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How many years of college do you suggest for a computer scientist

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Kyle’s Answer

It all depends on what you want!

A typical Bachelor of Science in Computer Science takes 4 years to complete but some schools offer accelerated programs.
To earn a Master's Degree is usually around an additional 2-3 years.

For many companies there is no set "you must complete X years of school to work here". I have worked with a number of people who have a diverse set of educational backgrounds. Some did 4 years and earned a Bachelor's Degree. Some earned their Master's Degree. Some completed a Coding Bootcamp which takes around 3 to 6 months. Some are even self taught and never had any formal education in Computer Science.

The biggest thing though is that you never stop learning. All great software engineers are life long learners!
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Katerina’s Answer

From my experience, the higher level of education of the software developer the more they get paid, and get more complex projects to work on. Obviously there are many exceptions, but there is no guarantee that you will end up being that exception. If you are trying to get into a top tech company, such as Google and Facebook, it would be extremely difficult without a graduate degree. I would say Masters is a great medium, but if you can manage to get a PhD, then you pretty much set yourself up for 200K+ salary (Silicon Valley).
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Dinesh’s Answer

A bachelor's degree program in computer science includes courses that focus on both the theoretical and practical aspects of computer programming and computer software design. They must complete general education courses in subjects such as science, English composition, and social studies. Students usually need to complete a software design project before graduation. A high school diploma is typically required for admission to these four-year programs. Foundational coursework in computers, keyboarding, calculus, and communications is recommended.

Dinesh recommends the following next steps:

https://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/undergrad/Requirements.shtml
https://turing.cs.hbg.psu.edu/cs/csdegree.html
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Adam’s Answer

You should do as little formal education as possible to get a job. Google has done studies internally, and my own anecdotal evidence, is that there is zero correlation between formal education and job proficiency. A Masters or Phd might get you some extra salary to begin with, but it's unlikely to be comparable with the amount extra you've accrued in student loans. Additionally, someone with another 3 years doing a Masters will be worse at software engineering than someone with an extra 3 years of actual commercial experience.

Get commercial experience as soon as you possibly can. That's when the actual learning begins.

Note that this isn't an indictment on learning from reading books and academia. It's just that you can't deeply learn those concepts without receiving hands on experience in parallel. Double-loop learning is a good concept to look up.
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Lei’s Answer

I want to double check what you mean by "computer scientist" - if you are interested in the theoretical research aspect of computer science, say, designing new algorithms, new languages, new programming paradigms and whatnot, then I'd say at least a Masters degree (likely 5-6 years) or PhD (~10 years probably).

If you are just interested in programming, web design, data processing and analytics, etc., then you don't technically even need a college degree (unless you want to get into the likes of Google, Facebook, etc.; they will likely require at least a bachelors, or many years of equivalent industry experience). I have coworkers who went to coding academies and who are just as capable as I am at our jobs. So really ask yourself what you want first! :)
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Jessica’s Answer

There are plenty of Computer Science jobs out there that you can get with a Bachelor's Degree that pay quite well. A lot of larger companies will also pay for you to get advanced degrees. Unless you already have a specific Computer Science job picked out that requires an advanced degree, you might want to just get your Bachelor's and find a job. Then, you can decide whether or not you want to keep pursuing your Computer Science education.
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Telmo’s Answer

It's more about commitment and interest than years in college.
You can study your whole life and have a bible of degrees, but still wont be able to perform in real world.
Learning to pass is much different of learning to DO! I suggest to focus on the second as it will make your life easier during your working life.
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Geeta’s Answer

If you browse for computer scientist job requirements. They all mention PhD or Masters degree as a qualification requirement.
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