5 ms·
> How in the world are people making it through schools (with a MS!) without actually.... uhh.... you know.... knowing the subject at all? Recent undergraduate
by dabockster 10y ago
> How in the world are people making it through schools (with a MS!) without actually.... uhh.... you know.... knowing the subject at all?
Recent undergraduate grad here. A lot of the algorithms I've seen on technical interviews were only covered once or twice in the curriculum. Basically, one such algorithm would come up in either the data structures or algorithms class, we would then work on it for the given assignment/exam, and finally we would move on from it. Subsequent course work would barely reference it.
These things are best learned through repetition. Unfortunately, with all of the other CS coursework topics that I was being educated on, it seemed like there was little room for the repetition to take place. (At least, not in the stereotypical four year timespan assuming that the given student enters a CS program with no prior programming knowledge.)
- chii 10y agoI would expect that the project they work on to utilize the knowledge in the courses. With 4 projects a year at 4 years, there's got to be something learned!
- pavel_lishin 10y agoI got a BS in CS, graduated in 2006. What 4 projects? We had one project that lasted an entire semester, in one class; the rest was mostly one-off homework assignments that were very much topic-of-the-week. And most of them didn't really require coding.
- chii 10y agoIf this is really as common as you imply, then no wonder many grads are lacking in exp. I thought 4 projects was on the low end...
- NoPiece 10y agoIf you know even some basic programming and logic, you should be able to come up with a reasonable fizz buzz solution. You don't need to have studies the fizz buzz algorithm in college, or have practiced a solution.
- jnordwick 10y agoI spent weeks on that algorithm. It is only through daily katas that I still remember its rigors.
- tominous 10y ago> ..assuming that the given student enters a CS program with no prior programming knowledge This is bizarre to me. It's like someone signing up for a music degree having never played an instrument. Maybe you'll cram enough to pass a test on the theory, but it's useless knowledge. It's unanchored and will float away.
- sgift 10y agoOr a medical student who never did an operation before? Arts are the exception, not the rule. In other areas it is fully understood that the whole purpose of the program is to teach you everything, so actually saying "you have to know this before" would be weird.
- tominous 10y agoMedical students are expected to have a strong science background, and well before they commit to being a surgeon they'll have units where they need to wield a scalpel. If they find out it's not for them there are plenty of other paths which don't involve surgery. Engineering students are expected to have a strong maths background. If you can't do algebra and basic calculus then there's no chance of getting in. It's completely reasonable to expect a CS student to have experience programming.
- sgift 10y ago> It's completely reasonable to expect a CS student to have experience programming. If you say so. I neither see the reason nor the advantage. Don't get me wrong: I had experience in programming before entering a CS program, but I had fellow students who never did any programming before and they did just fine, while others with programming experience failed. And I'm pretty confident that all of them who managed to stay through the introductory year were/are able to do FizzBuzz.