Let's weigh college, bootcamps, and the self-taught route with blunt pros and cons, then map each path to market realities, hiring filters, and long-term growth. 

The goal is to help you choose a route that gets you hired faster without stalling your career later.

• how degrees are used as filters and where they matter
• why top-tier schools win on internships and networks
• the gap between CS theory and practical stacks
• when bootcamps accelerate outcomes and where they fall short
• self-taught pitfalls and how to add structure and accountability
• coastal vs mid-market hiring differences and pay signals
• skills startups test versus what larger firms test
• the minimum effective dose for a hireable portfolio
• why fundamentals compound value in years three to five
• how AI raises the premium on first principles

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