I did my CS degree a long time ago in the UK. I did a 'sandwich degree', 2 years at college, a year working for an employer and a year back at college. Everythi

I did my CS degree a long time ago in the UK. I did a 'sandwich degree', 2 years at college, a year working for an employer and a year back at college. Everything, and I mean everything, of lasting value I learned in that time was learnt during the industrial training year. Things like seeing projects through to the end, being accountable, getting it right whatever it took, knowing how to figure things out for yourself, doing what was asked for and not what I felt like doing. Employers want people who get things done with the least supervision. Java is becoming this generation's BASIC, it bestows the illusion of knowing stuff without having undergone the sheer hard grind of becoming usefully experienced and battle hardened. Knowing Java is merely the beginning and, as is becoming clear, not even a terribly useful beginning at that.