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Teach Yourself Computer Science

teachyourselfcs.com

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Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#11

Post by vector_spaces »

miguelrochefort wrote: post #7

As a 30 year old software developer who's now considering going back to school for the next 3-4 years to get a degree, I wonder if I should blame these kinds of resources for making me believe that I could learn everything on my own and that a degree was unnecessary. Having learned this material in school would have made my life so much easier... For context, I recently received a lot of pressure to get a degree, des…

I'm doing that right now at 32, but more for personal enrichment than anyone pressuring me.

I feel like I'm getting much more out of my degree than I would have if I went the traditional route because I understand the context for the material, and because I've seen much of it before through self teaching, so I can focus more on consolidating my knowledge of the fundamentals rather than struggling to absorb all of these hard and often poorly justified concepts for an exam.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#12

Post by seven4 »

Whenever i have someone ask me where to get started on CS - i give them a few options tiered to try and ensure some stickiness/higher utility for them specifically.

~Some Existing Touch Point With CS

Teachyourselfcs.com is definitely in the conversation - in general I recommend it to friends who have a pre-existing "gateway" to the field (software engineer or otherwise). The page talks about progressing from "type 2" to "type 1" software engineer - a deeper understanding affording a richer career/experience.

~Relatively Fresh - but have strong intent

For people who are more "virgin" and fresh but are willing to put in the work - I recommend OSSU ("open source curriculum") - and i've found for whatever reason that structure has let them gradient in with more success. (https://github.com/ossu/computer-science)

~Intrigued/Engaged - but intent is still nascent

For people who have a fleeting interest but don't necessarily have the time or intensity about their interest i usually recommend a starter python course - 90% of these people will fall off the path unless there is a more permeable access-point to the space that offers a positive feedback loop. The university of Michigan has some engaging options.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#13

Post by throwawaygh »

miguelrochefort wrote: post #7

As a 30 year old software developer who's now considering going back to school for the next 3-4 years to get a degree, I wonder if I should blame these kinds of resources for making me believe that I could learn everything on my own and that a degree was unnecessary. Having learned this material in school would have made my life so much easier... For context, I recently received a lot of pressure to get a degree, des…

> despite years of experience and good knowledge of CS fundamentals

Have you considered majoring in something other than CS? If you're adequately self-taught and need the degree, then might as well learn something new and useful.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#14

Post by kyawzazaw »

jgwil2 wrote: post #10

Main updates as of May 2020: Computer Architecture: added Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective as first recommendation over nand2tetris. Compilers: Crafting Interpreters added as first recommendation over dragon book. Distributed Systems: added Designing Data-Intensive Applications as first recommendation over Distributed Systems . Online availability of some video lectures has changed as well.

My school actually use the same book for Computer Systems (similar to CMU's 15-213) but less intensive. I wonder what parts the 400-level course use for Computer Architecture.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#16

Post by ipnon »

I am planning on returning to university for a CS PhD after discovering that studying this curriculum is consistently the highlight of my day. Studying CS is the most interesting thing I do on a regular basis. I owe my thanks to the authors.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#17

Post by grzm »

hejja wrote: post #4
dang wrote: post #2

See also: 2018 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17581589 2017 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13862284

not op, but i think it's good enough to warrant reposts so new people can find it.

‘dang is saying “see also”, not “this doesn’t need reposting.” From what I’ve seen, reposts after a year or so are fine.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#18

Post by 627467 »

I wonder if anyone here has tried this (or other) self taught CS successfully while not being a "self-taught engineer or bootcamp grad".

What if you are a designer or PM type with several years experience in software industry? Is it productive to skip real experience or actual classes to get into CS/engineering?

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#19

Post by jgwil2 »

627467 wrote: post #18

I wonder if anyone here has tried this (or other) self taught CS successfully while not being a "self-taught engineer or bootcamp grad". What if you are a designer or PM type with several years experience in software industry? Is it productive to skip real experience or actual classes to get into CS/engineering?

You could certainly try to start learning to code with SICP and go from there, but for the most part these resources will be much more valuable to those who have some prior background in programming.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#20

Post by non-entity »

throwawaygh wrote: post #13
miguelrochefort wrote: post #7

As a 30 year old software developer who's now considering going back to school for the next 3-4 years to get a degree, I wonder if I should blame these kinds of resources for making me believe that I could learn everything on my own and that a degree was unnecessary. Having learned this material in school would have made my life so much easier... For context, I recently received a lot of pressure to get a degree, des…

> despite years of experience and good knowledge of CS fundamentals Have you considered majoring in something other than CS? If you're adequately self-taught and need the degree, then might as well learn something new and useful.

This is what I'm considering. I'm relatively content having been programming long enough. If I go back to school it probably won't be CS.

On the flip side, unfortunately CS is one of the few useful degrees that's had enough schools create a worker-friendly program (i.e. online) so many other degrees probable mean dropping out of the workforce.

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