U.S. Plans to Stop Funding Low-Earning Degrees. Indiana May Just End Them | Hacker News Reader

U.S. Plans to Stop Funding Low-Earning Degrees. Indiana May Just End Them

insidehighered.com

8 pointsbikenaga8 comments

‘ The programs projected to fail, if the federal test were to take effect today instead of this summer, include Ball State University’s bachelor’s degree in dance, Indiana University at Bloomington’s bachelor’s in music, Ivy Tech Community College’s associate degree in library and archives assisting, IU Northwest and Purdue University Northwest’s bachelor’s degrees in English language and literature—general, Purdue Northwest’s bachelor’s in computer software and media applications, the University of Southern Indiana’s master’s degree in mental and social health services and allied professions, and Ivy Tech’s associate in teacher education and professional development–specific levels and methods’

I could have guessed they were largely liberal arts degrees.

If you want to be “liberal arts snarky” about things, discontinue computer degrees of any form as pure wastes of time. Either AI will render them obsolete, or coursework and schooling are poor approximations for hacking and getting starts through things like Y Combinator.

I grew up in ancient times but I was hacking away before I headed off to uni, and I didn’t take a cs course once there. But I’ve made a career out of development. It’s not the books, it’s the practice.

Yeah really, I got my degree after working my way up to dream job.

for every one like you I’ve worked with there are about 25 that went to school and got formal degree in their field and it showed at work. and the “you” I encountered were all exceptional which you definitely sound like you are as well. but you are an exception. try getting a job anywhere in any industry (particularly ours) with “i am self-thought _____” - you’d likely be put into “code bootcamp candidate” bucket and never get a chance to even show what you are made of.

Judging from the recent hiring commentary, those from school with proper degrees aren’t going to be hired either. At least not hired until the AI hype dies down. As I said, it’s the practice and results - what code you’ve made and how it’s used. Gotta rise above the madding crowd. Now, I’m not sure the managers even care about anything other than reducing headcount.

And I wasn’t saying not get a degree, merely not get one in cs. Get one where da can be applied.

> And I wasn’t saying not get a degree, merely not get one in cs. Get one where da can be applied.

example?

Engineering, Chemistry, Biology to start. Simulation, property prediction, implementation of AI/ML, data and model validation, databasing, e-notebooks, structure elucidation... Lots of stuff uses computers to facilitate how projects move forward.

this makes sense but EOD say you are in charge of recruiting, you are team lead and ultimately the buck stops with you - you are hiring for entry-level SWE position. you have two candidates from the same school, one is a CS grad and one has a degree in Biology or Chemistry. all else being similar-ish who do you hire? I can tell you from my experience that CS grad will get the nod. one of the best developers I have ever worked with had a degree in Physics and no "formal" hacking training so after my time in the industry I will carefully review the candidate through and through but I think overall the CS grad will get the nod. maybe things will be different in the future, our industry is rapidly changing in front of our eyes but as a Dad I can tell you that if my kid wanted a career like mine (God I hope not :) ) I would advise her to get a CS-ish degree

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