Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!wor-mein!pete
From: pete@wor-mein.UUCP (Pete Turner)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: What is CS? (Was re First languages)
Message-ID: <1353@wor-mein.UUCP>
Date: 30 Mar 88 15:54:38 GMT
References: <1522@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> <364@abcom.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: pete@wor-mein.UUCP (Pete Turner)
Organization: Quantum Medical Systems, Issaquah WA
Lines: 20

In article <364@abcom.ATT.COM> rgsmeb@abcom.ATT.COM (Michel Behna) writes:
>C as a language is a good bet, so is COBOL and eventually ADA. As far as
>Pascal or other languages, Good LUCK!!! Fortran is still widely used in
>engineering apllications and Lisp in AI.
>
>I agree with you about what they should be able to do(design, abstract,..)
>but what good is it to you if the person is unable to translate these into
>a language that a computer can understand. It's like having a foreign professor
>try to teach you a subject but he is unable to do it in English.

I disagree with this entire line of argument, based on both my academic and
professional experience.  If you have a good foundation in the generalities,
then any decent computer language can be learned from a book.  That is exactly
what I did with C at my first job (actually, I am somewhat dubious about C's
qualifications as a "decent" language) - I was reasonably up to speed within
a couple of weeks.  I certainly received no complaints from my employer.

If an employer is screening resumes for entry level programmers/engineers
on the basis of specific language/OS experience, then I, for one, wouldn't
want to work for them - they're probably running a hack shop!