How hard is computer science really? I'm in my 30s and

>I'm in my 30s and going back to school for computer science.

Don't, it's not that deep that you need someone else to teach you.

There are tons of great programmers who never studied CS in university.

>>17957402
Well I'd like a bachelor's. I dropped out of school when I was younger and never finished and it's been something of an embarrassment and a career hindrance for me ever since. So I definitely want *some degree*.

>>17957402
If you're self-taught, you'd need an extensive portfolio in order to get jobs you'd be able to get if you only had a degree. A degree or portfolio is proof that you know what you say you know, no employer is going to just take your word for it over someone who can prove they have the skills they say they do

Not too hard, but CS is a theoretical subject that's actually a branch of mathematics.
It deals with combinatorics, graph theory, linear algebra, algorithms, among others.
You do learn some programming and some computer architecture, but it draws mostly (being CS) on the theoretical aspect of things.
Depending on where you go you might be taught either of python, java, C or C++ in order of difficulty (C++ being the hardest).
It is really not that hard, but you have to be resilient, some things may be harder than others. But since it's mostly symbol manipulation throughout, it really shouldn't be too hard.
It's different from a mathematics degree in that you don't have to do too much abstract thinking, it is also helpful because in CS you actually have a machine to test your work with, whereas in mathematics all you have is your brain and pencil & paper.

The main reason I'm asking, I signed up for some CS classes at the community college and signed up for one in particular that I don't have the recommended prereqs for and got a scary email from the prof about needing decent c++ skills (haven't touched c++ in 20 years) and the class taking 20-30 hours per week. It's data structures and algorithms.

Part of me is freaked out, part of me thinks it's a fucking cc class, how heard can it be? I can drop it and take it in another semester or two, which I'm leaning towards, but it may delay my graduating. I'm trying to do it in 3-4 years while working full time.

>>17957414
A degree is no proof of programming ability though.

If he knows the basics of programming already he should get a degree in something else or something more focused while practicing programming on the side. For example, right now automated driving engineers are in high demand now. He could get something related to that. In my case I work in finance but self-taught programming skills have been really important.

>>17957436
Yeah, it's in c++ and I blanched at that. I was hoping for Python or java big time. I remember c++ making no sense to me in high school, but I've gained better study skills and confidence since then.

>>17957443
>A degree is no proof of programming ability though.
No, it's not. But it's a lot more than "I can program, I swear!"

Don't you think at your age you should be doing more sophisticated research tactics on major career choices than shooting the breeze with people you don't know at all who have no proven qualifications to help you? On 4chan of all places? Why don't you just go seek out people with successful computer science careers or email professors of computer science at the college you want to apply to and ask them instead? You know, people who are actually qualified to help you?

Like seriously i'm in shock here. Just abandon this thread entirely and go talk to those people instead.

>>17957448
You can usually tell if someone is bullshitting within about 5 minutes of interviewing them desu

>>17957453
Sure, I'll go ask Reddit.

>>17957453
I know /adv/ in particular is braindead but some of us crossboarders do have careers

>>17957500
Yeah, and it's not like I haven't asked other people.

>>17957453
Not OP, but I managed to get dev job solely because of an anon's advice on /g/.

>>17957576
nice, i didn't know /g/ existed. I assume all those single letter boards are for porn.

>>17957438
>Part of me is freaked out, part of me thinks it's a fucking cc class, how heard can it be?

A bad prof who doesn't clearly outline expectations can make a simple topic quite difficult ( by that I mean, you're unlikely to get the grades you desire even with applied effort ), and you will find a lot of bad profs in community college.

>>17957610
I'm pretty good at using outside resources though. I took a JavaScript class at one point where the prof gave a similar ominous message and point blank advised me to drop the class. I told him I already knew everything he was going to teach and this was just review for me. I got a 98 at the end.

I'm not as confident that I'll be able to do the same with c++ though.

I'll probably just play it safe and drop the class. I'll just have to take a lot of classes one semester to make up the time I'm wasting.