18 March 2007

Does having a CS degree matter?

Yesterday, I talked with an old friend (that I haven't seen for a while) and we ended up talking about CS degrees. Are they really important? Well, I'd say yes...at least, that's what I would say 5 years ago. Why 5 years ago and not now? Simply because I think Joel is absolutely correct: as he says in this great article, you cannot use Java in CS courses (which seems to be the standard nowadays)! If you want to know why, just read the article and you'll see what I mean.

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Comments

# Manuel Abadia said:

Luis,

I think that a CS degree is a lot easier to get than some years ago.

IMHO, using a language like Java in most CS courses isn't a bad thing. If the course is about implementing an AI algorithm and the student feels more comfortable and productive doing it in Java, it's fine for me.

However, a CS degree needs to teach how to use pointers, recursion, assembly, algorithm complexity and other important things to the students.

If after 5 years of studies you don't know to program in assembler for at least one CPU I think something is failing. I know that assembler is very little used nowadays, that's why there doesn't need to be more than one or two subjects about it, but it is required IMHO.

I have seen people without a CS degree who only know how to use a language and not much more. They don't know how to measure the complexity of an algorithm or what caching is and the implications of iterating through a matrix by rows or by columns... Of course there are always brilliant individuals who don't have a CS degree and are better than people who does have it.

Sunday, March 18, 2007 10:25 AM
# Bertrand Le Roy said:

Yeah, right, and real men code in assembly.

Seriously, when I interview candidates, I don't care if they have a degree in CS (I don't have one myself) or what language they prefer (I used C# when I interviewed for MS). What I care about is their problem solving abilities and coding skills. C or Java does not make a difference to see those.

Monday, March 19, 2007 12:21 AM
# Luis Abreu said:

Bertrand, that's not what I mean. What I'm trying to say is that CS courses should give you the basics about computer science. I do think that knowing something about C, C++ and assembly is a must after completing a CS degree. Do note that I'm not against using Java on  CS courses. What I'm saying is that concepts like pointers are needed and when you need to explain it, you do really need C (or other language that supports it)

Monday, March 19, 2007 5:20 AM

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