I’ve always been fascinated by computers. As a kid, I was the one who aced every ICT class, the one who could troubleshoot family laptops, the one who instinctively understood how technology worked. But growing up in a public school where coding wasn’t even on the curriculum, no one ever pushed me to explore it further. No teacher said, "You’re good at this—you should learn programming." No mentor guided me toward computer science. So, like many others, I stumbled into tech much later, teaching myself how to code out of passion.
And now, years into my career as a self-taught software engineer, I have one big regret: I wish I had just studied computer science.
The Limits of Being Self-Taught
When you teach yourself, you learn what you need to know, not what you should know. For me, that meant diving deep into frontend development—JavaScript, React, CSS—because that’s where the jobs were. And for a while, it worked. I built things, I got hired, I progressed.
But then reality hit: I was pigeonholed.
"You’re Just a Frontend Dev" – No matter how much I tried to branch out, people saw me as only a frontend engineer. Colleagues with CS degrees—even those with less experience—were handed backend tasks, DevOps work, system design challenges. They were allowed to fail, to learn, to grow. Meanwhile, I was stuck in the same role, fighting the perception that I couldn’t do more.
Gaps in Fundamentals – I didn’t fully understand data structures, algorithms, or how computers really worked under the hood. When faced with complex problems, I had to work twice as hard just to catch up. CS grads had a structured foundation; I had scattered knowledge from tutorials and Stack Overflow.
Shitty Startups & Stunted Growth – Because I lacked a degree, my early career was a grind through exploitative startups—long hours, toxic cultures, zero mentorship. These companies didn’t invest in my growth; they just burned me out. Meanwhile, my peers with CS degrees walked into better-structured companies with real career paths.
The Harsh Truth About Self-Taught vs. CS Degrees
Yes, you can succeed without a degree. But you’ll always be fighting an uphill battle:
Gatekeeping in Hiring – Some companies (especially big tech) still filter resumes by degree.
Lack of Depth – Without formal education, you might miss critical concepts that become important later (networking, concurrency, compilers).
Career Ceilings – Moving into senior roles, architecture, or specialized fields (AI, security, distributed systems) is much harder without foundational knowledge.
If You’re Young and Have the Chance—Just Study CS
If you’re still in school or early in your career, and you love tech, go to university for computer science. It’s not just about the degree—it’s about the structured learning, the mentorship, the exposure to concepts you’d never stumble upon alone. It’s about having the credibility to move freely in your career instead of being boxed into one role.
If, like me, you’re already deep into the self-taught path, it’s not hopeless—but you’ll have to work harder to fill the gaps. Study algorithms, take online CS courses, force yourself into unfamiliar areas of programming.
But if you have the choice? Don’t make my mistake. Just study computer science. Your future self will thank you.
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