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From: jona@iscp.Bellcore.COM (Jon Alperin)
Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy,comp.unix.admin
Subject: Re: Collaboration WAS: E-mail Privacy
Message-ID: <1991Jun16.174224.11581@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 16 Jun 91 17:42:24 GMT
References: <50318@muvms3.bitnet> <3651@happym.WA.COM> <8114@ecs.soton.ac.uk> <1991Jun12.155230.17992@mp.cs.niu.edu> <1991Jun12.214805.13737@bellcore.bellcore.com> <8162@ecs.soton.ac.uk>
Sender: usenet@bellcore.bellcore.com (Poster of News)
Reply-To: jona@iscp.Bellcore.COM (Jon Alperin)
Organization: Bell Communications Research (Bellcore)
Lines: 40

tim,

 Yes a good CS degree is based on MY individual skills. But a good
educational system is based on by ability to interact, react, and 
be proactive in the "real world". How many administrators out there
learned everything they needed to know through their degree? How many
were prepared for the politics which are an integral part of administering
large user systems? Does learning COBOL prepare one to assume the
role of network administrator? Or prepare one to deal with the moral and
privacy issues which pop up on related threads all across the net? I
may have had an accounting class as part of my CS undergrad degree, but
it sure didn't prepare me for the detailed budgeting which I must do
in my job.

Before I get flamed, I do realize that there are basic skills which
are needed....my comments were more along the lines of what kinds of
basic skills should be provided, and the direction our educational
system is taking us. How many people get an education of "system 
administrator"? How many people out there really consider themselves
"computer scientists" (or for that matter, just a "scientist")? There
are many areas of specialization in our field, and we must learn to
be adaptable to the latest and greatest, as well as knowledgeable
about the "tried and true" in order to be effective. I found that
my masters degree taught me no new information which I had not already received
as an undergrad; it only refined certain topics to such a low level
that my expertise would have been very narrow. My original posting
tried to point out the large breadth of knowledge I am expected to
have by the persons who pay me $$$$ every week. 

'nuff said.

-- 
Jon Alperin
Bell Communications Research

---> Internet: jona@iscp.bellcore.com
---> Voicenet: (908) 699-8674
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* All opinions and stupid questions are my own *