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The problem is, you are thinking Computer Science == Computer Programming. You are wrong. Computer Science is more math than programming, if you want to learn m

The problem is, you are thinking Computer Science == Computer Programming. You are wrong. Computer Science is more math than programming, if you want to learn marketable skills get a different computer degree. Most colleges offer a more practically oriented degree.

collyw 12y ago
Computer science / real world programming work is a mish mash of concepts and practice, and everything in between. Most of the hot research these days seems to be coming from places like Google rather than universities. Certainly the stuff I her about.
- mordocai 12y ago
  That's how it works. Generally with theoretical research, especially math-heavy disciplines like computer science, the distance in time from you coming up with a theory and someone finding a practical application for it is large enough that most people don't even put the two together, unless it was a pretty major deal in academic circles when it was theorized. On the other hand, the things we in the industry care about are not going to come from universities(at least not recent things from universities) but rahter companies like google.
KrisAndrew 12y ago
It depends on the style of the college. Computer Science is certainly much more than math. I'd sooner employ a CS major who took foreign languages than one who supplemented his coursework with tons of math classes. Those special/practical degrees that schools offer are just fluff and end up pigeonholing you. If you're going to be a software developer, then computer science is the degree that's most helpful.
- mordocai 12y ago
  I'm not an expert on all colleges in america, it sounds like I came across as thinking that way so I apologize. Right or not, the Computer Science courses at the University I was enrolling in (I ended up dropping out of college due to life issues) was 60% math 30% computer theory and 10% programming. I know, because I talked with the Department Chair and actually studied what the degree would do for me before deciding it was my path. I was fully aware i'd need to work on practical projects in my free time to get a job. Instead, I just got a job by showing off said practical projects with no degree.
jerf 12y ago
"The problem is, you are thinking Computer Science == Computer Programming." No, I'm not. I'm saying you can't function as a computer scientist with 0 programming, and trying to train Computer Scientists in general while somehow shielding or protecting them from programming is something I'd look at very disfavorably. Even computer scientists need to program once in a while. A Computer Science program is doing a disservice to its "Computer Scientists" if it somehow manages to fail to teach them anything about programming. And to be honest, I find it utterly, mindblowing absurd that anybody could take the alternative seriously. Think about it a bit. In fact I'd go so far as to say that one of the several major problems facing the University system as a whole right now is this whole idea that theoreticians across all disciplines can somehow be fully severed from all practical considerations, as a result of too many people mindlessly chanting that Universities aren't vocational programs. A theoretician operating without any input from the practical world is a theoretician wasting his or her time, producing theories that will ultimately not even be of academic interest. (There are very, very specific disciplines in computer science that might be able to get away with 0 programming, BUT the generic undergrad courses would not be able to be that focused. The generic undergrad courses need to be teaching some useful programming stuff.) "Most colleges offer a more practically oriented degree." You might want to check that. "Software engineering" or something is actually fairly rare as a distinct major, and while there will often be an "information systems" major of some sort (which it sounds like is what this guy actually took), that isn't so much "more practical" as "a reduced version" of the courses, often reduced to the point that you won't learn "programming" at all.
- mordocai 12y ago
  "You might want to check that." You are correct. I should have said "Most colleges I considered when starting my degree". Look, we might have to agree to disagree. What I think, and what the one Computer Science Department Head I spoke to thought, is that Computer Science is math. Period. Just like a degree in Math, it does not have to have a directly practical application to serve a purpose. The fact that we have machines that run these theories is purely a sideline to the theories themselves. "A theoretician operating without any input from the practical world is a theoretician wasting his or her time, producing theories that will ultimately not even be of academic interest." I'm sorry, but many many theories that have become helpful for practical purposes were created by someone 100s of years before who didn't have any "practical consideratinos". Just because something isn't useful NOW or even in our lifetime, doesn't mean it isn't useful. Quite frankly, I think programming (distinct from computer science) should go back to an apprenticeship based program if we can make that sustainable, and computer science (as in the degree program) should be kept where it is: Mostly theorectical with a minor side of practicality occasionally. Sure programmers sometimes need to understand Computer Science theory, but most of what the average programmer needs to know about it does not require a degree but simply reading a book or three.

collyw 12y ago

Computer science / real world programming work is a mish mash of concepts and practice, and everything in between. Most of the hot research these days seems to be coming from places like Google rather than universities. Certainly the stuff I her about.

mordocai 12y ago
That's how it works. Generally with theoretical research, especially math-heavy disciplines like computer science, the distance in time from you coming up with a theory and someone finding a practical application for it is large enough that most people don't even put the two together, unless it was a pretty major deal in academic circles when it was theorized. On the other hand, the things we in the industry care about are not going to come from universities(at least not recent things from universities) but rahter companies like google.

KrisAndrew 12y ago

It depends on the style of the college. Computer Science is certainly much more than math. I'd sooner employ a CS major who took foreign languages than one who supplemented his coursework with tons of math classes. Those special/practical degrees that schools offer are just fluff and end up pigeonholing you. If you're going to be a software developer, then computer science is the degree that's most helpful.

mordocai 12y ago
I'm not an expert on all colleges in america, it sounds like I came across as thinking that way so I apologize. Right or not, the Computer Science courses at the University I was enrolling in (I ended up dropping out of college due to life issues) was 60% math 30% computer theory and 10% programming. I know, because I talked with the Department Chair and actually studied what the degree would do for me before deciding it was my path. I was fully aware i'd need to work on practical projects in my free time to get a job. Instead, I just got a job by showing off said practical projects with no degree.

jerf 12y ago

"The problem is, you are thinking Computer Science == Computer Programming." No, I'm not. I'm saying you can't function as a computer scientist with 0 programming, and trying to train Computer Scientists in general while somehow shielding or protecting them from programming is something I'd look at very disfavorably. Even computer scientists need to program once in a while. A Computer Science program is doing a disservice to its "Computer Scientists" if it somehow manages to fail to teach them anything about programming. And to be honest, I find it utterly, mindblowing absurd that anybody could take the alternative seriously. Think about it a bit. In fact I'd go so far as to say that one of the several major problems facing the University system as a whole right now is this whole idea that theoreticians across all disciplines can somehow be fully severed from all practical considerations, as a result of too many people mindlessly chanting that Universities aren't vocational programs. A theoretician operating without any input from the practical world is a theoretician wasting his or her time, producing theories that will ultimately not even be of academic interest. (There are very, very specific disciplines in computer science that might be able to get away with 0 programming, BUT the generic undergrad courses would not be able to be that focused. The generic undergrad courses need to be teaching some useful programming stuff.) "Most colleges offer a more practically oriented degree." You might want to check that. "Software engineering" or something is actually fairly rare as a distinct major, and while there will often be an "information systems" major of some sort (which it sounds like is what this guy actually took), that isn't so much "more practical" as "a reduced version" of the courses, often reduced to the point that you won't learn "programming" at all.

mordocai 12y ago
"You might want to check that." You are correct. I should have said "Most colleges I considered when starting my degree". Look, we might have to agree to disagree. What I think, and what the one Computer Science Department Head I spoke to thought, is that Computer Science is math. Period. Just like a degree in Math, it does not have to have a directly practical application to serve a purpose. The fact that we have machines that run these theories is purely a sideline to the theories themselves. "A theoretician operating without any input from the practical world is a theoretician wasting his or her time, producing theories that will ultimately not even be of academic interest." I'm sorry, but many many theories that have become helpful for practical purposes were created by someone 100s of years before who didn't have any "practical consideratinos". Just because something isn't useful NOW or even in our lifetime, doesn't mean it isn't useful. Quite frankly, I think programming (distinct from computer science) should go back to an apprenticeship based program if we can make that sustainable, and computer science (as in the degree program) should be kept where it is: Mostly theorectical with a minor side of practicality occasionally. Sure programmers sometimes need to understand Computer Science theory, but most of what the average programmer needs to know about it does not require a degree but simply reading a book or three.