Originally Posted by TMM_John

Maybe 10-20% of applicants who come to us for an interview with a Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a similar field can't write a function to take in a number and return two times that number when asked to do so in any programming language they choose. These are graduates with degrees from large legitimate universities.

Of the 80-90% who can, maybe only 1/3 of them actually "get it". The rest simply went through the motions and got their degree. "I'll get a good job if I just finish 13th-16th grade" seems to be the mentality of most.

A degree isn't what it was 25 years ago. Everyone goes now. Everyone graduates now. Even a lot of people with their Master's don't know what they're doing or talking about. They paid their tuition, showed up, and got their degree.

Years back, Google ran an ad looking for talent. It listed out their requirements, a relevant degree being one of course. However, at the bottom they said something along the lines of "Or if you've been writing code for fun in your basement for 15 years, we want to talk to you too".

Having a degree certainly doesn't make or break someone. It doesn't hurt, but its not undeniable evidence of knowledge or skill. Far too often these days people have more education than ability.

(This of course applies to the computer field. Good luck trying to become a doctor or a lawyer without a degree.)