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Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

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Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#11

Post by viraptor »

EFruit wrote: post #7

I don't trust a company like Google to act in its students' and certificate holders' best interests. It's not hard to imagine that the certifications will all be tied back to a Google account that they can terminate at any time, at their discretion. On a more Google-y note, I wouldn't want to get an email in five years telling me that they're sunsetting their online certificate verification portal, meaning no one can…

This is only a problem for a specific implementation. You can skip the online verifier for example by handing out a certificate-signed PDF. Until we see the actual implementation or plan, there's no need to criticise the potential ones.

Thought exercise: how do employers verify certificates currently, and how would they do it if your college shut down? In my experience, it's "they don't" and "they couldn't". It's both a bit more and less tricky with jobs that require recognised certification - there will be likely a nationally issued certification which matches your education one.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#13

Post by viraptor »

blackflame7000 wrote: post #12

Half the classes they make you take at universities are worthless anyways. They're just there to keep you 4 years and get more money. A CS major doesn't need to learn about Greek Mythology.

That sounds like a strawman. Does any CS major require Greek mythology?

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#14

Post by blackflame7000 »

viraptor wrote: post #11
EFruit wrote: post #7

I don't trust a company like Google to act in its students' and certificate holders' best interests. It's not hard to imagine that the certifications will all be tied back to a Google account that they can terminate at any time, at their discretion. On a more Google-y note, I wouldn't want to get an email in five years telling me that they're sunsetting their online certificate verification portal, meaning no one can…

This is only a problem for a specific implementation. You can skip the online verifier for example by handing out a certificate-signed PDF. Until we see the actual implementation or plan, there's no need to criticise the potential ones. Thought exercise: how do employers verify certificates currently, and how would they do it if your college shut down? In my experience, it's "they don't" and "they couldn't". It's bot…

> "there's no need to criticise the potential ones."

Why not? There might be people on these forums who could take note.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#15

Post by FpUser »

pkage wrote: post #10

I question the depth of education you can receive from a six-month course set as opposed to a full four-year undergraduate experience. This feels like the same kind of marketing you saw from Flatiron School or one of those other coding bootcamps, but with a larger name attached. Cynically, I'd say that Google is just trying to increase the number of qualified individuals to fill grunt-work positions so they can pay e…

There is not much to question here. If you look at the list the positions listed are not rocket science type and basics of each can be squeezed into 6 month. Problem is that the result is most likely very narrow skilled individual with not much future unless of course they keep learning.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#16

Post by cratermoon »

blackflame7000 wrote: post #12

Half the classes they make you take at universities are worthless anyways. They're just there to keep you 4 years and get more money. A CS major doesn't need to learn about Greek Mythology.

97 Things Every Programmer Should Know by Kevlin Henney: Chapter 71. Read the Humanities

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/97-things-every/9780596...

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#17

Post by twblalock »

blackflame7000 wrote: post #12

Half the classes they make you take at universities are worthless anyways. They're just there to keep you 4 years and get more money. A CS major doesn't need to learn about Greek Mythology.

Universities are not intended to be vocational schools or trade schools. That's why electives are required to graduate. That's why CS programs teach theory more than practice.

It's always worth being a well-rounded person. The most successful software engineers I know are not the most technically proficient. They are the ones who understand how their customers and their employees and their managers view the world, and they can use that understanding to prioritize the engineering work that will have the most impact. They are good at explaining what they are doing in terms that non-engineers understand, they can take requirements from non-engineers and turn them into realistic engineering requirements, and they can talk to corporate executives without seeming like Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. These are all good skills to have, and none of them are taught in CS class.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#18

Post by dx87 »

blackflame7000 wrote: post #12

Half the classes they make you take at universities are worthless anyways. They're just there to keep you 4 years and get more money. A CS major doesn't need to learn about Greek Mythology.

They're only worthless if you're treating college as a vocational school instead of a chance to broaden your horizons.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#19

Post by ryandrake »

viraptor wrote: post #13
blackflame7000 wrote: post #12

Half the classes they make you take at universities are worthless anyways. They're just there to keep you 4 years and get more money. A CS major doesn't need to learn about Greek Mythology.

That sounds like a strawman. Does any CS major require Greek mythology?

I don’t know how it is today but when I went, you had to take a certain number of credits in humanities, social sciences, etc, no matter what your major was. So while they didn’t specifically mandate “Greek Mythology,” they mandated a certain number of credits from courses in that bucket, which stretched the time commitment for the degree at least a year from what it would have been if I focused on just my major requirements.

Re: Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Absolute Genius

#20

Post by wmf »

EFruit wrote: post #7

I don't trust a company like Google to act in its students' and certificate holders' best interests. It's not hard to imagine that the certifications will all be tied back to a Google account that they can terminate at any time, at their discretion. On a more Google-y note, I wouldn't want to get an email in five years telling me that they're sunsetting their online certificate verification portal, meaning no one can…

I think the point of these certs is to get a job at Google which lessens some of these concerns.
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