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When looking at these stories i always wonder if my computer science bachelor degree will really help me when i get in 2 years... My time spent learning algori

When looking at these stories i always wonder if my computer science bachelor degree will really help me when i get in 2 years... My time spent learning algorithms and mathemathics that bore me with lack of practicality could be spent working on my own projects... What do you think, is a degree in CS important for someone who is able to employ himself and (soon) others?

jimbokun 16y ago
Instead of envisioning yourself as this guy, envision yourself as Larry or Sergey in the story. Sure, they needed to learn to hustle, too, but knowing algorithms sure did help them a lot getting to where they are now.
simonsarris 16y ago
Just a thought, thinking very far ahead, but if you are in a position to employ others, would you want them to have a CS degree? How you answer that may help you.
- Roritharr 16y ago
  For those interested in my personal answer: My experience as a student of CS is that you are taught principles that will most likely stay the same for the next 10-40 years. Besides that, every talented student i've met so far figured most of these principles out for themselves before deciding to study cs. Either they learned it out of own interest or just concluded them out of the it world they were presented at the time. There are a lot of students at my university who put lots of hard hours into learning the cs just because they hope to earn a lot at a stable job with the degree and i don't judge them for their goal, but i wouldn't be interested as an employer in one of them because from my experience the ideas needed for innovation aren't born in a grinding mind.
  - vilya 16y ago
    From your earlier post though, you're only 1 or two years into your CS course? If that's your exposure then I'd agree: the stuff you learn in the early part of a CS course is the stuff that a bright person could figure out for themselves. It's the basics. The basics are important of course, but that's not all there is to it - and that's why the course doesn't just end after the first year. Also, regarding your final paragraph, innovation isn't the only valuable attribute. The best innovators aren't necessarily the best finishers. A well rounded team needs both to deliver a good product. I know you were giving your opinion; just trying to provide an alternative point of view.
kenjackson 16y ago
What algorithms lack praticality?
- alextgordon 16y ago
  Bubble sort :)
  - pcestrada 16y ago
    From wikipedia: In computer graphics it [bubblesort] is popular for its capability to detect a very small error (like swap of just two elements) in almost sorted array and fix it in with just linear complexity (2n)
    - enneff 16y ago
      One possible use of this is sorting objects in a scene by depth. If you do one pass of bubble sort per frame typically this is 'good enough' for most applications.
dangrossman 16y ago
Get your degree and work on your own projects. College is perfect for that since it's a few years where you have student loans as a financial buffer and nobody's pestering you about not having a job.
- alain94040 16y ago
  Exactly. Get the degree and work on your own projects. This is how I described my experience recruiting at a college job fair: "One student showed me her resume: it showed perfect GPA, lots of classes with impressive-sounding titles. But no summer job, no internship, no side project. Another student showed me a less than perfect resume, but it had all kinds of extra-curricular projects and activities, showing exposure to technologies, people and business challenges." (from http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-in-this-economy-sucks/ http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-...)

jimbokun 16y ago

Instead of envisioning yourself as this guy, envision yourself as Larry or Sergey in the story. Sure, they needed to learn to hustle, too, but knowing algorithms sure did help them a lot getting to where they are now.

simonsarris 16y ago

Just a thought, thinking very far ahead, but if you are in a position to employ others, would you want them to have a CS degree? How you answer that may help you.

Roritharr 16y ago
For those interested in my personal answer: My experience as a student of CS is that you are taught principles that will most likely stay the same for the next 10-40 years. Besides that, every talented student i've met so far figured most of these principles out for themselves before deciding to study cs. Either they learned it out of own interest or just concluded them out of the it world they were presented at the time. There are a lot of students at my university who put lots of hard hours into learning the cs just because they hope to earn a lot at a stable job with the degree and i don't judge them for their goal, but i wouldn't be interested as an employer in one of them because from my experience the ideas needed for innovation aren't born in a grinding mind.
- vilya 16y ago
  From your earlier post though, you're only 1 or two years into your CS course? If that's your exposure then I'd agree: the stuff you learn in the early part of a CS course is the stuff that a bright person could figure out for themselves. It's the basics. The basics are important of course, but that's not all there is to it - and that's why the course doesn't just end after the first year. Also, regarding your final paragraph, innovation isn't the only valuable attribute. The best innovators aren't necessarily the best finishers. A well rounded team needs both to deliver a good product. I know you were giving your opinion; just trying to provide an alternative point of view.

kenjackson 16y ago

What algorithms lack praticality?

alextgordon 16y ago
Bubble sort :)
- pcestrada 16y ago
  From wikipedia: In computer graphics it [bubblesort] is popular for its capability to detect a very small error (like swap of just two elements) in almost sorted array and fix it in with just linear complexity (2n)
  - enneff 16y ago
    One possible use of this is sorting objects in a scene by depth. If you do one pass of bubble sort per frame typically this is 'good enough' for most applications.

dangrossman 16y ago

Get your degree and work on your own projects. College is perfect for that since it's a few years where you have student loans as a financial buffer and nobody's pestering you about not having a job.

alain94040 16y ago
Exactly. Get the degree and work on your own projects. This is how I described my experience recruiting at a college job fair: "One student showed me her resume: it showed perfect GPA, lots of classes with impressive-sounding titles. But no summer job, no internship, no side project. Another student showed me a less than perfect resume, but it had all kinds of extra-curricular projects and activities, showing exposure to technologies, people and business challenges." (from http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-in-this-economy-sucks/ http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-...)