Bad Review for WGU: Dishonest, Incompetent, and Unreliable

[scorpion]

Regarding the CS program, would GPA matter for the job opportunities after graduating with the CS degree? I have heard some say that it only matters for some jobs where there is a GPA cutoff but only up to that point.

If you're expected to discuss GPA, yes, you can get screwed. It depends more on the quality of the company and whether it's in the tech industry.

In tech, projects and demonstrated experience shipping software count for way more than your degree in the first place -- and at higher-tier companies, the leetcode grist mill.

The problem comes when you're trying to get internships or facing endless AHS applications after graduating. Better internship opportunities will be GPA-limited, and HR and employment screening (especially in non-tech industries) can force you to either leave a GPA off (putting you in the same bucket as everyone with a bad GPA), or substitute in WGU's handwaved B-equivalency numbers. Neither's a great option, and trying to pass off a pass/fail major "equivalent" to a 3.0 majors GPA can seriously limit your better opportunities.

Now he did graduate from an Ivey League school so that did probably help, but the point is worry about building your skills and you'll be fine.

So there's a couple things at play here: school/program recognition and requirements to get hired. Obviously anyone with a tier A degree at an Ivy can get an interview. Anything that's not tier A is effectively identical, as long as it's accredited and doesn't set off alarms.

The lack of a degree, a degree in non-CS discipline, and/or a degree from a non-elite school, are generally less stigmatized in the tech industry than in other industries. At least here in the SF Bay/Silicon Valley area. As a hiring manager, I know that I end to focus more on accomplishments and technical credentials (certifications) than degrees for the most part.
[...]
So, yeah, it is very possible to get a job at places like Google, Facebook, and Amazon without a degree at all. It'll help to have a referral to get your resume looked at, but you just need a strong resume and a portfolio of shipped products (and/or open-source contributions) to demonstrate you have the right skills to win an interview. After that, it comes down to how well you can think on your feet during the various interviews (usually this means multiple rounds of whiteboard coding and systems design interviews, along with at least one behavioral interview, and a management interview if you're looking for a lead role).

Yup, all good info.

This has very different implications for working at a big N vs. working at some regular company's dev department. Personal projects / demonstrable experience is great at getting your resume picked up. Having a degree from a tier A school is great at getting your resume picked up. But at a big N, having a relevant degree doesn't hurt, but it's even less important than it is elsewhere. Apply at modest tech companies or IT departments in non-tech industries, and you may need the degree since you're fighting with more old-school requirements and uninformed expectations.

But once it goes to interviews, you're at the mercy of the whiteboard. The more prestigious the company, the more you can expect to be grilled on your DS&A knowledge, with several rounds of Leetcode whiteboarding thrown in. Selective employers don't need to care about your degree (beyond the ability to gouge pay or boost their team prestige, respectively), so they can afford to put 100% of their effort into selecting against a very limited filter of domain knowledge.