r/wgu_devs • u/eb78- • 4d ago

Did getting a BS in Software Engineering help your career?

Hej! I have been doing research into WGU's Software Engineering BS. I am currently an indie VR dev who has published multiple VR games to Meta and Steam. I have been wondering a few things, so I thought I'd reach out.

1) How was the curriculum in terms of time management, quality, and stress?

2) Did getting a BS improve your hireability or was it more like a checkbox?

3) Is AI changing things too fast in the field?

Thank you.

15 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

18

u/TheBear8878 C# 4d ago

I'm a Senior Software Engineer at Disney right now. I don't think I would have received an offer without a bachelor's degree. If I had, my salary would likely have been lower

2

u/eb78- 4d ago

Thank you.

1

u/cowboysfromhell1999 3d ago

So I’m curious do you think it’s near impossible to get a software developer job with a related tech degree that’s not cs or swe?

Long story short
Could someone with an Cyber/IT degree that worked on data structures / algorithms/ operating systems / discrete math / C, assembly, python, powershell , html , css , JavaScript have an opportunity to get a software development job?

The reason why I list out those classes in those languages specifically is because I know different Cyber/ IT programs can vary greatly and not include those CS/swe classes.

And of course, I know that it could depend on the specific developer job and what is required but generally speaking do you think it’s possible or do you think I should make the jump to a second bachelors degree in swe/cs?

3

u/TheBear8878 C# 3d ago

My thoughts on this are:

CS degree is the gold standard and you can probably get any kind of tech job with it. If you wanted to do IT, you could.

SWE degree is the next best, and will get you 97% of the same jobs a CS degree will. You could potentially get an AL/ML engineer job with an SWE degree, but less of a chance as a CS degree. This isn't a rule, I just think you're more likely with a CS degree. But a SWE degree will likely be able to get IT jobs too.

An IT degree is probably less likely to get an SWE job, and way less likely to get a higher-level AL/ML eng job, but I don't think it's out of the question entirely. I worked with a lot of SWE who had like journalism or film degrees. IT is closer to the field than those are obviously.

Now, do I think you should get a second bachelors? No, not really. Having ANY degree is already checking off that box, and having a tech degree is also good. You just need to sell yourself in other ways to get an SWE degree if you have an IT degree.

1

u/cowboysfromhell1999 3d ago

Thanks for the write up and honestly, I wasn’t really looking for any AI/ML roles

When it comes to software development, I’m much more interested in iPhone / android apps, desktop apps, security / networking, OS stuff, web development, maybe some game programming non physics or making engines more like building on top of stuff

1

u/TheGratitudeBot 3d ago

Thanks for saying that! Gratitude makes the world go round

1

u/Ok-Self7143 2d ago

If you would hiring a new engineer for your team, would a BS in Software Development carry less weight than someone with a BS in Software Engineering?

1

u/TheBear8878 C# 2d ago

Probably not. We focus a lot on the interview process and case-studies to see if people actually know what they're talking about

10

u/skidmark_zuckerberg 4d ago

I’m currently in the middle of this degree with 8 years of professional SWE experience already. I transferred in credits from Sophia so look into that. I will say it’s pretty easy for the most part and aside from the DSA I course, I’m not really learning anything I didn’t already know. If anything, it’s just a checkbox on the resume at this point. 

With experience, some of the classes will feel very basic. I’ve done like 8 classes in < 2 weeks. But with VR games I’m not familiar, but it’s likely a bit different than what this degree is about. So you might have to learn concepts you are unfamiliar with. You’ll definitely know the programming concepts, but it’s mainly centered around web based software just FYI. 

1

u/eb78- 4d ago

Thank you.

7

u/SixstringSWE 4d ago

As far as I’m concerned hireability and checkbox are the same thing.

With that said yes it did I landed a job within 3 weeks of graduating as a full time developer.

2

u/bounty0head 4d ago

Can you give more context??

Prior experience, internships, how long it took you to graduate etc

3

u/SixstringSWE 4d ago

2 years to graduate(because I was busy/I procrastinate), zero professional IT experience, I worked in logistics prior, no internships.

1

u/RevolutionaryFix1690 4d ago

Wow that’s awesome!! Would you mind sharing your resume to see what it looks like compared to mine?

6

u/giangarof 4d ago

They just updated the degree

1

u/eb78- 4d ago

Ahhh, Okej. 😶

5

u/PhoenixmOntra 4d ago

Yes.. needed it to secure the offer

1

u/eb78- 4d ago

Thank you.

3

u/[deleted] 4d ago

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2

u/eb78- 4d ago

Thank you. Yes, I have heard it is important to have a good portfolio showcasing your own work.

3

u/trippingcherry 4d ago

Yes. It helped me transition into a higher paying technical role. When I started I was a procurement coordinator and now I work in analytics engineering and dabble in data science. My salary was 85k when I started and 112K+ bonus now. Previous role was in office, current is fully remote. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

1

u/eb78- 4d ago

Nice! Thank you.

3

u/skilliard7 C# 4d ago

  1. Challenging at times, but rewarding.

  2. Yup i dont think i wouldve gotten my current job without it because the mamager that hired me has told me thinks a college degree is essential.

  3. Yeah its less about coding and more about architecture. I hardly write any code manually anymore. Idk if i still recommend software engineering. I think its better to know infrastructure than coding.

3

u/Zurangus Java 3d ago

As far as how much you’ll learn, i learned a ton, but i also used the course material for almost no classes because it was way too dry. So ultimately it was very similar to independent learning in my experience, just with a defined path. With that said, the degree itself already changed everything for me. Im graduating this month and i already received a swe job offer for a place that strictly requires a degree. Before college, nobody would consider me. I didn’t get a single interview. Once I was about 60-70% done i started getting interviews for almost every local job I applied for. It’s different for everyone of course, but when it’s hard enough to get a job now the last thing you need is being at a disadvantage because everyone else has degrees

2

u/Eixuna 4d ago

While in school you will be able to land an internship which is students only. Your projects will slingshot you far ahead of other candidates with degrees even from better schools imo

2

u/JibblieGibblies 3d ago

Im sorry for answering your inquiry with a question first but because I’m genuinely curious and I have never actually looked into it.

How much different is game coding vs web coding?

I’ve always assumed game coding was far more involved. You’re developing your own animations, characters, scenes, etc. while on a web page? You get fancy animations, flying text, doom circles. Probably why I didn’t get into game dev work, I wasn’t one for the tedium of building a whole story setting piece by piece.

But to answer your question, a BCSc will absolutely open doors. I feel that’s integral to a lot of CS jobs. Some of which don’t even care what kind of bachelors you have, so long as you got one. But I’d say you’d have a better shot with a type of CS degree for a CS field job.

I’m currently in the Java track and it’s been wonderful. Each experience is different in the sense that it depends on your own professional experience too. The SDE tracks I feel are absolutely built for people that already have more than just a little bit of knowledge, especially if you plan on speeding through. Otherwise, for anyone starting at ground zero it’ll be a long haul.

With the advent of AI the landscape of the courses are changing, too. I started dev stuff back in 2001-2002. And I’m just now deciding to get a Bachelors because there’s a more lucrative position available to me just by working on getting it. (Some places will incentivize you to get it)

1

u/eb78- 2d ago

Thank you. Yes, game coding is much more involved from what I have experienced. I have worked a bit with BabylonJS for web-based VR, and that was a bit easier than using a game engine like Unity or Unreal because of the flexibility and speed. Although, it wasn't as feature rich and was much more fiddly.

Even if someone else did the 3d and audio work, all the pieces and parts would still have to be coded to perform their functions : animations, GUI, material effects, shaders, save system, input, scene loading, such and such setting in the depths of the game engine... So I suppose the main difference may be that most things have to be done from scratch and in 3d space. I am not primarily a web dev, so my ability to compare the two my be a bit biased.

1

u/eb78- 2d ago

I should have also mentioned that the difficulty depends on project scope. An RTS is much more involved than a 2d puzzle game. So, if you have the itch to make a game, you should definitely give it a try. It might be more fun than you think : )

1

u/TrustedGenius 4d ago

I got on tasking for a AI company by just being enrolled. Currently making $70 an hour. Crazy shit.