
Why I’m Not Looking to Hire Computer-Science Majors - somerandomness
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-im-not-looking-to-hire-computer-science-majors-1440804753?mod=trending_now_4
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mto
Just the usual "omg we need someone for angular/jboss2.34/.net4.3/... We don't
care about compilers, logic, theory bla.

Because development in the industry is becoming as superficial as tinder in
dating. Just riding the current hype train.

So we could just throw all our background knowledge out of the window and just
teach placing buttons and form fields in angular hybrid apps, right?

I also find the trend of everyone having to do side projects on github pretty
weird. No one of my professional friends in other fields would do something
like that. Because you might think that what you do professionally is worth
more than your hobby stuff. Personally, after a typical work day, in the
evening my back and my eyes hurt and I also want to enjoy family, dog, nature
or just sleep. I do read a lot of technical stuff or watch coursera or
udacity. But even more t-rexing?

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pnt12
I agree. As the author says, the development scene is always changing. Maybe
that's a reason to teach generic concept skills and concepts instead of
current techology.

iOS and android development may be totally diffrent in 5 years, for example.

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willstepp
I come to this as a self-taught programmer and I think like most Ford-Chevy
arguments the reality is somewhere in between. After working as a professional
software developer for eight years on desktop apps, web apps, and mobile apps,
I can see there are places where having a foundation in computer science could
absolutely improve quality of my work, mainly algorithms and data structures,
but also higher level subjects like OS and database architecture,
security...etc.

And I also think CompSci folks would do well to work on a personal software
project on nights and weekends and see it through to release and get actual
people to use what you wrote. There's so much valuable experience that comes
from that process that can never be learned in a classroom, or even from most
jobs to be honest.

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semerda
I think the CompSci folks that are dissatisfied with their employer and are
comfortable with their skills are already doing stuff on the side. Today,
sharpening your skills & earning extra $$$ through side projects is a no
brainer. The wealth of online how-to articles and distribution channels has
lowered the barriers to entry.

Of course if one is well looked after their employer financially and
personally then there is really no need to do this. Makes you wonder why so
many people out there are dissatisfied with their employers eh ;-)

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rayiner
College isn't supposed to teach young developers skills. It's supposed to
teach them how to acquire skills. You're supposed to teach them skills.

~~~
shawndrost
That is the status quo. Is it a good system design? It seems to result in poor
performance (hard for smaller employers to hire fresh college grads, since
they haven't built an internal finishing school) and shoddy, duplicated effort
(every major employer eventually constructs an ad-hoc finishing school for
college grads).

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bhewes
If one cannot pay market rate for developers maybe the startup is not viable.

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semerda
What an awful article. "colleges doing such a rotten job of teaching them
skills."? right, this is why Google and Facebook nick those with a Computer
Science degree and pay them bucket loads of money. Try getting into those
companies without a degree lol

The author goes on complaining that iPhone and Android development is missing
in computer science departments. Right, problems are solved using an app
_rolls eyes_. Computer Science is "Foundations". Language and Tools change
daily but foundations rarely.. think algorithms, data structures etc.. this is
what these degrees teach and how to apply them to solve problems. Yes it's f
__kin hard and takes years of practice to be good at it. But this is what
makes Computer Science /Engineering majors a hot commodity!

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zallen
This guy has just got daddy issues: his father is a CS prof at Yale.

(Source:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gelernter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gelernter),
mention of his son as this guy:
[http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240529702038331045770721...](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203833104577072162782422558))

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mathias_awkward
Is it me or is that signup/premium only content? :s

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alialkhatib
If you Google(/Bing) the title and click on the wsj link from the search
results, you can circumvent the paywall. I'd give a link, but I'm not sure
that's okay (also, the procedure is just tedious, not complicated).

