(August 30, 2020 at 1:09 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:(August 30, 2020 at 12:02 pm)FlatAssembler Wrote: And what makes you think an employer is more likely to value a diploma more than being able to build a compiler targeting WebAssembly and x86? Some employers will probably value one over the other, some other employers vice versa. I am not saying I know for certain most employers would value somebody being able to build a compiler more than somebody having a diploma, but I also see no reason to think otherwise.
But if you can build a compiler AND you have a diploma, you’ll have a much better chance at securing a position. And (probably) for better pay than you would without the diploma.
Imagine you need heart surgery. Would you prefer a surgeon who had been to and graduated from medical school, or a surgeon who was self-taught?
As Angrboda said, people - particularly employers - like those pieces of paper.
Boru
I don't think you can compare programming with medicine like that. Maybe programming for medical devices or airplane safety devices can be compared to medicine. And, for those things, the knowledge that's taught at the university can come useful. If you are programming for medical devices or airplane security devices, it's useful to be able to academically prove your program will behave as expected even in unexpected situations. Almost everywhere else though (web-development...), knowledge that's taught at the university is useless or even worse than useless (using system calls you've been taught at your Operating System classes is a big no-no in real programming...).