A BSc or MSc in STEM is all 99.997% of immigration and Human Resources people care about. Thus, if your goal is to augment your existing degree, than a self-directed or short certificate program is fine. However, if you want a commercial career in CS without a upper-level degree, than you may as well waste your time doing something you enjoy instead.
There is a huge gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of CS in both the academic and professional fields. Generally, most college programs have lab driven smaller classes, and produce better coders (ready to go in a few months). However, university level programs tend to produce primarily theorists from thousands of students (an additional 1 to 2 years of training is usually needed for a commercial setting).
I often recommend plumbing, as it allows folks to afford to do a postdoc. =)
> A BSc or MSc in STEM is all 99.997% of immigration
Funny enough, I hold a 'general science' BSc. When I was applying for a work permit, the country's immigration office didn't believe my degree existed for a short while.
It worked out, just sent them a copy of the program outline from my university. The whole process was a mess for other reasons, but at least this one got sorted out after a few back-and forth with the department by Email.
There is a huge gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of CS in both the academic and professional fields. Generally, most college programs have lab driven smaller classes, and produce better coders (ready to go in a few months). However, university level programs tend to produce primarily theorists from thousands of students (an additional 1 to 2 years of training is usually needed for a commercial setting).
I often recommend plumbing, as it allows folks to afford to do a postdoc. =)