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Teach Yourself Computer Science

teachyourselfcs.com

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Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#31

Post by bigasscoffee »

non-entity wrote: post #20
throwawaygh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Don't quit working to get a degree, and don't take on a lot of debt to get one.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#32

Post by panic »

Has anyone here learned a subject by going through one of these "teach yourself" lists? I've learned most of what I know about computers on my own, but it wasn't from following a list of textbooks. And when I've tried to follow a course like this for other subjects, despite my initial interest, I've found myself unable to make it through more than a couple chapters of the first textbook before running out of steam.

But somebody must be getting some value out of these things, right? Am I just bad at studying? Or not as interested in the subjects I'm trying to learn about as I think I am?

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#34

Post by alexashka »

thewarrior wrote: post #29
alexashka wrote: post #26

> If you’re a self-taught engineer or bootcamp grad, you owe it to yourself to learn computer science. No, you don't. I know all these topics and I don't recommend anyone working in a corporate environment to learn any of this. It'll likely result in you resenting your job, your peers and the entire software industry. --- I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vex…

What does it say about our industry if learning all this makes workers hate what they do ? By this logic we should cut down on advanced education so people stay content in dull jobs.

I've included a Biblical quote concerning this matter to point out that this is an old human problem, not merely an industry problem.

> By this logic we should cut down on advanced education so people stay content in dull jobs.

This would indeed be the case, if corporate jobs were an inescapable necessity.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#35

Post by miguelrochefort »

wincy wrote: post #8
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…

Where is the pressure coming from? Your employer? I’d guess it varies widely between companies.

The pressure comes from everywhere:

- Current employer: "Your salary is already good for someone without a bachelor's degree"

- Current employer: "We're sorry but this promotion requires a bachelor's degree"

- Future employer: "We're sorry but we hired someone with a bachelor's degree for this job"

- Date: "You don't have a bachelor's degree?"

- Friends: "You're the only one without a bachelor's degree"

- Meetup: "What did you study in college?"

- Country: "We can't grant you a work visa without a bachelor's degree"

- Family: "You will have more opportunities with a bachelor's degree. We'll even pay for it." (offer expired)

- School: "Here's a scholarship" (offer expired)

- 80,000 hours: "You basically don't exist"

- Brain: "Maybe I'm not a superstar coder and job security is important"

Perhaps some of these are hypothetical, but they feel the same as if they had been concretized.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#36

Post by kovek »

seven4 wrote: post #12

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"…

I remember telling people to read "The Python Tutorial" on python.org , if they wanted to write Python. It takes a few hours for an experienced programer, and a couple of days for a beginner. People had difficulty starting.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#38

Post by hckr_news »

panic wrote: post #32

Has anyone here learned a subject by going through one of these "teach yourself" lists? I've learned most of what I know about computers on my own, but it wasn't from following a list of textbooks. And when I've tried to follow a course like this for other subjects, despite my initial interest, I've found myself unable to make it through more than a couple chapters of the first textbook before running out of steam. B…

I graduated with a degree in BioSciences a few years ago, and elected to not do grad school like my peers. I saw no point of losing thousands of dollars to do a master’s in Bioinformatics/Data just to get a jr level job. That summer after graduation from undergrad I attempted to learn CS and go through OSS Computer Science program and TeachYourSelfCS to break into the industry. The problem was a lot of it wasn’t job relevant and it felt very rigid, and sometimes even more complex than it needed to be. These University level courses aren’t really necessary. I like to view coding as a trade and skill, something that can be learned and applied right away rather than a mechanism for research, feel free to disagree with me. In any case, I just wanted to code and build software (sorry CS purists...). I slowly found myself less interested in CS theory and more in software engineering. Feeling disenchanted with CS, I decided to spend a few months learning web and software development fundamentals through online courses on Udemy and Frontend Masters. After that I did a certificate in fullstack development at my alma matter (cost me a couple thousand dollars, much cheaper than grad school). I will say I was pretty lucky that as soon as I finished the full stack program, I was hired by a small software shop.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#39

Post by hckr_news »

M5x7wI3CmbEem10 wrote: post #37

how much of this curriculum is necessary for a FAANG job? I’d love to go through all of them, but I’m constrained with work as well, so I’ll have to prioritize.

Honestly, start with web or mobile development and start working on projects. Start with the fundamentals and go from there. CS theory is great but it’s not gonna pay the bills.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#40

Post by M5x7wI3CmbEem10 »

miguelrochefort wrote: post #35
wincy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is the pressure coming from? Your employer? I’d guess it varies widely between companies.

The pressure comes from everywhere: - Current employer: "Your salary is already good for someone without a bachelor's degree" - Current employer: "We're sorry but this promotion requires a bachelor's degree" - Future employer: "We're sorry but we hired someone with a bachelor's degree for this job" - Date: "You don't have a bachelor's degree?" - Friends: "You're the only one without a bachelor's degree" - Meetup: "Wh…

does similar pressure exist for a Master’s Degree? I’ve considered OMSCS for this reason.
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