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So, as I think most of us can reasonably agree, there's computer science, and then there's software engineering/software development. Two separate endeavors wi

by jnbiche 12y ago

So, as I think most of us can reasonably agree, there's computer science, and then there's software engineering/software development. Two separate endeavors with a few shared skills. I'm continuously frustrated by the number of people on the "software engineering" side of the fence who confuse the two, and who demand computer science skills in applicants to develop web apps. By the same token, it appears here that we have someone on the other side of the fence (computer science in the academy) making the same error. He refers repeatedly to "programming" and its application as a job skill. He then rightly states that few programmers need calculus for their job. But from there he extrapolates that computer scientists don't need calculus for their job, which is not only a huge logical jump, but also makes this age-old error of confusing computer science and "programming" as a job skill.

klunger 12y ago
You said basically what I was thinking. I just want to add the importance of _experience_ in differentiating the two. With more experience, I think you can become a better software engineer/developer. With computer science, it seems to be more of an "either you get it or you don't" situation, rather like higher level math. This is why you will get some really great developers that were just willing to put in the sweat equity, but maybe have a hard time with the only tangentially relevant math requirements.