Going to school just for the paperwork is kind of a bad idea. Ideally, one should learn something useful when getting a degree. Just pointing out the obvious which seems to be overlooked here.
It doesn't matter that you have 25 years of experience and run circles around people with Masters degrees. You never even make it far enough in the door to show that.
Also if you don't have an "in" at the company you will be rejected by software before a person even has to look at it
Such and such university (2010)
It doesn't lie stating that you have a degree but it gets past auto and human filters and you can explain that you went but found it wasn't for you, you weren't learning anything, you worked better being self taught or whatever, you've got your foot in the door ( or at least as much in the door as people with actual degrees on their resumes)
I'm pretty sure recruiters don't bother to look at your CV anymore these days- I keep being asked for my phone number, which is in my CV, after I've sent it in. So if they're just doing an automated scan-and-screen, I'm sorely tempted to try and game it.
A single year universally indicates the year that you graduated.
A degree would usually include B.S. Computer Science. I always tell them in an interview if it comes up or if they ask for transcripts/proof of degree. I actually have nearly 30 credits more than necessary for a degree but missed an elective requirement for my degree program due to a miscommunication about transfer credits. By the time I figured it out my graduating year I already had job offers and would have had to stay an extra semester to take one class. I figured I would take care of it later - started working - never did and it has never mattered.
Really? For software dev jobs? I admit that I haven't looked at the market much, but when I look, experience almost always seems to trump education.
My software company, for instance, requires "an undergraduate degree in CS or equivalent experience", leaving open door for people without the degree.
I think it's less common now, but it used to be that people wanted to see a degree before they'd talk to you. Many of the biggest companies still use it as a way to weed out undesirable candidates, even if it costs them some awesome potential candidates.
In the end, I generally don't want to work at companies that do things that way, so I don't find it that big of a deal. But when I got my degree, I thought it was a requirement, which is a lot of what drove me to get it in the first place.