This is my first post in Gamedev forums in a long time, I used to have an account a little over 10 years ago but since forgot the username etc... I would like to say it's great to see Gamedev is still alive and active and full of the same great content I used to see here. That being said, I have a tough question that I hope I can get some experienced knowledge and perspective around.

I have been developing web services and web applications for about 10 years now, and I do love coding for a living. Before actually landing a job in the industry I was coding only as a hobby, and hoping that I could some day trade in my retail job(s) for one in development. My first language was C++ simply because that's what was taught at my local high-school From there I toyed with VB, Java, C# and eventually ASP/PHP for web-pages. I feel I have a solid understanding of data structures, algorithms, software design/enterprise patterns and computer architecture. All of this I have attained with passion and seeking help from professionals in the field or related fields. I have taken a total of 5 college classes in my entire life, and while I've always considered going to college a huge benefit, I've never actually made the commitment to go.

Present day I find it very easy to land a development position in web/biz dev. and the compensation is so far fantastic. That being said, I still find an enormous amount of discrimination by engineers & co-workers who have one (or several) degrees. I'm not exactly the most secure person, and I've always had a shy personality (with a touch of social anxiety) so I don't exactly brush off co-workers jokes or remarks. Really it makes me question my situation and assess my goals.

What I want to get some feedback on is this. Would someone in my position benefit from a Computer Science degree? I don't want to ask if I would benefit from any degree, because to me this answer is almost always yes. Other then CSC I have also considered electrical engineering as I would truly want to increase my knowledge of hardware. I have also had experienced people tell me that I shouldn't worry about a degree and my experience is enough to continue to drive my career. I understand where they come from, but can this statement really be true?

I try to take it all with a grain of salt, however I have a huge passion for development and want to do the next right thing when it comes to my career. If you read my entire question, thanks for taking the time, and I appreciate any and all feedback.

Would someone in my position benefit from a Computer Science degree?

That is the core of your question.

And the answer to your question is answered in the FAQs.

You have identified several reasons to go back, and several reasons not to go back.

So there are two items: Get degree; Don't get degree.

There are several other options available, such as getting an associates degree, bachelors degree, or masters degree. Or, since you have a decade of work experience, getting an MBA or a combined CS+MBA option. There are also shorter options from trade schools like DeVry and such.

If you decide the degree is worth it for you, you don't necessarily have to go to a traditional school with a bunch of 20-year-olds; there are schools that offer night and weekend programs, there are schools that offer 'distance learning' and 'continuing education'. Personally I'd recommend avoiding online-only schools because there have been many scamming institutions.

Ultimately you're the only one who can decide what is right for you.

Hope that helps.

I have read through the FAQs and concluded that to break into the industry you need a degree, are you implying that this is in fact the case for someone with my volume of experience? I appreciate the reference to a pros/cons grid, and I've done this several times already in my decision making. What I'm attempting to attain is experience around this issue from others that have made the same type of decision and had a similar experience. For example, knowing people that have 10+ years of experience without a degree, or perhaps knowing of someone that turned their career around by getting a degree. I would also like some information on what intelectual benefits (what would I actually learn) should I go to school for Computer Science especially considering what I already know.

I understand I'm the only person that can make my decisions, this is overly obvious. I'm not asking someone to pick my options and tell me what to do, I'm looking for success or failure experiences before I decide to go get tens of thousands of dollars and change my day job to support school. If you are saying "the FAQs say get a degree so get a degree", then I appreciate your insight and perspective, is this something you've done with success?

Sorry if my reply came off "snarky", I really do appreciate the information you provided

Thank you so much for the information, it is very helpful. I know the problem I'm presenting is ambiguous and it's clear that I'm a bit confused, however this clear cut perspective is refreshing. I can find good information on jumping from biz-dev. to game development, and it's not exactly an easy task but nothing worth while ever is.

Based on the information here I will probably be pursuing a EE degree just for the hardware knowledge I wish to have, but I'm still considering jumping from web biz dev. to game development. I'm not exactly an old man so perhaps theres room for both of these goals.

Thanks again for helping steer this lost dev. in the right direction!

Dude you have 10 years of experience. No new college grad is going to be able to beat that.

Get a degree if: 1) To get passed the HR filter (which you already have)

2) To fail at impressing your coworkers(like your coworkers tried impressing you, but failed)

3) To get knowledge in a field you have no clue about

Honestly I think its your friends who are the insecure ones. They have to justify their degrees to you because you

are more successful than them without one

If you already know about CS and wanna try EE then go ahead. But Warning: its crazy hard, get ready to buckle down and study full time

good luck

Dude you have 10 years of experience. No new college grad is going to be able to beat that.

Get a degree if: 1) To get passed the HR filter (which you already have)

2) To fail at impressing your coworkers(like your coworkers tried impressing you, but failed)

3) To get knowledge in a field you have no clue about

Honestly I think its your friends who are the insecure ones. They have to justify their degrees to you because you

are more successful than them without one

If you already know about CS and wanna try EE then go ahead. But Warning: its crazy hard, get ready to buckle down and study full time

good luck

Thanks much for the positive words. I understand a degree in EE would be difficult, but I have a pretty solid passion for computers and I think I can find a good program to build onto what I know.

Do you have experience with EE degree? So far my understanding is you can do "electrical track" and "computer track" (not sure if my terminology is correct here), I think I would want to go computer track but clearly I need to do more investigation.

I also believe I would get a better foundation in mathematics with this type of degree, which can be beneficial in many ways. At any rate thanks for the feedback, if you have any experience or suggestions on EE schools would be appreciated.