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From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: Math and CS
Message-ID: <1083@terak.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 18:55:17 EST
Article-I.D.: terak.1083
Posted: Fri Mar  7 18:55:17 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Mar-86 08:18:46 EST
References: <1194@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU>
Organization: Calcomp Display Products Division, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Lines: 45

> Actually, this brings me to a deeper question.  I have always wondered
> why some hackers just didn't grit their teeth and suffer through the N
> years to get their degrees.  Considering the fact that it was easy for
> them to grind out their programs, they could have coasted through all
> their programming projects and devoted some of the energy that went
> into their programs into learning linear algebra, modern algebra, and
> all that other stuff...
> 
> I don't know, maybe I am missing some fundamental issue regarding the
> difference between those who sweated out all the courses towards their
> degree and those who didn't.  I would appreciate some enlightenment
> though.

A fair question.  Since I was a hacker who never finished my degree, I'm
at least slightly qualified to suggest some answers.

First, that all-knowing philosopher "/usr/games/fortune" tells us that
"Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans."  In my
case, a full-time job offer came along.  Since I was one of five kids
being supported by my mother on her GS-3 salary [everyone say "Awwww!"],
an opportunity to switch from being a financial negative to a positive
was hard to pass up, especially since my starting salary was more than
my mother was making.  And two years later, I got married, thereby
closing the door on any chance of returning to starving studenthood.

Second, after three years of college I was still a freshman.  This was
because the courses I needed to take were always closed by the time
they were offered to freshmen.  In retrospect, I can see that this was
simply because the college I attended was *very* popular for junior
college transferees.  But at the time, I tried to fight the system, and
lost regularly.  I never had more than a 1/2-time workload.

But more to the point, perhaps...  I managed over the course of five
years of "part-time" study to take all of the math/science/computer
courses I needed for my degree (Math w/ CS minor).  And *still* I was
barely a sophomore.  Ahead were three full-time years worth of Physical
Education, History of World Religions, and other such courses that I had
no interest in whatever.  Continuing part-time, it would consume most of
my free time for at least a decade.  Not very appealing to a newly-wed.

So, since my career was doing just fine without a degree, I simply
dropped the matter.  I haven't regretted it.  For me, it was the right
decision.
-- 
Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {hardy,savax,seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!terak!doug