Do you think a CS degree is enough in the Kenyan context especially mtu hana connections?

Imo, in Kenya, there are few companies doing “programming” like e.g the USA kwenye iko kila mahali. Solutions are bought and are modified for the use case of the company e.g banks. Maybe there are a few jobs like agencies making websites or zile startups funded from outside investors, Fintech or Safcom, Microsoft e.t.c but naona ni kama lazima ujue watu ama kuwa na connections au kuwa “the best or top tier”.

For example, nikiangalia LinkedIn, former classmates wenye wanafanya programming e.g Full stack, Back-End, Front-End ni either known companies au zile hata hazitokei kwa search ya Google mpaka ujue jina au URL.

However, I think kuna many “IT” jobs e.g Networks, Cloud, Security, Servers, Information Systems etc to support many companies e.g banks, hospitals. Should one just do a cert like AWS , Azure , CCNA e.t.c ndio upate technical knowledge and to affirm you? Which cert do you think is best for the future?

CS in Kenya is a waste of time unless you want to go abroad and do a masters. you won’t be building anything new for any company. IT skills and degrees are more applicable, relevant and in demand

Also most CS jobs worldwide are programming jobs, so why go through all the effort of the degree to do the same job as someone who did went 9 months bootcamp?

You are better off hustling online for programming stints than waiting for employment on the same. A 19 year old buddy of mine with too much time on his hands learned and mastered JavaScript, and now he’s earning from it after deferring. Sijui venye iyo story inasaidia hapa but ni hivyo

Iko sawa ifyou want to go through the corporate route and get into management. Ace it and you’ll have a leg up over someone without a CS

Arm yourself with core CS knowledge and programming chops if you are able to. Certifications are a good addition on top, but are mostly vendor specific and cannot be substituted for actual skills

Which area do you think is going to get better for the future? Maybe Cloud au?

I agree but in Kenya aren’t IT jobs more numerous than “CS” jobs(programming) which are highly competitive but few?

You don’t have to limit yourself to local companies, there are global companies hiring in kenya

F

Any area in IT is okay, the secret is to specialise in one or two areas and get numerous certifications. Masters is usually not required

You don’t need a CS degree to break into the industry. I got myself an IT role at a small 2 months before I even graduated (I’d pursued a different course) simply because I had basics in networking and basic web development. Since then, I’ve been learning programming concepts and languages whenever I get the chance to - JS, PHP and Python, and their frameworks, React Native and Kotlin for android. Next, I’ll undertake a course on Cloud Computing/Architecture. With those under my belt, I’ll have a built a good foundation for a career in development. I don’t mean to gloat and I hope you do get my point. Yes the CS degree may give you an edge over the others, but lack of it certainly isn’t the end of the story.

CS sio programming pekee. Ukiwa na hio mindset hutaenda mbali. Sijui mbona kila Mkenya hufikiria hivyo.

F

Najua ni vile sitaki kuandika post ndefu na nilitaka kuwa specific.

A small shop making which type of software? Saas, Web apps, Mobile ? Did you find the company on Google?

Enterprise applications, both web and mobile. I’d posted my CV and portfolio on various local listing sites and it worked.

Wait, sasa una oversimplify the CS degree to just programming alafu unauliza whether it’s enough in the Kenyan market ? kama unataka tu kufanya web development, kuunda mobile apps etc then you don’t need it. But a CS degree will get you started in so much more; data science, machine learning, AI, dev ops etc just to name a few. If you’ve been to a CS class utanotice programming isn’t what’s focused on, you’re taught to solve problems that’s why calculus, statistics na set theory ni mandatory units. Plus the real money is made in the management sio coding, a CS degree will get you there. Bootcamp certificate or something and you will struggle to move up the ranks.

@Nyamgondho kam useme kitu umekimya sana

Kama wewe recent graduate, na bado hujapata mahali, apply here