zubr1768

I'm a web developer who has been at it for over a decade. I have worked for startups and agencies as programmer and designer of both front and backend solutions, and have been maintaining a freelance business for about 7 years now. I have three BA degrees in humanities, including one in Music and another in Fine Art. I've never had a problem finding web-related work. Web development has given me the flexibility in life to pursue a variety of things, eventually to realize, happily, that doing this is actually my primary passion. However, I continuously see more job adverts - oftentimes the more interesting ones - requesting a BS in CS.

I respect this and can understand why a company would prefer a credentialed candidate for a job. At this point I would enjoy the process of working through a CS degree - there are some holes in my learning, especially in mathematics, that I would like to shore up, and I think that approaching a CS degree with my experience in tow would yield good results on many levels, as there is so much that I could learn and apply what I already know to. But at this point I don't want to spend the money, and living in a college atmosphere doesn't appeal to me either. All of what I currently know about programming I've gleaned from the web and on-the-job research. But now I'm wanting to push myself to a higher level; not necessarily only into a management position, but more as a person capable of executing great ideas.

I've seen a growing proliferation of online CS and IT degrees available from places like Western Governors. They can be completed from home and at a fraction of the cost of a regular 4-year university. Now I know that the education quality couldn't possibly be as good as what one might get at a place like Stanford (or?). But if I were to do this, it would be primarily as a means to an end.

What do you guys think - is it worthwhile wrt getting a great job (or better yet, to becoming a great programmer) to pursue a software development-related BS degree from an online university, or just a waste of time for someone who has been working in the field for a while already? I already have a hunch that it might be better to simply cherry-pick a few math courses at a local university or community college, and "follow my muse" along with my budget.

Would like to hear from anyone who has done it, or who differentiates between programmers at an HR level. Thanks.