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What every computer science major should know (2011)

matt.might.net

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Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#181

Post by hatboat »

arethuza wrote: post #141
willbw wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the author mentions a lot of other stuff - I think the OP of this comment was just trying to trim out some superfluous topics.

Who is to say that a particular topic is superfluous though - I did a maths heavy CS degree and that has helped a lot with subsequent work in engineering and finance.

Because the article's title specifically states that every CS major should know those topics. Should every CS major know formal methods, AI, robotics... ?

Yes the heavy math you took was very helpful (and I personally agree as someone who did a CS heavy math degree), however as stated above the list should really be a minimum requirement. Anything extra is superfluous.

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#182

Post by darkcha0s »

pinacarlos90 wrote: post #89

I come from a CS background and learned a lot from studying CS, it definitely gave me a strong foundation and changed the way I view and understand computing. I learned most of the topics mentioned in this document while in school, and although they are all valid, they are not enough for real world needs. ~90% of CS undergraduates will end working as or with engineers, and in 2019 here are the skills that are indispe…

Thank you. I've made it to moderate success as a "software engineer" with your mentioned/trimmed list of topics, even without taking physics all the way up to electromagnetism.

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#183

Post by bigred100 »

jstewartmobile wrote: post #70
bigred100 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US universities I’ve attended, it’s a senior level mathematics major course. Second semester freshman calculus will teach you similar material in a much more glossed over fashion and apply it to very simple examples.

Matt brought up RA in the context of " speak the same language ". In that context, freshman calc ticks the box. His standards are high, but fair.

There’s no reason to call it RA as no one including almost all the engineers took that class. They’ll just call it all calculus

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#184

Post by winternett »

drinane wrote: post #169
winternett wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Advice about career paths should always be personalized to each individual. I'm someone who has not had a traditional CS education, I am totally self taught and I don't have many certs at all, actually, I had taken a few courses and not taken the tests, and for all of those courses, the only reason I had taken them is that my employers paid for them. I've had over 13 different jobs in the past 20 years and th…

Do you think there is legitimate business strategy to justify lack of raises?

It's always either a buyer or seller's market when it comes to business in my book. A business should constantly seek growth and cost efficiency. Through the process if a company is profitable, they should give raises accordingly. If their competition is paying more, and that threatens your employee retention, then you should offer raises or benefits to your employees comparable to retain them. It's a lot more costly to continually re-hire and train employees in most settings.

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#185

Post by vages »

lagadu wrote: post #122
vages wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you point me to the website of a school which makes you check all the boxes just by attending?

Mine[0] did the vast majority of them. [0] https://sigarra.up.pt/feup/en/CUR_GERAL.CUR_PLANOS_ESTUDOS_V...

Cool! That looked like an extensive program. I studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and my partially self-chosen courses covered most of it too.

I think we may differ on what we mean by "should". I don't (really) doubt that it's possible and valuable to learn all of this in university (forgive my use of hyperbole in the original comment). But I don't think it's necessary for most people with a major/master's degree in CS to do so.

The ideal and the necessary should not be confused.

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#186

Post by greggyb »

willbw wrote: post #104
greggyb wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of these are in the article. The author mentions: 1) both http and ssh 2) source control and team work (and suggests courses built around these) 3) multiple sections on problem solving and algorithms (incl. proof techniquese, formal methods, knowledge of data structures and algorithms) 4) nothing in particular 5) nothing in particular 6) covers communication skills 7) emphasizes each student taking a lead role o…

Yes, but the author mentions a lot of other stuff - I think the OP of this comment was just trying to trim out some superfluous topics.

GP of comment says:

> I learned most of the topics mentioned in this document while in school, and although they are all valid, they are not enough for real world needs.

Emphasis is mine. I do not know how to interpret the emphasized part except as an indication that GP thinks OP skipped the listed topics. I was simply pointing out the overlap between GP's additions and OP's original list.

Re: What every computer science major should know (2011)

#187

Post by lagadu »

vages wrote: post #185
lagadu wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mine[0] did the vast majority of them. [0] https://sigarra.up.pt/feup/en/CUR_GERAL.CUR_PLANOS_ESTUDOS_V...

Cool! That looked like an extensive program. I studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and my partially self-chosen courses covered most of it too. I think we may differ on what we mean by "should". I don't (really) doubt that it's possible and valuable to learn all of this in university (forgive my use of hyperbole in the original comment). But I don't think it's necessary for most people with…

Oh I completely agree with you. Most are "nice-to-haves" but in no way necessary.
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