Pretty much I think this is one reason why the big names in software industry did not totally adopt the notion of graduating with a degree. What they did was to venture out on the real world and try solving some problems that they have by using computers and understanding how to program it. Pretty much I think it is safe today that 90% (or more) of what's being taught in universities offering CS degrees doesn't match up with what's happening in the real world. You want to program, sit on a computer, find something to solve and do it.
I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
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Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#52Choose another career ASAP. Find something you love. This is why there are so many bad programmers around. Depressing.
I respect your opinion, however I'm quite sure that person who asked this question actually cares about what he does because I don't think he would have posted this otherwise. I mean I could be wrong but this is what I felt when I read it.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#53This touches on several issues. 1. Should college teach you to program? This is a philosophical question about whether a CS degree should be educational or vocational . The general consensus seems to be that it should be the former not the latter. It should give you the theoretical foundation that you can apply to almost anything. Therefore, college won't necessarily teach you any programming beyond what you need to…
1. Should college teach you to program?
This is a philosophical question about whether a CS degree should be educational or vocational. The general consensus seems to be that it should be the former not the latter. It should give you the theoretical foundation that you can apply to almost anything.
Therefore, college won't necessarily teach you any programming beyond what you need to read examples and do assignments, which may not be particularly deep.
I personally think that's a problem. There is nothing wrong with being educational in your sense of the term, but I do think people with a degree in CS should be expected to know how to program.
Not expecting a CS alumnus to be a programmer is like having an architect not know how to draw buildings, or a surgeon not know how to wield a scalpel.
Sure, the degree should absolutely teach you more than just programming, but there is no value in being a CS grad without knowing how to program. It's sort of the low level toolkit that you absolutely must be proficient in to being with.
A strange thing about CS education is that we have all these people studying Computer Science or even Software Engineering without ever looking at a significant piece of software. You learns lots of small examples and lots of theoretical bits, but as far as I can see most programs never take a look at, say, the Apache webserver and explain how all these small things come together to produce a successful piece of software. That's really a pity.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#54Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#55I'm graduating with a EE degree but I don't feel like I know how to solder.
I'm graduating with a ME degree but I don't feel like I know how to weld.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#56From my experience people can programm() or they can't. I rarely have seen someone "learn" programming. A CS degree has nothing to do with it.
Becoming a good programmer is something different.
() Deconstructing problems into smaller problems and expressing those in computer commands.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#57I believe that there are two ways to get good at anything, "push" and "pull". Push: You learn from books, classes, mentors, and studying examples, then apply what you have learned. Pull: You have a problem that you must solve, then you learn what you need, any way you can, to build the solution. I suppose there are pros and cons of each method, and I imagine that many people here have used some of both. For the recor…
I am a pull-learner as well. My physics undergrad and grad courses occasionally required that we program in Fortran, -that's what our profs used.
I once asked the head of our program why our degree didn't require any CS courses, but did require that we learn to code. She smiled and said "Well, we think you should just learn it." That short conversation made an impression on me. It wasn't in college study things, I was there to learn how to do things.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#58Choose another career ASAP. Find something you love. This is why there are so many bad programmers around. Depressing.
I respect your opinion, however I'm quite sure that person who asked this question actually cares about what he does because I don't think he would have posted this otherwise. I mean I could be wrong but this is what I felt when I read it.
Either he just doesn't have the natural aptitude, or he doesn't love it enough to learn.
I can't fathom how anyone could be a programmer/trying to become a programmer and not have constant side projects, partially written OSes, games, etc
It's easy to say "I want to be an X", but then you realize that you're not spending enough time doing X to become good at it. And the reason you're not spending enough time doing it is because you just don't love it enough, perhaps you love something else more.
He writes "I'm trying to improve my knowledge by studying algorithms, but it is a long and painful process."
Which is depressing. You do not learn how to program by 'studying algorithms'.
Do you learn to become a great author by reading the dictionary? No.
It doesn't sound like he wants to be a programmer for the right reasons to me.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#59This touches on several issues. 1. Should college teach you to program? This is a philosophical question about whether a CS degree should be educational or vocational . The general consensus seems to be that it should be the former not the latter. It should give you the theoretical foundation that you can apply to almost anything. Therefore, college won't necessarily teach you any programming beyond what you need to…
1. Should college teach you to program? This is a philosophical question about whether a CS degree should be educational or vocational. The general consensus seems to be that it should be the former not the latter. It should give you the theoretical foundation that you can apply to almost anything. Therefore, college won't necessarily teach you any programming beyond what you need to read examples and do assignments,…
Difference between Computer Science and Computer Programmer. I'm sure there are colleges that teach Computer Programming.
Re: I'm graduating with a CS degree but I don't feel like I know how to program
#60I think there is huge value in trying to become what has been called a "full stack programmer". In the maning of: try to understand how computer systems work by understanding how each part of the stack works. Don't try to completely understand every subtle detail of every part - try to understand it like you understand how a combustion engine works. My list would be: - basic electronic concepts, ie. transistors, XOR…
Who has the time? And you can be employable knowing only 1 of those.
I've done that stuff; by necessity, I'm old enough to have grown up with computers and didn't have it all on a platter. My sons are learning "top down" and doing fine.