I’m been thinking a lot about my future lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had it with blue collar work. I want more out of life than living paycheck to paycheck. For sometime now, I’ve been hearing that college degrees are worthless nowadays so thought about getting Comptia certifications (A+ and then Sec+) and working remotely. But then I thought about if AI will make those certifications obsolete. I know that “AI taking jobs” is a bit of sensationalist reporting but I do have legitimate concerns. I then thought about going back to college for “advance” careers like computer science and/or electrical engineering; more specifically, a bachelor’s degree.
What I want to know is this: would returning to college, especially for a tech-oriented degree, or will it be a waste of time and money? Should I pursue an alternative like certs? Thanks in advance.
Getting an engineering degree is generally a good thing. Demand and pay tend to be above average. A certificate can be helpful, but I have watched people hit a “paper ceiling” in their careers; people stuck with the title of “designer” doing an engineer’s work without an engineering degree, and never getting an engineer’s salary for it.
Whether a bachelor’s degree is beneficial for you personally will depend on a lot of things, not all of which are within your control. 20 years ago a BS in computer science was a golden ticket. Now the industry has shifted and the job placement rates for new CS grads are awful. It’s hard to predict the future.
I agree with the other commenter that going to university is good for the whole self. I was exposed to people, ideas, and experiences that I would never have encountered elsewhere. That alone made the effort worthwhile.
unless they took all the engineering classes, but for some reason dint get the degree. it would be wierd if they arnt trying to finish the degree.