Episode 52 – Code School Vs. 4-Year College

The decision to learn to code is a big one and often a life-changing one. While you could opt to get a formal education at a local college or university, obtaining your degree in computer science is likely going to take you two to four years. Do you really want to wait that long?
Another option is to sift through the numerous code schools available in your area or online and find the one that makes the most sense for you, but what do you look for in a code school, and why? What are the most important factors to consider when choosing a code school?

Episode Highlights and Show Notes:
Codeschool vs College

Cost

$0 (freecodecamp (https://www.freecodecamp.com/), appacademy (https://www.appacademy.io/) (C)) to $15K for code schools
$40K to $100K for BS in Computer Science of Engineering. Some of that can be deferred and reduced by grants and loans


Time to graduate

4 months for code schools. Ability to jump start a professional career within 6 months.
4 years for BS. More time to absorb more knowledge and work with different professors and students


Technical grounding

Solid practical grounding for code schools
Solid theoretical grounding for BS.


How fast can you get a job after you graduate

6 months for code schools
3 months for BS


Salary

$40 to $60K for code schools
$50 to $75K for BS


Industry connections

Possible to get real industry introductions via mentors and teachers for code schools
Some schools have industry connections and adjunct professors from the industry but overwhelmingly, BS does not give any connections


Theoretical foundation

Most foundational knowledge is iffy for code schools
Solid foundation for deeper understanding of computing systems in BS. Some CS departments are far better at it than others.


Advanced study options

No real options for advanced studies for code schools
Great opportunities to do advanced studies in graduate school for research and deep analysis in a CS program. Can get MS and PhD degrees and even beyond using Post Docs.


professorship and teaching

Unless you teach at a code school, little opportunity to teach at a formal educational institute for code schools
Realistic opportunity to teach as an adjunct after a BS. The probability increases dramatically with an MS degree. With a PhD, you could potentially get a tenured position which has its benefits in terms of more free time, summers off, and time to pursue research and academic ambitions.


credibility

Starting out, not much in terms of credibility for code schools
With a BS degree in CS, people generally give you the benefit of the doubt.


Ability to get your foot in the door

Depending on how connected a code school is to the industry, getting your first job may be easier or harder than with a BS degree. Without extraordinary connections, this may be a steep climb.
For a lot of large corporations, using a BS degree as required qualification for a developer job makes it easier for them to whittle down the mountain of resumes they get for job postings. It doesn’t necessarily mean they think candidates with BS degrees are better. For a number of these types of companies, it is possible to get your foot in the door on the back of a decent GPA in a BS degree and a couple of school projects.


Promotions and raises

For most small and medium sized companies that have software developers on staff, once an employee has worked several years as a developer,

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