Ask HN: Good software jobs other than web dev, for the self-taught?

Honestly, I really wish there were easier ways to go back and get a second bachelors degree or cheap masters degree for CS, for those of us with a Bachelors in another field and who are self taught. I don't need a boot camp, I've got the basics down, But I would definitely benefit from a credential like an MS or BS in CS, and it wouldn't hurt to have some additional instruction on things like constructing parsers, complex data structures (interval trees, k-d trees and other means of space partitioning) with an emphasis on what solutions exist for which problems, etc.

The later I can learn on my own, but a good teacher can speed learning tremendously, and help you retain material to boot. The academic credential, though, isn't something you can get through industry, which seems a shame when even places like starbucks have business degrees that use on the job training to substitute for classroom time.

Most engineers I've interviewed for engineering positions that were self-taught were very good at building working applications (That's how they learned), but sucked with fundamentals or writing something that is maintainable. I find that without a classical training, that development is unstructured, poorly estimated, barely tested, and brittle to changing requirements.

If you can prove you do not follow the same "gotchas," you'll be employable anywhere you meet their hiring bar.

For engineering, as long as you know what to do, it doesn't matter what your education is. That said, without a 4 year degree many programmers do not learn the "bits and bytes" or the vocabulary / science behind the applications they build.

TLDR - don't limit yourself based on what you think your degree will afford you.