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

news.ycombinator.com

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

#21

Post by stcredzero »

As I write this, CS degree is at 103 and Self-taught is the 2nd largest at 53. For the self-taught, would there be a market for courses that cover the entire breadth of a CS degree, but slim it down to the stuff one commonly uses as a programming professional? This would be presented as a web app and as webinars, not for free, but at very low cost. (Perhaps have some sample lessons for free.) I know it's all out there for free, but it takes some gathering to put it all together, and it's material that's best presented in a cohesive way. (Some degree programs don't do that, though.)

Also, as someone with a CS degree, I still picked up stuff on the job, years after getting out of school.

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

#22

Post by dotBen »

Self taught programmer - 8 or 9 I started BASIC and was doing Borland C and C++ by the age of 14. By then I was into Web development and pivoted over to Javascript, php, and later Java and Objective C.

I have no degree whatsoever and no qualifications in maths or CS.

I've been in the business 12 years, although I do less development these days. I'll be honest - I couldn't tell you how you would design a compiler, or an OS (not at the 'hardcore' level you are talking about).

If you asked me these questions in an interview I'd say as much. I'd also say that for web development I don't think it really matters and I don't feel I'm missing out on much. I'm certainly not going to go to university to learn them at the age of 29. I'm also not going to get a job at Google (not as an engineer anyway) but that frankly doesn't concern me.

I don't feel it has hurt me in terms of my career although granted there are areas of the business I'm never going to cut it in (that's the case for all of us, however).

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

#24

Post by Ixiaus »

Self-taught as well with a strong emphasis on the liberal arts and a special focus on Mathematics. I make it a habit to learn new languages often, particularly esoteric languages (I'm also learning Greek in the natural languages). The self-educational path is more involved than some people tend to think; it really is a replacement for going to college, for me. I've created my own curriculum, read the classics, write essays - proofread them over and over (in lieu of being graded) - do a lot of projects that are relevant to the material I'm studying, etc...

Time can be tough to find when I do this - in general I have a "part time" schedule at night after I'm done working (I've cofounded a startup); I have a history of going through self-education "phases" that usually mean I stop working for a period of months and focus full-time on my study material and personal projects...

Rigor, though, can be an issue sometimes. I'm still working on intensifying my studying in the time that I spend on it.

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

#27

Post by drhodes »

stcredzero wrote: post #21

As I write this, CS degree is at 103 and Self-taught is the 2nd largest at 53. For the self-taught, would there be a market for courses that cover the entire breadth of a CS degree, but slim it down to the stuff one commonly uses as a programming professional? This would be presented as a web app and as webinars, not for free, but at very low cost. (Perhaps have some sample lessons for free.) I know it's all out ther…

Ars Digita. http://aduni.org/

Lecture videos, homework pdfs.. It's a little more coherent than opencourseware due to the nature of the program.

"ADU was a one-year, intensive post-baccalaureate program in Computer Science based on the undergraduate course of study at MIT."

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

#28

Post by Nick_C »

frameworkninja wrote: post #25
dminor14 wrote: post #7

I studied music at a conservatory, took night classes in CS at UC Berkeley and hacked my way to startdom!

very nice. the best programmers I've worked with almost all had conservatory degree's :)

Interestingly, the psychometric profiles for music and engineering share quite a few characteristics. It's common for engineers to be polymaths, esp with music.
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