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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)

#41

Post by Ar-Curunir »

commandlinefan wrote: post #2

> must practice persuasively and clearly communicating their ideas to non-programmers If you’re a CS major, panicking over this sort of “technical skills aren’t enough, you have to be a persuasive public speaker and effectively do management’s job for them”, people have been saying this since at least I started coding 30 years ago, and I don’t see any evidence that it’s actually true any more than it was back then -…

You're falsely equating the ability to communicate one's ideas clearly with "PowerPoint skills".

Technical ability is useless if you're not able to convince others why your project is useful or interesting. If you can't distill what you're doing into terms understandable by a non-expert, then you don't understand your own work well enough in the first place.

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

#42

Post by quickthrower2 »

In my experience no one cares about the portfolio. They want your CV, some references and to pass some coding tests. Now to be fair I am not going for the highest paid jobs or jobs required deep computer science knowledge, but for the ordinary job I have found that recruiters and employers alike look at CV. They might look at github if you are lucky.

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

#43

Post by jstewartmobile »

bigred100 wrote: post #33

To me, this sounds more like what a good CS Ph.D who spent his free time filling in every general CS knowledge gap he could come up with would know. I don’t know why he says learn real analysis and linear algebra to talk to engineers when I doubt 90% of engineers took one analysis course unless they’re Ph.Ds.

Judging by the Wikipedia article, "Real analysis" is freshman-level math for most branches of engineering.

Pretty shocking how little math most CS programs require in comparison.

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

#44

Post by lostphilosopher »

afarrell wrote: post #39
ergothus wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real pain is that most of us think we ARE good at it. We think about our intentions, and not what comes across. Intent rather than impact. But it's the impact that matters.

One thing that is hard is that you cannon control the impact of your words. You can influence it. With skill and perceptiveness you can strongly influence it. But you cannot 100% prevent someone from interpreting your words as an attack any more than the driver of a car can 100% guarantee he’ll never fatally collide with anyone. Good resources for understanding how to control the impact of your words include the book…

Agreed. A barometer of how well you're doing can be: how effective are you at persuading people when you need to? If you get in the "everyone around me is an idiot / don't know how computers work" head space you're probably lacking on communication skills. Being right is only half the battle - you often have to be able to convince others you are right.

The distinction between this and forms of communication often considered distasteful in technical circles is that you are - in fact - right (technical skill). It's not "sleazy" marketing if it really is "the world's best pizza!" :-)

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

#45

Post by lph »

commandlinefan wrote: post #2

> must practice persuasively and clearly communicating their ideas to non-programmers If you’re a CS major, panicking over this sort of “technical skills aren’t enough, you have to be a persuasive public speaker and effectively do management’s job for them”, people have been saying this since at least I started coding 30 years ago, and I don’t see any evidence that it’s actually true any more than it was back then -…

Strongly disagree. Effective technical leadership is a rarer skill than pure technical chops, especially as one becomes more senior in an organization. And it’s much more than “PowerPoint skills”——it’s driving consensus and making good decisions in highly ambiguous situations.

That said, I agree that it’s not something CS majors should worry about much in school. It’s something you learn as your career progresses.

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

#47

Post by kasey_junk »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #42

In my experience no one cares about the portfolio. They want your CV, some references and to pass some coding tests. Now to be fair I am not going for the highest paid jobs or jobs required deep computer science knowledge, but for the ordinary job I have found that recruiters and employers alike look at CV. They might look at github if you are lucky.

If you aren’t using your network (you have a network right?). You’ve already failed.

No one in tech knows how to hire so its all network based. This isn’t a good thing but it’s where we are.

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

#49

Post by phkahler »

llamaz wrote: post #13

Differential equations and electromagnetism? Maybe 30 years ago, but these days electrical engineers know how to code

Who is going to write FEA software? Or rigid body dynamics simulation? Or the physically based rendering software? It's not going to be a typical electrical engineer.

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

#50

Post by diminoten »

commandlinefan wrote: post #2

> must practice persuasively and clearly communicating their ideas to non-programmers If you’re a CS major, panicking over this sort of “technical skills aren’t enough, you have to be a persuasive public speaker and effectively do management’s job for them”, people have been saying this since at least I started coding 30 years ago, and I don’t see any evidence that it’s actually true any more than it was back then -…

Technical ability isn't relevant in ~90% of "CS" jobs. Everyone can do the basics, and you don't need more than the basics to do 90% of "CS" jobs.

You will be left behind by coworkers who can communicate, and you will be confused about why, if you can't communicate well. Specifically, if you can't take an idea you have and convince others it's the right idea.

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