

I got first class degree in CS, but I know nothing about computers - CSStudent

I am programmer and I have been doing it since 14 years old. I believe I am great at it. I've just finished my CS degree in pretty good rated UK university. But I feel that I know nothing about computers except programming and little bit of maths. Is it my fault that I learnt stuff just before exams to pass it and forgot everything afterwards? Did I really need to go to Uni? What do you think?
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RollAHardSix
Everyone goes through college feeling this way once they finish. Keep going
with your university studies, get the highest degree you can or jump to a
well-paying job in industry. You have alpha number of hours in the day, and
bravo number of topics to study relating to computing. Where alpha is finite,
and bravo is infinite(and growing!).

At a job you will focus (even if focusing on say web development, it's still
generic focusing in that area); when you are on your off-time you can begin to
branch out into further, specialized focus area's learning what you want,
exploring what you want.

The possibilities are always endless and the topics, oh they are many: high-
performance computing, gaming, graphics, sound, web, application, server,
user-interface, user-design, IT Tech, networking, the list goes on and on.
Congratulations on graduating; never forget life is what you make it!

~~~
gordian
Ouch. This advice sounds alarming and extreme. Degrees will only carry you so
far. One place they will carry you is into debt. Experience > formal
education.

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zerohp
I doubt you forgot everything. It's your brain tricking you. You began school
with a strong knowledge of the of the things you were aware of. Now you're
aware of many more areas so you feel like you learned nothing overall.

Imagine a large circle A with a smaller B inside of it centered on the same
point. A represents your awareness of all things computers, the set of things
you know about but haven't learned yet. B represents the things you know very
well, a few programming languages, some math, etc.

While you've been learning, A and B are both expanding, but A is expanding
faster than B. You're feeling intimidated by the things you are aware of, but
don't know very well.

It's probably related to this:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome>

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helen842000
I think this might stem from the fact you've finished your academic studies
for the first time in your life.

You studied CS and you proved you're capable of learning to a high standard
AND you achieved a great result.

Now it's up to you to choose what you study next. What areas do you feel you
are missing? Even outside of tech.

When you leave uni it's not possible to have studied every concept. I did CS
in the UK too and I went down the analytics, data, ecommerce route and left
with very limited programming skills. That's something I've had to address
since leaving.

Follow your interests and plug the gaps that are worrying you.

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blcArmadillo
Not quite sure if you're talking about the underlying hardware and all. But
awhile back I ran across the book "Building a Modern Computer from First
Principles". I haven't actually read it due to being in school myself but it
seems extremely interesting. Basically it walks you from low level boolean
logic up through processor design, compilers, operating systems, and
languages. Most of the book can actually be downloaded from their site here:
<http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/plan.html>.

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Jacquass12321
_Basically it walks you from low level boolean logic up through processor
design, compilers, operating systems, and languages_

Isn't that what his university degree should have already covered?

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gamechangr
You did not need to go to Uni. It really matters what you went for (employment
vs well rounded learning).

For employment, it would have been much more efficient to use the same
time/money to gain experience and post it through github. I am twice as likely
to hire a person with a good portfolio than someone who has a good degree.
That said..both would be good.

For getting a more well rounded understanding of what is really happening and
why computers do what they do....a uni degree/experience is really helpful.

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tmather99
Stay in school as long as you can, unless you have a burning desire to change
the world...

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Radzell
I actually go to university now i started doing programming and built my own
business at 16. I learned more than I have ever learned in school. I am really
contemplating just going into working for a startup. I heard startups don't
care if you have a degree, but I haven't heard back from any I have applied
for. So if anyone could post whether they care if someone goes to Uni or if
experience is enough.

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edlea
It very much depends on the employer. I've hired people who haven't studied
Computer Science (or even a science or engineering degree) and found that they
can be a mixed bag. Generally they can program, but the quality of their code
and the way they approach problems isn't always as good as people who have
been taught Computer Science.

Also, and please don't take this the wrong way as you were posting on HN, not
applying for a job, but if you don't have a degree I'd expect you to be more
than just a great programmer. The structure of your first sentence would ring
alarm bells for me. It's not just your technical abilities that are important
but all your skills, including communication.

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jebblue
>> the quality of their code and the way they approach problems isn't always
as good as people who have been taught Computer Science.

Might want to get your degree'ed nose out of the air, you might trip over the
next obstacle that lies in your path.

