i don't know about the UK, but i know in the United States that "Computer and Information Systems" isn't as marketable as "Computer Science". Since most major tech companies know that CIS is for those who can't handle data structures and algorithms. But hopefully her 5 years as a dev could counteract that. If she switched to CS, then that would be a lot better
More importantly, every “major tech company” uses technical interviews to assess for that knowledge, so those companies seem less convinced of the value of a degree called “computer science” vs one called “computing and information systems” than you are. So it seems unlikely that would be a problem assuming the degree actually covers data structures, algorithms, etc - which it does.
I actually agree with you that all other things being equal, it would be better to do a CS degree in the US - if Georgia tech did an undergrad CS degree for $8000, that would probably be a slightly better option. But they don’t, so paying $20000 which is the cheapest online CS bachelors degree I found in the US is not worth it vs the University of London for $8000 total (around $2700 per year for 3 years)
It’s also hard to argue that would be a major issue for someone who got their first software developer job without any degree at all :) So the real issue is can you get that first job without a computing degree? I certainly think you can, and for most people, the extra time and cost of a degree, and opportunity cost (ie not earning a paycheck) is not worth it - if you live in the Bay Area. I’m sure it would be much harder, but not impossible to get that first job elsewhere in the US or in the UK without a degree.
