Coming at this from the other direction (CS degree from Cambridge): you&#x27;re absolutely right. The course was far more valuable for its secondary opportunities and spare-time projects than much of the content. And I agree that software in particular is much more of a craft in practice.<p>Most people would be better of with a trade school&#x2F;apprenticeship system, or a &quot;sandwich course&quot;. These do exist and I know someone taking one as a mature student, which came with a Microsoft Research internship.<p>Schools should really be handing out copies of that &quot;employment rates by course x institution&quot; table with the UCAS forms.