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Is a 4-year degree still worth it or should I just go for certifications?
I've been reading both sides online and talking to people I know. My cousin got a computer science degree 5 years ago from a state school, paid about $40k total, and now makes $75k at a bank. But my neighbor took a 6-month AWS certification course for $2k in 2022 and landed a $95k cloud job last year. I'm trying to decide for myself which path to take. For those of you working right now, what's your take? Did the degree pay off or would you have skipped it for certs?
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young.michael21h agoMost Upvoted
Your neighbor's story is exactly what I've been seeing too... a buddy of mine did a cybersecurity bootcamp for like $3k and now he's making more than me with a bachelor's in business. The whole system feels rigged sometimes when you look at the numbers. Real talk though, the degree helped me get my foot in the door at my first job but the certs got me the actual money later on. It's like the degree is a safety net but the certifications are the ladder if that makes sense.
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adam_baker18h ago
Gotta push back a little on something that's been floating around here. Your neighbor's story is real and that's awesome for them, but the AWS cert alone didn't get them that $95k job, right? They probably had some prior tech experience or a strong network to land that role. The cert just showed they could learn the platform. For most people, especially starting from zero, a degree builds a broader foundation that makes certs actually stick. Certs are great for proving you can do one specific thing, but they don't teach you how to think through a whole system or communicate with a team. That's where the degree still pulls its weight, even if it hurts to say it.
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