Why having a CS degree is a negative hiring signal (for startups)
Supply and Demand
There are some basic supply and demand issues for CS graduates. On the supply side, a surprising number of jobs are at angel and venture-backed startups that are burning through cash to pay "market rates" for engineering "talent" and likely won't be around in five years. On the demand side, while there is currently significant demand for candidates with CS degrees, if you didn't graduate from a top CS program and/or don't excel at FizzBuzz, your options may be limited.
Entitlement
CS graduates think of themselves as special snowflakes, future Mark Zuckerbergs, worthy of extremely high compensation and authority.
Misguided Thinking
"CS thinking” involves putting all of the value in technology and then, when it doesn't sell itself, scrambling to find a "growth hacker" who can take it to market. When that fails, "lean startup philosophy" suggests that you pseudo-scientifically iterate over and over again until your angel investor's money is depleted.
Selection Bias
Because building functional CRUD applications that offer value doesn't require a CS degree, it really bears examining a person's motivation for getting one. Was it because he or she is more interested in the theoretical than the practical? Is the individual going to make decisions based on what is best for the business or on what technology or approach is sexiest? Will he or she be able to compromise when business needs dictate compromise?
Limited usefulness
How many startups ever need someone who can reproduce common algorithms that every popular programming language has functions for?
Opportunity Cost
The time someone spent getting a CS degree was time they could have spent actually developing domain expertise.
Supply and Demand
There are some basic supply and demand issues for CS graduates. On the supply side, a surprising number of jobs are at angel and venture-backed startups that are burning through cash to pay "market rates" for engineering "talent" and likely won't be around in five years. On the demand side, while there is currently significant demand for candidates with CS degrees, if you didn't graduate from a top CS program and/or don't excel at FizzBuzz, your options may be limited.
Entitlement
CS graduates think of themselves as special snowflakes, future Mark Zuckerbergs, worthy of extremely high compensation and authority.
Misguided Thinking
"CS thinking” involves putting all of the value in technology and then, when it doesn't sell itself, scrambling to find a "growth hacker" who can take it to market. When that fails, "lean startup philosophy" suggests that you pseudo-scientifically iterate over and over again until your angel investor's money is depleted.
Selection Bias
Because building functional CRUD applications that offer value doesn't require a CS degree, it really bears examining a person's motivation for getting one. Was it because he or she is more interested in the theoretical than the practical? Is the individual going to make decisions based on what is best for the business or on what technology or approach is sexiest? Will he or she be able to compromise when business needs dictate compromise?
Limited usefulness
How many startups ever need someone who can reproduce common algorithms that every popular programming language has functions for?
Opportunity Cost
The time someone spent getting a CS degree was time they could have spent actually developing domain expertise.