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Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

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Re: Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

#11

Post by steve918 »

alnayyir wrote: post #3

I'll include the interesting details since there's more to this subject than simply being present on HN and having a CompSci degree. Self-taught and proud. I can regale you of the set theoretic basis of SQL JOINs, or of n-base arithmetic all you like. 1 decade of MIT OCW and as well as various books goes a long way. Been programming since I was about 11 years old. 8 if you count AT&T GW-BASIC. 22 years old and workin…

We were to poor for a real computer, so I actually first taught myself basic on one of these babies http://www.mervderv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/precomput...

Later I picked up Visual Basic, C++, Perl, PHP, Python, Java and more recently Objective-C and Scala.

Re: Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

#12

Post by johnfn »

defen wrote: post #9

Computer Science from a prestigious school, but I've learned more on my own outside of school than I did there.

Alternative viewpoint: CS degree from a prestigious school, but learning a lot that I never would have thought to self-teach myself (and learning in ways different from self teaching).

Some things, like x86 assembly, were just too difficult to self teach (insufficient resources - the existing tutorials just aren't good for a beginner). Others, like compiler design, I just never would have thought to teach myself without the pressure of school.

So I find that the greatest utility of school is forcing me to learn things that I never would have learned before.

Re: Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

#14

Post by alnayyir »

steve918 wrote: post #11
alnayyir wrote: post #3

I'll include the interesting details since there's more to this subject than simply being present on HN and having a CompSci degree. Self-taught and proud. I can regale you of the set theoretic basis of SQL JOINs, or of n-base arithmetic all you like. 1 decade of MIT OCW and as well as various books goes a long way. Been programming since I was about 11 years old. 8 if you count AT&T GW-BASIC. 22 years old and workin…

We were to poor for a real computer, so I actually first taught myself basic on one of these babies http://www.mervderv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/precomput... Later I picked up Visual Basic, C++, Perl, PHP, Python, Java and more recently Objective-C and Scala.

I've been all over the place programming language wise. It's no longer meaningful for me to list them off other than to say what my current specialty is. (Web app dev)

I grew up fairly poor, but my Dad built the computers using parts he begged/borrowed/haggled. Eventually I started working (My first full-time job was at age 13) and taking care of my own hardware since I'd been building with my Dad long enough.

Re: Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

#15

Post by alnayyir »

johnfn wrote: post #12
defen wrote: post #9

Computer Science from a prestigious school, but I've learned more on my own outside of school than I did there.

Alternative viewpoint: CS degree from a prestigious school, but learning a lot that I never would have thought to self-teach myself (and learning in ways different from self teaching). Some things, like x86 assembly, were just too difficult to self teach (insufficient resources - the existing tutorials just aren't good for a beginner). Others, like compiler design, I just never would have thought to teach myself with…

I explored the example subjects you mention without ever having spent a measurable amount of time in post-secondary.

School improves the median quality, and odds of exposure of the candidates.

It's not necessary for that kind of exposure though.

Re: Poll: Do you have a formal CS or a general computing degree?

#19

Post by dboyd »

The degree I got was in Computational Science, not Computer Science. It was focused more on the principles of computation, rather than the electronic implementation of those principles. A few years after I graduated (in '96), it was renamed to Computer Science, to avoid confusing people.
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