

Should You Attend University for Web Development? - zaveri
http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/interviews/should-you-go-to-university-for-web-development/

======
robryan
University has never really been about real world application. The professors
and lecturers that i've encountered are really smart people on the cutting
edge of thier fields, if they wanted to lecture about these technologies tey
would have no issues.

University is really about teaching you the principles which rarely change
much, then depending on your course building up to more real world situations.

Theres no point focusing a whole course around the newest technologies then
having someone not have the flexability to adapt to new changes or work in an
older area.

~~~
dkarl
Sounds like common sense to me, but believe it or not, some people disagree.
Check out some dissenting opinions from the article:

"A class I took in 2007 taught how to create a website with tables. I found
out this year that they are finally teaching table free websites. Being a few
years behind is definitely not smart, especially when you're paying so much to
learn this information." (If you think the point of paying tens of thousands
of dollars per year for college is to acquire knowledge whose shelf life is
shorter than the time you spend there, then it's no wonder you think it's a
bad idea.)

"[Students] don't know, yet, that they need to be constantly monitoring blogs
and twitter for the latest information on the industry." (Methinks this person
is confused about what "web development" is, thinking it means self-promotion
and getting blog traffic rather than developing good web sites.)

"I think I learned more on my co-op at the time on web development then I
learned in the class room. Only the concepts were relevant in the classroom -
the languages and the techniques weren't." (Silly colleges teaching concepts
instead of specific technologies!)

It's funny how so many web developers think that having the latest technology
is absolutely required, instead of thinking about the costs and benefits of
staying up to date. The only aspect of web development where fashion is a
driver is UI design. Cutting-edge UI design sometimes (not always) requires
cutting-edge UI implementation technologies. For the rest, hell, every site
has its own needs, and your site's needs might have been technologically
solved years ago. I think these kids could benefit from taking a calculus
class and realizing that the concepts and the notation are older than their
parents (hah, didn't know there _was_ anything that old, did ya?)

~~~
jhancock
Using universities for "vocational training" is a bad route. Its what many
employers want and some students want. A solid general university education is
valuable even if you cannot measure its value in terms of your first few jobs.

------
dkarl
If you're asking the question, then you're too young to decide against
college. Keep your options open. It won't hurt your web development career,
and if you change your mind about your career (like most people do between the
ages of 18 and 25) you won't be stuck playing college catch-up.

You really don't want to go to college when you're years older than the other
students. All the kids will think you're a loser, and they'll think you're
creepy if you try to hang out with them. You'll think they're shallow and
irresponsible, and you'll resent it when they do as well in class as you. No,
thanks. Now is the time. Just go. If the obligatory college pastimes of
drinking, socializing, and watching foreign films sound silly to you, I've got
good news: you'll have LOTS of free time at college to work on your web
development skills.

P.S. He got a variety of responses and a lively discussion among people who
are still interested in web development. The answers would be much more
predictable if you could ask the people who entered college as programming
freaks and developed an interest in economics or anthropology. I think that
consideration settles the issue pretty well.

~~~
jhancock
Well said. There is no good reason to grow up so fast. You have the rest of
your life to work. Spend as much time in university as you like. Take a year
or two and travel after your done, it doesn't have to be expensive. Work is
always waiting for you.

~~~
unperson
Great idea in theory, but not everyone can afford the costs of spending as
much time as they want without income (much less follow it up by traveling for
two years).

In the real world, people are often forced to 'grow up' faster than they would
want due to external factors.

~~~
jhancock
This is mostly a problem in people's minds. You are not forced to grow up
faster, you do it to yourself. I went to college without a penny from others.
I worked every other quarter and did just fine. It took longer, but I also got
a lot out of it and ended up without debt.

Leaving school to start some "get-rich-quick" web X.0 idea is very foolish. If
you luck into having a huge success on the line by doing a side project with a
friend during college, that's different and very rare.

