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I think it's that the things learned in school are academic (red-black trees, dynamic programming, writing toy OS and programming languages, etc.) In the real
by echelon 6mo ago
I think it's that the things learned in school are academic (red-black trees, dynamic programming, writing toy OS and programming languages, etc.)
In the real world you're faced with building five nines active-active systems that interface across various stakeholders, behaviour has to be eventually consistent, you've got a long list of requirements and deadlines, etc. It's practical, hands on, and people are there to build the thing with you at a scale that far exceeds the university undergraduate setting.
It's not a bad thing, it's just different.
Students shouldn't be afraid of it. Your job and coworkers, if it's a good workplace, are there to help you succeed as you succeed together. You learn and grow a lot.
You also learn how to deal with people, politics, changing requirements, etc., which I would imagine is difficult or impossible to teach without just throwing yourself into the fire.
- vanviegen 6mo agoSure, it's different than gaining professional experience. It's more theorical, more foundational, broader. But that doesn't mean you're learning less, let alone 4 times less on a yearly basis. I've been a CS teacher and I found that it's terribly easy to underestimate how much there is to learn and how much effort that learning takes, when you've internalized a skill yourself a long time ago.