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Comment by pdubs | Hacker News Reader

>You might want to consider a BA rather than a BS because BAs generally have less requirements.

A BA is worth far less than a BS in the technical world for precisely this reason. I honestly can't believe they even offer BAs in Computer Science.

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I'm convinced a BA in CS is the perfect balance between what the article is espousing and those in favor of a more rigorous technical background, at least for those who veer towards the programmer side of the computer scientist <-----> programmer scale. Getting a BA gave me a solid foundation in comp sci while also letting me get a true liberal arts education. Studying music, literature, philosophy, etc helped me become a much more well-rounded person than had I gotten a BS, but still gave me what I felt to be proper exposure to CS as a field within a formal academic context.

See I never got this argument. I studied history, music, and political science on the way to a BS; most schools have liberal arts requirements for all students. The main difference between BS and BA programs in most cases (in addition to a few more required math/science generals) is the number of required upper-level electives in the CS department, 3 vs 8 courses in my case. For me, I learned significantly more in the last 6 or so CS courses I took, things that give me a competitive edge in the industry. It takes you past the basics without sacrificing a well-rounded education.

I would say your university is non-normative in this respect. There is usually no difference in the CS education. The difference is whether the full engineering core is required. If you don't intend to "be a engineer" the engineering core is of questionable benefit. If you intend to work on embedded systems it can be helpful.

To re-iterate. I have yet to meet anyone who cared that I have a BA. That list included employers, recruiters, and the admissions department for my graduate school (I am a PhD. student). It doesn't matter. Ever.

I call bullshit. No one, and I mean no one, cares about BA vs BS.

Depending on the position, a prospective employer may not care if you have either. Someone with a 2-year degree or diploma in related skills can do plenty of the programming tasks out there, especially if all we're talking about is gluing together frameworks and the like.

Yeah, my BA in geography stopped me from getting work programming research stuff in a top rated CS department. Oh wait... other than a couple of questions from interviewers who seem actually interested in how I went from geography to programming, no one thought twice. And here's the real kicker: my knowledge of $NOT_CS comes in handy all the time, when examining impact and importance of our work as well as where and how to position it to the world.

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