5 ms·

I'm doing an apprenticeship at a FAANG company; it's been an amazing experience so far. I feel like I've learned a hell of a lot more about software engineering

I'm doing an apprenticeship at a FAANG company; it's been an amazing experience so far. I feel like I've learned a hell of a lot more about software engineering from a few code reviews than sitting in lectures and reading textbooks (which don't work as well for me). The value in university seems to be the brand, the networking opportunities and the environment, not the education.

astura 7y ago
This is a common thing to say because it's "cool" now but I don't think it's even a little bit true at all. The value of my University was almost entirely the education, I learned a massive amount and did crap tons of homework and projects (not just lectures and books). I was completely and entirely prepared for a good job in software development. I never even wrote "Hello World" before college. I have a family member who signed up for an apprenticeship, but the waiting list was many years long. He was told that he could get higher on the list (or maybe skip the list entirely, can't recall exactly) by getting an associates degree. So he went to a community college to get the associates degree. Once he got the associates degree, however, he no longer needed the internship and went right into the workforce. I never asked him directly how much he makes, but I suspect it's more than I do because he's in a specialist field.
- Zarath 7y ago
  I agree, I don't know where these people went to school, but maybe they are just in bad CS programs.
duxup 7y ago
>the networking opportunities That really only applies to some universities.
rolltiide 7y ago
The value of my university was the interdisciplinary parts, forcing me to get exposed to things I would have ignored. I think the application of computer science aficionados to ethics, biology, sound production or many other electives increases the mindshare and cross drift Most of this is irrelevant to the private sector at static point in time. So the sheet of paper saying I went there and the brand is all icing on the cake. No, it isn't a necessary credential to contribute to companies needing to build things with code. That was not always clear and may not be clear in the future.
ip26 7y ago
To the company, there's also the value of selection. Picking the right college grad to hire is very hard. Even harder, I'd imagine, if they hadn't even gone beyond a high school education yet.
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  Absolutely. My company's been experimenting with different ways to measure apprenticeship candidates than regular ones. I had a group task, a short project/presentation, and an easier version of a whiteboard interview. Trying to measure ability to learn was the main goal.
ken 7y ago
I'm curious what CS/CE undergrad program consists only of sitting in lectures and reading textbooks. That sounds like it's missing 90% of the point of classes! I would think university had little value, too, if we didn't have to write any real software.

astura 7y ago

This is a common thing to say because it's "cool" now but I don't think it's even a little bit true at all. The value of my University was almost entirely the education, I learned a massive amount and did crap tons of homework and projects (not just lectures and books). I was completely and entirely prepared for a good job in software development. I never even wrote "Hello World" before college. I have a family member who signed up for an apprenticeship, but the waiting list was many years long. He was told that he could get higher on the list (or maybe skip the list entirely, can't recall exactly) by getting an associates degree. So he went to a community college to get the associates degree. Once he got the associates degree, however, he no longer needed the internship and went right into the workforce. I never asked him directly how much he makes, but I suspect it's more than I do because he's in a specialist field.

Zarath 7y ago
I agree, I don't know where these people went to school, but maybe they are just in bad CS programs.

duxup 7y ago

>the networking opportunities That really only applies to some universities.

rolltiide 7y ago

The value of my university was the interdisciplinary parts, forcing me to get exposed to things I would have ignored. I think the application of computer science aficionados to ethics, biology, sound production or many other electives increases the mindshare and cross drift Most of this is irrelevant to the private sector at static point in time. So the sheet of paper saying I went there and the brand is all icing on the cake. No, it isn't a necessary credential to contribute to companies needing to build things with code. That was not always clear and may not be clear in the future.

ip26 7y ago

To the company, there's also the value of selection. Picking the right college grad to hire is very hard. Even harder, I'd imagine, if they hadn't even gone beyond a high school education yet.

cameronbrown 7y ago
Absolutely. My company's been experimenting with different ways to measure apprenticeship candidates than regular ones. I had a group task, a short project/presentation, and an easier version of a whiteboard interview. Trying to measure ability to learn was the main goal.

ken 7y ago

I'm curious what CS/CE undergrad program consists only of sitting in lectures and reading textbooks. That sounds like it's missing 90% of the point of classes! I would think university had little value, too, if we didn't have to write any real software.