Let Go, Standard Library From Community

[Sean Kelly]

Jeff Nowakowski wrote:
> 
> I have a Computer Science degree, and I have never needed calculus, 
> physics, chemistry, etc. in any of my programming jobs.  I resent all 
> the time I was forced to waste taking these courses, instead of learning 
> about my trade.

But many people do.  That aside, science and math courses are invaluable 
for teaching problem solving skills, which are useful regardless of the 
problem domain.

> Sure, these topics would have been useful if I wanted to get a 
> programming job in a field that made use of it, but I don't want these 
> kinds of jobs, and there are plenty of programming jobs that don't need 
> them.

I think that's likely true for entry level jobs, but over time I've been 
surprised at just how useful math and science knowledge has been.  Even 
seemingly straightforward topics like economics and accounting involve a 
decent bit of calculus.

 > I even wouldn't have minded being exposed to the topics, but I
> was forced to take the same physics and calculus courses as mechanical 
> engineers.  I wasted so much time memorizing formulas and learning how 
> to solve problems that I never touched again.

That's more specific to the school than anything.  One thing I've found 
is that the larger state schools seem to favor testing information 
retention rather than problem solving.  One mathematics professor I 
talked to recently lamented this, saying he had to teach this way 
because it was what students expected at the school, and not doing so 
would have generated a lot of complaints.  Interestingly, he has also 
seen a steady decline in his students performance over the years.  I 
would guess this is because students are busier today than in the past, 
but it's interesting nevertheless.

> My understanding is that there is a greater emphasis on Software 
> Engineering as a degree for those who want to actually code instead of 
> doing academic research.  This is a good thing.  Too many programmers 
> graduate from college woefully unprepared for working in the industry.

Personally, I'm more interested in finding people with solid problem 
solving skills, good communication skills, and an ability to write 
clear, maintainable code than a knowledge of UML, a facility with 
specific tools, etc.  The last bit is more related to job-specific 
knowledge anyway.


Sean