I am currently a college freshman at a small university in California and I am facing a difficult academic choice right now. I am passionate about software and game development, having been working with technology and enjoying programming for several years now. The problem is, the school I am attending right now offers only a liberal arts major. I am wondering if such a degree would be a big barrier from entering the software development industry (specifically in the area of programming) in the future. The reason why I am at such a University is primarly because financial reasons. I was pondering transferring to a different school to pursue a Computer Science degree, but that would be a big financial burden upon me and my family, and I am not certain if it would be worthwhile, especially considering I have received a full-ride scholarship for 4 years at the University I am currently attending. My plan, if staying, would be to take extra courses during summer in the field of Computer Science, continue teaching myself related concepts as I have been in the past and look for internships in this field. Still, since my school offers only a Liberal Arts degree, those would not count towards it. I have sent a similar inquiry to some developers in the area but so far received only one reply. I figured I might as well try asking here, as I know some people in the industry post here. Would having theoretical software development knowledge, but a Liberal Arts degree significantly limit my chances in the future? Or is it not a big enough a deal to warrant changing schools (and losing my financial assistance) over it? I know that a lot of the people in the industry come from all sorts of backgrounds, but when browsing jobs and internships, I would say some 95% of them flat out require a computer science degree. EDIT: I wasn't exactly sure which forum to put this in and I figured this may be the closest match. feel free to move it if necessary.

Koobazaur,

I feel for you.

Quote:
Would having theoretical software development knowledge, but a Liberal Arts degree significantly limit my chances in the future? Or is it not a big enough a deal to warrant changing schools (and losing my financial assistance) over it? I know that a lot of the people in the industry come from all sorts of backgrounds, but when browsing jobs and internships, I would say some 95% of them flat out require a computer science degree.

Yes it would, but does it stop you? No. Will it be harder? Yes.

I have a Bachelor in Fine Arts but I'm a lead programmer on a large title. I've been working in the industry for years now. I got the gig by spending all my high school days programming. When I was in university I still programmed. I went the route I did because I didn't want to go and studio CS - I was more interested in Art.

You need to be able to prove yourself and you may need to take some first jobs at sub-par salary but once your prove yourself it won't matter. No one asks me where I went to school anymore - it's not an issue.

Just make sure you work hard at your liberal arts degree and be committed to finding those jobs. If you have a great demo this will really help.

Best of luck.

/S

Quote: Original post by Koobazaur
Would having theoretical software development knowledge, but a Liberal Arts degree significantly limit my chances in the future? ... when browsing jobs and internships, I would say some 95% of them flat out require a computer science degree.

No, your "chances in the future" are not significantly limited by any particular degree. With a degree, your future is likely to be better than without one.
And yes, all the game programming jobs want you to have a CS or CE degree. Other game jobs do not require those particular degrees. That said, it is possible (although possibly more difficult) to get a programming job without one of those particular degrees.

You have extra work ahead of you as Sphet as stated you are going to have to make lots of connections ie friends before you graduate.
If anything a degree shows prospective employers that you can stick with something for a length of time in most cases 4 years.