3 ms·

I find that skills from more traditional, hard degrees (maths, physics, chem, history, philosophy) translate into high-level employable skills more than raw com

I find that skills from more traditional, hard degrees (maths, physics, chem, history, philosophy) translate into high-level employable skills more than raw computer science. raw comp sci (and basic programming jobs) is a useless skill without advance business domain knowledge (and the traditional hard subjects provide the scaffolding, if you will, to pick that up more quickly.) One think I wish I knew about the job market before I started: you'll be more successful using programming as your "secret weapon" in some other domain than as line-engineer elsewhere. of course, "success" here is defined in terms of what I like, and may not match you. I found my personal development and existing work mattered a lot more than my university.

blibble 13y ago
and my experience is that the people with hard degrees tend to write bad code, as a result of not really understanding what's going on. this may not matter for some CRUD website, but does when you're pushing the limits...
- blindhippo 13y ago
  This is entirely anecdotal so take it for what its worth. In Canada I've noticed that graduates of Computer Science programs can barely operate a computer by the end of things. They can write and explain some pretty cool advanced algorithms and explain it in Big O notation - yet the business value of this knowledge is almost nil. On the other hand, skills schools and engineering programs churn out better programmers by far. They are trained to know how to dive into other peoples code, work with a project team and generally apply methodologies to improving code wherever they encounter it. From day 1. And yet some how managers still cling to the dated notion that a university degree guarantees return on investment.
  - arkades 13y ago
    What is a "skill school" for software development? I'm not from Canada, and unfamiliar with this.
    - blindhippo 13y ago
      Sorry for the late reply - skill school means places like SAIT/NAIT (in Alberta). Basically diploma level or accredited degree programs. Most of these programs tend to focus on software development at a practical level, less on abstract concepts traditionally studied in Computer Science programs. The good ones focus specifically on developing software in one or two main technologies rather then a smattering of random stuff (:cough: Devry :cough:)

blibble 13y ago

and my experience is that the people with hard degrees tend to write bad code, as a result of not really understanding what's going on. this may not matter for some CRUD website, but does when you're pushing the limits...

blindhippo 13y ago
This is entirely anecdotal so take it for what its worth. In Canada I've noticed that graduates of Computer Science programs can barely operate a computer by the end of things. They can write and explain some pretty cool advanced algorithms and explain it in Big O notation - yet the business value of this knowledge is almost nil. On the other hand, skills schools and engineering programs churn out better programmers by far. They are trained to know how to dive into other peoples code, work with a project team and generally apply methodologies to improving code wherever they encounter it. From day 1. And yet some how managers still cling to the dated notion that a university degree guarantees return on investment.
- arkades 13y ago
  What is a "skill school" for software development? I'm not from Canada, and unfamiliar with this.
  - blindhippo 13y ago
    Sorry for the late reply - skill school means places like SAIT/NAIT (in Alberta). Basically diploma level or accredited degree programs. Most of these programs tend to focus on software development at a practical level, less on abstract concepts traditionally studied in Computer Science programs. The good ones focus specifically on developing software in one or two main technologies rather then a smattering of random stuff (:cough: Devry :cough:)