Just going to drop this link here:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23564832
Teach Yourself Computer Science
51–60 of 273 posts
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#52Has 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…
I think that CS vs SWE thing happens with a lot of people, and I got caught there, too. Luckily, I ended up really liking CS and it introduced me to the field, whereas otherwise I would've gone for SWE. There really needs to be a 'teachYourselfSWE' for people who are into that.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#53how 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.
More than all of it, but also none of it.
You can always just hack the interview process if your primary goal is a job at a particular Big Co. In that case, learning all of the material is probably an extraordinarily inefficient path toward your goal.
But "any dumbass can hack can hack mega-corp hiring processes" is sort of obvious. If your goal is to do the real thing, as opposed to knowing how to hack the American Corporate Tech Giant mechanism for determining whether you know the real thing, then the answer is "teaching yourself the content knowledge in this list sort of misses the forest for the tress".
I think a lot of low-cost/open source/self-directed programs sort of miss one of the points of education. The reason for learning all that stuff in CS courses is more than just the content knowledge. It's also the intellectual history of the field, the problem solving approaches, how people in this field communicate, etc.
If you think of fields like Econ or Law or Medicine, it's easier to see. There's some raw content knowledge (the rules of evidence, human anatomy), but also there's the huge amount of stuff around that content knowledge. Like, yes you need to know the rules of evidence and the names of every bone. But... there's also a bunch of other stuff you're supposed to be picking up as a result of going through the process of learning that material. The self-study approach somehow misses a lot of the "stuff you're supposed to learn as an effect of learning the material", especially in CS.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps Western Governors University could be a good fit. https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/computer-science.html The philosophy of WGU is that you pass self-paced courses by passing tests, so people that already know the material can complete the courses quickly.
Are they a respected degree in CS?
They are accredited and mostly pursued by already practicing software engineers who want to check the box for a degree.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#55I am planning on returning to university for a CS PhD after discovering that studying this curriculum is consistently the highlight of my day. Studying CS is the most interesting thing I do on a regular basis. I owe my thanks to the authors.
I'm self-taught too, and strictly interested in research-focused CS masters or PhD programs (as opposed to industry-focused cash-cows). I think I'm mostly interested in studying PL or program synthesis, but I'm also open to other ideas. How did you make that jump from self-taught to qualified for a PhD program?
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#56how 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.
Pretty necessary, I cant imagine working at a FAANG without at least having read and understood "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" cover to cover.
Really cover to cover? Don't think that's necessary unless you have deep interest in the subject. There are folks who can barely walk and chew gum at the same time, working at FAANGs.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#57Has anyone ever found a guide of similar format and quality for data science? I would love to find a similar collection of resources for learning data science fundamentals (math, statistics, programming, etc.)
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#58Whenever 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.
A beginner might have trouble assimilating this information - too few examples, not enough entry level drilling on data types, operators, flow control and functions. For example they might forget to put quotes around a string or not know how to use two for loops, one inside the other, even if they know how to use one in isolation. It's hard to grok how to compose things even if the student saw how to use them in isolation. And for the teacher, it's hard to keep the lessons easy enough at that entry level.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Unfortunately the way the US education system is designed I don't have much of a choice atm.
Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science
#60I am planning on returning to university for a CS PhD after discovering that studying this curriculum is consistently the highlight of my day. Studying CS is the most interesting thing I do on a regular basis. I owe my thanks to the authors.
I'm self-taught too, and strictly interested in research-focused CS masters or PhD programs (as opposed to industry-focused cash-cows). I think I'm mostly interested in studying PL or program synthesis, but I'm also open to other ideas. How did you make that jump from self-taught to qualified for a PhD program?
I made this exact jump. The answer, for me, was a four year bachelor's degree.
I was a self-taught software engineer, not a self-taught computer scientist. I was writing production code for fairly normal stuff, not proving theorems or implementing research prototypes of new ideas. So YMMV.
If you can make it through TAPL or PFPL on your own, then you probably know enough to be useful to some random grad student somewhere. Latch onto an implementation effort, get authorship on a popl/splash/pldi paper or two, and that's probably enough to convince some faculty somewhere to take a chance on you.
But most good graduate programs still require a regionally accredited degree. Getting an exception to that rule will likely require a publication record. (Getting into good graduate programs often requires a publication record in any case. I recommend against attending not-good graduate programs.)