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Let us use machines and mechanical engineer as an analogy. These days, you don't need to be a mechanical engineer to operate 'most' machines. Will being a mec

by rupi 6y ago

Let us use machines and mechanical engineer as an analogy. These days, you don't need to be a mechanical engineer to operate 'most' machines. Will being a mechanical engineer help if the machine breaks down? Yes. Will there be some machines that only a computer engineer could operate? Yes. Will there be come cases where being a mechanical engineer make you a better machine operator? Yes. But do you need to be a mechanical engineer to operate most machines? Answer is clearly no. We are at the point where that analogy carries over easily to computer science and coding. Yes, there are many cases where knowing computer science will be essential to extremely helpful. But for 80% of the coding jobs, you don't 'need' to know theoretical computer science.

totemandtoken 6y ago
So funnily enough, my bachelor's was in mechanical engineering and I'm currently pursuing a master's in computer science after having worked in industry for a few years. While I think I agree with your point, I'm going to nitpick on your analogy. A mechanical engineer will probably not be called upon to operate any particular mechanical device. They will be called upon to either design or maintain it, both of which will require substantial mechanical engineering knowledge. Operation is a totally different thing for a totally different group of people. Think of the difference between a frontend developer and someone who might use wordpress or wix. Having said that, you hear the same complaint from mechanical engineers as you might be seeing on any hackernews thread about interviews and hiring - no one ever uses the academic knowledge in real life. And this is true, I've never had to use a Bode plot or whip out a stress-strain curve. But I've had to work with technicians and while several are very intelligent and capable, there was a noticeable lack of refinement in their thought process or lack of breadth. I suspect it's the same thing with programming jobs (although I haven't had one yet, so feel free to call me out on it). Knowing CS will help give context that allows for a more refined programming acumen. Is it necessary? Probably not. In my engineering case, both technicians and I did our jobs equally well, although I often had more responsibility. But if your brand is to have culture of incredibly deep thinkers, you probably want to interview for this quality.
- rupi 6y ago
  I think we are in general agreement. While self taught developers have been around from the beginning, until a few years ago, most companies wanted only those with a CS degree regardless of what they were to actually do. DB admin - CS Degree; maintain a Wordpress site - CS degree; write ML algorithms from scratch - CS degree. It is changing now. Don't get me wrong; I see the value in CS knowledge having spent a lot of time learning it though never for any degree. All I am saying is that we need to recognize that a job requires a specific skill set and theoretical CS may not be it.

by rupi 6y ago

totemandtoken 6y ago

So funnily enough, my bachelor's was in mechanical engineering and I'm currently pursuing a master's in computer science after having worked in industry for a few years. While I think I agree with your point, I'm going to nitpick on your analogy. A mechanical engineer will probably not be called upon to operate any particular mechanical device. They will be called upon to either design or maintain it, both of which will require substantial mechanical engineering knowledge. Operation is a totally different thing for a totally different group of people. Think of the difference between a frontend developer and someone who might use wordpress or wix. Having said that, you hear the same complaint from mechanical engineers as you might be seeing on any hackernews thread about interviews and hiring - no one ever uses the academic knowledge in real life. And this is true, I've never had to use a Bode plot or whip out a stress-strain curve. But I've had to work with technicians and while several are very intelligent and capable, there was a noticeable lack of refinement in their thought process or lack of breadth. I suspect it's the same thing with programming jobs (although I haven't had one yet, so feel free to call me out on it). Knowing CS will help give context that allows for a more refined programming acumen. Is it necessary? Probably not. In my engineering case, both technicians and I did our jobs equally well, although I often had more responsibility. But if your brand is to have culture of incredibly deep thinkers, you probably want to interview for this quality.

rupi 6y ago
I think we are in general agreement. While self taught developers have been around from the beginning, until a few years ago, most companies wanted only those with a CS degree regardless of what they were to actually do. DB admin - CS Degree; maintain a Wordpress site - CS degree; write ML algorithms from scratch - CS degree. It is changing now. Don't get me wrong; I see the value in CS knowledge having spent a lot of time learning it though never for any degree. All I am saying is that we need to recognize that a job requires a specific skill set and theoretical CS may not be it.