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"... how many grads do not have a decent grasp of elementary algorithms and data structures, and are not comfortable with code." This is more a fault of comput
by ifben 13y ago
"... how many grads do not have a decent grasp of elementary algorithms and data structures, and are not comfortable with code."
This is more a fault of computer science education than the student. I was taking 16 credits of upper division CS courses at [not renowned but not bad university]. Half-way through the term I had yet to do any programming. I realize that CS is about more than programming (my four classes broadly were proofs, computer hardware, methods of software engineering, and stats for scientists/engineers). But the only way to become good at programming is to do it consistently. One or two big projects towards the end of the term leaves you brushing up on old skills instead of building new ones.
I'll be attending Hack Reactor this fall because I want to become a good programmer, not vaguely familiar with everything CS has to offer.
- rizzom5000 13y agoCS isn't about programming at all. While CS can help make a programmer a better engineer, it's not intended to teach programming skills; which is much more a vocational skill than a science. I think the primary reason so many development shops ask for CS grads, is not because they should have learned programming at university - it's because they've already been selected for intelligence by getting into a more selective hard science university program. If programming skills were more important than intelligence, these jobs could be filled with folks who have a 6-month certificate from ITT -- but hiring shops have evidently found out that they get a better product from CS departments. I kind of feel that CS departments should really emphasize these points to prospective applicants so they can go to HackReactor instead of wasting their time in CS programs - but unfortunately they have little incentive to do so.