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Man, Eric's article is invoking thought all over blogland this morning!

Phil just posted:

I felt silly getting a Computer Science degree. I mean, I have a college degree in what is a really fancy tool. I mean, I understand its a complex topic and there is a science to it, but I really don't think that in 2031 people will need to get computer science degrees to work on computers. In fact, I hope people won't need to get computer science degrees to work on computers. I seems like going to outboard motor school or something to me.

This is funny. I have a crazy educational background. Below is a summary of my academic experience:    

So does this mean I'm not a good programmer? Not at all! It does mean that I missed out on lots of theory and academic stuff like creating compilers and C for Unix, but that stuff really means nothing for the majority of today's developers. Luckily for me, both the Legal Studies and Urban and Regional Planning curricula taught me the most important thing: how to solve a problem.

If you can do that, it doesn't matter what your educational background is!

P.S. I do regret missing out on some of that CS stuff, so I've been reading about compilers, logic gates, etc... for a few months now.

[Listening to: Scoregasm - Lo Presher - (05:07)]

Published Jun 23 2003, 11:05 AM by dbrowning

Comments

 

Frans Bouma said:

"So does this mean I'm not a good programmer? Not at all! It does mean that I missed out on lots of theory and academic stuff like creating compilers and C for Unix, but that stuff really means nothing for the majority of todays developers. Luckily for me, both the Legal Studies and Urban and Regional Planning curricula taught me the most important thing: how to solve a problem."
So in other words: people who spent 4 years on a university studying computer science can better do something else, because they won't learn a thing: you learned a lot about arts AND learned the same stuff a CS graduate has to know.

Believe me, a person who hasn't studied CS has a lot of catching up to do. A lot.
June 23, 2003 11:11 AM
 

Don said:

True. I guess I'm not saying that someone who majors in Circus (http://www.fsu.edu/~circus/) can be a developer overnight. You have to have exposure to it in one form or another. Luckily for me, 70% of the stuff I did in the URP department was related to Geographic Information Systems, which is where I learned how to write code.

I'm just saying that not having a CS background doesn't preclude a person from being a developer (in fact, it may make a more rounded developer)
June 23, 2003 11:24 AM
 

Frans Bouma said:

It's an old discussion: should I study CS or can I quit school now and learn it while developing software at a company? (which is basicly what non-CS graduates do).

Too many people look at the details of what's taught. They see "Java", which seems to tell them that the students learn Java. Wrong. They learn how to develop OO software and how to think OO-wise. Java is used as a platform to teach that knowledge but it could have been Eiffel or C#, VB.NET or C++...

In theory, you can learn that knowledge using other platforms or ways. In practise it's hard to match those platforms / ways used in a CS-daytime education. I think it turned out ok for you, but consider yourself lucky :)
June 23, 2003 11:38 AM
 

Paul Wilson said:

I was a pure math major (B.S., M.A., Ed.S.) and while I've had to learn a few things I missed by not being a CS major, I think I more than made up for it by learning how to solve problems. And I can add another spin to that also: most of the the things I have had to learn are not because I missed them, but rather because they became established after my college days, in which case the CS major would also have to learn them (like design patterns).

I think Frans turned out mostly OK anyhow, in spite of his CS background, so he should consider himself lucky! :)
June 23, 2003 12:37 PM

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