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From: g-rh@cca.UUCP (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: Value of Computer Science degree
Message-ID: <6282@cca.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 19-Feb-86 01:43:19 EST
Article-I.D.: cca.6282
Posted: Wed Feb 19 01:43:19 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Feb-86 00:13:57 EST
References: <4514@kestrel.ARPA> <3407@nsc.UUCP> <4588@kestrel.ARPA> <>
Reply-To: g-rh@cca.UUCP (Richard Harter)
Organization: Computer Corp. of America, Cambridge
Lines: 49
Summary: 

In article <> eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) writes:
>
>The CS degree is a valuable degree.  It should not be a math degree or
>a EE degree or anyother degree.  I've have taken on more than two assignments
>where the people hiring me didn't want a programmer/hacker/CS person,
>what THEY really wanted was a radar engineer, or XYZ jockey who happened
>to know how to program.  Letters have been posted to the CACM saying they
>wanted their CS people to have experience with chemistry, physics, and English.
>Fine.  But some of these people really want physicists who know programming,
>chemists who know programming, and so forth.
>
	Just a few words from someone senior (25 years in software).
Most programming jobs are application jobs -- you are getting the machine
to do something for somebody.  In most programming assignments the most
important things are to understand the application and understand the
users needs.

	Things like algorithms, data structures, languages, and 
operating systems are simply tools that you use to get done what it is
that you set out to do.  You have to know these things; they are your
basic stock of tools.  You also have to know where and how to look things
up.  You have to be able to invent or build these things if you need them
and they aren't available.

	You should also know how to learn an application area -- this
year you are working on a radar system, so learn about radar.  Next year
you might be processing chemical data; learn about chemical data.  Above
all, you need to know how to relate to the people that you will be working
for and with.

	There is no doubt that a CS degree is a valuable degree.  Today
they teach in the schools the things that we had to invent, often on the
fly.  The complaint in industry is that, all too often, people with CS
degrees know only the tools and don't know that they are only tools.
Too many don't understand applications, don't want to understand applica-
tions, don't know how to learn about applications, and don't want to learn.
Pity the poor radar engineer who hires the CS graduate who resists learning
anything about radar -- I've seen it all too often.

	Perhaps the answer is that there should be more software engineering
programs.  I don't know.  But it does seem to me that a lot of people who
taking CS are being fundamentally short changed.  Most people go to college
with the expectation that what they learn will be of value to them in their
future employment -- learn computers, and earn big bucks.  Well, that's OK.
But you get big bucks because you're valuable to someone who can pay big
bucks.  It would seem that part of your education should teach you what
it means to be valuable and how to be valuable.

Richard Harter, SMDS Inc.