Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!mdcbbs!system
From: jmi@devsim.mdcbbs.com ((JM Ivler) MDC - Douglas Aircraft Co. Long Beach, CA.)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Theory vs. Practice in CS Education
Message-ID: <464.256f4723@devsim.mdcbbs.com>
Date: 26 Nov 89 02:14:58 GMT
References: <880@dms.UUCP> <7044@hubcap.clemson.edu> <4251@pegasus.ATT.COM> <4967@ae.sei.cmu.edu> <15947@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <4979@ae.sei.cmu.edu> <16169@duke.cs.duke.edu> <16189@duke.cs.duke.edu>
Organization: McDonnell Douglas M&E, Cypress CA
Lines: 23

In article <16189@duke.cs.duke.edu>, crm@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Charlie Martin) writes:
> Has it struck anyone else in this discussion that the reason we can't
> trust new graduates to write good code on graduation is that we the
> academics have taught them to write BAD code BEFORE graduation?
> 

Cripes, I can go to a high school and get someone to "write code" (both good 
and bad). I need more than that! I want a person who knows how to become part 
of the team. I need someone who understands that they are *not* supposed to 
create esoteric solutions to problems, but maintainable ones. I need someone 
who wants to problem solve, not just make "big engineering bucks" in aerospace. 
I need someone who can maintain trash software one day and create modular 
design the next. I need someone who cares about what they produce. I need quite 
a bit, and college degrees (and the associated "programs") don't provide me 
with any of it.

This should make you smile... One of the best engineers I have ever worked with 
had a degree in music. That's the answer, we should be hiring music majors. :-)

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