs it.  The same can be said of your own situation.  If now is the right time to market for you, then skip school.  If you think you would be better off delaying your entry four years but with the added benefit of a college degree, then do that.

Personally, I couldn’t imagine sitting on the sidelines for four + years.  Sure, you can work part time, but that is as far as you are going to be able to go in participating in the market.  Though times change, hard work is still an important ingredient to success and you are highly limited in the work you can do while you are going through school (hard work in school is good, but that doesn’t directly bring in the cash.)  This example is almost cliche, but Bill Gates dropped out of school to pursue his ideas.  If he would have continued through school it’s possible he would have missed the boat. 

There are other factors you have to consider…

I didn’t do well in high school and I should have had the foresight to know that I wouldn’t do well in college either.  School was just never my thing.  If you are in the same boat, don’t force it and don’t bother with school.

If you want to do research or teach in a University, then obviously a degree will be needed. 

Also important is the direction you would like to go in the future.  I would say most web developers are self-made and college has little relevance.  But full-on engineers probably need more of the college education unless diving deep into science and math comes naturally.  Web development is relatively easy to jump into, but I would think I would need that college bubble to build myself up to the type of developer who would write write code which lives depend on.  The path of learning purely for the sake of learning gets much more difficult when you get into the real world.

Experience is important, a degree will give you more options, but I think networking trumps everything.  A good networker who is a pretty good developer will trump a wizard who doesn’t have people skills.  Actually, I’m not even sure experience is really that important.  I have seen lots of people become a success with little experience and if you can land then gigs then experience comes fast.  Again, it’s more the intangibles as opposed to the sort of bullet points that you can put on a resume.

Forget about all those silly help wanted posts which lay out the laundry list of requirements to qualify for employment.  Those sorts of ads are the last stop for hiring people.  Those ads get posted after networking has failed to drum up enough help.  Build your networks and you may never have to reply to these sorts of posts.

Of course, I’m looking at this through the lenses of my own experience, so YMMV.

thanks all of you for your comments

I quit school last year after I have done some years over. I was going for uni and could’ve made that easily if I invested time and will. After I quit school I really started with all pc-related stuff (especially PHP) and since 2 months I have a 40h/week job as a PHP programmer. When I turn 21 I will still be going to uni (possible with a test here in holland) and with all the experience (2 years work and some certifications) I am sure I’ll make that.

When trying to get a job I found a lot of companies really want to see a degree, but experience in known companies will of course also help. The more experience and the better the degree, the more you’ll get paid. A guy at my current job knows half I know, is lazy and writes poor code, but earns 3x what I earn because of his experience (not even a degree).

I still think the developer who makes more money is the one who asks for it and is smooth enough to actually get it.  Apple could cut the prices of their laptops but they have made the decision to be a premium product.  When exchanging goods or services, you have to be able to sell.  If you can sell, you make more.  If you can’t, good luck.  Of course, quality of those goods is still important, but you still have to sell.

Ach! Flee the Web Development degree. Get a real Computer Science degree, a real Arts degree, or nothing at all. If you’re looking to get employed, a Web Development degree won’t help you at all.

There is one available at my school, but it’s like a real joke :D

That would have to be a community college I think.  My local University doesn’t even have two year degrees that I know of (though there is a “tech” college which is part of the same system which does offer them.)  I agree, 2 year web dev programs are a total waste of time and money.  Also, two years in a Uni doing comp sci won’t get you far.  You need to commit to the full degree or don’t bother.  I imagine taking time off after two years and then going back would be really hard.  Comp sci is jam packed with courses which build on each other.  If you forget the material from previous semesters then you might even have to retake some classes.

If you’re talking about my school, it used to be a type of community college… but this year it turned in to a full fledged university.

I myself am going for a diploma in Computer Information Systems, or a 4 year degree. (Whichever one I feel like doing the most, probably the latter)